Why You Need to Keep a Well-Stocked Pantry (+ a free gift!)

Today, I want to help you learn how to take charge of your kitchen with by creating a well-stocked pantry! I’ll share everything you need to know about setting up your pantry, fridge, and freezer to make it easy to cook every day. Keep scrolling to learn about my free printable pantry staples list that makes the whole process even easier!

Jump ahead to something specific:

Food is a lifeline

My grandparents were children during the Great Depression. I grew up hearing stories from them about that time and found it fascinating. They grew their own food? They preserved it without refrigerators?

Food is so incredibly important to our survival, for obvious reasons. It’s also a way to show love and care for ourselves and our families. Cooking can be a form of artistry and it can also be fun!

My love for cooking started very early, as you can imagine. I remember being fascinated by my Grandma’s pantry. She seemed to have everything she needed to make everything we ate. How did she know what to buy? Or know how to use it? How do you know where to store things or to tell when they’re fresh?

Those early experiences solidified a passion for cooking and a real curiosity about food. I started to realize just how important food is to us and how having a well-stocked pantry can be powerful!

Your pantry is a security blanket

Especially in the past few years, we’ve seen the stability of normal society shake. We’ve seen empty shelves in grocery stores, people being stuck without powers for days and days, folks trying to make ends meet on next to nothing, etc.

If you have a well-stocked pantry, you have an ace up your sleeve!

Especially with so much insecurity right now, I’ve become really focused on filling my pantry.

We bought our house in January 2020 right before the first cases of Coronavirus were found here in Washington. Normally, we have a fully stocked pantry all the time! We take pride in keeping a well-stocked pantry. But, we were actually rebuilding our stash at the time.

Then, I found out my teaching job would not continue into the fall. At the same time, no schools were hiring. I knew that having food in my pantry would buffer us from the stress, anxiety, and panic of financial insecurity.

Fortunately, I was rehired into my position. Still, that feeling that I needed to protect my family was really powerful.

I know that many of us are struggling right now and I want to help others develop that same sense of security for themselves by keeping a well-stocked pantry.

Beyond international pandemics, there are plenty of more positive reasons to do this!

A well-stocked pantry makes cooking from scratch easier!

Make recipes more easily

How frustrating is it when you find the perfect recipe, but you realize you’re missing _______? This happens way less often when your pantry is well-stocked.

Grocery shop faster

If I don’t know what I need for groceries, I end up wandering the store. This always means I buy random stuff I don’t need and forget the essentials!

Eat healthier

You won’t be running through the drive-thru as much when you have easy meals to make at home. You’ll notice I don’t have any processed foods like crackers, breads, or chips on this list at all. They are not part of my staples.

Plus, once your pantry is fully stocked, shopping is much easier. You just restock what is low. Doesn’t it sound nice to simplify at least one part of your life?

Enjoy cooking again

It’s easy to put dinner together quickly when you have all the ingredients for your favorite family recipes! This saves me time, stress, and money!

Save money

There are a variety of ways you save money!

• Fewer runs through the drive-thru
• Fewer grocery store impulse buys
• Only buy the basics you need
• Buy in bulk for products you use often
• Stop buying overpriced processed foods

Learn where to buy organic pantry staples online…even during a pandemic!

Our Real Food Zero Waste Pantry Philosophy

Here’s our basic approach to stocking a pantry, fridge, and freezer. Although we do not have any kids at this time, we keep a pantry stocked well enough for 4 people. I’m telling you; I like to be prepared for anything!

We focus on real, simple food. Mostly organic. Our zero waste pantry is stocked with basic ingredients, including grains, condiments, and dried beans. We do not have any processed foods on this list. Sometimes, we do like to stick a frozen pizza in the freezer for those nights when you really just can’t. Do you have those days, too?

Our pantry is low waste and working towards becoming a zero waste pantry!

This simply means that we are mindful of the packaging our food comes in. Instead of throwing unnecessary plastic into the landfills, we try to buy products directly from the farm, fill up empty jars and bags at the bulk store, and opt for paper, metal, glass, or wood packaging whenever possible.

Read: The Beginner’s Guide to Setting Up a Real Food Zero Waste Kitchen

We mix simple, nourishing foods with low-carb staples. We don’t eliminate any ingredients in our household, but we do like to eat lower carb sometimes. To do this, we also store almond flour, coconut flour, and low-carb sweeteners like erythritol.

