If you’re doing your best to work through your pantry & freezer stash before hitting the grocery stores, have a look through this list of some of my favorites for a little inspiration! Each of these recipes uses ingredients you may already have on hand – and I’ll give some ideas for swaps in case you don’t!
Any questions on ingredient swaps? Leave a comment on the original recipe post and I’ll answer there – I want to help you as much as possible in the kitchen! I’ve been telling myself I’m on “Chopped” every night and just winging it, and it’s been so much fun.
Grab one of these recipes, see what you’ve got on hand, and make it work!
For detailed instructions on how to freeze and reheat just about any recipe, see my Freezer Guide HERE!
Breakfast
Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal: One of my favorite pantry-friendly recipes because it’s so, so versatile. I also have an Apple Cinnamon version if you’ve got apples on hand!
Breakfast Hash Power Bowls: You’ll need your favorite breakfast sausage and some potatoes for the base of this meal (precooked, chopped links will work; I love my ButcherBox frozen ground sausage). Top with whatever else you’ve got on hand – any veggies, a fried egg, drizzle of ranch or hot sauce, and you’ve got a power bowl!
Maple Almond Butter Granola: A grain free granola worth raiding your pantry for! Gather up your favorite nut or seed butter, mixed nuts, and some maple syrup and give this a go. Great for breakfast with fruit & milk or as a snack by the handful!
Freezer Friendly Breakfast Sausage Patties: Use up any ground meat in the fridge with this simple recipe for breakfast sausage! I use dried herbs. Make a big batch & freeze for easy breakfasts you can reheat any time.
Homemade Cashew Milk: Raw cashews + water and you have milk! We use this as coffee creamer, with the granola shown above, in soups, sauces – use it in place of regular milk for pretty much any recipe!
Beef Dinners
Beef Enchiladas: use ground beef or any meat you have on hand – shredded chicken, ground turkey or pork, etc. Swap grain free tortillas for whichever you’ve got on hand, or pull some from your freezer stash! The sauce is easy with canned tomato sauce, or you can use a jarred one if you’ve got it!
Asian Beef Meatballs: swap any ground meat for these meatballs – turkey, pork, chicken. The sauce is super easy and uses soy-free ingredients you’ll most likely have on hand. Serve it up with fresh or frozen steam veggies, and frozen cauli rice or white rice!
Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potatoes: ground beef (from the freezer stash), canned tomatoes, & dried herbs make an enchilada-style skillet that gets stuffed into a sweet potato – or can be eaten from a bowl all on its own, or served over rice!
Beef Chili 3 Ways: sub ground turkey or pork, or keep it beef! Canned tomatoes, an onion, optional bell pepper (or even frozen fajita veggies), and dried herbs & spices are all you need. Makes the best leftovers, super freezer friendly too! Recipe includes stovetop, Instant Pot, and slow cooker instructions.
Easy Tomato Basil Meat Sauce: we make this once a week! Ground beef & marinara are the key players – add whatever other veggies you have (onion, peppers, garlic) but it will be great either way! Serve alone or over spaghetti squash or gluten free pasta
Chicken Dinners
Creamy Chicken, Spinach, & Artichoke Pasta: uses jarred artichoke hearts, baby spinach (fresh or frozen, or leave it out), and a quick blender sauce. You can always sub any jarred sauce you love if needed! Great use for your pasta!
Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken: chicken, sweet potato, onion, broth, spices, and whatever milk you have on hand (canned or boxed coconut milk works great). This one of my favorites – so much flavor! Serve over rice or on its own.
Buffalo Chicken & Vegetable Casserole: I make this with substitutions all of the time – you’ll need chicken and frozen cauliflower rice, but the other veggies can totally be swapped for frozen options or left out completely – it will still be amazing and veggie packed from the cauliflower!
Creamy Chicken Cacciatore Skillet: Omit whichever veggies you don’t have, swap for whatever you do! This one is foolproof, it’s all about the chicken and creamy marinara! Can use breasts, tenders, or thighs
Whole30 Marinated Chicken Thighs: Use whatever chicken (or fish or shrimp!) you have on hand, this is all about the marinade! Easy pantry ingredients, so much flavor
Soups & Snacks
Sausage Minestrone: This is a great “use up whatever veggies are in the fridge” meal, with sausage that we keep in the freezer! Tastes like pizza
Creamy Sausage, Kale, & Potato Soup: Budget-friendly and made with easy on-hand ingredients like sausage (from the freezer), potatoes, broth, and whatever milk you have.
Buffalo Chicken Chowder: Chicken, potatoes, broth, milk, and hot sauce are the must-haves here! Add a few veggies if you have them or stir in a bag of cauliflower rice
Salmon & Sweet Potato Cakes: Crispy cakes made with canned wild salmon, cooked sweet potato, and a few other pantry ingredients. Super easy and so tasty!
Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates: Dates are easy to keep in the pantry – shelf stable – and make the tastiest snack / appetizer when stuffed with nut butter and wrapped in bacon! We keep several packs of bacon in the freezer & they thaw super quick so we can make these any time.
I hope this helps you with some ideas! Happy cooking! xo
2 Comments
Katie
March 19, 2020 at 6:40 pmMade the chocolate chip baked oatmeal with my daughter(age 4). Oh my goodness!! So so good and easy to make!! It’s approved by both my husband and daughter. Thanks <3 <3
Jessie B
March 19, 2020 at 8:37 pmYay!! Love that your baby girl helped, so sweet! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed.