Handy Pantry Staples to Keep in Stock
Food prices seem to keep going up, so storing staples in your pantry to save money makes perfect sense. They’ll always be there when you need something to complete a particular dish — even if it’s something simple. Here are the best pantry staples you should keep in your kitchen.
It’s frustrating when you need a specific item from your pantry while preparing a meal and discover it’s not there. The time and expense of finding a replacement are unnecessary if you keep staples on hand for times like this.
Here are handy pantry staples to have on hand — add to your shopping list when you notice you’re running low.
Tinned Goods
You can never go wrong with tinned items that can serve as the base of various meals.
- Fruit: Peaches, pears, pineapples, cocktail cherries, fruit cocktails, and mandarin segments all last well and make for easy pantry storage. Adding your choice of tomato paste or diced tomatoes to your staples makes sense for emergencies.
- Vegetables: Baked, butter, black or kidney beans are healthy pantry additions. A tin of sweetcorn, vegetable curry, mushy or garden peas, baby carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms make great emergency items. What about a can of pumpkin puree?
- Meats: Depending on your preference, having a few tins of meat products on hand can be used for quick Sunday evening meals or sandwiches for the kids. Consider corned or minced beef, meatballs, canned ham, chopped pork and curried chicken as pantry options. A tin of chicken liver pate contains healthy nutrients and provides a tasty alternative.
- Fish: If you’re a seafood lover, canned tuna, mackerel, sardines, anchovies and octopus can all complete a salad or provide a quick meal idea. Smoked oysters or mussels go well with sundowners before a main course.
Herbs and Spices
Basic seasonings can make a bland meal better. Keep these vital ingredients on hand.
- Salt: Keeping your choice of salts stocked means never suddenly running out. Table salt, fine sea salt, and coarse kosher or Himalayan salt are all used for cooking.
- Pepper: Pepper can pump up any meal, whether you enjoy grinding black peppercorns into your cooking or onto your meals or prefer ground black and white pepper for adding flavour. Crushed red pepper and cayenne pepper are also standard spicing options to consider.
- Herbs: Oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, cumin, turmeric and paprika flavour your cooking and are all excellent pizza ingredients or toppings. Your food won’t taste as good if you’ve neglected to keep pantry stock of these.
- Powders: If you’re a spicy food lover, where would you be without curry and chilli powder? Garlic powder is also great to have on hand if you run out of fresh stuff or don’t have time to crush it.
- Extracts: Vanilla, ginseng and garlic extracts have separate but important cooking, baking and flavouring uses.
Dry Foodstuffs
Remember to stock up on these meal-makers so you can bake up everything from pancakes to stir-fries.
- Flour: All-purpose and self-raising flour is essential to stock as pantry staples.
- Sugar: Even if you don’t use it, access to white or brown sugar helps when you have guests who do.
- Coffee and tea: Besides the popular Yorkshire tea, Rooibos and chamomile are healthy alternatives for herbal tea lovers. You might be a caffeine fan, so having freshly roasted coffee beans, ground coffee and a good instant in the pantry means you won’t ever run out.
- Cereals: Oats or other porridge, Weetabix, cornflakes, bran flakes, and Rice Krispies are popular quick breakfast choices for kids and adults alike. You might also have some muesli in your pantry, which you can occasionally pop in a bowl of yoghurt.
- Rice: It always makes sense to have extra rice in the pantry. Basmati, jasmine, and white or brown rice are popular options, depending on your preference.
- Pasta: Who doesn’t enjoy a freshly made pasta meal? Keep spaghetti, macaroni and lasagne strips available for when that craving hits.
Liquid Foodstuffs
Cooking oils and flavorful sauces make meal prep a snap. Be sure to stock your shelves with these staples.
- Oils: Whether you prefer sunflower or canola oil, you should stock at least one in addition to a good olive oil.
- Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar has many uses, and red wine and balsamic vinegar are helpful for cooking. Spirit vinegar is wonderful for cleaning things like your air fryer and counters.
- Condiments and sauces: Consider keeping sriracha, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sauce, tomato sauce, mint sauce and peri-peri sauce. Depending on your taste, the list is endless.
Remember to Stock Next Time You Shop
A pantry stocked with staples makes a real difference. You can be ready for unexpected occasions at home by filling your grocery cart with these items. It helps whether you are preparing a meal on impulse or craving something sweet or savoury. It also saves you money in the long run, and who doesn’t like that?
