Have you ever come home from work full of intention and motivation to cook dinner at home, only to find an empty pantry and nothing to work with? Sometimes cooking at home sounds totally do-able, but making that extra stop at the grocery on the way home is where I lose steam. Making sure you have a few pantry staples can be that make-or-break factor between whipping up something homemade or grabbing your phone to order from Postmates, yet again.
Stock Your Kitchen: Pantry Staples
This list of pantry staples are the items that I like to keep on hand to help me whip up meals on the fly. They’re basic, versatile ingredients that are used frequently, are usually fairly inexpensive, and have a long shelf life (pantry, refrigerator, or freezer). Your personal list will take shape as you begin to cook regularly and develop favorite recipes or flavors. In the mean time, use this list as a guide for slowly building up your pantry over time. You don’t have to buy everything at once! Buy one or two items, as needed, but always check if you need to restock on these items before you do your weekly shop.
Need ideas for what to make with your pantry staples? Check out these 19 Quick and Easy Weeknight Dinners, designed specifically to use pantry staples and require little planning ahead!
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Dry Goods
Dry goods are usually the least expensive and most versatile ingredients in your kitchen. I like to buy these items from bulk bins, if possible, to cut down on packaging, and because I can buy any quantity needed. If you don’t have fancy containers to store your dry goods, don’t fret. A heavy duty zip top food storage bag will do the job. Just make sure they stay dry, cool, and away from sunlight because flavors and freshness don’t last forever.
- Flour: all-purpose, whole wheat
- Sugar: white, brown, confectioners (powdered)
- Rolled Oats
- Rice: long-grain white, brown, or jasmine rice
- Cornmeal
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Cornstarch
- Dry Beans: black, white (cannellini, navy), kidney, garbanzo
- Lentils
- Pasta
Oils, Vinegars, and Sauces
Oils, vinegars, and sauces are essential to giving life to your food. They add flavor, zing, and can be used to make a million different dressings and sauces that will liven up even the most boring meals. Again, these items are pretty basic and inexpensive, and most have an extremely long shelf life. Don’t worry yourself over buying top quality when you’re just starting out. Until you become more experienced in the kitchen and your taste develop, you may not be able to tell the difference between generic and high end. Stick to what you can afford and I promise you’ll still be able to make good food!
- Oils: vegetable or canola, extra virgin olive oil, toasted sesame oil, non-stick spray
- Vinegar: apple cider, red wine, rice, balsamic
- Soy Sauce*
- Worcestershire Sauce*
- Sriracha*
- Honey
- Mustard*: yellow, Dijon
- Mayonnaise*
- Hoisin Sauce*
- Peanut Butter*
*Refrigerate after opening
Herbs and Spices
Herbs and spices are my arsenal in the kitchen. They can turn boring, flavorless food into a drool-worthy creation. Spices have a fairly long shelf life, especially if kept in an air-tight container, away from heat and sunlight. There is no exact expiration date for herbs and spices, but a good way to determine their potency is to give them a sniff. If you can’t smell your spices, you won’t likely be able to taste them in your recipe, either. For super fresh and affordable spices, look for spices sold in bulk (this is becoming more popular in grocery stores) and check international grocery stores.
This list is highly personalized and will differ greatly depending on what kind of cuisine you like.
- Salt (fine sea salt and coarse kosher salt)
- Whole Peppercorns (with grinder – see photo above, far right)
- Basil
- Oregano
- Thyme
- Cumin
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper
- Smoked Paprika
- Cinnamon
- Curry Powder
- Chili Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Cocoa Powder
- Vanilla Extract
- Turmeric
Refrigerated Items
Obviously these ingredients don’t have as long of a shelf life as dry goods, but it’s good to keep them on hand.
- Milk: dairy or non-dairy
- Eggs (large)
- Butter
- Plain Yogurt
- Grated Parmesan
- Mayonnaise, Mustard (also listed under sauces)
- Shredded Cheese (can be kept in the freezer for long term storage)
- Tortillas (almost anything can be made into a quesadilla for a quick meal!)
