Do you want to stock your pantry with all of the essentials? Here’s my list of pantry staples that I’m never without!
I am a planner. I like to take time to make a plan and then execute it. This is especially true when I’m talking about meal planning and preparation. There is nothing I hate more than needing to make a last-minute, panicked trip to the grocery store to get an ingredient that I thought I had. It feels like such a waste of time.
To prevent being irrationally angry with myself, at least where grocery shopping is concerned, I like to keep my pantry stocked with all my most-used pantry staples. These are those shelf-stable items that I use all the time. Something just doesn’t feel right if I am out of one of these pantry staples. In fact, I often keep backstock of these things just to ensure that I never run out of them. You might call them my emotional support ingredients.
If you, too, want to avoid panic grocery shopping trips to get that one ingredient you thought you probably had in your pantry, this list of pantry staples is for you. Heck, if you subscribe to Sara in Season (scroll to the bottom of the page to subscribe!), I’ll even send you a printable so you can hang it on the back of your pantry door. That way, you’ll never be without these important pantry staples.
Pantry Staples
Bulk dry goods
When you think of pantry staples, you probably think of bulk dry goods. These are the items that Pinterest convinces you that you need to decant into beautifully labeled glass containers. Just make sure you take a picture and post to Instagram as soon as you do it because we all know your pantry won’t ever look like that again.
Flour
Depending on your preferences, you may have a few different varieties of flour in your pantry. I know I do. Here are the flours that I keep in my pantry:
- All-purpose flour
- Whole wheat flour
- Bread flour
- Gluten-free flour (for my gluten-free sister-in-law)
Sugar
Again, you probably need a few different varieties of sugar in your pantry. You can also add sugar-substitutes to your list of pantry staples if you prefer the sugar-free life.
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar (light and/or dark)
- Powdered sugar
Oats
If you happened to read my February Things 2025 post, you know that we are very into oatmeal for breakfast around here. But oats come in handy for lots of other things in the kitchen too. Again, I like to keep a couple of different types of oats in my pantry:
- Old-fashioned oats
- Quick oats
Rice
Especially if you have young children, you need copious amounts of rice in your pantry. Sometimes I wonder how they can eat some much rice. For a well-stocked pantry, consider having a few varieties of rice available to you.
- White rice (we prefer Basmati to regular long-grain rice)
- Brown rice
- Parboiled rice (like Minute Rice – when you need something quick)
Cornstarch
If you’re thickening sauces or cooking Asian-inspired food, you probably need cornstarch in your life.
Baking soda
Perhaps the king of pantry staples, you need baking soda to bake and to clean. Truly a product I don’t go without.
Baking powder
If you’re baking anything from scratch, you need baking powder.
Pasta
I have small children, so we eat a lot of pasta. If I didn’t make them eat a varied diet, they would probably eat pasta every day. So, we have lots of varieties of pasta in our pantry. Here are the varieties I keep on hand:
- Elbows (my son will only eat mac & cheese with elbow noodles)
- Spaghetti
- Orzo
- Penne
- Gluten-free pasta (I tend to buy the Banza brand on Thrive Market – this is a referral link that gives you $40 off when you join and gives me a little bit of money to spend on snacks for my snack-obsessed children)
Cocoa powder
Are you a chocoholic? Have yourself a container of cocoa powder at the ready for all of your chocolate cake cravings.
Breadcrumbs
I like to keep multiple varieties of breadcrumbs in my pantry:
- Seasoned breadcrumbs for general purpose applications
- Panko breadcrumbs for extra crunch
Cornmeal
From making cornbread to preventing my pizzas from sticking to the pizza stone, cornmeal is a useless item in my pantry.
Bottles
Bottled goods are also staples in any well-stocked pantry. Now, many of your bottled pantry staples require refrigeration after they are opened, so always read the label!
Oils
If you only use one type of cooking oil in your kitchen, I commend you. I do not. Here are the oils I keep on hand in my pantry:
- Olive oil
- Vegetable or canola oil
- Sesame oil
- Cooking spray (either in an aerosol can or regular cooking oil poured into this nifty contraption)
Vinegars
I’m also someone who likes to have a variety of vinegars available to me. Take the ones you like and leave the rest.
