35+ Easy Pantry Meals
Updated Feb 07, 2025
Check out these 35+ pantry meal ideas with substitutions, that are simple, easy and delicious to make the most of shelf stable items and frozen ingredients!
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Try these easy pantry meals made with ingredients you already have on hand. Whether you have canned beans in the pantry or frozen fish in the freezer, these cheap pantry meals will help you use up your stuff. They’re quick to make, budget-friendly, and perfect for everything from busy weeknight dinners to last-minute desserts.
If you’re looking for a quick, budget-friendly meal for dinner or last-minute prep (spent all day at the soccer field?), pantry meals are a great solution! With inexpensive, shelf-stable ingredients like pasta, canned beans, and spices, you can make delicious and cheap pantry meals without relying so much on fresh ingredients or a separate trip to the grocery store. Don’t get me wrong – I love a good serving of vegetables, but sometimes, life gets busy.
Tips for Making Pantry Meals
- Stock versatile staples. Keep essentials like different types of pasta, rice, canned beans, lentils, and lots of flavorful spices to serve as the base for pantry meals.
- Have fun and get creative with swaps. Don’t stress if you’re missing an ingredient – swap it with a similar item you have on hand. In most cases, the different types of beans and pasta are interchangeable.
- Use broth for extra flavor. Pantry meals don’t have to be bland. An easy way to amp up the flavor is by using broth instead of water. Homemade chicken broth or vegetable stock will give you the best flavor, but storebought is also great.
- Don’t forget to check your fridge and freezer. Pair pantry items with frozen vegetables, leftover proteins, or cheese for a balanced meal.
- Have fun and plan for clean-out days. To keep your pantry inventory fresh, consider making pantry clean-out meals regularly. This is a creative way to use ingredients you already have, reducing food waste and keeping your wallet happy.
Pantry Staples
- Grains: Check your pantry for these long-lasting staples like white rice, brown rice, quinoa, couscous, and barley. These make versatile bases that can be used for hearty bowls, soups, and side dishes.
- Pasta: I could literally live off of pasta and be happy, and if you’re anything like me, you will love this roundup of the best pasta recipes. Make sure you have a good variety of different pasta in your pantry. There’s short pasta, long pasta, and oddly shaped pasta like lasagna sheets, but no matter which one you go with, make sure you know how to cook pasta (hint: no one likes it overcooked!)
- Legumes: This includes beans like black beans, kidney beans, cannellini or white beans, and my personal favorite, chickpeas. Check out my tutorial on how to cook beans (5 types of beans) so they have the right texture. Don’t forget about lentils, too – these small powerhouses cook quickly and are perfect for soups, stews, and salads to add bulk, texture, and nutrition.
- Canned meat: Canned tuna and salmon make quick, protein-packed meals. Use them to make salads, sandwiches, pasta dishes, and even simple casseroles. You can also swap in canned chicken in some recipes where leftover shredded chicken is used.
- Breads and wraps: Sandwich bread, tortillas, pita bread, and flatbreads are pantry staples that make meals quick, versatile, and satisfying. Use them for everything from classic sandwiches to wraps and even pizzas.
- Canned veggies: Corn, peas, and green beans are incredibly versatile in recipes and often work just as well as the fresh or frozen kind. Canned tomatoes, including diced, crushed, or whole, often serve as the base for soups, stews, sauces, and casseroles.
- Nuts and seeds: To add a nice crunch to salads or sides, toast some almonds, pecans, pine nuts, or sesame seeds.
- Spices and seasonings: Be sure to have lots of individual seasonings on hand, including garlic powder, paprika, and oregano. Seasoning blends like Za’atar, Italian seasoning, BBQ seasoning, and even everything bagel seasoning are an easy way to add flavor to easy pantry meals.
- Baking essentials: All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, oat flour, cacao powder, and self-rising flour are basic baking staples that make pantry desserts a breeze. Peanut butter, almond butter, and cashew butter are great baking essentials that add rich flavor to baked goods and, in some recipes, can replace butter or oils.
Easy Pantry Meals for Breakfast
These tasty but simple pantry staple meals are perfect for busy mornings or when you’re low on fresh ingredients.
Chocolate Protein Pancakes
Breakfast Burritos
Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Breakfast Tacos
Protein Baked Oats
How to Make Muesli
Easy Overnight Oats
Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie Recipe
Pantry Staples Meals for Lunch
With ingredients like canned beans, sandwich bread, and canned tuna, you can make healthy, hearty, and delicious pantry clean-out meals to hold you well until dinner time.
Chickpea ‘Tuna’ Salad
Tuna Melt Sandwich
Bean Salad
Avocado White Bean Sandwich
Tuna Pasta Salad
Mediterranean Hummus Bowl
Healthy Tuna Salad
Chickpea Couscous Salad
White Bean Tuna Salad
Lentil Salad
Cheap Pantry Meals for Dinner
Dinners can be a little tricky when you’re short on fresh ingredients, but I have you covered here too! Pair them with proteins from freezer like ground beef or frozen fish, and it becomes a complete, balanced, and satisfying meal.
Peas and Carrots Stew
Black Bean Burgers
One Pot Chicken and Rice Recipe
White Bean Soup
Chickpea Burger
Tuna Pasta Recipe
Salmon Patties
Quinoa Burger
Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
Easy Pantry Desserts
No fresh ingredients but having major sweet tooth craving? I got you with these easy pantry desserts that will satisfy your cravings using just the basics you have on hand.
Trail Mix Cookies
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
No Bake Energy Bites Recipe
3-Ingredient Chia Pudding
Peanut Butter Blossoms
Date Energy Balls
Chocolate-Covered Pretzels
Sweet Potato Brownies
Frequently Asked Questions
Get creative and add grains to soups, stir-fries, or power bowls. These foods are perfect for tossing in leftover or mismatched ingredients. Try adding a can of drained and rinsed beans to a salad for a boost of protein and fiber. Or mix cooked lentils into pasta dishes for added texture and nutrition. The possibilities are endless so have fun with it!
Most staples like rice, beans, and canned goods have a very long shelf life, often months or even years. However, I recommend to always check the expiration dates to be sure. And move those with an earlier expiration date towards the front and the newer items towards the back so nothing goes to waste.
Drizzle some fancy extra virgin olive oil or pomegranate molasses over a meal or garnish with fresh herbs like parsley and cilantro for a pop of color and flavor. Lastly, a sprinkle of flaky sea salt or toasted nuts is all you need to amp up the presentation of a dish. Sometimes, a little effort makes even the simplest meals feel special.
For more similar roundup of recipes, be sure to check out: Everyday Breakfast Ideas, Recipes with Vegetable Broth, Easy 30-Minute Meals, and Easy Recipes with 5 Ingredients or Less.
If you found this recipe roundup for Pantry Meals helpful or if you try any recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipes! It helps others who are thinking of trying out this tutorial and we would love to hear about your experience. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
I love the recipes. Can’t wait to try them. I would love to have some low carb
recipes because I have diabetes family members.
Hi Ann, thank you so much! If you visit my recipe index and select the diet you can look at low-carb options here is the direct link: https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/?_diets=low-carb hope that helps!
I like your pantry meal ideas. I would like to request for recipes so I try to do them myself. In these times of uncertainties, I would like to feed my kids healthy food.
Thank you so much! Hope these meals help!
Wow! Thank you for providing so many ideas during this confusing time. Keep up the great work. Your posts are very uplifting!
Thanks so much Katie – I appreciate that! Stay safe 🙂