• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Life Currents
  • Home
  • About
    • Subscribe!
  • Ingredients
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Gluten-free
    • Pork
    • Seafood
    • Vegan
    • Vegetarian
    • Sauces
  • Meals
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Breakfast
    • Desserts
    • Lunch
    • Main Dish
    • Salads
    • Side Dishes
  • Popular
    • Air Fryer
    • Budget Cooking
    • Cookies
    • Cupboard Cooking
    • Dips and Spreads
    • Grilling
    • Pressure Cooker
    • Soups & Stews
    • Travel
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
Home » Popular » Cupboard Cooking » Page 2

Cupboard Cooking

This master recipes list of Pantry Cooking using shelf-stable ingredients will be one that I'm continuing to update during this weird time of our lives.

I've decided to include both savory and sweet items in this list. Because, well, we all need dessert from time to time. But the list is weighted toward savory items to get you through rough times.

Pantry Cooking using items like rice, lentils, beans, pasta, tuna, with the title Panty Cooking useing shelf-stable ingredients

Cooking can be flexible

For the savory or, what I call, "cooking" recipes, things you can serve for dinner or lunch, know that you can change up these recipes, using the recipe as simply a guideline rather than as a strict rule.

For sweet recipes or "baking" recipes, I usually recommend following the recipe closely, but cooking is simply use what you have and what you like.Use a little more of something you like a lot. Or leave out things you don't like or don't have.

Be creative with the ingredients for a cooking recipe. I’ve made lots of suggestions to help you along. Don’t be afraid to try new things.

This collection is organized chronologically, with my most recent posts at the top.

I've been interested in Cupboard Cooking for a long time. Back in 2010 I wrote and published a book all about the subject. I think it's really important to be prepared.

Ingredient swaps

Many times a cooking recipe is simply a guide to how to cook something. You can swap lots of things in a savory dinner recipe like soups or stews.

Beans, for example, the recipe may say to use black beans, but white beans or kidney beans will work just as well.

Does your recipe call for tomato sauce but you don’t have any? Try thinning some tomato paste with water, or use a jar of spaghetti sauce instead. Do you have a can of diced tomatoes? Use that - you can drop it all in a blender to create a smoother consistency. Use a jar of salsa if you have that. Or, maybe you have fresh tomatoes from your garden, use those - simply cook them down to a sauce.

Don’t have any onions for that recipe? Just leave them out or use dried onion flakes. Or, swap in celery or fennel bulb.

No fresh chicken in the house? Try using a can of chicken or tuna instead.

All purpose flour can be made by combining equal parts bread flour and cake flour.

If you run low on baking powder you can mix some up at 2 parts cream of tartar + 1 part baking soda.

Hopefully you get the idea, don’t think of the recipe as a strict list, think of it more as a guide.

Let's Connect

If you like seeing my recipes subscribe via email in the upper right, or with push notifications using the red bell.

Or, connect with me on your favorite social media channel for recipes, photos, and much, much more:

Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

And find my shop on Amazon for recommendations on cool tools

Recipes Using Shelf Stable Ingredients - examples of the ingredients rice, pasta, lentils, beans, and tuna

General cooking and kitchen tips

For fresh veggies that last a long time, choose onions, shallots, garlic, hard squashes (like butternut and acorn), and potatoes. These types of fresh veggies should keep for a month or longer if stored in a cool dark place, like a closet or a garage.

Think about freezing some of those fruits and veggies. Chop it, place it in a single layer on a rimmed cookie sheet, and freeze it. Once it’s frozen, transfer it to a ziptop freezer bag. Don't forget to freeze lemons as well.

Turn those veggies into broth. Then you can freeze the broth if you need to.

Go through your fridge, freezer, and cupboards before going to the grocery store. Make a meal plan or list of meals from what’s there, and keep in mind that you may need to be flexible with what you can find at the stores.

List of things that are good to keep in your pantry

These are some of the things I try to keep in my cupboard all the time. Essential panty goods, if you will. The list can be made to your preference as well - leave some things out of your panty, add some things in. It's just a basic idea of some things to try to keep around. And, it helps with everyday cooking to have these things in your house.

  • Canned beans
  • Dried beans
  • Dried lentils
  • Canned tuna or chicken
  • Canned vegetables and fruits
  • Jarred roasted red peppers
  • Canned tomato sauce, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes
  • Canned soups or stews
  • Jarred spaghetti sauce
  • Canned coconut milk
  • Canned evaporated milk
  • Canned sweetened condensed milk
  • Pasta
  • Rice
  • Flour
  • Baking soda and baking powder
  • Sugar (white and brown)
  • Chocolate chips
  • Oatmeal
  • Crackers
  • Dried fruit
  • Coconut
  • Nuts (keep these in the freezer for longer life)
  • Frozen veggies
  • Frozen fruits
  • Tortillas
  • Crackers
  • Cereal
  • Peanut butter

Pantry Cooking using shelf-stable items

Coconut Almond Meal Cookies with Chocolate Chips on a plate with a glass of milk and the cookies in the background, square crop

Coconut Almond Meal Cookies with Chocolate Chips

square crop of Air Fryer Kung Pao Shrimp in a brown bowl with rice and chopsticks

Air Fryer Kung Pao Shrimp

Air Fryer Potatoes in a white bowl with the title

Air Fryer Potatoes

Sqare crop of Red Pepper Lasagna in a white pan

Red Pepper Lasagna

Chocolate Pudding in a white bowl with whipped cream and chocolate shavings

Chocolate Pudding

Spinach Provolone Baked Pasta top down looking at the plate with a serving on it and a fork

Spinach Provolone Baked Pasta

No Yeast Flatbread stacked up on top of each other

No Yeast Flatbread

Homemade Granola Recipe served with milk in a white bowl

Homemade Granola Recipe

chili mac in the casserole dish being served with a wooden spoon

Chili Mac

Recipes Using Shelf Stable Ingredients - examples of the ingredients rice, pasta, lentils, beans, and tuna

Recipes Using Shelf Stable Ingredients

Square crop of 4 Layer Stuffed Avocados on a white plate with a lime wedge

4 Layer Stuffed Avocados

Self-imposed quarantine preparedness collage with three images and the title

Quarantine preparedness

« Previous Page
Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Hello! I’m Debi, the girl behind Life Currents where I write about mainly healthy vegetarian dishes. My husband eats meat, so occasionally I share some of his dishes as well. And, I’ll share tasty treats and projects that we do. Read More >>>

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe

Join my mailing list to receive the latest recipes FREE to your inbox!

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Top Posts

  • cooked green beans in a ceramic bowl, cropped square image
    Air Fryer, Budget, Gluten-free, Side Dishes, Thanksgiving, Vegan
    Air Fryer Roasted Green Beans
  • Homemade Granola Recipe served with milk in a white bowl
    Breakfast, Budget, Cupboard Cooking, Gluten-free
    Homemade Granola Recipe
  • Air Fryer Mozzarella Bites served in a wire basket with a brown paper liner with one mozzarella bite in front, the cheese has oozed out a bit and served with a tin ramekin of marinara sauce
    Air Fryer, Appetizers, Budget, Side Dishes, Weeknight meals
    Air Fryer Mozzarella Bites

Footer

SEEN ON

as seen on

Life Currents is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

© 2021 lifecurrentsblog.com. All rights reserved. Find my Privacy Policy Here.