- Balsamic vinegar
- Apple cider vinegar
- White wine vinegar
- Red wine vinegar
- Rice wine vinegar
- Distilled vinegar (mostly for cleaning)
Sauces
Look out, folks! These are mostly refrigerate after opening pantry staples.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Soy sauce (I like low-sodium)
- Hot sauce (Tabasco, Crystal, Sriracha, Frank’s – whatever you prefer)
- Salad dressings (Ken’s Northern Italian for the win)
- Balsamic glaze
- Pasta sauce (marinara, alfredo, pesto)
Condiments
Read labels about refrigeration here too!
- Mayonnaise
- Mustard (yellow and Dijon)
- Ketchup (every kid’s favorite food)
Peanut butter
Substitute your favorite nut butter or nut-free butter if you’re not a peanut butter person.
Jelly
Of course, everyone in my family has a different favorite jelly variety. We’ve got a back-up of them all in the pantry.
Honey
Be careful with honey if you have an infant in the house who hasn’t yet turned one. There is a small risk of botulism that I wasn’t willing to take when my kids were babies.
Vanilla extract
If you bake anything, you need vanilla extract in your pantry.
Herbs and spices
These are the herbs and spices that I keep stocked in my pantry at all times. If you use different herbs and spices regularly, swap them in as your pantry staples.
Salt
I like Kosher salt.
Pepper
Please buy yourself a pepper grinder and get some whole peppercorns. Pepper is so much better when it’s freshly ground!
Dried basil
Dried oregano
Paprika
I keep both regular and smoked paprika in my pantry. I use the smoked more often, shockingly.
Bay leaves
Cumin
Chili powder
Dried dill
Ground ginger
Ground cinnamon
Dried thyme
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Adobo seasoning
Make sure you get the one with pepper. It’s the perfect all-purpose seasoning!
Canned goods
Ever since I moved out of the state of Florida, I don’t really keep many canned goods on hand. I do keep some, though! Here are must canned pantry staples.
Tomatoes
I buy all the canned tomato products.
- Tomato sauce
- Tomato paste
- Diced tomatoes
- Tomato puree
- Crushed tomatoes
- Rotel
- Fire-roasted tomatoes
Beans
Unless you really like to soak and cook beans for hours, canned beans are the way to go.
- Black beans
- Chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
- Kidney beans
- Cannellini beans
- Great Northern beans
- Pinto beans
Fruit
I try to keep the fridge stocked with fresh fruit, but in a pinch (or in the dead of winter), I like to keep some canned fruit in the pantry so my kids can satisfy their fruit habit.
- Mandarin oranges
- Fruit cocktail
- Pineapple tidbits (also for my favorite Crock Pot Ham)
- Peaches
- Pears
Soup
Sure, I like to make homemade soup whenever I can. But I can’t always. Like when I’m sick or just sick of cooking. You can basically buy any kind of soup in a can, but we keep it simple.
- Chicken noodle
- Tomato
Random stuff
Although most of my pantry staples fit nicely into the categories above, there are a few things I like to keep around that are pretty random. Don’t skip these just because they don’t fit into a more traditional category!
Food coloring
If you have kids, you need to have food coloring in your pantry. I like the gel food coloring best because they last a long time and they’re not as messy to use.
Sprinkles
Kids love sprinkles. On ice cream, on cookies, on cake, really on anything. Keep various colors and shapes in your pantry for all of your sprinkle needs.
Chocolate chips
I buy these suckers in bulk at Sam’s Club so we have chocolate chips for emergency cookie baking.
Nuts
For baking, cooking, or snacking, I like to keep nuts handy. Everyone has their own favorite nuts to keep on hand, but these are mine:
- Pecans
- Almonds
- Peanuts
- Pine nuts
Tortillas
Tortillas are so useful. Tacos, burritos, quesadillas, wraps – you’ll go through them!
Cereal
I’m trying not to eat cereal for breakfast every morning to start my day off with more of a protein boost, but we still eat our fair share of cereal in my house. We keep it simple with Honey Nut Cheerios but buy whatever your family likes.
Brownie mix
And last, but certainly not least on my list of pantry staples, is an emergency brownie mix. Sometimes you just need brownies. Your kid has a bake sale, you need to bring a dessert to a last-minute gathering, or it’s your time of the month. I like the Ghirardelli dark chocolate brownie mix. It hits every time.
Other posts
Are you looking for more practical homemaking tips? I’ve got more where this came from!
I hope you found this list of pantry staples helpful for stocking your own pantry. Is there anything not on this list that you keep in your pantry at all times? Please share below or over on Instagram @sarainseason.
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