Cooking from scratch and keeping a well-stocked pantry go hand in hand. Without your pantry essentials cooking from scratch can be very hard. Keeping your pantry stocked with essentials will make cooking quick and smooth. There is nothing worse than deciding what to cook only to discover that you are missing key ingredients for your dish.

Running to the store every time you go to cook is just not going to work. Most of us have busy lives and need to be able to go into our kitchens and prepare simple scratch made recipes without worry.

I have compiled a list of what I consider “essentials” for my pantry. These are items that I ALWAYS keep stocked in my pantry. Keeping these items stocked at all times makes preparing a meal easier and faster. Whether I plan out my weekly menu a head of time or decide what to make right before I cook, I know I always have these items to in my pantry.

One thing I like about these items is that they are all what I call “multi-purpose”. I hardly ever buy something that I can only use for one meal. Doing this also cuts down on your grocery bill, which right now, helps a lot.

Of course, only keep what your family eats. Think about what you eat most often and make those your essential pantry items. If you are here to learn to scratch cook, your “essential” list will probably grow as you do!

Beans/Peas

Dry/Canned beans
Dry peas

I like to keep several different types of beans. Here are a few that I like to keep on hand in my pantry.

Pinto Beans
Kidney Beans
Black Beans
Garbanzo Beans
Navy Beans
Lima Beans
Black-Eye Peas

Rice/Grains

White rice is always great to have on hand.
Barley

Tomato Products

Tomato Sauce
Tomato Paste
Diced Tomatoes

Pasta

I always have a few different shapes in my pantry like

Spaghetti
Macaroni
Rotini
Penne
Egg Noodles
Lasagna

Stocks

Chicken
Beef
Vegetable

Breadcrumbs– Breadcrumbs are quite easy to make, if you run out of what you keep in your pantry you can always make some. I put the stale bread or hotdog/hamburgers buns in the freezer before they go bad and use them for breadcrumbs or croutons when I need them.

Canned Tuna Is great to keep on hand for quick, protein packed lunches.

As well as any other canned meats that your family may enjoy.

Flours I do a lot of baking, so I keep a few different flours in my pantry. You may not need any other flour besides All-Purpose if you do not do a lot of baking.

All-Purpose
Wheat
Bread

Sweeteners

Granulated Sugar
Brown Sugar
Powdered Sugar
Honey
Maple Syrup

Cornmeal Plain, not Self-Rising

Oats

Peanut/Nut Butters

Baking Powder

Baking Soda

Dry Instant Yeast

Corn Starch

Vanilla Extract

Oils and Vinegars

Olive-A Cooking Olive Oil
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is great for making vinaigrettes.
Vegetable/Canola Oil
Coconut Oil
White Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar

Check out these posts on Spice Cabinet Essentials and Baking Essentials.

I do keep a few other flavored vinegars for cooking as well. They are great to have on hand to add additional flavor to dishes. I’ll list those here as well.

Rice Wine Vinegar
White Wine Vinegar
Champagne Vinegar
Red Wine Vinegar

Sauces– Here I have listed a few. There are so many more that are great to cook with.

Worcestershire Sauce
Soy Sauce
Barbecue Sauce

Fresh Produce

Potatoes

Russets are great all-purpose potatoes.

Onions
Lemons
Limes
Garlic

These are all essential for my pantry. This list is a great place to start and easily customizable to meet your family’s needs. I hope this list is helpful.

As I mentioned before, your pantry essentials will vary depending on what your family eats. A few staples that I keep in my pantry that I don’t have listed above are:

Tortillas, flour and soft corn

Quinoa

Coconut Milk

Fish Sauce

Thanks for stopping by!