How do I make the most of my mince?

Usually considered a low-cost staple for families, the price of mince has recorded the biggest annual increase since data began.

Beef mince is up 23.2 percent, to an average of $24.46 a kilogram - about $4.60 more than the same time in 2025.

Tauranga butcher Jason Pears knows budgets have been tight for his customers for some while, but says this is the worst it’s ever been.

“People are panicking… The fuel price increases are not helping anybody.”

He says he’s seen shopping habits change at his butchery, Kiwi Fresh Meats.

“Over the last two weeks especially, I've seen basket sizes reduce and people are buying a cheaper product.”

But when the cheapest cut of meat feels out of reach for some, what other options are out there?

Minced meat is classed by its fat content, and the more fat, the cheaper it is.

Premium mince, called topside by butchers, is a 95 percent lean mince, with only 5 percent fat.

“This is great for things like bolognese, chilli con carne or a mince curry where you're cooking a bit quicker and then adding grated vegetables to give you a bit of moisture with it,” says Pears

However as a lower fat option, it’s usually more expensive.

Pears’ preference is for the cheaper, prime mince, which is 85 percent to 90 percent lean.

He says prime - what butchers call steak mince - is typically between $2 and $4 per kilo cheaper than other minces, but is really tasty with a little bit of extra fat.

“The fat carries all your flavour through it. So if you're making burgers or koftas, meatballs or lasagna, that sort of thing, you want that little bit of extra fat.

“Use it for smash patties, they’re absolutely amazing. You get that little bit of crispness on the outside from the fat in the meat.”

Meanwhile if you’re not worried about cost and want to reduce your fat intake, there’s ‘diet mince.’

“That would be 98 percent plus lean - almost 100 percent lean, which would be for people dieting or specifically trying to avoid fat completely.”

“It’s tricky. Mince has long been a staple in Kiwi households; it was always seen as a good budget-friendly meat choice,” says Alice Taylor, who runs a popular Instagram page with a focus on cheap and realistic cooking.

She recommends making mince go further by adding lentils, beans, or vegetables to pad meals out.

“A great example would be to use half dried lentils and half mince in a cottage pie for example, or make spring rolls with just a little bit of mince, but adding lots of grated carrot and onion, making it go further.”

For meatballs, she suggests an Italian tip of soaking stale bread in water and adding that to the mince mixture.

“You can cut the amount of mince by half by replacing it with bread that would have otherwise been thrown away.”

Pears is a big advocate for pork mince.

“Local pork is beautiful, it's tasty, it's reasonably priced and you often get pork mince cheaper than beef. Pork meatballs, meatloaves, things like that made with pork mince are great,” says Pears.

Chicken mince is a lean and versatile option he says, however turkey mince, popular in the US, is near impossible to get in New Zealand.

Taylor says because prices have evolved so much, your assumptions about what will be the cheapest option might be wrong.

“Look at the unit price - how much bang for your buck are you actually getting?”

Of course shopping around is always a good idea.

“Go to the independent butcher shops as well as the supermarkets because everybody has a mince special at some stage,” notes Pears.

Wellington woman Kathleen Kuehn says when buying something pricier such as mince she does a quick check online of the main supermarkets for the best deal.

“But that said, anytime I pass through Newtown I always stop at the local halal butchers because they usually have the best mince prices in town.”

And if you can afford the upfront cost, well-known cook Simon Holst recommends buying in bulk when it’s on special and freezing it.

“Portion it out, pack it as airtight as you can, and freeze it as soon as you can.”

Simon Holst says his mum, beloved cook Alison Holst, would be horrified by today’s prices.

“It's really rough, nothing is cheap. Even offal is expensive now.”