My 20 Favorite Recipes Using (Mostly) Pantry Ingredients

It’s hard to find a silver lining among so much anxiety and tragedy and TP hoarding, but for me one of the bright points of being in worldwide quarantine is logging onto social media and seeing all the beautiful homemade creations coming out of your kitchens.

People who probably never had more than a stray can of soup in their pantries are texting me saying they made one of my recipes for the first time. As always, when I’m feeling dragged down by life, comfort food is there to make me feel better. And I’m happy that some of you are able to discover that power, even if it means eating more cookies and pizzas and cookie pizzas than usual.

Most of you are doing your part and STAYING HOME, which means using pantry staples and pantry vegetables more than usual. So I thought I’d take the time to give you a little primer on what dried and fresh things have been on my shopping list each week, and how I’ve been using them.

Below you’ll find some easy, healthy pantry recipes from the Feed Me Phoebe archives – many of which are some of your favorite FMP recipes of all time!

Here’s what’s in my freezer:

• Frozen peas
• Frozen spinach
• Frozen kale
• Frozen green beans
• Frozen broccoli
• Frozen blueberries
• Frozen raspberries
• Veggie burgers (for quick fix lunches)

Here’s what’s in my pantry:

• Canned white beans
• Canned black beans
• Canned tomatoes
• Canned chickpeas
• Canned artichoke hearts
• Coconut milk
• Almond milk
• Tomato paste
• Dried lentils
• Quinoa
• White rice
• Brown rice
• Gluten-Free ramen
• Gluten-Free pasta
• Oats
• Chia seeds
• Peanut butter
• Almond butter
• Chicken broth
• Vegetable broth
• Nuts and seeds galore

Most importantly though, I have tons of fresh pantry vegetables at all times. These are items that keep for at least two weeks in the fridge or on the countertop and can provide many weeks worth of meals if all the frozen and canned goods in your grocery stores are gobbled up.

My favorite pantry vegetables are:

• Garlic
• Onion
• Shallot
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Parsnips
• Butternut Squash
• Sweet Potatoes
• Baby potatoes
• Spaghetti squash
• Delicata squash

If you create a shopping list from this page, you can hunker down in your bunker for up to a month.

Also, if you’re avoiding the store right now, I have to give a shout out to Thrive Market, where I’ve been getting a lot of my healthy pantry staples from. They ship shelf-stable items to your doorstep and so far have been much better stocked than any of the brick and mortar stores I tried. Plus an annual membership gives you a ton of savings that will likely pay off in just the next few months alone.

Read on for my favorite pantry recipes to put those staples to work, and how you can adapt them if you don’t have any fresh things on hand!

Stay home, stay safe, and wash your hands.

With health and hedonism,

Phoebe

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Moroccan Red Lentil Soup – Sub frozen kale or spinach for the chard.

Faux Falafel Quinoa Veggie Burgers – If you don’t have access to the fresh cucumber and herbs, simply use straight yogurt, lemon juice and garlic to create the sauce.

Vegetarian Japchae – You can use frozen spinach, peas and carrots, if you don’t have fresh.

Artichoke Hummus – Two pantry staples (canned artichokes and canned chickpeas) come together to create one easy snack. You can eat it with crackers if you don’t have fresh veggies on hand.

Spanish Quinoa Pilaf – Red bell pepper is the only non-pantry vegetable here and you can easily omit it or sub something else.

Vegan Black Eyed Pea Jambalaya – Use frozen collards.

Blueberry Overnight Oats – This compote works just as well with frozen berries!

Black Bean Dip – Cilantro leaves are the only fresh ingredient in this easy dip and you can easily omit it.

Smashed Chickpea Salad Wraps – If you don’t want to use fresh lettuce, this veggie filling is perfect for lunchtime sandwiches.

Socca Salad Pizza – Speaking of chickpeas, if you’re looking for an easy at-home pizza crust, this socca method with chickpea flour is a winner every time. You can skip the salad on top and just go with straight cheese if you want!

Red Lentil Masala – The most popular FMP pantry recipe of all time! Just use frozen spinach if you don’t have fresh.

Moroccan Lamb and Sweet Potato Chili – Sweet potato is one of my favorite pantry vegetables. If you don’t have any double the chickpeas!

Black Bean and Lentil Chili – This chili kills many cans with one stone: black beans, lentils and pumpkin!

Red Wine Spaghetti – Liquor stores are providing essential services! Have at this wine pasta!

Paleo Cast Iron Cookie Pizza – Cookies are good for your immune system too.

Green Kitchari – Use frozen broccoli and spinach and omit the zucchini if you don’t have it on hand.

Pumpkin Mac and Cheese with Kale – Frozen kale is always an option for this healthy mac and cheese.

Miso Mushroom Ramen with Bok Choy – Even without any of the fresh veggies, this is a great jumping off point for using your ramen noodles. Any frozen veggies can be swapped in.

Slow Cooker Chicken Kheema with Peas – If you have ground chicken or any meat for that matter on hand, this is a perfect spice-centric dish.

Spinach Balls with Turmeric Yogurt – Frozen spinach, sunflower seeds and eggs are all you really need for these tasty balls. They can be a snack or veggie main course served over rice.

Vegetarian Cassoulet – Like many of these pantry recipes, use this cassoulet as a jumping off point and sub any veggies you have on hand if mushrooms or chard are not in supply.