Mexico

Mexico's grocery landscape splits between large supermarket chains and an enormous informal sector of mercados and tianguis (street markets) that still handles a huge share of fresh produce, meat, and spices: Soriana, Walmart (MX) and Chedraui represent the formal-chain side of that split, priced in MXN.

Corn, beans, and rice remain the cheapest possible calorie base in the country, which is why dishes built around masa, tortillas, and beans post some of the lowest per-serving costs anywhere on this site — while imported proteins and specialty items (certain cheeses, cured meats) swing sharply upward in price by comparison. The peso's exchange-rate volatility also means imported ingredient costs can shift faster here than in most other countries this site tracks.

Utilities run cheaper than several other markets covered here: 2 MXN/kWh for electricity and 1.5 MXN/kWh-equivalent for gas (LP gas is the common household fuel in much of the country), which keeps the energy line of a recipe's bill relatively small next to ingredient costs.

The dish list below lets you flip between Soriana, Walmart de México, and Chedraui to see how much of that formal-chain price gap actually shows up in a real recipe, versus what you'd pay shopping a mercado instead.