Ten Items In Your Pantry

Is your pantry stocked with everyday items that will help you put together a delicious meal? Let me show you the 10 Essential Pantry Items you should always keep stocked inside your kitchen cupboards.

There's also a great printable for you to use that will help make sure your pantry is always well-stocked.

Check out the Weekly Meal Plans available to help you get dinner on the table with your well-stocked panty.

I'm sure there are probably more than 10 Essential Pantry Items, but for this post let's talk about the most important things needed that will help you get dinner every night on the table for your family.

Did you know that with a properly stocked pantry, you can make a last minute meal for your family without having to run to the grocery store? 

You can also bake a cake, brownies or cookies at the last minute for school bake sales or football dinner. My son was famous for volunteering me to bake my Homemade Peanut Butter Brownies for a lot of school events without giving me much notice!

Make sure you check out my popular Make Ahead Freezer Meal Plan to help you put together meals your family is going to love. Along with the Pantry List Printable, don't forget to grab the Freezer Inventory Printable.

Table of Contents

• 💭Essential Pantry Items
• 💭Dried Goods:
• 💭Dried Spices:
• 💭Cheese:
• 💭Canned Goods:
• 💭Oils and Vinegars:
• 💭Condiments:
• 💭Baking Supplies:
• 💭Sweeteners:
• 💭Rice and Grains:
• 💭Nuts and Dried Fruits:
• Free Pantry List Printable
• Like this list? Check out these Cooking Tips:
• 💬 Comments

💭Essential Pantry Items

Having a well-stocked pantry is key to getting dinner on the table in no time. Stock up on staples like pasta, canned soups, broth, and really anything that can easily be turned into a meal with minimal effort.

Keep some frozen items on hand as well for days when you don't feel like going out to the store. Every night, take an inventory of what you have in your pantry and freezer to help plan meals that are both creative and budget friendly.

With a bit of organization, you'll be able to whip up delicious dinners for your family in no time!

This list is by no means complete. I'm including 10 Essential Pantry Items that I think are essential to any good organized kitchen.

Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you would include.

💭Dried Goods:

• Flour, white sugar, brown sugar, powder sugar, baking powder, baking soda, oatmeal, baking mix such as Bisquick, cereals and pancake mix.
• Also included in dried goods are breadcrumbs.

💭Dried Spices:

• Basil, parsley, Italian seasoning, garlic salt, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
• Seasoning salt that you can use for chicken or steak.

💭Cheese:

Ideally, you wouldn't keep cheese in a pantry, however, our kitchen is always stocked with cheese and other common dairy products.

• A variety of cheeses such as American, cheddar, mozzarella.
• Most cheeses freeze well, which is great.

💭Canned Goods:

• Vegetables, Soups, Fruits, Tuna Fish, Beans, Tomatoes.
• Olives, pickles, roasted red peppers, mushrooms.
• Some of these can be purchased from the store or canned from your summer garden harvest.

💭Oils and Vinegars:

• Vegetable, olive oil and non-stick cooking spray.
• Coconut oil is another popular oil to use for cooking.
• I would also include in this category, solid shortening.
• Vinegar - white, red, apple cider vinegar and balsamic.

💭Condiments:

• Mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, jams, jellies, salad dressing, barbecue sauce, salsa, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, honey.
• Peanut Butter - this is a must in our household!

💭Baking Supplies:

• Cake mixes, chocolate chips, candy melts, cocoa powder. 
• Make sure you check out my Cake Mix Baking Secrets and Printable for more great cake mix ideas.
• Yeast - I like to purchase a "brick" of yeast that lasts a very long time in the freezer.
• All-purpose flour, Pancake mix; although I use my homemade bulk pancake mix and keep it in a large mason jar in our pantry.
• Baking powder and baking soda.
• Oatmeal.

💭Sweeteners:

• Any type of sugar substitute if you use this for coffee or tea, honey, maple syrup, corn syrup.
• White sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar.

💭Rice and Grains:

• Pasta, brown rice, white rice, rolled oats, barley, dried beans.

💭Nuts and Dried Fruits:

• Grab your family's favorite for snacking and baking.
• It helps to store the nuts in the freezer to prolong the shelf life.

Free Pantry List Printable

Here's a FREE printable to help you make sure your pantry is stocked with everything you need to be able to cook delicious meals for your family.

Like this list? Check out these Cooking Tips:

• Kitchen Essentials Tools List - a collection of the kitchen tools I use every day to help me cook dinner for my family.
• Favorite Baking Tools List - here's what I like to use that help me bake delicious desserts.
• Homemade Spices - help save money by making your own homemade spices.
• Cake Mix Baking Secrets - another FUN printable too!

This recipe has been updated since it first appeared in 2012 with new photos, information and a new printable. I hope you enjoy the updates as much as I enjoyed working on them!