Take a look at your pantry. Do you have the everyday ingredients you need to pull together a quick meal? These 10 essential pantry items are staples I like to keep stocked in my kitchen cupboards so dinner can come together with minimal effort.
I’ve also included a free printable checklist you can use to help keep your pantry organized and well stocked.
Check out the Weekly Meal Plans available to help you get dinner on the table with your well-stocked panty.
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This recipe has been updated since it first appeared in 2012 with new photos, information and a new printable.
At-A-Glance
Quick pantry staples: Highlights everyday ingredients that help you prepare simple meals without an extra trip to the store.
Time-saving meal prep: Keeping these items on hand makes it easier to pull together breakfast, lunch, or dinner quickly.
Flexible cooking options: Pantry basics work across many recipes, from soups and casseroles to quick skillet meals.
Beginner-friendly list: Helpful for stocking a first kitchen or refreshing an existing pantry.
Budget-conscious cooking: Shelf-stable ingredients help stretch grocery dollars and reduce food waste.
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
Pantry Staples Every Home Cook Should Keep on Hand
A well-stocked pantry makes it much easier to get dinner on the table without extra trips to the store. Keeping a few dependable staples like pasta, canned soups, broth, and other shelf-stable ingredients on hand means you can pull together a quick meal with very little effort.
It also helps to keep a few frozen ingredients in the freezer for nights when cooking needs to be simple. Before planning dinner, take a quick look at what you already have in your pantry and freezer. Using ingredients you already own makes meal planning easier and helps keep grocery costs down.
With a little organization and a few reliable basics, preparing a family dinner becomes much more manageable on busy weeknights.
The list below is not meant to cover every possible ingredient, but it includes 10 pantry staples that are helpful for building an organized and well-stocked 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.
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!
Elena says
All Purpose Flour, I also use better for bread flour and tortilla flour a lot too.
Fiona says
Always try and have eggs
in the fridge and also some boneless chicken breasts in the freezer.
Great list ♥
Country Whispers says
Just a few more staples that I always have on hand are eggs, frozen or canned fruit and veggies, potatoes, rice and chocolate chips.
Jill says
Fantastic list! I don't know that I could add anything more.
Paula says
This is a GREAT list. And YES, I dream of having a pantry like this!
For #9, I always try to have butter Pam (for baking) and olive oil Pam for sauteing (sp). I also love garlic Pam, but it sometimes hard to find.
For #8, I always have Old Bay seasoning, traditionally used for seafood but, I also like it on chicken, in soups and in my tuna salad. I also have Goya brand Adobo w/pepper and Sazon Accent, not only because this is a half Latin home but they both have so many useful ingredients that it's like "one stop" shopping.
For #7, Just a note, although buying shredded cheeses can make life easier, I started shredding my own when I realized that they toss the cheese in cellulose (basically saw dust) to keep it from sticking together.
For #6, I love my tomato paste in a tube, it may cost a little more but I have never had a recipe where I needed the whole can.
For #3, Progresso has a panko that is Italian seasoned and I love it!
For #2, I'm with ya Lois, I stock up whenever I can and I keep salted and unsalted in the house. I like to use unsalted whenever I'm baking.
And For my #1, CHOCOLATE! I must always have chocolate in house. Chips & bars. Hope this helps 🙂
Lindsey says
Vinegars (white, white wine, red, balsamic), soy sauce, flour, old-fashioned rolled oats, hot sauce, quinoa, a variety of dried beans.
Angie says
Soup base (beef, chicken, pork), onions,oatmeal,.....I agree with one of the other comments, the list could go on and on...
allisamazing says
Crackers, Salad Dressing, Croutons! The list could go on and on and I sure would love a pantry like the first picture 🙂
Miss Debbie says
Vanilla, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup,and lemon juice. Best wishes to your friend as she begins this new adventure!
Michelle says
Great list! trying to think of some more, lots of herbs and spices, condensed milk, coconut milk, there are lots of pantry essential lists online that are worth checking out 🙂