The 10 Groceries I Always Buy at Walmart, According to a Cookbook Author

Pisqueya

Pisqueya is created by the founder and CEO, Maritza Abreu. She's bringing a taste of her cultural Dominican Republic to the world through Caribbean-inspired hot sauces (inspired by her own family's recipe), adobo seasoning, and barbecue sauce. It feels good to be able to support a brand you've personally seen grow.

Great Value Pinto Beans, No Salt Added

This might come as a shock to some of those who actually follow me. I still praise the quality of Rancho Gordo beans and the meditative leverage that comes from cooking a pot of beans from their dried state. However, there are also those days when I'm feeling burnt out and don't want to cook at all. These no salt-added canned pinto beans are perfect for those days. Because they have no salt, I can control the amount of seasoning that goes into my food. And they're a great blank canvas to create various dishes: soups, salads, refried beans, or Puerto Rican-style habichuelas.

Frozen Great Value Sweet Potatoes and Butternut Squash

Speaking of Puerto Rican-style habichuelas. Sometimes I find myself just cruising the Walmart aisles with Mami. Every once in a while I'll see something that I don't see often, but it doesn't make sense why I don't see it often. Like frozen sweet potatoes and butternut squash. Once I found out Walmart carried these two, I have tried to track them down at other local grocery stores to no avail. It's weird. And the two always come in clutch because if I want to make Puerto Rican-style habichuelas, I add: no salt tomato sauce, no salt pinto beans, and a bag of frozen butternut squash. Traditionally, you're supposed to add pumpkin. I haven't been able to find anyone that can tell the difference when I serve them my beans though. So…yeah.

Sfoglini Pasta Brand

Sfoglini is a brand that was launched by Steve Gonzalez in 2012 in Brooklyn, NY. The company is still managed by Steve and creative director Scott Ketchum, but now in Upstate New York. Sfoglini pastas use organic grains grown on North American farms to make various shapes, like the original Cascatelli pasta shape created by Dan Pashman of The Sporkful podcast, and seasonal pasta throughout the year. The grains are always milled in the US, bronze die extruded and slow dried, and made and packaged with a whole lot of care in the Hudson Valley.

Great Value Tomato Sauce, No Salt Added

The same reason I purchase the no-salt pinto beans is the same reason I purchase the no-salt tomato sauce. But, only in the 8-ounce can because "the smaller cans taste better." Another blank canvas item that I use as a base for stews and pasta sauce. It's also great for adding moisture to taco fillings. More importantly, Puerto Ricans use tomato sauce in so many things! If you're thinking this is a silly item to include on a list of items I purchase on every trip to Walmart, you should talk to my grandma. Well, you can't, because she's dead. However, when we cleaned out her house after she passed away, we found countless little cans of tomato sauce.

Siete Foods

I really love the spicy and mild taco seasoning packets from Siete Foods. Like, a lot. Not only do I find it to be more flavorful than the other brands, but it also only costs a dollar more on average! The good news is that Walmart also carries an array of Siete Food products: canned refried beans, crunchy taco shells, enchilada sauce, tortilla chips, and even their botana sauces! Most of which are grain free. It's pretty incredible to see the rise of this company created by a Mexican-American family from South Texas.

La Banderita CarbCounter Carb Lean Tortillas

Do these flour tortillas taste like regular tortillas? Nope. But, at least I'm able to still eat tortillas because these are low carb and low calorie. They have the 8-inch size and lately, they've been carrying the taco size! Which they call "snack size." The taco-size tortillas are 35 calories a piece.

Herdez Salsa Verde

The 7-ounce can of Herdez's salsa verde is compact in size, I feel like it fits everywhere. I use the salsa as a topper (tacos, burritos, nachos, chilaquiles), but I also use it to add to my scrambled eggs and slow braise pork shoulder in the salsa verde for a cheater version of chile verde.

Cobram Estate 100% California Select Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cobram Estate is located in Yolo County, CA, only 30 miles from the town where I grew up. The idea that Walmart carries a local product and at an affordable price gives me the false sense of security I have longed for. It allows me to support a local company within the confines of my strict budget. It's also just great olive oil!

Cidrines Pan Sobao Sweet Bread

Pan Sobao is a traditional Puerto Rican sweet bread that's really hard to come across on the West Coast. Walmart started offering Cidrines, a large wholesale bakery established in Puerto Rico in 1978 by two brothers Manolo and Guillermo Cidre. In 2013 they opened their first stateside factory in Florida, which is what probably allowed them to finally offer the bread across the country.

The bread is sent to the stores "raw frozen." Walmart employees put the dough on sheet trays, proof, and bake on-site. I purchase that sweet bread tucked in its blue, yellow, and white sleeve every time I see it at Walmart.