The 5 Best FREE Grocery List Templates for Google Sheets [Complete Guide 2024]

Google Sheets is the perfect tool to avoid the stress and errors associated with grocery shopping. It offers powerful tools and functions to help you create a solid grocery list and make your weekend shopping easier.

Are you someone who always forgets important things while shopping? Apps like to-do lists and notes are helpful, but they don’t always cut it. For example, if your grocery list includes hundreds of items, a note-taking app is not the most efficient way to manage it.

Google Sheets is an online spreadsheet program accessible from both mobile and desktop devices. It is the best software for managing grocery shopping, food, and other essential items in your kitchen.

In this article, let’s talk about the 5 best grocery list templates using Google Sheets. We will also learn how to create a new grocery list from scratch, so make sure to read the article until the end.

Why are grocery list templates created with Google Sheets a must-have?

There are many advantages to using Google Sheets for managing household shopping, meal planning, budgeting, and more.

If you struggle to remember all the grocery items to buy over the weekend, you can leverage spreadsheet programs like Google Sheets to organize all these items like a pro. It has powerful built-in features such as checkboxes, drop-down lists, and conditional formatting to indicate if something is out of stock.

Here are some of the advantages of using Google Sheets to create a grocery list template:

• Cost-effective – Google Sheets is a completely free program. You only need a Google account to access it. You can use it without any limitations. Adding additional features to your grocery list won’t cost you anything if you’re willing to learn how to use the program’s tools and functions.

• Accessibility – Users can access Google Sheets from anywhere in the world as long as they have an internet connection. It is compatible with all types of devices, including mobile and desktop.

• Extensive customization – A grocery list template created in Google Sheets can be customized according to the user’s preferences without any limitations. You can use the built-in tools to change the size, color, font type, and much more. From changing colors to highlighting items based on specific criteria, everything is possible in Google Sheets.

• Real-time collaboration – You can share a Google spreadsheet with an unlimited number of users and assign them specific roles. Depending on the level of control given to each user, they can view, edit, and comment. Owners can also track changes made to their Google spreadsheets using a built-in feature called “Version History.”

• Ease of use – Google Sheets is a well-developed program. It offers a user-friendly and intuitive interface. You don’t need prior experience to add, edit, and organize information in the template in Google Sheets. It will take you barely an hour to understand and teach this program to your loved ones.

In addition to the mentioned advantages, you can easily print your grocery list for offline use.

The 5 Best Free Google Sheets Grocery List Templates of 2023

1. Grocery and Budget List Template – SoftwareAccountant

This is the top choice on our list. It allows you to list grocery items and gives you an idea of the amount spent and the amount remaining from your total budget.

It’s quite simple. You start by entering the grocery items one by one in the main table.

Make sure to select the appropriate category and specify the quantity and unit price.

On the left side of the spreadsheet, you will find a small summary of your shopping journey. It automatically calculates the total cost per item and the total amount you have spent over time.

This template is optimized for both mobile and desktop users.

As soon as you purchase an item and check the checkbox in front, the template highlights the entire row with a light green color to help you shop quickly and more efficiently.

2. Grocery List Template by Template.net

This grocery list template has an attractive design. It is divided into multiple tables, as shown in the image above.

It contains a lot of example information for reference. Make sure to remove and replace the example data with your own.

When you have added an item to the cart, you can simply use the dropdown list to check that particular item.

The template is free to download, and you can customize it according to your preferences. You can adjust colors, font type, header, and much more.

3. Shopping List by TheGooDocs

This is another easy-to-use and attractive grocery list template using Google Sheets in this list.

The template is divided into multiple tables to list grocery items such as fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, dairy products, canned goods, oils, sauces, and much more.

You can use this list while shopping in-store, and once the item is added to the cart, use the checkbox to mark it as completed.

To add new grocery items, you need to click on the dropdown icon, followed by the pencil icon that appears at the end. Refer to the image below.

In case you don’t find the pencil icon, scroll to the bottom of the list.

Make sure to customize the template according to your preferences by playing with the formatting tools in Google Sheets.

4. Basic Grocery List Template by Spreadsheetpoint

If you’re looking for a simple-to-use grocery list template for your in-store shopping, then this one is for you.

The template is divided into two spreadsheets:

• List – This is the main spreadsheet where you can select grocery items, add a quantity, and check the checkbox if the item is added to the cart. You can also add comments for each grocery item. Note that it uses a dropdown list in the “Item” column.

• Data – You can add the grocery items you want to order to this list. It should be prepared before visiting the store. The data from this spreadsheet is used for the dropdown list in the “Item” column of the first spreadsheet (List). It’s a simple table; add the items, and they will automatically appear in the dropdown list.

This Spreadsheetpoint template is intended for grocery shoppers who forget important grocery items at the store.

5. Grocery List Template by GFitness Online

This is our last choice on this list. The template uses dropdown lists and checkboxes to make your grocery shopping easier.

You start by selecting the grocery item and the corresponding category from a predefined list. Then, specify the quantity, and once the item is added to the cart, use the checkbox to mark it as completed.

The dropdown list is managed by the second spreadsheet called “Data”.