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Are you wondering which pantry essentials you need to have on hand to cook from scratch every day? I’m about to walk you through my entire fridge, chest freezer, and pantry. Don’t fear! I’ll make it super neat and organized. 🙂

What is in a well-stocked fridge?

Fridge Contents

A well-stocked fridge should contain all the essentials for healthy and balanced meals.

I’m a big believer that the fridge should be mostly for produce, eggs, dairy, and leftovers or prepped meals. Oh, and lots of random bottles of condiments! And maybe some chilled wine… Especially in the summer, our fridge mostly holds vegetables and leftovers. 

What does a well-stocked fridge look like

My husband and I met both working in food service, so we try to use proper food handling techniques at all times. This helps make food last the longest and we can avoid cross-contamination that could cause food poisoning.

A shelf-by-shelf breakdown

Top shelf

Our top-shelf typically has 2-4 dozen eggs. Next to that, we typically have sauces, jams, yogurt, or other basic ingredients.

Middle shelf

The middle shelf typically holds our meal prep containers for the week and leftovers from previous dinners.

bottom shelf

The bottom shelf either has items we are preparing for future meals or dishes or produce. We typically have so much produce that it sort of just has to fit wherever it can!

Always store meat you are thawing in a container on the lowest shelf. This will allow you to catch any leaks and is a good food safety strategy. Always store raw meats below items like vegetables.

(If you store vegetables in a crisper drawer below your lowest shelf, just be sure to keep thawing meats in a leak-proof container.)

Crisper Drawers

The drawer on the left holds fresh fruit. We often buy a case of apples at a time and can stick almost all of them in here!

The drawer on the right holds part of your vegetable stash. Like I said before…we typically have to find spaces to keep all the vegetables. It’s a bit of a juggle!

Bonus drawers

There is a short, deep drawer below our fruit and vegetable crispers and we use that to hold butter, cheese, bacon, etc.

If we make a batch of sourdough muffins or tortillas, we often fit them in here to save space!

Important food safety tips from the USDA

• Keep your fridge below 40 degrees Fahrenheit at all times
• Your freezer should be set at 0 degrees or below
• Thaw frozen foods in your fridge, not on your counter
• Leftovers should be stored in shallow containers and should cool in the fridge
• Place raw meats in a leak-proof container on the lowest shelf
• Only keep less perishable items like condiments in fridge doors

Visit the USDA for everything you need to know about safely storing foods in the refrigerator.

Fresh Fruits & Vegetables

Out of everything in our fridge, we prioritize the meat and vegetables the most! They are the core of our daily eating habits. It is really important to choose the best produce for your health and your budget.

We try to buy as much organic produce as we can or we source from local farms. Yes, you can even buy local produce on a budget!

If you’re on a budget, you need to get the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 List from the Environmental Working Group! Each year, they publish a new list of the cleanest & dirtiest conventional crops. This is immensely helpful with the budget because you’ll know which products should be organic and which can be conventionally grown!

• Bulk carrots
• Celery
• Greens (salad and prepped cooking greens, like chopped kale)
• Broccoli & cauliflower
• Lots of seasonal produce (we love to garden)!
• Naturally fermented veggies like sauerkraut or kimchi (great for your microbiome!)

Read: Keep these veggies on hand for quick, healthy dinners

Eggs & Dairy

• Eggs (Between 2-5 dozen; they keep well so stock up!)
• Cheese (we love mozzarella for homemade pizza or a nice block of cheddar for literally everything else)
• Milk (optional; we usually only ever have some on hand to make yogurt as we sub coconut milk for it everywhere else)
• Yogurt (Either cultured at home or store-bought)

Freezer Contents

We have a chest freezer in our garage that we use to hold frozen meat, butter, and frozen berries and fruit. I always have frozen fruit around for flavoring water kefir, for baking a quick pie or crumble, and just for eating! I love eating and baking with frozen berries all year round.

• Frozen berries
• Vegetables (specifically frozen peas & riced cauliflower)
• Meat (We love to order grass-fed beef from here!)
• Butter (I buy in bulk)
• Emergency pizza (sometimes, this is the only thing that keeps me from ordering takeout!)
• Nuts (to keep them fresh)

Our Favorite Meats to Stock

Does anyone else feel exhausted having to find the best deals on meat all the time? I almost always buy meat in bulk! We try to buy the best quality meat we can on our budget, which is why we often order from Crowd Cow.

Grass-fed and pastured meats can be really expensive! We love to order from local farmers, but sometimes, that’s not practical.

