More Collections: 3 Ingredient Recipes, 5 Ingredient Recipes, Easy Dinner Ideas
We Love Easy!
Pantry staple recipes come in handy during weeks when the budget is tight, or in cases of emergency where you can’t get to a grocery store (or there isn’t much at the store). Why we love pantry staple recipes:
Waste not. It’s the best way to go through all of your groceries rather than just acquiring more than you need and letting stuff expire. Flavor. None of these recipes skimp on flavor! They are all delicious. Meal planning. Using pantry staples also gives you the chance to be creative with your meal planning!
What kinds of food to keep in the pantry?
“Pantry” refers to a food storage area in the home that is at room temperature such as a kitchen pantry, a closet, or a cupboard. Any items that do not need to be refrigerated or frozen can be stored in the pantry. This includes, but isn’t limited to items like:
dried, dehydrated, and freeze-dried food and spices unopened canned goods like fruits, vegetables, soups, beans, or meats oils, shortening, vinegar unopened condiments, sauces, and jams nuts, nut butter, and peanut butter unopened bottles of water, juice, and some milk (almond or coconut milk) cereal, oats, crackers, cookies, pasta dried beans, lentils, rice, grains
THIS POST has a more comprehensive printable list of pantry staples! Be sure to check it out!!
A Good Process to Follow
When stocking up your pantry use the following tips:
Easy Pantry Dinner Ideas
If you need a quick dinner, don’t have time to run to the store, or are working to stick to a budget, these easy dinner ideas are for you! They all use pantry staples, and all are delicious.
Dried/dehydrated. A prime example of this is beef jerky. Freeze-dried. Add a little water to revive it and use it in any recipe requiring cooked meat. Canned. Tuna and chicken are often on my grocery list, but you can also buy canned beef, SPAM, crab meat, chunk ham, sardines, salmon, or Vienna sausage. Canned meat can last for 2-5 years before losing nutritional value. It is often safe to eat for longer but use caution. Bottled. I like bottled chicken and beef best. They are easy to use in stews, casseroles, and even for pulled BBQ sandwiches. I once tried to bottle ground beef but didn’t care for the texture. Home-bottled meat can safely last for 1-2 years. Use caution when consuming after.
DON’T STORE FOOD YOU ARE NOT GOING TO EAT! How much of each item. Make a list of pantry staples used in 2 weeks, then multiply it depending on how much you want to have stored. I try to have a 3 month supply on hand of daily pantry staples. Build up your supply slowly. Not only is this easier on the pocketbook, but it helps naturally rotate the food. If you spread out purchases, the use-by dates will also be spread out. Have a master list of what you have and where it is kept. When you use or open an item add it to your next grocery trip so it can quickly be replaced and your list is kept up to date. Label. Use a permanent marker and write the expiration/”best by” date in a visible place. This will make it easier to identify which items need to be used first. Implement a rotation tool like a Can Tracker or even by hand by placing recently purchased food items behind similar older items. Store long-term food buckets in the back of the pantry and place food items you will be rotating through regularly in the front. Long term food storage can also be stored in other areas of the house while day-to-day food storage can be kept in the kitchen area.
More Pantry Staple Recipes
These breads and sides are made with simple ingredients that you most likely already have on hand!
Pantry Desserts
Don’t forget the treats! Many desserts use common ingredients that are always on hand and ready for baking when the craving hits.
Taco In A Bowl!
Who doesn’t love tacos?! Now you can enjoy our favorite Mexican dish in soup form with this Taco Soup recipe. This easy Taco Soup is one I make more often during the winter when it’s cooler, but is also still great all year long! Here is the recipe:
Recipes you Have on Hand!
You will be amazed at the tasty, easy dishes you will be able to whip up with ingredients that you already have on hand. This is sure to be a list that you will come back to again and again! More Collections: Healthy Dinner Ideas, Crock Pot Dinner Ideas, Dinner Ideas for Kids
