UP NEXT: How To Save Money On Groceries Without Clipping Coupons! I know this is going to sound like a broken record, but dried beans are also an important as frugal pantry staples for the same reasons as rice and pasta: price, long-term shelf stable, great fillers for recipes, and they make us feel full.

Many pantry lists recommend you store broth like the kind you get in a carton. Getting some fresh-tasting, healthy food pantry items is important. TIP: Always choose pantry items that have multiple purposes. For example, green beans can be eaten alone, but also used in soups and casseroles. Remember, along with sweet treats like cookies, cupcakes, and cakes, baked goods are also bread, cornbread, tortillas, biscuits and so many more items that you can save money by making from scratch.

Oats are another great pantry item because you can use them for breakfast or dinner and they have several purposes — eating alone, binding agents for dishes think: meatloaf , baking and more!

Can I be honest? This list will give you a start and you can even build full meals off of just what is listed here! You must be logged in to post a comment. STOCKED PANTRY TIPS CHEAP MEALS RECIPES FRUGAL PANTRY COOKING BLOG. Affiliate links are used on this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Author Recent Posts. Jacquie Wils is on the quest for cheap meals and easy recipes, creating the best frugal pantry list, looking for long-term food storage solutions, and better budget meals.

Latest posts by Jacquie see all. Curry powder is a popular, all-purpose Indian staple. It can be used to make soups, stews or to enhance meat, and vegetables. I love Kraft. A delicious BBQ sauce can rescue many protein-laden dishes that call for tang and flavor.

Canned tuna is versatile and can be eaten straight from the can or made into tuna salad instantly. Best bang for your buck is a carton of jumbo eggs.

Eggs may expire but it will take up to 30 days in the fridge which makes them great protein staples. Freshly ground meat is also the easiest to cook and can be frozen for later. Make chili, tacos, rice bowls, hamburger patties, meatballs etc. I love the thought of fresh but not everyone can make consistent grocery runs.

Frozen corn and broccoli make quick and healthy sides. The shelf life of whole garlic bulbs lasts up to 6 months! Unpeeled cloves will last up to 10 days.

Garlic is expensive and adds a lot of flavors, a lot of recipes calls for garlic. Garlic powder can be purchased as a lazy substitute.

Onion has a month shelf life if left in a cool, dark and dry place. They also pack a lot of flavor to each dish. It is the queen bee in our kitchen, along with garlic cloves. We have 2 spice carousels, one was a gift and the other one we bought second hand from a garage sale.

The best place to buy spices is Dollar Tree. Rosler makes hauling back groceries less back-breaking. Soapy will be reading this so feel free to leave comments on your own favorite pantry items for a frugal pantry stock! Personal Capital : Sign up and use their net worth calculator for FREE.

Imperfect Foods: We all need groceries. Read my review of this revolutionary and money-saving grocery delivery service.

ThredUp: The only online recycle clothing store I currently shop and sell with. Great mission statement, company model, customer service, prices, and selection. We eat LOTS of pork in various forms in our family. When I was little, my parents used to make pork bone soup with potatoes and carrots a lot.

Great list! Canned beans are fine, but dry is definitely better and healthier. With canned goods you run the risk of BPA exposure. Dried oats, quinoa, and other whole grains should be staples too. As well as ground flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and raw unsalted nuts. Whole food, plant-based diets are generally not expensive.

It can be somewhat expensive if you always buy produce that are organic and out of season. But all things considered, plant based diets are significantly less expensive than meat based diets when you compare food of the same quality.

You have to compare apples to apples 😉. For example… organic, pasteurized, hormone-free meat and dairy is very expensive especially compared to organic vegetable produce.

We did this by…. Cooking plant based meals is fun, creative, and A LOT cleaner 5 We planned meals and meal-prepped really well so that no food would be wasted. But I love the list! We eat chicken mainly at our house.

Tofu is also great to have fried with broccoli , soya sauce and garlic , it is good for you and not very expensive. Costco in Canada sells it cheap. I never had used italian seasoning before…ever! Is that the powder stuff you get in packets? Is it salad dressing or a spice?

