25 Pantry Meals You Can Make With What You Have on Hand

Whether you’re facing near-empty grocery stores, weathering a storm, or simply saving money, here are 25 simple pantry meals you can make with what you have on hand.

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Whether you’re facing near-empty grocery stores (as many of us are right now), weathering a storm, or simply eating out of your pantry to save money on groceries, coming up with meals using only what you have on hand can be a challenge.

In today’s post, I’m going to share 25 meals requiring only basic ingredients you likely already have in your pantry or freezer.

Now, everyone has a different definition of “pantry staple,” and there’s a wide spectrum of how well-stocked people like to be. So, I certainly can’t guarantee you’ll be able to make everything on this list.

But I’m going to give you a variety of meals, and hopefully you can find a few that work for you!

(Side note: You might also want to pin this post for future reference as a guide for what to keep well-stocked in your pantry and freezer.)

25 Meals Using Pantry & Freezer Staples

Chicken & Rice — you can sub quinoa or couscous
For the best bang for your buck, cook a whole chicken and use all the parts!
Meatloaf — this is our favorite meatloaf
Spaghetti
Breakfast for dinner — there are so many breakfast foods you can make with pantry staples, including pancakes, waffles, eggs, toast, and oatmeal!
Classic chili
White bean chicken chili
Taco soup
Black bean soup
Beans & Rice — cooking dried beans is your cheapest option – here’s how to make them (quickly!) in the Instant Pot
Beef & Macaroni — Here’s a basic, simple recipe (you can leave out the peppers if you don’t have them)
Tacos/Burritos — you can make the tortillas from scratch, if needed, and stretch the taco meat with lentils or beans
Taco/Burrito bowls — all the fixin’s of tacos or burritos, but deconstructed on a bowl of rice
Corn & Bean Quesadillas
Grilled Cheese — I mean, it’s a classic fall-back option!
Korean beef — true Korean beef calls for sesame oil, but you can use any oil you have on hand, if needed
Tuna noodle casserole
Tuna mac
Fried Rice
Homemade pizza — don’t be constrained by “typical” toppings if you don’t have them – think outside the box with BBQ pork, taco, or even cheeseburger pizza!
Hamburgers — have you ever made sheet pan hamburgers?? They’re SO EASY, and my new go-to option
Beef & beans
Chicken noodle soup
Sloppy Joes — there are no less than a thousand sloppy joe recipes online, so search around until you find one with ingredients you have in your pantry!
Black bean burgers — finding one with basic pantry staples was a little tricky, but I think this black bean burger recipe will do the trick if you swap out the feta with a different cheese. You can also try other veggies if you don’t have green peppers!
Grain bowls — grain bowls are the ultimate pantry meal because they’re super versatile:
Any kind of grain (rice, quinoa, couscous, etc.) + Protein (cooked meat, beans, cooked eggs, etc.) + Vegetable

Foods to Have Stocked at All Times

Meat in the freezer
Canned chicken, tuna, and/or salmon
Milk — (you can freeze milk!)
Eggs
Cheese — shred and stick in the freezer!
Beans — canned and dried
Grains — rice, quinoa, couscous, lentils, oats
Canned broths & stocks
Jarred pasta sauce
Canned tomato products
Basic baking supplies — lots of flour (keep surplus in the freezer), sugar, baking powder, baking soda, yeast
Spices
Canned & frozen vegetables
Canned & frozen fruits