Here are 50+ cheap recipes made with pantry staples like eggs, oats, canned foods, frozen vegetables, and other common fridge, freezer, and pantry items

5 Tips For Spring Cleaning Your Budget: Inventory your pantry. Click through for all 5 tips!

Pantry staples doesn’t sound very appetizing, does it? 

But I’m here to tell you that you can make some very delicious meals and snacks with common items you have stocked in your cupboards, pantry, fridge or freezer.

You just need the right recipes.

What Are Pantry Staples?

First, let’s define pantry staples.

Pantry staples are foods that store well, and can be used in a variety of ways. They typically have a long shelf life, so there’s no rush to use them – hence, they keep well in your pantry.

Here are some examples:

  • Pasta
  • Canned beans
  • Canned tuna
  • Canned tomatoes
  • Potatoes
  • Eggs
  • Peanut butter
  • Nuts
  • Lentils
  • Oatmeal
  • Oils
  • Spices
  • Vegetable, beef, or chicken stock (or bouillon cubes)
  • Meat (ground meats and sausage freeze well and are very versatile)
  • Baking essentials: Flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder

If you stock your kitchen with a variety of pantry staples, there are so many things you can make: Soups, stews, pasta dishes, egg dishes, casseroles, etc.

 

Here are a variety of recipes that make delicious use out of pantry staples.

Cooking with freezer pantry staples: Get 50+ cheap recipe ideas.

Breakfasts Made With Pantry Staples

Start your day off with a breakfast made from simple ingredients like eggs and oatmeal.

The best basic scrambled eggs: How to make perfect scrambled eggs every time. Click through for recipe!

Soups Made With Pantry Staples

A large pot of soup can feed a crowd – or feed a solo eater for many meals.

Basic chili recipe: The step-by-step guide for chili novices.

Side Dishes Made With Pantry Staples

These recipes go great with meat as a main course:

How to doctor up a can of baked beans: Adding a few ingredients can make a plain can of beans into something delicious!

Main Courses Made With Pantry Staples

If you have a well-stocked pantry, you may have the right ingredients to make one or several of these recipes:

Got leftover rice? Make these cheese and kale rice fritters. Click through for recipe.

Snacks Made With Pantry Staples

Here are a variety of cheap snacks keep you satiated between meals:

How to make crispy polenta fries: Such an easy and cheap recipe, but it's a crowd-pleaser!

50+ cheap recipes made with pantry staples: Click through for all 50 recipes!

Tips For Cooking With Pantry Staples

  • Make substitutions when necessary: It’s okay to substitute certain ingredient sin a recipe. It’s even okay to omit non-essential ingredients in a recipe. For example, in my basic chili recipe above, you can omit the fresh bell peppers. The recipe still works.
    • This is a little more difficult/risky with baking. I don’t recommend substitutions or omissions in baking – unless you’re swapping chocolate chips for white chocolate chips in a cookie recipe, for example. 
  • Get creative: Check your spice drawer or pantry for forgotten ingredients/spices. For example, add some smoked paprika to homemade tomato sauce for a interesting kick.

Tips And Tricks For Saving Money On Food

What are your favorite pantry staple recipes? Pasta? Chili? Something else? 

Please share your ideas in the comments section, below.