Cost of popular family meals risen by 27 percent over the last year
Consumer group Which? has released new figures
We are hearing the cost of popular family meals such as homemade spaghetti bolognese, pasta bake, fish fingers, chips and beans has increased by up to 27 percent over the last year.
Which? has released the figures and found the prices of pasta sauce, penne pasta and cheddar cheese to make a quick pasta bake for four people have jumped from £2.68 (67p per portion) in the three months to the end of last May to £3.39 (85p per portion) for the same period this year - an increase of 27 percent.
The consumer group looked at the prices of almost 26,000 food and drink products in May for its inflation tracker at Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose - the eight major supermarkets.
Kelly Dunn from Scarborough is the mum of an 18-year-old boy and a seven year-old girl and she said: "I'm a vegetarian and my son and husband eat meat and my daughter will only eat sort of kids' meals, so every night we're sort of cooking three different meals for everybody. There are a few family meals where everybody will join in but on the other days, it's cooking quite a few different options.
"The vegetarian side for me isn't too bad but having two grown men, we've found that the cost of red meat and things like that has gone up massively. If we're making things like a bolognese or a chilli now, we use the vegetarian mince rather than buying meat for them because it's actually cheaper.
"Definitely on the chips variety, my daughter used to like the branded alphabet potatoes whereas now we'll now go for the supermarket own potato shapes. We'll also have their own branded baked beans rather than the leading brands, trying to keep those costs down where you can on the bits where she doesn't notice as much.
"There's still a shortage of fruit and vegetables as well. You can't get a plethora of different varieties of tomatoes at the moment and the potatoes aren't at their best, so I think that's an added challenge that sometimes you're forced to pay more because the alternatives you'd normally buy aren't even on the shelves at the moment.
"I would say our weekly bill has nearly doubled in the last sort of 12-18 months. We're buying less food but the price has doubled."
Figures by Which?
The overall price of a regular fish finger supper with chips and beans went from £3.06 (76p per portion) to £3.79 (95p per portion) - an increase of 24 percent.
This was mainly driven by baked beans, which went up by an average of 36 percent and by 77 percent for HP Baked Beans in a Rich Tomato Sauce bought at Asda.
The price of frozen chips increased by an average of 23 percent, but Sainsbury's 900g own-brand French fries increased from 83p to £1.75, or 110 percent, according to the tracker.
A similar item at Lidl - Harvest Basket French Fries 900g - went up 99 percent from 68p to £1.35 over the same period.
Which? also looked at a standard spaghetti bolognese recipe including beef mince, onion, carrots, stock, garlic, chopped tomatoes and dried spaghetti, as well as olive oil.
The meal went up from £5.53 on average (£1.38 per portion) in the three months to the end of last May to £6.63 (£1.65 per portion) this year - or an extra 20 percent on average across the eight supermarkets.
Some of the key ingredients saw much bigger increases, however, with own-label beef mince 4 percent fat 500g rising from £2.89 at Tesco to £4.60 - an increase of 59%.
Which? found the cost of a typical Sunday lunch of roast chicken, potatoes, peas, broccoli, carrots and gravy as well as vegetable oil to cook with had increased by 13 percent over the year.
Vegetable oil has increased in price by 43 percent, and chicken gravy granules by 40 percent, while a 1kg bag of Asda own-label peas surged in from 76p to £1.33 - an increase of 74 percent.
Once again, Which? found that, despite generally being the cheapest option, inflation on value ranges far outstrips other foods.
According to the tracker, inflation on own-label budget goods continued to increase from 25 percent in April to 26.6 percent in May, higher than regular own brands (19.1 percent), premium own brands (12.9 percent) and branded food and drink (13.2 percent).
The watchdog said the examples of "massive price hikes" on everyday ingredients showed how difficult it had become for households, particularly those on low incomes, to feed a family.
Sue Davies, Which? head of food policy, said: "The cost of food during this period of economic uncertainty has turned the pleasure of mealtimes with loved ones into a nightmare for the millions that are struggling to afford food.
"Supermarkets must put their customers first by stocking budget lines in all of their stores, including convenience stores, to ensure easy access to basic, affordable food ranges as well as provide transparent pricing so people can easily work out which products offer the best value.
"Official inflation data due out next week is still expected to show food prices at an elevated level. If supermarkets can't do the right thing by their customers, it's time for the government to take action."