In my Meal Planning post I mentioned finding your staples - not only did I mean meals, but also, the items that you use all the time. We are lucky to have a lot of storage in our home, and along with the pantry cabinet and lazy susan in our kitchen, I’ve been able to turn part of one of our basement closets into pantry storage so I always have needed items on hand. I actually did this little project during the beginning of Covid lockdown because it was super hard to get in for grocery delivery, and I didn’t want to have to go to the grocery store as often as I once was. In this post, I’m going to share the things I always have on hand, and some ideas of what I make with those items!

Canned/Jarred Goods - while I know canned goods aren’t the healthiest because of all the salt, they are super easy for making quick meals.

• Beans: chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, green beans, cannellini beans - from chilis to soups to sides to burrito bowls, canned beans are super versatile. Jack LOVES beans, so I also make a bean salad that is a good snack or meal for the family.

• Corn - same as with beans, canned corn is super versatile. I most often use it when I make burrito bowls and chili.

• Tomatoes - I keep crushed and diced on hand, along with Rotel, which I use for burrito bowls or enchilada bakes. I make a mean meatball gravy with crushed tomatoes.

• Olives - just a snack, part of a charcuterie board, thrown in a salad or a Greek bowl, olives are always good to have on hand!

• Pineapple - pineapples are great addition to stir-fries.

• Artichokes - great with pastas, salads, and chicken.

• Roasted peppers - same as with artichokes.

• Coconut milk - a great addition to curries and stir-fries.

Dry Goods - these items can be bases or additions to meals

• Brown rice - base for stir fries or curries, for burrito bowls, or just as a side

• Quinoa - You can sub this for rice in any bowl, I often use it instead of rice in stuffed peppers.

• Dry chickpeas - I use dry chickpeas all the time; I make fresh hummus every week!

• Sun-dried tomatoes - Great in pastas and salads

• Spices! I have an entire cabinet just for spices because I have so many.

• Stir fry noodles - to switch it up instead of rice in a stir fry or curry

• Pasta - no explanation needed here!

• Arborio rice - making a delicious risotto is easier than imagined, and always an impressive dish.

Freezer Stash - these items can be pieces of a meal, or the whole meal!

• Chicken - boneless, skinless breasts and thighs are my go-to. You can easily make your own cutlets if you have boneless, skinless breasts.

• Pork - I keep boneless pork chops and pork tenderloins, italian sausage, kielbasa, and chorizo (sometimes you gotta mix up your burrito bowls!)

• Ground meat - tacos, chilis, pot pies, pasta…. the possibilities are endless!

• Frozen Veggies - I keep bell pepper strips, stir fry veggies, broccoli, corn, cauliflower, peas, and carrots.

• Pierogies - defrost some kielbasa and you have a whole meal with these!

• Pasta - I keep tortellini and gnocchi. You can make good soups with tortellini and freeze them, though I don’t recommend doing the same with gnocchi, they get super mushy once you defrost.

• Pizza - because sometimes you just want a break

• Salmon filets

• Shrimp - I’ve found that the uncooked is usually better that heated pre-cooked shrimp.

Condiments/Oils/Vinegars - because you always need condiments to make a good meal!

• All the oils - seriously, I have allllllll kinds of oils. EVOO, avocado oil, toasted sesame oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, coconut oil, infused olive oils….. you name it! I once read that olive oil is a condiment not a cooking oil, and I’ve tried experimenting with that mindset. I use a lot of avocado oil now, especially since it has a higher heat threshold. Vegetable oil and canola oil are good for frying and baking.

• Mustard - I have yellow mustard, spicy mustard, honey mustard, dijon, and a grain dijon that goes GREAT in chicken salad.

• Apple cider vinegar - I recently read that if your dish seems to be missing something, it’s probably acid, so add a splash of apple cider vinegar and it will probably taste better. I tried it after reading that, and my mind was blown, because it was true!

Miscellaneous - things I always have on hand that just don’t fit elsewhere

• Tofu - I love tofu! I recently scrambled it for burrito bowls, and I often bake it to throw in stir fries or pasta.

• Lemons - I use lemons SO MUCH in cooking. From the hummus I make every week to just adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to sauces, to baking it with fish.

• Onions - I use onions in almost every single meal I make.

• Eggs - Not only do I always keep hard boiled eggs in my fridge for a quick snack (lately topped with a squeeze of spicy mustard so it’s almost a deviled egg), but I use them a lot in baking, Jack eats an egg for breakfast almost every morning, and you can always easily throw a meal together with eggs.

I feel like I could go on forever with the things I always have on hand - having a well-stocked kitchen/pantry makes meal-planning and cooking SO much easier. I’ll be honest, when I first started working on my basement pantry closet, my shopping trips were a little more expensive than usual; now, however, they tend to be a little less because I often have a lot of the ingredients on hand. I spend about $250USD every two weeks on groceries, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. If I divide this by 14 days, then three meals a day, then three people, it averages out to about $2 per person, per meal, which I think is pretty good, especially considering that doesn’t take into account any toiletries, snacks, or household products I’ve bought in a shopping trip - really it comes out to less.

What are your kitchen/pantry staples? Is there anything I haven’t mentioned here that you think I should always have on hand or may have forgotten to mention? Share in the comments below!!