Crowd Cow has enough deals and sales that we can try really high-quality meat for less. It’s such a relief having meat in my freezer whenever I want some and I can take advantage of sales anytime.

Save $100 and get free shipping on your first order at Crowd Cow!

We really focus on the cheapest cuts like ground beef and chicken thighs and add in more expensive cuts occasionally. That breaks up the routine and really helps the budget!

Beef	Pork	Chicken
Ground beef Stew meat Chuck or Pot Roast	Ground pork Tenderloin Italian sausage Breakfast sausage	Boneless thighs Chicken breast Chicken wings

Must-Have Pantry Staples

Whether you’re going zero waste or simply want to eat healthy, nourishing meals, the ingredients on my pantry staples list printable will achieve your goals! These are the things you should always have in your pantry.

Fats & Oils

Buy good quality fats and stock up! We generally use 3 fats for everything: butter, olive oil, and coconut oil. We eat refined coconut oil for zero coconut smell and easier digestibility. For cooking, we use coconut oil or butter. We like to use olive oil for delicious homemade salad dressings and for roasting vegetables.

We do not generally recommend vegetable oil, but sometimes use it as a neutral oil when baking cakes. If you bake often, you may want to keep some on hand. Otherwise, just remember to pick some up at the store if you need it for a special recipe.

• Extra virgin olive oil (look for
• Coconut oil and/or pastured lard
• Butter (stored in the freezer)
• Vegetable oil (see note above)

How to tell if you have authentic olive oil

Olive oil is so expensive, so it’s important to find the real deal! With a few simple tips, you’ll find fresh, authentic olive oil!

Look for:

• Harvest date printed on the bottle (typically a month and year)
• Under 3 years old (they go rancid after that time)
• Extra virgin label (harvested within 12-18 months)
• Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label for European olive oils
• Stored in a dark bottle

We typically look for single-origin olive oils that come from just one country instead of blends. This isn’t totally necessary; just a preference!

Does olive oil need to be organic?

Olive trees are naturally pretty hardy and are not typically sprayed with a lot of pesticides. We don’t spend extra for organic olive oil.

Essential Seasonings & Spices

We love really hearty and homey recipes and some of the best ways to achieve these are with these very basic ingredients below. I think almost every recipe we make has at least some of these ingredients! However, we often use many more for depth of flavor.

If you are just stocking your first kitchen, focus on the first list. Once you have the basics on hand, round out your pantry with the additional spices.

There are SO many spices out there! Depending on your background, you may use some more than others. We have tons of spices. But, I reduced this list to the spices I use the most to build a basic spice cupboard. Please adapt this list as needed!

Basic Spices & Seasonings

• Chicken bouillon base (we use this brand)
• Sea salt
• Pepper
• Bay leaf
• Cumin
• Cinnamon
• Garlic powder

Additional Spices

• Onion powder
• Powdered ginger
• Paprika (I love sweet, smoked paprika like this!)
• Chili powder
• Red chili flake
• Mustard powder
• Sage
• Curry powder
• Taco seasoning

Condiments

Vinegars

Hear me out – I know this is a big list of vinegar! There are so many types of vinegar in the world. Yes, it may seem weird to have FIVE different types here. They all serve a different purpose, though! We use vinegar for pickling, making salad dressings, and for cooking.

Depending on the flavor we want, I use a different type of vinegar. I especially love rice wine and red wine vinegars for adding flavor when cooking. Apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar are great for salad dressing. White vinegar is perfect for canning and pickling. It is also a wonderful substitute or booster for lemon juice when marinating lemon pepper chicken!

If you’re scrunching your nose up at me right now, I totally get it! Just stick with apple cider vinegar and balsamic.

Rice wine vinegar

Very mild for fresh, raw salads & slaws; cooks down to a nice sweetness in stir fries

Apple cider vinegar

Excellent for marinating pork and poultry, especially with mustard. Perfect for salad dressings!

White vinegar

We have used this to make an orange sauce for chicken without any oranges. So good! We also keep white vinegar on hand for cleaning or making ricotta.

Red wine vinegar

Another mild vinegar for cooking; great with beef

Balsamic vinegar

Excellent for making pot roasts, roasting vegetables, or making amazing vinaigrettes

Other Essential Condiments

• Peanut butter
• Jelly or jam (we typically have a bunch from summer canning)
• Salsa (I always keep red and green salsa on hand)
• Canned diced tomatoes
• Marinara sauce (perfect for my veggie-packed marinara bowls)
• Canned beans (skip if zero waste; just a few cans on hand for quick dinners or our quick chili)
• Canned coconut milk or coconut flakes for making homemade coconut milk
• Soy sauce or liquid aminos
• Dijon mustard (don’t skip – key to amazing vinaigrettes!)