Frozen Items
In lieu of trying to keep a variety of fresh vegetables on hand (keep dreamin’, Beth) I like to keep a variety of frozen vegetables on hand. Frozen vegetables are the next best thing to fresh because they don’t have any extra salt or preservatives added (make sure you’re not getting the kind that come with a sauce). They’re always there ready and waiting to be tossed into a soup, casserole, pasta dish, or even tossed onto pizza, without worry that they’ll go limp and begin to stink up the fridge.
- Spinach
- Broccoli Florets
- Fruit: blueberries, strawberries, peaches
- Shelled Edamame
- Corn Kernels
I also like to make sure I have a little meat stashed in my fridge for quick meals. When I encounter meat sales, I stock up and stash the goods in my freezer for later.
Canned Goods
I don’t use canned goods often, but they’re extremely convenient and usually fairly inexpensive, so they can certainly be a life saver. I try to stick to canned goods with as little additives as possible.
- Tomatoes: paste, diced, sauce, crushed/puréed
- Beans: black, kidney, white, garbanzo
- Pumpkin Purée
- Pasta Sauce (for when there’s no time to make your own)
- Coconut Milk
- Soup Base: I used Better Than Bouillon, chicken, beef, and vegetable. Refrigerate after opening.
So there you have it—my most valuable pantry staples that I rely on to get me through busy days and last minute meal requests. What about you? What have I forgotten? What ingredient can you not live without having on hand at all times?
Share yours in the comments below!
Post originally published 11-19-14, updated 7-5-18.
Beth, you have taught me so well over the years that I have almost everything on the list :) You’re the best and have made my cooking life fun and easy!!
My freezer is full. Buy in bulk [when possible] .. separate and freeze. Vidalia onions – slice thinly or shave and store in containers in the freezer.
Tomatoes .. cube and put in ice trays .. when frozen, pop them into a freezer bag. Use as needed. Do the ice cube tray thing with any leftovers to put in soup or stew .. My husband likes grilled chicken on his lunch salad .. bulk buy .. marinate in Mojo Crillo overnight or a couple of days .. grill on my George Foreman .. left cool to handle .. cut into cubes with kitchen shears and place on waxed paper lined pizza pan .. usually have layers – each separate .. cover and freeze. When frozen, put in freezer bags .. can remove as much or as little as needed. Even do coffee in ice cube trays .. freeze and pop into freezer bags. Makes great cold drinks. Thanks for all the sharing.
I have all except pumpkin (we don’t like the taste). I also h and dried fruit. ave quite a few more spices. I keep frozen chopped onions, bell peppers, celery packed in small quantities in the freezer. We have a several varieties of canned fruit. Having grown up on a farm, I feel like we are out of food if the cupboards and freezer aren’t full.
I have started buying a whole bunch of celery, washing it and slicing it all in the food processor then putting it into little freezer bags in portions I’d use for soup and stews etc.. It’ll keep in the freezer for a long time and works out so much cheaper than buying it by the stick or half bunch. I keep fresh young ginger whole in there too and grate it while frozen with skin on straight into my cooking so I don’t waste any.
Fish, seafood, algae, (like Nori)
I have almost everything on your list except for canned pumpkin puree (caused we finished it). We have a ton of spices plus canned salmon, tuna, canned soups – cream of tomato, cream of mushroom, instant mashed potatoes, minced garlic, fish sauce, frozen peppers, and jarred salsa. I am also trying to hold off on buying fresh produce until I need it because then I forget about it and it goes bad.
For those with freezer space who may not get to their cheese and butter in time, you can freeze them. If there is a good sale on either of those I’ll put the extra in the freezer.
Great staples!