Make sure to add grocery items in the respective category according to your needs. You can also add new categories. Any changes or new entries in the “Data” spreadsheet will automatically appear in the dropdown lists of the “Grocery List” spreadsheet.

How to Create a Grocery List Template in Google Sheets

Now, in this section, we will explain the steps to create a grocery list template in Google Sheets from scratch.

It will contain a simple list and a few predefined categories, as shown below.

We will also use a checkbox to mark the items that will be added to the cart during in-store shopping.

Let’s get started,

STEP #1 – Create the template header

The header is not the most crucial element of a grocery list template, but it will certainly add to the aesthetics of the template.

If you’re about to share your masterpiece with your family, I suggest adding the header to your grocery list template.

Here are the steps:

1. Open a new Google spreadsheet by clicking here.
2. Select the first row.
3. Increase the height of the first row as shown below.
4. Select cells from A1 to E1.
5. Go to the toolbar and click on the “Merge cells” icon.
6. Type “Grocery List”.
7. Change the cell’s background color to light gray (Hex code – #efefef).
8. Increase the font size to 30.
9. Make the font bold.
10. Change the font type to “Comic Sans Ms”.
11. Align the font in the center.

STEP #2 – Add the table headers

As our grocery list template contains a simple table, we need to start by creating a header row.

1. Select cell “A2”.
2. Type “Item Name”.
3. Then, select cell “B2” and type “Category”.
4. Repeat the above steps and complete the header as shown below.
5. Select all the cells from A2 to E2.
6. Change the font type to “Comic Sans Ms”.
7. Change the background color of the cells to green (Hex code – #34a853).
8. Align the font in the center.
9. Change the font color to white.

STEP #3 – Create a dropdown list for the grocery category

Now, in this step, we will create a dropdown list to quickly select the appropriate category for grocery items during our shopping.

Let’s begin:

1. Click on cell “B3”.
2. Go to the main “Menu” tab and click on the “Data” tab.
3. Select “Data validation” from the popup window.
4. A new dialog box will appear on the right side of the screen, as shown below.
5. Click on the “Add a rule” button.
6. Now, for the first dropdown list item, type “Product” in the first box, as shown in the image below.
7. Similarly, for the second dropdown list item, we will type “Bakery”.
8. Then, to add the third item, you need to click on the “Add another item” button.
9. Type “Dairy Products”.
10. Use the “Add another item” button and complete all the dropdown list items as shown below.
11. Scroll down and click on the “Advanced options” button.
12. You will see the following options.
13. Modify them as shown below by checking the circle in front of “Show warning” and “Arrow”.
14. Click on the “Done” button.

A dropdown list icon will appear in cell “B2”.

STEP #4 – Add a checkbox to mark the purchase

In order to not get lost in the list while shopping, let’s use a checkbox to mark the items that will be added to the cart.

1. Select cell “D3”.
2. Go to the main tab and click on the “Insert” tab.
3. Choose “Checkbox” from the popup window.

You will notice a checkbox in cell D3.

Now, let’s use the capabilities of Google Sheets to highlight the entire row after checking the checkbox in a table.

Here are the steps:

1. Select all the cells in the table from A3 to E3.
2. Go to the toolbar and click on “Format”.
3. Choose “Conditional formatting” from the popup window.
4. A new dialog box will appear on the right side of the screen, as shown below.
5. Now, click on the dropdown list below the option “Format cells if…”.
6. Scroll down and select “Custom formula is”.
7. Then, you will see an empty box, as shown below.
8. Click on it and type “=$D3=TRUE”.
9. Click on the paint bucket icon in the “Formatting style” section.
10. Select the cell background color as light green. Refer to the image below.
11. Press the “Done” button in the green at the bottom.

Now, whenever you check the checkbox, the entire row in the table will be highlighted with a light green color.

STEP #5 – Insert the checkbox and dropdown list for the entire table

For the purposes of this article, let’s consider the rows up to 20 for our grocery list table.

Here are the steps:

1. Select all the cells in the first row from A3 to E3.
2. Now, you will notice a small fill handle icon at the bottom right of cell E3.
3. Click on it and drag it down to row 20.

STEP #6 – Apply formatting to the table

In order to make our grocery list more visually appealing, let’s modify the formatting of the table.

1. Select all the cells in the table.
2. Change the background color of the cells to light gray (Hex code – #efefef).
3. Go to the toolbar and click on the “Border” icon.
4. Change the default border color to white.
5. Click on “All borders” as shown in the image below.

Then, let’s disable the gridlines by following these steps:

1. Go to the “View” tab in the main menu.
2. Select the first option, “Show”, from the popup window.
3. Click on “Gridlines”.

Finally, adjust the column width according to your preferences.

After adjusting the formatting on my end, here’s what the grocery list looks like:

Click here to download the template created by me following the steps mentioned above.

In conclusion

I hope you have found the best grocery list template for your needs among our top 5 choices for 2024.

Additionally, creating a grocery list from scratch in Google Sheets is quite simple.

If you get stuck somewhere or encounter any specific issues while creating your own grocery list template following the steps mentioned above, feel free to comment below.

Our team will respond to all your questions as soon as possible.

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