Dry Goods

Depending on your eating style, you may want to stock all of these or none of these! We often focus on lower carb meals and will include grains occasionally, specifically quinoa, oatmeal, and brown rice. We keep small quantities of the rest on hand for special baking projects!

Grains & Flours

• All-purpose flour (you can even use this for homemade artisan-style sourdough!)
• Wheat flour
• Cornmeal
• Oatmeal
• Quinoa
• Rice
• Chia seeds
• Dried beans (garbanzo, black or kidney, lentils; we bought these ones this spring)
• Dried pasta

Read: How to Stock a Sustainable Baker’s Pantry

Baking Items

• Corn starch
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Cocoa powder
• Vanilla extract (I always make my own!)
• Yeast
• Buttermilk powder (optional, but great for making pancakes)

Sweeteners

• Brown sugar (This is the KEY to my famous butterscotch pudding pie!)
• White sugar
• Powdered sugar
• Maple syrup and/or honey (look for local honey!)
• Molasses (optional; great for making brown sugar or adding flavor to cookies)

We often eat lower carb and we find powdered erythritol to be a really great way to sweeten without the sugar hit. This is the one we often use!

Dried Fruits & Nuts

• Raisins
• Dried cranberries
• Nuts (I usually keep dry-roasted peanuts to top stir-fries and noodle bowls and sunflower seeds or almonds for salads; we keep most nuts in the freezer to keep them fresh!)

Long-Lasting Vegetables

• Bulk potatoes (Yukon Gold or Russet; always organic because they have high pesticide residue)
• Sweet potatoes (If you like them!)
• Bulk onions (red and yellow/white)
• Garlic
• Celery
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli

All of this information is all ready for you! Simply add your email below to get our free printable pantry staples list and meal planner so you can start cooking from scratch today!

Specific dietary preferences

Low carb & keto pantry staples

Sub out the all-purpose flour for almond and coconut flour and the sugar for erythritol and stevia. Remove rice, couscous, and pasta. Double up on the riced cauliflower in the freezer! For basic staples, you’ll probably want to focus on oils, fats, and nuts. Consider stocking some canned green beans and tomatoes!

Dairy-free

Skip the cheese, milk, yogurt, and cream. Substitute with plant-based milks. Our favorite is coconut milk!

Gluten-free

Swap out the pasta for your favorite gluten-free variety, like rice. Sub out the flours with gluten-free ones like rice flour, tapioca starch, or almond. Be sure your oats are processed in a gluten-free facility! Skip regular soy sauce and get the gluten-free soy sauce instead.

Vegetarian

Sub out the chicken bouillon for a vegetable base and clear your freezer of frozen meats! Consider adding some nutritional yeast flakes for a boost of flavor! Add more dried beans and quinoa!

Vegan

Remove the eggs, dairy, and frozen meat. Substitute the pasta for vegan varieties! Consider bringing in some non-dairy yogurt and some plant-based meats or increase the dried beans!

Lentils and garbanzo beans are especially great choices. You can even make vegan meringue from the liquid from cooked garbanzo beans!

Zero Waste

A zero-waste pantry is not necessarily sparse! Just because you don’t have boxes of prepackaged stuff doesn’t mean you don’t have any candy, snacks, or other tasty foods.

Instead of buying bags, pouches, or boxes of those things, you’ll try to refuse glass jars or cloth bags to avoid packaging waste.

Personally, we have more of a low-waste pantry at this time because we do get bulk bags of pantry staples in paper packaging from Azure Standard.

We are not able to find refillable options for all of the products we use, so we do our best to prioritize products packaged in glass, metal, wood, or paper instead of plastic.

Quick Healthy Dinners You Can Make from Your Pantry

We know that some nights…cooking from scratch feels impossible. We totally get it! Dinners are the trickiest meal of the day for us.

We even tried using a meal prep service before that told us exactly which groceries to buy and prep. From that experience, we finally found a meal planning solution that worked for us – the food we eat, our budget, and our pantry stocking ways!

You’ll get my pantry list template and meal planning tool! You’ll see the exact same form I use to track breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks every day of the week.

Simply list out the ingredients you need to make those dishes (after shopping from your pantry, of course!) and grocery shopping will be a breeze. See other ways to use a pantry list template here.