I am surprised you don’t have pickles or olives listed. Pickles for sure are a multi-usage item that’ll last forever even opened. I use pickles juice in place of an acid in my cooking and garlic dill pickle juice makes a very tasty vinaigrette for a salad. I put a dash or two in all my soups, home made or canned from the store. Once you do it you’ll be hooked too. And Olives, the brine from green olives is a good salt substitute for a meatless sauce substitute replacing Fish sauce and the wrosishtrie . . . what ever . . .the “W” British sauce, in recipes.
I am forever perplexed as to why Olive brine doesn’t wind up in Vegetarian/ Vegan recipes.
Parsley is another one. I use it in almost everything. I’ll leave you with one other thing . . . MSG. Yes . . the evil MSG. Let me be the first to tell you folks . . DON’T GO BY THE GOVERNMENT . . . . MSG is a flavor enhancer! It’s been used in Asia from 1000’s of years and MSG is made from . . . . drum roll . . .
Soya beans! So if you eat soy sauce you can eat MSG. MSG has 30% less sodium than salt so its good for low salt diets. But don’t take my word for it . . go and “Bing” it. MSG is also a meat tenderizer sold under brands such as Accent. Anyway,
I love your approach to cooking in general Madam. We all should adopt a like way in our thinking. Very well done.
Am so lucky as my large Pantry is bursting to the seams but have you notice that when ever you see some delicious recipe you just want to create it doesn’t matter how many spices on the shelves (in my case, many passed their sell by date) you never got the one required in the recipe. Oh well that’s life.
Great lists Beth! I have almost everything on it but do need to refresh some of the items soon. A good reminder to go through them. I don’t like a lot of the spice heat you have in stock, but as you said it is a personal choice. In my canned pantry, I also keep canned mushrooms, artichokes, saurkraut, tuna, sardines, clams, smoked oysters, Spam (yes, I like it!) As others have said I also keep pineapple, mandarin oranges, and peaches. I add some saltine crackers to my dry goods list. One reason for some of the canned goods is for winter power outages. Not the big emergency kit but for a snack when the power is out for 5 hours or so at dinnertime. I really need to work on my supply of veggies in the freezer. Thanks for all the great posts and recipes.
Great idea for the emergency stash!
Oh wow. I’m pretty sure that I’ve got pretty much everything that you’ve listed! I don’t usually buy the jarred pasta sauce, but when I make it from scratch (since I always have tomato sauce in the pantry) I make extra and stick it in the freezer. I do the same for enchilada sauce. We keep both canned and dry beans in the pantry. I also grow herbs like oregano, thyme, and basil and dry them to use all year. I’ve got a huge garden where I grow lettuce, Brussels sprouts (we eat both the sprouts and the leaves) and other veggies like peas, kohlrabi, carrots, and squash. I keep potatoes and carrots in the house at all times and usually have peas and carrots, edamame, cauliflower, and spinach in the freezer.
My freezer vegetable staples: corn, peas, carrots, edamame, Lima beans, multi vegetable assortment, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, butternut Squash & Zucchini. I have to buy Low Sodium everything, I keep LS Beef,
Chicken, & Vegetable Broths & Very LS Vegan stock base (Amazon). I have a stock of herb & veg pastes in the fridge Parley, Cilantro, Ginger, Lemongrass, Thyme, & Basil ( fresh don’t keep long enough). Every Herb & Spice,
I can find ( I use Amazon, cheaper & more variety,) I add dried coconut milk, also stock Boxes of Almond, Soy &
Almond/Coconut Milks by the case (Amazon) boxed Tofu by the case from Amazon. For canned goods the Tomato Paste, Diced Plain, with jalapeño spicy & Mild, canned Jalapeños, canned mushrooms, bamboo shoot,
