Pantry and fridge essentials: Grocery list and recipes

It has been a long time since my previous food tips post (december 2019!), and I kinda missed it. I love cooking recipes and sharing them with you but I also enjoy sharing my best tips and helping you learn to cook (and prepare for it). I have been cooking and planning grocery trips for a very long time and I think right now we are currently living in a weird moment where these tips might be needed. Today I want to share a full grocery list of pantry and fridge essentials (plus give you some recipes in the process) to help you cope with the current situation and also for future reference!

Pantry essentials list

To me, a good pantry essentials grocery list will always feature some of these ingredients:

• Dried pasta & noodles.
• Rice, rice, rice
• Bread, because yes you can make your own with the ingredients below but sometimes we don’t have the time.
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Yeast if you are into making bread.
• Flour
• Brown sugar
• Canned goods: Canned tomatoes, corn, other canned vegetables you might like. I use canned tomatoes all the time to make homemade tomato sauces and corn is just delicious and I used it a lot for a my chili or rice dishes.
• Dried beans: Since I got my instant pot, I cook more and more dried beans. Buying dried beans ensures less waste (because 1kg of dried beans equals more than just canned ones). And you can do them whenever, and however you want. I always have lentils, chickpeas, kidney and white beans.
• Oil: Olive oil, vegetable oil, sesame oil…
• Vinegar: White or red wine vinegar.
• Some flavor (because flavor is very important!) :
  • From the most basic yet amazing friends salt & pepper to the
  • a bit fancier but still basic friends herbs such as oregano, basil, fines herbes , garlic powder
  • and spicier ones like chili and curry.
• Some sauces: think about what you usually eat. If you never eat spicy, don’t bother getting a gochujang sauce or sriracha. But if you love eating fries, well make sure you get some ketchup (And mustard). This is my own choice of “pantry essential sauces”:
  • One spicy sauce : Gochujang or Sriracha (cause they are the easiest ones to get here).
  • One “fries” sauce: Ketchup (Cause I hate mayo and mustard).
  • Pasta sauces: Well, the possibilities are endless here. From basic tomate sauce such as tomato and veggies to pesto sauce or arrabiatta, even vegetarian bolognese.
• Snacks: I don’t usually snack much other than fruits and yogurts, but my SO snacks on tea biscuits and chocolate quite often so if that’s something you do, add them to the list.
• Coffee and tea.

Fridge essentials list

This list will be a bit more complete, with ingredients that can definitely spoil. It’s tailored to my eating patterns, and it’s basically what I get most of the time I go grocery shopping.

• Fruits and vegetables (in season). We eat a lot of vegetables and fruits at home, so we always make sure we have enough for at least one week.
• Kimchi: yes it would fit into the vegetable category, but it deserves its own mention.
• Fresh pasta: We always have a couple of tortellini and gnocchi packages. I love making homemade gnocchi but I’ve been a bit lazy these days.
• Protein products: Tofu, seitan, veggie-sausages, steaks, eggs, … I usually buy whatever is available at the store. Right now it’s a bit harder to find these products because my usual store (LIDL) rarely has any of these. I usually get my tofu at the local chinese supermarket or the Ace-Mart next to my place.
• Because I live with a french man: Cheese (any type).
• Milk: Plant based milk or just normal milk.
• Olives: I consume way too many olives for what could be considered healthy, so there is always a huge jar in my fridge.

Frozen essentials list

• Vegetables: We always have some frozen veggies such as spinach, peas and green beans. Basically the hardest veggies to find fresh in France.
• Fruits: I rarely buy frozen fruits but some people might find them useful for smoothies, baking and other stuff, so I’m adding them to the list.
• Emergency comfort food : We always have some emergency frozen lasagna or pizza.
• Dumplings: I love the vegetarian korean mandus there are at the ace-mart next by so I always have a huge package of them.

There are always other things that we buy, but I wanted to stick to my basics. I probably forgot a couple even though I checked my fridge at least thirty times while writing this post. I will update it if I realize that something is missing.

But now, let’s check out the recipes you could do (my own tofucado recipes) and other recipes that I have saved from other bloggers.

Pantry essentials recipes

5 ingredient vegan chickpea curry

20 minute Instant Pot Pasta recipe

Catalan Roasted Vegetables with an omelette (Catalan recipe)

Cinnamon Apple Bread Bake Recipe

Other blogger’s recipes:

• Breakfast potatoes by Simple Veganista
• Aubergine aux pois-chiches (French Blog) by Clemfoodie
• Jamaican rice by the Lemon Bowl
• Sweat and Smoky White beans by From My Bowl
• Red Bean Soup by the Hungry Australian
• Quick Vegetable & Tofu Curry by Alexandra’s Kitchen

🎙️What are some of your go-to pantry based recipes? Tell me more in the comments!