Best Indian Grocery Stores in the U.S: The Complete Guide

The US is a nation of immigrants, and each immigrant community has its own cultural restaurants, stores, and institutions. New immigrants in the US often seek out these cultural touch-points as they get used to living in the US. Indian grocery stores, for instance, are places where Indian immigrants (and others, of course) can get find brands from home.

There are a number of Indian grocery store chains in the US; this article discusses 7 of the best in detail, so you can find the perfect authentic Indian foods here in the U.S.

7 Best Indian Grocery Stores in the U.S.

Oftentimes, Indian grocery stores are the only place that you can get certain preparations, spices, or foods. The good news is, there are plenty of Indian grocers to choose from. But each grocery store has a unique selection, and each store probably won’t have all of the foods that you’re looking for. The following section gives you a quick, helpful summary of the 7 best Indian grocery stores.

1. Patel Brothers

Patel Bros is a fast-growing Indian grocery chain with stores all over the country. They sell a wide range of products: not just food, but spiritual herbs and spices, house-made spice mixes, healthy and beauty products, and more. Most of their products are sourced directly from India; they have a great selection of Indian microwave dinners and snacks that you won’t find in many other places.

Patel Brothers also has an online website where they sell many of their non-perishable goods, so you can shop at Patel Brothers from anywhere in the country. You can visit their site to get Indian recipes for everything from appetizers and well-known dinner dishes to dessert.

2. iShopIndian

iShopIndian is the largest and oldest online Indian grocery store in the US, and ships to all 50 states. iShopIndian’s experience in the market and extensive selection makes them the go-to for many Indian immigrants in the US. They sell Indian groceries, spices, teas, lentils, dals, chais, basmati rice, and curry foods, most of them sourced from India. You can buy frozen foods that are shipped in special cooled packages, Indian cookbooks, and Indian-inspired cooking utensils. Also, iShopIndian has an excellent collection of Indian recipes on their website if you’re looking for some quick inspiration.

3. Vedic Pro

Vedic Pro is one of the most prominent online Indian grocers, known in particular for their low prices: Vedic Pro will match the prices of any other online Indian grocery store that you can find the same product. They sell a wide range of food, health, beauty, and lifestyle products, some of them Indian-sourced and some of them more common items that you would find in a regular grocery store. In addition, you can buy Indian incense and cookware.

While Vedic Pro doesn’t quite have the broad overall selection of iShopIndian, they do carry numerous prominent Indian-brand products that Indian immigrants often crave. Also,  Vedic Pro emphasizes their selection of organic foods, so if organic Indian cuisine is what you’re looking for, they may be your best choice.

4. Grocery Babu

Grocery Babu is an online grocer that offers a selection of dry, refrigerated, and frozen Indian goods. Grocery Babu has a particularly large selection of Indian-brand snacks and desserts. You can find spices, tea, coffee, ghee, and more. Grocery Babu also lets you see the newest products they’ve added, so you can check to see if they’ve brought in your favorite brands.

While Grocery Babu does offer health and beauty products, they don’t yet have the selection of a store like iShopIndian or Vedic Pro. But one area that Grocery Babu excels in is recipes. They have an entire directory devoted to popular Indian dishes, complete with homemade videos showing you how to make it. So if you want a place where you can not only do your shopping, but also learn how to prepare an excellent Indian dish, Grocery Babu is a great option.

5. Zifiti

Zifiti is an online Indian store with a somewhat different focus than the others in the list above. Zifiti does sell groceries, and has a decent selection of Indian spices, snacks, candies, curries, and other dishes. They even categorize their foods by the region of India that they come from, so you can find the exact foods from home.

But Zifiti also sells a broader range of Indian goods, including jewelry, art, handicrafts, and apparel. You can choose from over 8000 pieces of Indian jewelry, and even find artifacts like Ganesh sculptures. This makes Zifiti an excellent place to find more than just groceries. At Zifiti, you can shop for your favorite foods, and purchase finely-made Indian goods for your home or spouse as well.

6. Instagolocal

Instagolocal is different from the other online Indian grocery stores listed above. Rather than an online store, Instagolocal lets you order food and groceries from nearby ethnic stores. So, if you’re an Indian immigrant looking for certain kinds of Indian foods, snacks, or spices, you can go to Instagolocal’s site and search for the foods that you’re looking for. If their search engine finds any local ethnic stores selling these products, you can purchase them.

This setup gives you more flexibility of choice than a traditional online Indian grocery store. You aren’t limited to just what they offer, but the offerings of all the Indian grocery stores around you. Also, since the stores that you’re ordering from are nearby, you can grab your food instantly.

7. Indian Grocery

Indiangrocery.com is a national online Indian grocery store that emphasizes organic foods. In fact, they have a whole organic section, so you can find organic versions of your favorite Indian snacks, dishes, and spices. One helpful feature of Indiangrocery.com is that they let you search for products by brand. Many Indian immigrants shop at these sites looking for specific brands, at Indiangrocery.com you can easily find them.

Indiangrocery.com has one of the best selections of Indian staple dishes and gourmet preparations. You can get everything from frozen food and microwave dinner to fine teas and desserts. Peruse their top selling products and their newest additions if your shopping is open-ended. Unlike some of the online Indian grocery stores above, though, Indiangrocery.com does not offer recipes.

Conclusion

It’s a relief for many immigrants that they can purchase nearly all of their favorite Indian brands and products here in the US. Even popular refrigerated and frozen dinners can be shipped refrigerated and delivered right from your door. If there isn’t a high-quality brick-and-mortar Indian grocery store in your town or neighborhood, rest assured that you have a number of good online options to get the products you need.

Frank Gogol

I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.

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