I also want to make sure you know our top 3, super easy low carb dinners that we make on those desperate nights when only drive-thru sounds good. They are not fancy (do they have to be?), but they do the job and we enjoy them!

Use Your Well-Stocked Pantry: Take Out at Home

Tweak your pantry contents to reflect the food you like to eat. We highly recommend stocking the basic ingredients for your favorite types of food. If you can whip up your favorite meals at home, dining out is much less tempting!

Asian Dishes

We love to eat Thai and Vietnamese food! Seriously, we could eat Vietnamese food every week! Here’s what we keep on hand for DIY takeout dishes. Plus, you can load so many great vegetables onto noodle bowls!

• Soy sauce or coconut aminos
• Fish sauce (optional, but delicious)
• Chili sauce (sriracha and/or a sweet chili sauce)
• Peanut butter
• Rice noodles
• Rice paper spring roll wrappers

Mexican Food

Taco nights are literally the fastest, easiest dinners…ever! Also, I can and have lived off nachos some summers. Some of the items you’d need are already on the list, but you may want to consider stocking or making these, too:

• Taco shells
• Soft tacos
• Tortilla chips
• Sour cream
• Canned olives
• Limes
• Salsa (red, green, etc)
• Enchilada sauce
• Shredded mozzarella

Canning & Pickling

If you want to get into canning, I recommend grabbing these ingredients at the very least. Learn where to buy produce in bulk for your preserving projects right here!

• Pickling or canning salt
• Pickle crisp (calcium chloride)
• Pectin (low sugar or regular)
• Citric acid or lemon juice
• Pickling spice

Don’t forget the canning equipment!

Keeping a well-stocked pantry takes time

I know this is a lot…but you do not need to do any of this overnight! If you add a few items to your grocery list each time, you’ll end up with a well-stocked kitchen in no time.

Or, consider using our FREE printable pantry staples list as your weekly shopping list! Print it out and highlight whichever items you need for the week. Easy peasy!

How do I use a pantry checklist?

This is a great question! My readers have shared their favorite ways to use our free printable pantry staples list.

1. Use it as a weekly grocery list

Print out a stack. Circle items you run out of during the week. Jot down any special items you need to buy. Take the list to the store!

2. Use it as a reference guide for grocery shopping

Before you get started, use the pantry staples list printable to conduct a complete pantry inventory! Check off any items you already have and circle things you need to get.

Stick the list on your fridge. When you’re making your weekly grocery list, take a look at the pantry staples list to make sure you aren’t forgetting anything!

3. Take a seasonal inventory with a pantry checklist

In this situation, you’re taking stock of your pantry every month or few months to see if there’s anything you’re missing. This is a great thing to do before you change seasons, especially before canning season or the holidays!

How to Stock a Pantry for the First Time

If you’re a total beginner at cooking from scratch, you might not have a lot of these items. The thought of buying ALL of these products probably feels overwhelming and too expensive!

Don’t worry. Our printable pantry staples list is made exactly for purposes like this. Simply add one or two items to your list each week and you’ll be stocked up in no time!

Either pick a couple of items for your list before you hit the store or take our pantry staples list with you! Check off the items you already have and keep shopping until every item is on your shelves

Easy peasy!

Where to shop for organic pantry staples

My favorite places to shop for pantry staples:

• Costco
• Trader Joe’s
• Azure Standard
• Winco
• Smart Foodservice
• Amazon

Shop for organic pantry staples at either Azure Standard or Costco! If you don’t know much about Azure Standard, it’s like an organic co-op that delivers a huge variety of produce, grains, frozen goods, and even plant starts by truck delivery.

It was a lifesaver this spring when everyone was out of flour!

Read: Azure Standard – Our Secret for an Easy Real Food Pantry

Essential Tools to Make Cooking from Scratch Easier

The right tools make the world of difference! In our free ebook The Well-Stocked Pantry, we break down our 5 favorite kitchen tools that make cooking from scratch just plain easy.

Did I miss anything? Help me know how to make this printable pantry staples list great for everyone! Comment below. 🙂

Want more real food pantry tips?

This is just the beginning!

You can join my private Facebook group Simple Sustainable Home to learn how to cook from scratch, live more sustainably, and save some money. It’s full of friendly, like-minded folks just like me and you!

Linking to:

Saturday Sparks at Pieced Pastimes
Dare to Share at Pam’s Party & Practical Tips
Silver Pennies Sundays at Finding Silver Pennies
Hearth and Soul at April J Harris