3 Ingredients You Should Always Buy At Dollar Tree, And 5 You Should Avoid

It's no secret that I like to buy things as inexpensively as possible. I buy most of my kitchen essentials and organizers from Dollar Tree, for example. It is a convenient and low-budget store that has stayed a pretty consistent part of my life since birth. Considering the chain has stores across all of the United States and Canada I've never been at a loss for my dollar store of choice. I have plenty of experience with the store and have learned through trial and error what ingredients I can buy from Dollar Tree, and which ones I should be avoiding.

You can buy a lot of grocery essentials from Dollar Tree, especially if you're a baker. It stocks everything from flour to chocolate chips. However, some of these ingredients just aren't up to snuff. While being able to purchase something for as low as $1.25 is incredibly tempting if it actively makes the final product worse then it should be avoided at all cost. The constant question of price versus quality is one that you have to answer whenever you step inside a dollar store. I've applied my years of experience with Dollar Tree to the question of quality versus convenience and have some recommendations on which ingredients you should be buying, and on which you should avoid.

Despite this being something to avoid, I will admit to buying and using the olive oil that Dollar Tree has to offer. But do as I say, not as I do. The fact that it is an olive oil blend is a non-issue when it comes to greasing pans and sautéing vegetables. That being said, soy is a common allergen. If you're looking to buy olive oil and are intending to use it in a communal dish you should absolutely avoid it. It is like vegetable oil that only reveals it is part peanut oil when you read the fine print. It's dangerous if mishandled.

As for use in dishes, using an olive oil blend can have unintended consequences to both flavor and texture. While you may not be able to taste the soybean oil if you're just drizzling it atop some focaccia or using it in a strong hummus, if you were to use the blend in lighter fare like a caprese salad or to make garlic confit you'd notice the difference pretty quickly. Anytime a dish calls for olive oil to be used for anything other than roasting or greasing, you should get the real thing. Find a good guide to buying olive oil, and invest in a nice bottle for your cupboard.

When an ingredient becomes trendy, there is usually a correlating price hike. If you want to make sure you're matching the aesthetics and styles of all of your peers it is expected that you will be shelling quite a bit out of pocket to do so. Pink Himalayan salt was one of these trends. While all your friends are out buying chunks and cutting boards made of the rose colored spice, you should instead turn your attention to Dollar Tree.

Dollar Tree sells Salt Seasons Pink Himalayan Salt. At only $1.25, this 16-ounce bag is priced far more fairly than other brands. While you won't find the white or black varieties of Himalayan salt in stock Dollar Tree has at least gotten on board with this trend. It's an affordable way to buy into the current trend without having to break the bank buying a seasoned cutting board. Whether you just need a little salt for your table, or are putting together a TikTok worthy meal you can't go wrong with a little bit of this colorful spice.

Let's be clear here. The milk that Dollar Tree sells is perfectly serviceable. It's shelf stable and comes in dairy, almond, and oat varieties. There just isn't a lot of it. The main issue with milk in my household is how quickly it vanishes. Between use in cereal and baking my household can drain a gallon over the course of a couple of days. Dollar Tree comes in clutch as back-up milk. I keep a couple of its boxed milks stowed in my cupboard just in case someone else has used what we had in the fridge when I'm trying to make my best box brownies. But I cannot recommend you use Dollar Tree as your primary milk buying establishment.

Groceries are getting more and more expensive. When trends like this occur, it is tempting to reach for the cheapest possible item on the shelf. However, you should stop and do some math, unpleasant as doing these calculations may be. If Dollar Tree sells 32-ounces of milk for $1.25, and Walmart sells 64-ounces of milk for $1.96, then clearly the cheaper choice in the long run is Walmart.

Buying pre-ground black pepper is all well and good, but it's hard to argue that some fresh ground pepper doesn't have an extra zip of flavor. Switching to fresh ground pepper will change how you cook. Once you clock the difference you'll never want to go back to the pre-ground alternative. You may be concerned that you'll have to invest in bulky pepper grinders and shell out for refill after refill of peppercorns. Have no fear, these days you can get the same flash of flavor from a traditional shaker sized container. These built in grinders are really convenient in both function and size.

Dollar Tree sells a 15-ounce natural pepper grinder that is far less expensive than some of its competitors. In fact, the only downside I was able to find on the Dollar Tree grinder was that it doesn't give you the ability to adjust the size of the grind. Its convenience and price really make it stand out and as long as you enjoy the size of the pepper flakes it creates there's absolutely no issue. I even have two in my house, one for the spice rack, and another for the middle of the dining room table. It's just that handy.