Water Chestnuts, Beansprouts, Pineapple In Juice,Mandarins in juice. You didn’t mention fresh produce, Potatoes, Onions, Celery, Carrots, Kale, Acorn Squashes, Zucchini, Green & Red Bell Peppers, Apples, Avocados, Lemons, Limes & Bananas. I can’t have Tap water because of an allergy to an additive, So Spring Water. I use Lite Olive Oil for Vegetable Oil, EVOO, Rice, Cider, & Balsamic Vinegar. Non Dairy Yogurt( Soy & Coconut),. We get grass fed meat from a CSA cheaper than the market. Whole Wheat Pastry & regular whole wheat, granulated cane sugar (pale brown & tasty) I make our own salad dressings, add Dijon mustard to the list, we make our own spaghetti sauce from LS Purée & Paste plus carrots & herbs. I read every label before buying, formulas change & sugar, salt, & excess fat are verboten.. I’m allergic to cow dairy so imported Romano from sheep’s milk instead of Parmesan, & goats milk cheeses. We use cheese as a condiment only..I use flour over cornstarch as much as possible. I do use eggs & unsalted butter ( butter doesn’t bother me, but hasn’t much casein anyhow). Coconut Oil as well but fats are very limited. I drink Iced Tea, Water, Coconut Water, Spring Water, & occasionally seltzer, no diet sweeteners allowed. It takes time to build a pantry that has everything you need, I learned from my Mother & learned to write everything running low on an ongoing list. It is the best way to prevent running out. I also learned how to substitute for anything I don’t have & keep a list of new subs I find. Final necessities Lemon, Lime, & Pineapple Juice & Frozen OJ. These juices brighten things & can cover the lack of salt ( my Kidneys & Hypertension don’t allow it). My Hubs Christmas present last year was a lazy Susan filled with every hot sauce & seasoning from every cuisine I could find. He loves the heat & I can’t have it. We do 2 level seasoning, first for me, then for him.1 other Item I find useful is mild salsa, I buy fresh, but a bottle on the shelf makes good Mexican Spaghetti with a can of tomato purée.. That’s another country, I stock WW & WG Pastas, also wide egg noodles, as well as brown rice, Brown basmati, Brown Jasmine & Glutinous Rice. Wild rice too. And a 15 bean dried mix from Goya, all these from Amazon. We do drink coffee & both green & herbal teas.
Do you have produce staples?
In addition to the frozen produce items I listed, I usually have fresh green onions, parsley, cilantro, onions, and garlic on hand because I use them in just about everything. Besides that, I buy fresh produce as needed based on the recipes I have planned, so nothing goes to waste. :)
This is what I do as well! I like to buy things as needed.
I use quite a lot of spices. Since I live far from most stores I use Mountain Rose Herbs online. I save for a couple of bulk orders a year it saves a ton of money. Also MYO seasonings help a-lot.
Hello!
I can’t find anywhere a recipe for supper.
Here in Poland we eat kind of like a midnight-snack/meal.
As a mom, I can’t find anything good to make my kids.
Please make some midnight snacks! We usually make chocolate pancakes, or something on bread. (Like ham on bread, cream cheese…)
please, please, please figure something out!!!!
Sincerely,
Big fan of yours, Nicole.
Make Avacado Toast and maybe slice a hard boiled egg on it. Delicious!
We used to have cubed cheese and sliced apple for supper
Late night snack: Toast bread – anything you like, but especially white, pumpernickel, or rye. Make a sandwich with 1 slice ham, 1 slice cheese, and 4 slices, or pieces, of sweet pickle. Add mayonnaise or mustard also if you prefer.
Two other ideas:
Make a tuna salad with canned tuna, a little mayonnaise, and sweet pickle relish. Spread on lettuce leaves and rollup (can also spread on bread). Another alternative would be to make an egg salad with chopped boiled eggs mixed with mustard and mayonnaise, a little Himalayan salt and cracked black pepper. Spread this mixture on lettuce leaves, rolled up, or toasted bread. Best wishes to you.
Nicole we keep sliced deli meats and cheese on hand for this. My girls (age 3 and 6) will almost never turn down salami, cheese and a pickle!
I have every thing you mentioned in your pantry list except eggs because I am a strict vegetarian and do not eat eggs. I don’ t have problems with dairy. I just like to have new recipes and hence I was attracted after seeing few recipes of yours and very much looking forward to your recipes on a regular basis.