7 easy ways to turn pantry staples into a meal (or snack)
We’ve pulled together seven of our best pantry staple meal and snack ideas to give you some inspiration – one for every day of the week.
Give some of these ideas a try and before you know it, you’ll have a few quick and simple meals and snacks in your repertoire for when you need to get something on the table stat!
1. Pasta
The staple meal so many of us turn to when we want something quick and comforting. Gently cook a little garlic if you have it in some extra virgin olive oil, add in a tin of sardines, tuna, lentils or chickpeas and a tin or two of tomatoes and bubble away gently.
Add in any herbs you have growing in the garden, lingering in the fridge or dried in the cupboard. Mix in with your favourite cooked pasta.
2. Bean chilli
A simple, vegetarian version of a family favourite. Fry some chopped garlic and onion in extra virgin olive oil and add in some spices from the cupboard. Paprika, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, chilli and oregano are some good options.
Add in drained tins of kidney beans and black beans and a tin of tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with your grain of choice, with tortillas or over a cooked potato.
Top with drained, tinned sweetcorn, chopped avocado, grated cheese and a dollop of yoghurt if you have them. Freeze the extras for another day.
There are so many versions of dahl, and it's worth having one of these affordable, staple recipes in your repertoire.
3. Lentil dahl
Dahl, dal, daal, dhals. There are so many versions of this affordable, staple recipe, it is worth having one in your repertoire. Made by frying onion, garlic and spices, adding your lentil of choice and simmering in water or stock.
Some recipes add tomatoes, lemon juice and more spices at the end for a flavour boost.
Expert dietitian & nutritionist, Lyndi Cohen talks us through a simple recipe using a variety of pantry staples.
4. Porridge and muesli
Trying to reduce the amount of processed, sugary cereal in your cupboard? Why not make your own nutritious version. Simmer rolled oats in your milk of choice with cinnamon and top with tinned fruit and nuts for a hearty start to the day.
Need something you prepared earlier? Mix rolled oats with flaked coconut, your chopped nuts and seeds of choice and some spices like cinnamon or nutmeg. Keep it in a large jar and serve with your milk, yoghurt and fruit of choice.
5. Tomato rice
Jollof rice, arroz de tomate, tomato fried rice, jambalaya, thakkali sadam, there are so many versions of tomato rice from around the world.
Rice cooked in a mixture of tomatoes and stock and spiced to your taste makes a family-friendly meal as is or take it up a level by topping with an egg, grated cheese or a side of your favourite salad and protein for when you have the hungries.
Want to reduce food waste? Make soup!
6. Soup
Want to reduce food waste? Make soup! Combine all your leftover veg lingering in the crisper, the back of the freezer and the cupboard into a moreish minestrone. Add in the leftover grains you can’t find a use for like barley, millet or pasta shapes.
Tip in some drained tins of pulses like beans, chickpeas and lentils and some tinned tomatoes and serve with crusty bread.
7. Snacks
Want snackspiration? How about making popcorn in the microwave and topping with za’atar spice blend and little extra virgin olive oil for a savoury hit.
Top wholegrain crackers with tinned fish or for a vegetarian version, try tinned legumes like cannellini beans or chickpeas mashed with tahini and spices.
Need a little sweet something? Try stuffing a pitted date with nut or seed butter. Pop it in the freezer for a chewy taste sensation.
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related reads
The perks of a well-stocked pantry
Do you often find yourself staring vacantly into the pantry and struggling to decide on something to eat? Here are 5 reasons to keep it well-stocked.
Is rice good for you?
Is rice good for you and what type should you eat? Nutrition Australia gives us lowdown on all things rice-related and why it's worthy of its spot as a healthy pantry staple.
Nutrition Australia is Australia’s leading nutrition non-profit organisation, providing information, education and business-to-business (B2B) consultation and advisory services to help Australians achieve optimal health through good nutrition.
Reviewed by the healthylife Advisory Board March 2022