While I’m getting much better at juggling all the work commitments I have at the moment the everyday life stuff is getting increasingly out of control. Case in point: one evening last week I went to the kitchen to make dinner and it quickly became clear that I didn’t have the essentials in to make even the most basic of meals, not even a tin of chopped tomatoes.
Luckily there are a couple of grocery shops open until late a short walk from my flat so it wasn’t a disaster but, as I headed out into the rainy night, I decided there and then to make sure my kitchen cupboards are always well stocked to avoid more Old Mother Hubbard style moments in the future.
Which got me thinking, what are the store cupboard essentials I need to have in so that I always have everything I need to hand in order to be able to knock up a variety of meals? A quick Google search revealed lists from Jack Monroe of A Girl Called Jack blog and Jamie Oliver of, hang on, you don’t need me to tell you about Jamie Oliver…
Jack started her blog when she was surviving on a budget of just £10 to feed her and her young son and so her list is full of the kinds of ingredients that are the cornerstones of healthy-and-filling-on-a-budget meals such as risotto, pilaf, pasta sauce, curry, tagine, chilli, falafels and veggie burgers. Think natural yoghurt, pasta, rice, oats, red lentils, chopped tomatoes, frozen spinach, tinned kidney beans, tinned chickpeas, tinned baked beans, dark chocolate and stock cubes.
Jamie’s list, as you would imagine, includes some rather more fancy ingredients (five types of oil!) although there are some crossovers with Jack’s list. Both recommend stocking up on pasta, rice, tinned chopped tomatoes, tinned kidney beans, tinned chickpeas and stock cubes. Other ingredients on Jamie’s list that are getting a spot in my store cupboard are couscous, curry paste, tinned tuna, tinned coconut milk, olives and anchovies.
If I was to buy all of the above, with the herbs and spices that are already filling a shelf in my kitchen cupboard and the addition of a weekly shop of fresh fruit and vegetables, plus cheese, eggs and so on, I would have everything I need to knock up all sorts of delicious dinners (and breakfasts and lunches). Better get to the shop…
What’s on your list of store cupboard essentials? What are your must-have-in-at-all-costs ingredients? And what’s your go-to quick-and-easy store cupboard dinner? Do share below!
You can read about Charlotte’s clean eating essentials here.
I have the book a girl called Jack and cook from it all the time, it’s just so inspirational and tasty too.
I always have frozen stock cubes in the freezer I make my own whenever we have chicken. I also freeze a few cubes of red wine too so they can be added to jazz up a recipe.
My cuboard always has baked beans, chopped tomatos, brown rice, brown pasta, a weight watchers curry sauce, lentils, tinned potatoes, kidney beans, bbq sauce and tomato ketchup ooh and a cheat pack of super noodles for days when I really can’t be bothered xx
frozen stock cube = genius! So stealing that idea, thank you! x
So many good recipes on the blog too. Ooh, great idea to freeze cubes of red wine Helen!
I find keeping some frozen prawns in the freezer is always good – you can defrost them almost instantly under the tap (although I’m sure this goes against food hygiene advice but I’ve never been ill) and they are great for a protein hit in pasta or risottos or over a jacket potato.
We usually keep a tub of grated Parmesan in the fridge and some risotto rice in the cupboard – you can then pretty much add whatever else you have to hand for a delicious dinner!
I second frozen spinach – it’s great for adding to tinned tomatoes and turning into a pasta sauce or curry-style dish with a few spices. Chickpeas are also brilliant – I used to make a (frozen) spinach and chickpea curry which was healthy and delicious… My husband never even guessed that that dish also meant “we have no other food left”! 🙂
Spinach and chickpea curry sounds yummy Katie!
passata. I think it tastes nice on its own as a pasta sauce but you can add cherry tomatoes, cheese, basil etc to jazz it up. I also like cayenne pepper, I sometimes add it to dishes to spice them up when I’ve made the the same meal for my son and I as he prefers milder tastes.
Passata’s definitely going on my list Kathryn, so useful!
Tinned tomatoes are a must for me, along with pasta. I also always have a selection of herbs and spices to make even the most basic meal more interesting. I love chickpeas too and found a really easy, quick and healthy chickpea stew recipe online a couple of months ago which I have with cous cous as a midweek meal when I’m either short on time or we’re relatively low on other foods! My general go-to for the when the cupboards are empty is a tomato and basil sauce with pasta. There’s usually some cheese in the fridge so that gets grated on top. Can’t go wrong!
Agreed Amma, I vow never to run out of tinned tomatoes again!
I once had to write up an essentials shopping list for a male friend in his student days as he didn’t know what to buy when he went shopping – bless him! My basics haven’t changed since I wrote that list 10 years ago.
Pasta, rice, tinned tomatoes, tinned tuna, coconut milk, usually a Thai curry paste, eggs, frozen prawns, chicken, mixed peppers. There are so many things you can do with these ingredients that are quick and simple.
