Planning your holiday shopping? We put together a detailed price comparison across three local supermarkets to help you stretch your budget this season.
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The big question is: how are prices this year? According to the Radiografía del Consumidor 2024, average monthly food spending in Puerto Rico has held remarkably steady: $452 in 2024, nearly identical to the $453 of 2023. But those numbers only tell part of the story.
With Christmas just around the corner, what we really want to know is how much it will cost to prepare a typical Puerto Rican holiday dinner for family or friends. To answer that question, part of the Platea editorial team compared prices at three local supermarkets in the metro area, selecting ingredients for a dinner of arroz con gandules, adobo for pernil and macaroni salad, enough for 10 people.
🍽️ Platea tip: click here to see the ingredient quantities for a dinner for 10.
The ingredient selection was made based on recommendations from Chef Raúl Gómez, a professor in the Universidad Ana G. Méndez system who teaches culinary arts courses. Here are the results of our exercise.
Note: Prices reflect the week of Dec. 9–15 and may vary depending on the day of purchase.
🛒 Econo: $48.08
1 package of rice (Selectos) – $1.47
Vegetable oil (Campana) – $2.59
Cooking ham (Selectos) – $5.19
Minced garlic (Selectos) – $1.59
Sofrito (Selectos) – $1.19
1 package of white onions (United States) – $1.67
1 box of sazón achiote packets (Goya) – $1.39
Salt (Iga) – $1.09
1 can of gandules (Selectos) – $0.89
1 can of tomato sauce (Selectos) – $0.25
1 container of olives (Selectos) – $1.89
1 box of elbow pasta (Selectos) – $0.99
Mayonnaise (Kraft) – $3.39
Mustard (Country Brand) – $1.19
Shredded carrots (Grimmway Farms) – $2.00
1 dozen eggs (Huevos Americanos) – $5.99
Cilantro (fresh) – $1.50
Ham (Selectos) – $5.19
Pepper (Badia) – $0.95
Garlic powder (Onion Powder) – $1.99
Dried oregano (Montero) – $0.99
Ground cumin (Badia) – $0.95
Lemon juice (Selectos) – $1.39
At Econo, you can find a wide selection of its store-brand products, which helps keep prices affordable. Four specific items were not available, so lower-cost alternatives were chosen. For example, the three-pound rice package, which normally costs $2.99, can be found on sale at two packages for $3.00.
🛒 Selectos: $50.98
1 package of rice (Econo) – $1.50
Vegetable oil (Goya) – $2.39
Cooking ham (Serranito) – $3.99
Minced garlic (Econo) – $1.50
Sofrito (Econo) – $1.25
1 package of onions (Green Giant) – $2.50
1 box of sazón achiote packets (Goya) – $1.25
Salt (Econo) – $0.99
1 can of gandules (Econo) – $0.75
1 can of tomato sauce (Econo) – $0.40
1 container of olives (Econo) – $1.50
1 box of elbow pasta (Econo) – $0.88
Turkey ham (Econo) – $6.61
Cilantro (local) – $1.79
Ground pepper (Econo) – $1.99
1 package of carrots (organic, United States) – $2.00
1 box of medium eggs (Econo) – $5.19
Mustard (Econo) – $1.50
Mayonnaise (Econo) – $2.99
Dried oregano (Econo) – $1.99
Garlic powder (Econo) – $1.99
Ground cumin (Econo) – $1.99
Yellow lemon – $0.66
Selectos carries a variety of its store-brand products. The three-pound rice, for example, is usually $2.59, but on sale it can drop to $1.00. Tomato sauce, which normally runs $0.49, can be found for $0.25 during specials. Similarly, onions that typically go for around $2.49 can be found on sale at four for $5.00, or $1.67 each.
🛒 SuperMax: $50.70
1 package of rice (Goya) – $1.66
Vegetable oil (Campana) – $2.39
Cooking ham (Serranito) – $3.89
Minced garlic (SuperMax) – $1.49
Sofrito (SuperMax) – $1.49
1 package of onion (Jonika) – $0.87
1 box of achiote sazón packets (Goya) – $1.47
Salt (Sterling) – $0.99
1 can of gandules (SuperMax) – $1.09
1 can of tomato sauce (SuperMax) – $0.41
1 container of olives (SuperMax) – $1.49
1 box of elbow pasta (Ronzoni) – $1.79
Regular ham (SuperMax) – $2.50
Cilantro (local) – $1.67
Ground pepper (SuperMax) – $2.09
1 package of shredded carrots (Grimmway Farms) – $3.67
1 box of medium eggs (Egg Market) – $5.99
Mustard (Goya) – $1.35
Mayonnaise (Kraft) – $3.09
Dried oregano (SuperMax) – $2.09
Garlic powder (SuperMax) – $2.09
Ground cumin (SuperMax) – $2.09
Limes – $0.64
SuperMax carries products under its store brand that can translate into savings. The three-pound rice, for example, can be found between $1.89 and $2.79, but on sale we found Goya rice for $1.66. We also found pork chunks (1.59 lbs.) for $4.40, optional for adding to the arroz con gandules.
For vegetable oil, the store brand is only available in a large 40-ounce container, so we went with the 16-ounce Campana vegetable oil. This was the least expensive purchase, considering that if the optional pork chunks are subtracted, the total comes to $46.30.
In the spices and seasonings list, a staple of Puerto Rican Christmas cooking, we found a 32.75% variation across stores. Econo leads with the most competitive price at $13.74, while SuperMax reaches $18.24.
That $4.50 difference could be significant if you want to prepare several traditional dishes during Christmas. It is worth pointing out that many of the seasonings at SuperMax come in larger sizes, which explains the notable difference in their prices.
The flexibility in brand selection also plays a key role in saving money. All three stores carry their own brands, which tend to offer comparable quality at lower prices. That option can be helpful during the Christmas season, when expenses tend to add up.
Although the total difference of $2.90 between the least expensive option (Econo) and the most expensive (Selectos) might seem modest for a single shopping trip, a well-planned purchasing strategy could result in significant savings throughout the season.
For the Puerto Rican consumer, the key is to combine available options intelligently, factoring in not only prices but also the proximity of stores and the cost of transportation in the final savings calculation.
Chef's recommendation: quantities for a dinner of 10
2 cups of rice
2 oz of vegetable oil
2 oz of cooking ham
4 oz pork chunks (optional)
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of sofrito
½ onion, diced small
2 packets of sazón with achiote
1 tablespoon of salt
1 can of gandules
½ cup of tomato sauce
1 oz of olives
1 box of elbow pasta (1 pound)
6 oz of mayonnaise
1 oz of mustard
½ cup of shredded carrots
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 cup of cilantro
1 cup of diced ham
2 oz minced garlic
1½ cups vegetable oil
2 oz garlic powder (onion powder)
2 oz dried oregano
2 packets of sazón with achiote
2 oz ground cumin
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
