I’ve had an increase in requests for pantry staple recipes over the past week, mostly due to fears over the need for social isolation and possible shortages in the food supply. Whether this situation gets to that level or not, I figured it was a good idea to round up some pantry recipes because they are also useful for people who aren’t able to get to the grocery store often, or those who just prefer to shop less often. Use the printable grocery list below to keep the ingredients stocked for these 15 recipes, and you’ll always have something ready to cook no matter the situation!
What is a Pantry Recipe?
There are a lot of different opinions about what counts as a “pantry recipe” so I’m going to quickly define my criteria here. I’ve chosen to include recipes that call for pantry staples: room temperature stable ingredients and frozen or freezable foods. This allows more variety of ingredients (and vegetables!) while keeping a long storage life for the ingredients. Because of that, this recipe list is most useful for situations where electricity is still running, but fresh ingredients may not be easily accessible.
What Ingredients are Included in This Emergency Plan:
The recipes in this roundup include ingredients in these three categories:
- Shelf stable at room temperature: oils, vinegars, flour, sugar, spices, herbs, rice, pasta, beans, and canned goods
- Frozen goods: frozen vegetables
- Fresh items that can be stored frozen: meat, cheese, butter, onions, ginger, jalapeños, and garlic
Freezing Fresh Pantry Staple Ingredients
Here are some general tips for freezing fresh items to extend their storage life:
Onions: dice the onions, separate them into 1 cup portions (about one onion-worth), and freeze in quart-sized freezer bags. Frozen onions can be added to most recipes straight from the freezer. For green onions, simply slice and place in a freezer bag, or empty jar, then stash in the freezer.
Jalapeños: Slice, freeze flat on a baking sheet covered in parchment, then transfer to a freezer bag once solid.
Garlic: peel and freeze in freezer bags. The garlic’s appearance will change slightly after thawing, but the flavor will still be great.
Ginger: Wash the ginger well, then freeze in a freezer bag. The frozen ginger can be easily grated into your recipe using a small-holed cheese grater, while still frozen, no need to peel. If you prefer to peel your ginger, simply peel before freezing.
Cheese: Cheese can be frozen either in block form or shredded. Make sure to wrap tightly to reduce air exposure.
Meat: I prefer to divide meat into ½ lb. portions before freezing, since most of my recipes use about ½ pound of meat per recipe. Again, make sure to wrap tightly to prevent air exposure, which leads to freezer burn.
And always, always label and date everything you put into the freezer! :)
How Long Will The Ingredients and Recipes Last?
Because these recipes include some frozen goods, the minimum amount of time the ingredients can be stored before using is about 3 months. After that amount of time frozen ingredients slowly dry out, but may remain usable. For a more detailed list of the recommended freezer storage time is for different foods, check out this Refrigerator and Freezer Storage Chart from the FDA.
This pantry recipe list includes 15 recipes, so depending on how often you cook and how many people you’re feeding, purchasing all the ingredients in the list can last you for two weeks or more. For a single person who may only need to cook once every few days, stocking these ingredients can feed you for a month or more.
Notes About the Recipes
Next to each recipe, I’ll include notes about what ingredients, if any, to substitute in order to make this a “pantry recipe”. I’ll also indicate recipes that make freezer-friendly leftovers with an asterisk, so you can further stock your freezer and delay your next shopping trip.
Pantry Staple Recipes:
>>Click here to download the grocery list<<
One Pot Chili Pasta
One Pot Chili Pasta* or Cheesy Vegetarian Chili Mac* – These two recipes are essentially the same, one containing beef, the other containing extra beans. They meal prep well and freeze well for later!
Poor Man's Burrito Bowls
Poor Man’s Burrito Bowls* – Rice, beans, salsa, and cheese is one of my favorite pantry meals. It’s so incredibly simple, yet it never gets old. There is a lot of room for customization here, as well. So check the post for a list of other ingredients you can add, if you have them on hand.
Red Lentil and Pumpkin Soup
Curried Red Lentil and Pumpkin Soup* – This incredibly simple soup only requires a few ingredients, yet it still has big flavor. Serve with crackers or homemade bread (recipe below).
One Pot Cheeseburger Pasta
Skillet Cheeseburger Pasta* – Stretch a half pound of ground beef over four servings of this classic American comfort food.
Skillet Pineapple BBQ Chicken
Skillet Pineapple BBQ Chicken – Serve over a bed of rice for an easy and quick meal. If you want more green, you can also serve it up with a size of oven roasted frozen broccoli.
The Best Weeknight Pasta Sauce
Weeknight Pasta Sauce* + Spaghetti – Nothing is more comforting than a big plate of pasta, and this simple sauce is incredibly easy. If you’re looking for a vegetarian version, check out my 5-Ingredient Butter Tomato Sauce.
Homemade Chili Recipe
Simple Homemade Chili* – A lot of options for variations listed in the blog post. You can either make your own homemade chili seasoning (included in this recipe) or use a packet of store-bought seasoning if you don’t have a well stocked spiced cabinet.
Sweet Chili Chicken Stir Fry Bowls
Sweet Chili Chicken Stir Fry Bowls – Use frozen broccoli florets in place of fresh. You can use regular white rice in place of jasmine, if you prefer. Use either a store-bought sweet chili sauce, or make a homemade sweet chili sauce.
Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala
Cauliflower and Chickpea Masala – Substitute the heavy cream with full-fat canned coconut milk, and serve over rice.
One Pot Teriyaki Chicken and Rice
One Pot Teriyaki Chicken and Rice* – Frozen stir fry vegetables make this recipe not only easy, but totally pantry ready!
Easy Rosemary Garlic White Bean Soup
Easy Rosemary Garlic White Bean Soup* – Canned beans for the win! Serve with homemade focaccia rolls listed below.
Garlic Noodles with Beef and Broccoli
Garlic Noodles with Beef and Broccoli – If you can’t get out to pick up your favorite take out, make it at home! This easy and indulgent noodle stir fry will give you your fix.
Easy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili* – If you don’t have a slow cooker, let the chili simmer over low heat for one hour on the stove top, or until the chicken is shreddable.
Turkey Taco Skillet
Turkey Taco Skillet* – Serve witch corn tortillas (freezable) and shredded cheese.
And in case you want some bread to serve with your soups or chilis:
No-Knead Focaccia Rolls
No Knead Focaccia Rolls – the overnight fermentation means you don’t have to spend a lot of time or effort kneading this dough by hand!
If you enjoyed this list of recipes with the pre-made grocery list, make sure to check out the Budget Bytes Meal Plans!
Thank you for this list! I’ve just realized my biggest problem now is that all my frozen meat is in too-large packages…1 lb instead of half pound burger, whole roasts instead of half roasts.. There are just two of us and we eat way too much meat! lol! Do you think it would be okay to thaw, then re-freeze in smaller portions? I’m not sure how else I’m going to stretch the meat the way I want to…
Hi Melanie! Yes the “U. S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) advises: Once food is thawed in the refrigerator, it is safe to refreeze it without cooking, although there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing.” Thaw the roast in your refrigerator until you can safely cut it. Then refreeze what you don’t use. :)
Thank you Beth. This is a great list. I love your recipes.
Beth, you and your team just plain ROCK! Thanks for list. This goes SO nicely next to my 4 Budget Bytes meal plans :-)
I can’t tell you how much this post helped me! I have three kids and when it was announced that their school was going to be closed for three weeks, I panicked. Until I remembered your blog post. I quickly printed out your grocery list and was able to get everything! While others at the grocery store where getting frozen pizza and butter, I was organized and getting all that we needed. Everything I have ever made on your site has been delicious, so I am positive we will be happy for the two weeks with these meals. You are a life safer!!
Your Pork and Peanut Dragon Noodles are our main pantry staple. We ALWAYS keep those ingredients on hand!
This list is awesome. Thanks very much :)
THANK YOU for this GREAT post in these crazy times!!!
You are brilliant
Beth, I’m a long time reader (since 2009, I think!!!!) and we love your recipes. You’ve kept us eating well since our poor years of grad school and now with 4 kids, but I’ve never commented before. This is such an important post and I wanted to thank you for making this meal plan and grocery list available to everyone for free! Keep up the good work. People think I’m a good cook, but it’s only because I follow your recipes every time! Cheers!
I think most of us also have some freezer space, plus fridge and pantry room for long life vegetables such as onions, carrots, and potatoes. I don’t have a separate freezer, but my fridge has a relatively large one. We are a family of 2, and a couple of weeks ago I bought large packages of boneless chicken breast–$1.69 a lb–and froze them in single breast packages. About the same time, I picked up a whole pork loin and trimmed and cut that, too, freezing in single meal portions. Likewise I purchased a pack of 6 when I saw sirloin strip steaks in family packs for $5.99–too lean to be great if fried up for a steak dinner, but really nice for stir fries, soups, etc.–one of them made one of the best Chinese stir fried pepper steak I have ever made–tender and delicious. That steak is going to show up again in Beth’s Garlic Noodles with Beef and Broccoli. I also stocked up on a few extra bags of frozen veggies and fruits, and put bacon and some sandwich buns in the freezer. Our recent “pantry” meals have included Chicken Parmesan, Chinese Pepper steak, bean soup ( dried beans are a lead pipe cinch with a pressure cooker), and Chicken Tikka Masala. Some additional pantry items include yeast, extra flour and sugar, a box of raisins, shelf stable milk (expensive) and oatmeal.
good tips! Also, MILK (as in regular cow’s milk) can be frozen, too. I have never had a problem with paper cartons ripping in the freezer and it is exactly the same when it’s thawed out; there’s no change in flavor or texture.
Thank you for this list. I always try to have things on hand, especially living up north in the winter, but hadn’t thought of freezing things like cheese and jalapenos. I am planning freezer and canned food meals now. A bulk buy at the store maybe a rough price to swallow but considering the benefit..it is worth it. Best part is that even if things don’t get to bad you still have plenty in the freezer and less prep later on :)
Thanks for this wonderful compilation post.
Also, I am compelled to point out this excellent typo:
“Turkey Taco Skillet* – Serve witch corn tortillas (freezable) and shredded cheese.”
I want to try WITCH CORN tortillas! Sounds dangerous!
Me too !!!
LOL
Thank you so much for this! :) When I realize it would be wise to have some extra pantry staples around I automatically picked up extra beans for your chili and crushed tomatoes/tomato paste for your herb tomato soup! I love that there are some recipes I haven’t tried in here-I’ll be picking them up!
Thank for the great list. You’re so kind and wise