Cooking Essentials for Your Pantry & Refrigerator

Whether you’re just starting out on your cooking adventure or you are ready to make some changes, it can be daunting to shop for pantry and refrigerator basics. With so many herbs, spices, and other grocery items to choose from, it can be difficult to know what will be most useful.

Use this list of pantry essentials to start stocking up item by item, not all at once. Once you have a stocked pantry, be able to pull together meals on the fly without any extra trips to the store.

Fresh Basics

Refrigerated
- Carrots
- Celery
- Lemons
Pantry
- Onion
- Garlic
- Ginger root

Chilled

Eggs
Tofu, extra firm
Low or Greek yogurt

Jarred | Canned

Peanut butter, sugar-free (or other nut butter of choice)
Light (reduced fat) coconut milk
Whole peeled tomatoes
Diced tomatoes
Tomato paste

Oils

Extra virgin olive oil (store in cool, dark place)
Avocado, grapeseed, or sunflower oil

Liquids

Choose 1-2 vinegars that you think you will use the most.

Apple cider vinegar
Balsamic vinegar
Rice vinegar
Maple syrup
Honey
Vegetable and/or chicken stock, low sodium
Soy sauce or tamari, low sodium

Beans

Select 2 types of beans or lentils to get started. Dried or canned beans will work – just remember to rinse canned beans before using.

White beans (Cannellini, great northern, or navy beans)
Black beans
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
Red split lentils
French green lentils

Grains

Rolled oats
Long grain brown rice
Quinoa
Whole wheat pasta

Nuts | Seeds | Dried Fruit

Nuts/seeds – look for no added oil and no salt; dried fruit – look for no added oils and no added sugar.

Sliced almonds
Walnuts, whole (shelled)
Raisins

Baking

Store these ingredients in airtight containers in a cool, dark place.

Baking soda
Baking powder
Whole-wheat pastry flour (store in refrigerator or freezer to increase shelf life)
All-purpose flour
Evaporated cane sugar
Vanilla extract

Dried Spices/Herbs

In addition to salt and pepper, select 2-4 spices to get your collection started. Store spices in airtight containers inside a dark cupboard, not out on a rack, to keep them fresh longer.

Rosemary
Oregano
Bay leaves
Cumin, ground
Cinnamon, ground
Cayenne
Ginger, ground
Turmeric
Mild curry powder
Nutmeg, whole
Black peppercorns (with grinder, if needed)
Fine sea salt and/or kosher salt

Frozen

Small garden peas
Leaf spinach
Blueberries or raspberries
Mango chunks or peaches

Nice-to-Have (But Less Essential) Ingredients

These ingredients are beyond the basics, but you may notice them appearing in recipes once you start cooking more often. Once you begin to get more creative with cooking, many of these ingredients will help you to boost the flavor of your meals.