Add a little olive oil and garlic:. Load up on those veggies! I always have potatoes, onions, bananas, berries, and lettuce on hand.

I hate making pantry-based meals with just shelf-stable foods; produce really elevates a dish. For example, I freeze old bananas and use them in smoothies. Picky Pincher. I like the way you think. Loading up on the veggies is the way to go.

Canned Meat Broth / Bouillon Canned Vegetables

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Reduced price pantry items - Rice or Quinoa (or Other Grains) Canned Meat Broth / Bouillon Canned Vegetables

I recommend the following basic pantry staples to keep in stock for a pinch! All kinds of pasta regular, whole grain, egg, spinach flavored?! So that answers that! The natural shelf life of potato makes them one of the best pantry staples ever.

They can be boiled, baked, fried, mashed or microwaved. We keep a lot of canned goods in our cabinets. Canned beans are great in a pinch for time with cowboy chili or Tex-Mex nights. Canned it is! Although the priciest item on the list, a good quality olive oil makes a difference to both taste and health.

Buy olive oil stored in thick, dark-colored glass bottles. A manufacturer knows the quality of their oils, a true quality olive oil should be stored in dark glass. Bigger flavor molecules! Kosher salt is a healthier alternative to table salt without the additives that regular salt have. Freshly ground pepper is better in flavor and aroma which is important for a staple ingredient in so many recipes.

Tomato paste is super concentrated and inexpensive. During my SNAP challenge week , the first thing on my list was a small can of tomato paste. It can be made into pasta sauce or substitute anything that calls for tomatoes. Popular in Mexican dishes, cumin pairs with well with chicken and ground meat for a quick and easy meal.

Any soup, stew, casserole recipes that call for a splash of stock can be easily substituted using bouillon cubes which are small and do not need to be refrigerated. Curry powder is a popular, all-purpose Indian staple.

It can be used to make soups, stews or to enhance meat, and vegetables. I love Kraft. A delicious BBQ sauce can rescue many protein-laden dishes that call for tang and flavor. Canned tuna is versatile and can be eaten straight from the can or made into tuna salad instantly.

Best bang for your buck is a carton of jumbo eggs. Eggs may expire but it will take up to 30 days in the fridge which makes them great protein staples. Freshly ground meat is also the easiest to cook and can be frozen for later.

Make chili, tacos, rice bowls, hamburger patties, meatballs etc. I love the thought of fresh but not everyone can make consistent grocery runs. Frozen corn and broccoli make quick and healthy sides. The shelf life of whole garlic bulbs lasts up to 6 months!

Unpeeled cloves will last up to 10 days. Garlic is expensive and adds a lot of flavors, a lot of recipes calls for garlic.

Garlic powder can be purchased as a lazy substitute. Onion has a month shelf life if left in a cool, dark and dry place. They also pack a lot of flavor to each dish. It is the queen bee in our kitchen, along with garlic cloves.

We have 2 spice carousels, one was a gift and the other one we bought second hand from a garage sale. The best place to buy spices is Dollar Tree. Rosler makes hauling back groceries less back-breaking.

Soapy will be reading this so feel free to leave comments on your own favorite pantry items for a frugal pantry stock! Personal Capital : Sign up and use their net worth calculator for FREE.

Imperfect Foods: We all need groceries. Read my review of this revolutionary and money-saving grocery delivery service. ThredUp: The only online recycle clothing store I currently shop and sell with.

Great mission statement, company model, customer service, prices, and selection. We eat LOTS of pork in various forms in our family. When I was little, my parents used to make pork bone soup with potatoes and carrots a lot.

Great list! Canned beans are fine, but dry is definitely better and healthier. With canned goods you run the risk of BPA exposure.

Dried oats, quinoa, and other whole grains should be staples too. As well as ground flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and raw unsalted nuts. Whole food, plant-based diets are generally not expensive. It can be somewhat expensive if you always buy produce that are organic and out of season.