Items that have crept in to my cupboards more recently are sweet potatoes (I love them and now prefer them to white potatoes) and butternut squash (not quite as time effective but delish!). Asda do tins of mixed beans in tomato sauce that are really yummy. I warm them up, spinkle in some herbs, add a bit of tomato puree to thicken the sauce, and pour them on toast that has garlic butter on it. Voila! Posh beans on toast.
My best kitchen investment has been my soup maker. Once I have cooked off the ingredients and poured in the stock there is enough soup for four large bowls in just 20 minutes. I tend to freeze half or take it to work for lunch.
Great list Claire. Love sweet potatoes too. Your posh beans on toast sounds so good!
Bread, frozen in freezer. Toast.
But then, I only have two dinner plates, three mugs and no wine glasses, so the kitchen is obviously not my forte!
When it was pancake day and my partner’s daughters came round I had to borrow a frying pan from work!
What do you drink your wine out of then?? 🙂
Having a loaf of bread in the freezer is a very good shout. I’m not very well stocked but did invest in a non-stick frying pan recently, great for omelettes, stir fries and so on Pamela.
Frozen mixed fruit for easy puddings. I also like to have a packet of ready made meringue nests in too just in case! Heat the frozen fruit (and blend if you’re feeling fancy), add yoghurt to a meringue nest and top with the fruit (sweetened if nec).
Plus all the things mentioned above, and frozen peas and spinach (just in case you think I just eat pudding!!)
I only recently discovered frozen fruit Claire, a revelation!
@Clairek – I don’t drink it! It all tastes like vinegar to me!
Hahaha, that explains it then! 🙂
Some of my staples are: Quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat, kidney beans, chickpeas, tahini, (for whipping up a quick hummous), tinned tomatoes, red onions, garlic, chillies, ginger, homemade bread in the freezer, nuts and seeds (awesome for snack bags and putting through quinoa), oat cakes, dark chocolate, a nice piece of cheese in the fridge. If I don’t have these basics at home, I panic!
Adding all your items to the list Kate, although not sure the bread will be homemade!
Half fat creme fraiche lasts for ages and is brilliant for sweet or savoury cooking. Best ingredient ever!
Its satisfying doing a “kitchen cupboard supper” using up odds and ends.
Always have pasta, whole rice, risotto rice, tinned toms, creme fraiche, shallots/onions, frozen kale, frozen spinach and frozen smoked salmon (defrosts really quickly).
Favourite ‘no need to go shoppping’ supper is pasta with half a tub of creme fraiche, pack of smoked salmon chopped up, spoonful of horseradish and sprinkle of black pepper stirred into the cooked pasta – doesn’t even need heating through.
Oh, and always have chopped wedges of lemons and limes in the freezer for emergency G&Ts 😉 I never remember to make ice & it does both jobs!
that’s a brilliant idea, I’m deffo stealing that!
Stealing the frozen lemon and lime wedges idea too!
Creme fraiche is great for pasta sauces isn’t it Victoria. Adding frozen kale to the list too, great idea.
Red Lentils can’t do without them! Chop leek, onion, five or six carrots, tiny bit of parsnip and swede (due to the strong flavour), add two vegetable stock cubes, mixed herbs, cover with just enough water, bring to boil, simmer for ten minutes then add quite a few red lentils and a squirt of tomato puree and simmer for a further ten minutes. Delicious, thick soup that freezes well. I use the lentils to thicken casseroles too.
Red lentils are brilliant aren’t they Eileen, usually have them in so I can make the dhal from A Modern Way To Cook!
Frozen peas so there’s always a vegetable to hand!
Stock cubes.
Emergency bread in the freezer.
We (ok my husband) made bone broth the other week as recommended by Hemsley Hemsley book but we only had large containers to freeze it – really needed smaller containers tsk.
I need to get on the bone broth thing Lynn, a job for the weekend!
I always have lots of frozen veg in the freezer. Sainsburys do a great range including chopped mushrooms, onion, garlic and mixed diced veg. I always have some on hand for pasta and rice dishes along with canned tomatoes, tomato paste etc. Having a daughter with multiple allergies has made it much harder for me to rely on processed food so will definitely have a look at the sites you recommend!
Must check out Sainsburys frozen veg Tinny, thanks for the tip!
Pesto!! And pasta – if you have those, you can always create an easy and delicious meal – just chuck in whatever veg/protein you’ve got lying around. I usually have some bacon and onion, and there’s always peas in the freezer.
Eggs are also my staple – if I’m home late from work, I can chuck in whatever veg etc you have lying around.
I ALWAYS have a tub of low fat Philadelphia in my fridge – even though it’s a ‘fresh’ ingredient, it lasts ages and can basically complete any meal.
I know it’s been said many times above, but bread in the freezer is a life saver.
Finally, the meal I used to eat a lot when I was in a rush is Batchelor’s Pasta N Sauce. You can add whatever protein/extra veg youu want, and with a dollop of Philly it’s actually quite yummy. Very low fat (2 points on Slimming World) and only takes 10 minutes to cook.
Pesto definitely needs to be on my list. Eggs also a great shout, an omelette is a super quick, super delish dinner option. Thanks Stacey!