15 Meals You Can Make with Pantry Staples

A jar of roasted red peppers plus any nuts you have on hand—like almonds, walnuts, or pecans—make an easy, tasty romesco that goes great with any type of noodle. If you don't have bread, try croutons or crackers. (And if you don't have the cheese or herbs on hand, just leave them out this time around.) 

Recipe: Try our Sunflower Seed & Red Pepper Rigatoni

Always keep your freezer stocked with an assortment of veggies like peas, spinach, kale, and green beans. A variety of those green things blend up with chicken stock (another perfect pantry staple!) for this creamy, healthy, make-a-whole-batch soup.

Recipe: Try our Spinach-Pea Soup

Breakfast doesn't have to suffer, even in an emergency. Combine pantry-friendly steel-cut oats and quinoa for an extra hearty brekkie, no fresh ingredients required. 

Recipe: Try our Oatmeal-Quinoa Bowl

Pantry meals aren't just a mix of canned and frozen veggies. Stock a few bags of frozen shrimp next to your frozen veg, and you'll be eating good even if you can't make it to the supermarket. Psst: You can buy your edamame in the freezer aisle, too!

Recipe: Try our Shrimp Noodle Salad with Peanut Sauce

Rice is a no-brainer grain to keep in the pantry at all times. It's good with literally everything—including this frozen artichoke-almond combination.

Recipe: Try our Baked Basmati with Artichokes & Almonds

Canned or jarred tuna packed in oil is a brilliant and easy way to get protein into a dish. We like it this way, with pasta, olives, canned tomatoes, and crushed red pepper flakes.

Recipe: Try our Tuna Puttanesca & Penne

Throw a buncha cans of beans in a pot with tomatoes, tomato paste, and whatever spices you've got on hand for this cozy, filling meal.

Recipe: Try our Three-Bean Chili

Frozen spinach and black-eyed peas let you eat the fresh stuff without leaving home. Opt for frozen chicken and canned carrots to turn this into an emergency-friendly dish. 

Recipe: Try our Creamy Chicken & Rice Soup

If you've got nuts and frozen riced cauliflower or broccoli, you can make meatless meatballs. Always keep a hearty selection of dried herbs and spices—these will help pack in the flavor (and they're good for your health, too!).

Recipe: Try Rach's Vegetarian Meatballs with Red Sauce

You can do a whole lot with a simple can of chickpeas. Keep a couple cans on hand, plus white beans, lentils, and canned tomatoes, to whip up this veggie chili. Trade in canned carrots for fresh ones, and add them toward the end so they don't get mushy. 

Recipe: Try our Vegetarian Chickpea & Lentil Chili

Seriously, canned fish will do wonders for you in an emergency. Mix it with canned tomatoes, olives, and whatever pasta you have on hand for a fancy meal you'd never know came entirely from a shelf. 

Recipe: Try our Tuna Puttanesca

The only fresh stuff in this noddle dish are the veggies on top. Use up the ones you're trying to get rid of, or swap them out with defrosted frozen veggies or even canned ones. 

Recipe: Try our Tahini Peanut Noodles

This recipe calls for rotisserie chicken, but you can definitely cook and shred frozen chicken instead. Mix it with frozen corn and frozen green beens, plus onion and potatoes (both of which last quite a while) for a hearty soup. 

Recipe: Try our Chili Chicken & Vegetable Soup

Cauliflower wins again, this time when it's thawed from frozen and topped with pine nuts for a quick, delicious side or main. 

Recipe: Try our Cauliflower Toss-Up

The ever-faithful black bean combines with dried chiles, tomato paste, raisins, and plenty of spices to make this filling dish. You'll have to skip the avocado cream if you can't leave home, but take heart in the fact that there's a cup of beer in the mix. 

Recipe: Try our Ancho-Black Bean Chili