But all things considered, plant based diets are significantly less expensive than meat based diets when you compare food of the same quality. A few of our favorite potato recipes are Creamy Sausage and Potatoes , Cream Cheese Potato Soup with Ham , and Country Potato Soup.

BUTTER This is probably the one thing that might seem iffy to put on a frugal pantry list. Plus, I love using it to make these easy Garlic Butter Swim Biscuits! SOUR CREAM I like to keep this on hand to use in soups, to make homemade dips and to use in several casserole recipes as well.

But , since I cook almost entirely from scratch, I do end up using it quite a bit even so. Just a little bit can make a lettuce salad, tuna salad sandwiches or refried bean quesadillas so much yummier!

And we love these White Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches! FROZEN VEGGIES Often much cheaper than fresh veggies, the other handy thing about frozen ones is that they last much longer! I use them a lot as a side dish and also in recipes like my Easy Chicken Pot Pie , Cheesy Ham, Potato and Green Bean Bake and Easy Vegetable Beef Soup.

CHICKEN Probably the cheapest kind of meat there is and super versatile too! A few chicken recipes that we enjoy: Herb Roasted Chicken and Potatoes , One Pan Chicken and Rice , Creamy Crockpot Mexican Chicken and Homemade Shake and Bake Chicken.

In casseroles or soups, I often can get by with using less than the amount called for. A few ground beef recipes that we really like: Crockpot Tamale Pie and Super Easy Sloppy Joes.

It helps me be frugal because I can buy in bulk when food is on sale becoming less and less, it seems, these days , portion it and freeze for later.

Yes, I love stocking up and freezing items that are on sale too! Such a great way to save. I so agree with you. We have worn out many vacuum food sealers over the years. Our son upgraded so he can vacuum seal whole chickens raised on his property.

We opted for a slightly smaller model and use it daily. when canning diced tomatoes can I pressure can them in stead of water bath? If so how long to pressure can? Yes, you can definitely pressure can them! As for how long, it will depend on your pressure canner and altitude.

I would look in the instruction manual that came with the pressure canner and go by what it says there. I would follow that. Tomatoes also freeze well! Either whole or diced or roasted. Consider that especially when your garden is at its peak. I would add celery to that list as I use it in making stews.

Onions, carrots and celery is your mirre poir for all basic stews. Yes, celery is a great pantry staple, for sure! Never heard of strained tomatoes but canned tomato products of any kind are handy to have, I think.

This is one of my favorite ways to save on cheese too. Great list! A tip on keeping garlic longer — I buy the 3 packs of bulbs from Aldi and immediately put them in a small ziplock kept in the freezer.

It keeps a long time that way!!! Ready to mince, etc. I also keep Panko bread crumbs in the freezer as I use them in a variety of recipes. Lime juice gets used in marinades, etc. and lemon juice is frequently used as well, not only desserts, but certain salad dressings too. Final note, this is not going to work for everyone, but try to hunt out whether or not there is a good local butcher shop in your area.

Or at least within reasonable driving distance. I make a few trips a year and stock the freezer with various meats. Got a great deal on those and they worked just fine for recipes that called for bacon bits or a bit of chopped bacon — just froze them and pulled out what I needed.

I never knew you could freeze garlic! That is totally going to change my life. Thank you! And I started keeping my bread crumbs in the freezer too.

Lesson learned. Freezing lemon and lime juice is so smart! I wish I could find a local butcher shop that has that kind of price on chicken! So glad you are finding the blog interesting and helpful! It makes the work that I put into it so totally worth it when I get comments like that.

There are two grocery stores near me different companies that every so often but always at different times! have chicken leg quarters for anywhere from 39 to 59 cents a pound. so, 4 to 6 dollars for 10 pounds of those which I take home and bake and debone.

I use the bones ad skin along with veggie scraps to make broth and usually enough chicken meat to make 2-cup packs that I stuff n the freezer. It gives me a frugal break from my usual rotisserie chicken per week for much less broth and meat. It does take some work the day you buy but it saves so much money!

And I love how you use every last bit of it. Such a great money saver! Your email address will not be published.