A good Italian meal is not complete without some grated Parmesan on top. While the real deal will always be my preference, the pre-grated dried cheese sold in shakers has its place, as well. I will absolutely sacrifice some quality for convenience. However what I will not do is buy grated Parmesan cheese from Dollar Tree. The store offers two different brands of Parmesan, Risparmio and Colonna. Neither are good. Unlike some of the other things I've recommended you avoid buying, this isn't a question of quantity or price, but quality.

Both of the grated Parmesans that Dollar Tree sells are not up to snuff. Both are gritty and have a texture akin to plastic confetti. Neither brand actually blends in when you apply their cheese to a dish. The Parmesan just sits there, not melting, not mixing, nothing. Trying to manually mix it in just covers the Parmesan in sauce and makes your spaghetti have a mouthfeel not dissimilar to dropping it in sand and then deciding to eat it anyways. If either actually tasted like Parmesan then there may be something salvageable there, but aside from being very fragrant the cheeses impart no flavor to a dish. With the strongest possible recommendation, avoid these cheeses.

If you are an avid dessert creator, you'll already know about the joys, and near infinite uses, of a can of sweetened condensed milk. These little cans pack so much texture and flavor into such a little space you should really always have at least one in your pantry. Whether you're a baker in distress or simply in need of some coffee creamer these little cans really come in clutch.

Unlike other retailers, Dollar Tree offers a 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk for $1.25. Most other places have their cheapest alternative at over double that price. This shelf-stable ingredient does vary somewhat from brand to brand, but I have never had an issue with the Pampa brand that Dollar Tree sells. It goes fabulously in cakes, pies, and even whipped up into a tasty caramel sauce, too. It may not have the same body as some more recognizable brands like Eagle, or Carnation, but it does the job it is supposed to.

While breakfast is considered one of the most important meals of the day, the classic American breakfast isn't exactly conducive to doing anything but going into a food coma. Starting your day off with a delicious stack of buttermilk pancakes may not fill you with the energy to get up and go, but it sure is a tasty way to begin the day. If you've got a hankering for some maple syrup on your pancakes but find yourself in a Dollar Tree, my advice is to just have syrup-less pancakes.

To start, Dollar Tree does not sell maple syrup. It sells "butter flavor pancake" syrup. Yikes. It is so far removed from the traditional pancake sauce that it cannot even call itself "maple-flavored" syrup. Using butter flavored pancake syrup on your pancakes is akin to eating sliced sandwich ham instead of bacon because they're "basically the same thing." Sure, they can fulfill the same function in a pinch but it just isn't the same. Not only does the butter flavored pancake syrup taste like artificial sweeteners and fake butter flavoring but its consistency is all wrong. If the price of actual maple syrup is too expensive, then you're be better off just melting a pat of butter onto your pancakes rather than suffering through the butter flavored pancake syrup.

Vanilla of any kind is one of the best ingredients you can have at your disposal as a baker. If you feel like your dish is coming out a little bland, ½ teaspoon of vanilla makes for an excellent ingredient to jazz things up. It is an absolute must have in your spice cabinet whether you're pumping out puddings, cakes, or just wanting to make the house smell a little fresher. Unlike other ingredients, however, with vanilla you just can't compromise on an imitation.

Dollar Tree only sells imitation vanilla. While this may be alright aromatically, once you've added it to your baking you'll see the difference. Real vanilla lends a buttery, svelte quality to the foods it's used in. Imitation vanilla seems to result in dryer bakes despite it being a liquid ingredient. Vanilla, like olive oil and maple syrup, is pretty expensive per ounce. It is worth the investment for the betterment of your bakes. If you've only ever used imitation vanilla you don't know what you're missing out on. Give the real deal a shot.

I'm actually a fan of Dollar Tree. I shop there frequently, and I know through experience what I will and won't compromise on. All the recommendations I made above are filtered through the most charitable lens I have, so I hope that lends some weight to those I suggest avoiding. I have personally used each of the products above both from Dollar Tree and from grocery chains like Stop and Shop, Walmart, Shaws, and Costco. There are just certain ingredients, like vanilla and maple syrup, that simply cannot be substituted or replaced with an imitation.

Every recommendation I made is the product of my years of experience. I took into account four specific things while compiling this list — current advertised price, quality, quantity, and convenience. These four markers are why a couple of the ingredients I actively buy still ended up on the "avoid" side of things — specifically olive oil and milk. I still recommend poking your head into your local Dollar Tree if it's on your way to wherever you're going. I think you'll be surprised by how well you can stock your cupboards just with what it has on offer.