5 Easy Dishes From a Bare Pantry

If you think your bare pantry means that you’ve got nothing to make for dinner, we’re here to help. Take a look at what you’ve got in there and see what you can find — chances are you’ve got everything you need to whip up a meal for your family.

Chef Alton Brown listed a few basics that he keeps on hand. “Dry beans, grains, canned tomatoes, maybe some eggs. Oh, dry pasta and capers, tinned fish…gin,” he tweeted in April. “We can get through this.”

Here are five easy-to-cook, kid-friendly, budget-conscious quarantine/lockdown/safer-at-home recipes based on everyday ingredients you probably still have around the house, whether in the back of the cupboard, somewhere in the fridge, or at the bottom of the freezer.

1. Do you have potatoes and beans? And maybe some cheese?
Keto fans may not approve, but there’s nothing better than a hearty carb-based comfort meal to fill you up. This easy recipe for supercarb loaded sweet potatoes features baked sweet potatoes stuffed with black beans, red peppers, and feta cheese, but it’s just as delicious if you substitute white potatoes and whatever beans, veggies, and cheese you have available. And if you happen to have any leftovers, or ground meat, pile it on.

Recipe via Good Housekeeping

2. Do you have rice and soy sauce? And veggies?
Fried rice is always a good idea. It’s endlessly adaptable to any ingredients you have on hand, and delicious whether the rice is leftover or freshly made. Even in the emptiest of pantries, you can usually find proteins and veggies to add to the mix, whether fresh, canned or frozen. This step-by step-guide to the fundamentals of fried rice will turn you into a master of this kid-pleasing, quick, and easy classic. And in this case, homemade is definitely better than takeout, because no sanitizing is involved.

Recipe via The Kitchn

3. Do you have canned tuna and pasta?
Everybody has a box of pasta lurking somewhere, right? This simple tuna pasta salad has only five ingredients and is so easy to make. Like the other recipes in this list, the ingredients are completely flexible. No celery? Try chopped onion, scallions or even olives. No peas? How about chopped broccoli or frozen string beans. No mayo? Try olive oil, salad dressing, or plain yogurt. It’s simple to replace other small pasta shapes for the shells or macaroni, or you can even break spaghetti into pieces. And if you don’t have tuna, how about leftover chicken or canned salmon? Or hey, pasta salad is pretty good on its own.

Recipe via Food.com

4. Do you have a bunch of random cans and a can opener?
Then make pantry taco soup, and become a pantry hero. Mom Jenny Erickson originally recommended this recipe to CafeMom, saying “This slightly spicy Southwest-style soup recipe is awesome because it can be made entirely from pantry ingredients.” If you have canned beans, canned tomatoes, and broth (or bouillon cubes), you’re all set. The rest of the ingredients are totally negotiable. No taco seasoning? Any other kind of Mexican or Tex-Mex seasoning will do, including just plain cumin and/or chili powder. Salsa can replace enchilada sauce. Add canned chopped green chilis, onions, or scallions. Use tomato soup instead of cream of chicken. No canned corn? Use frozen. Or leave it out. Try a vegetarian version. If you’ve got them on hand, top with cheese or tortilla chips. The possibilities are endless.

5. Do you want to bake something sweet, but you don’t have flour?
During the pandemic, Americans are “home baking more than ever before,” Kelly Olson, a spokeswoman for Red Star Yeast, told Time. Now that everyone has become Martha Stewart, it’s been really hard to find flour in supermarkets. So if you or the kids are craving a sweet treat, here’s a crazy easy three-ingredient dessert recipe: flourless peanut butter cookies. All you need is peanut butter, sugar, and an egg. Mix, bake, and devour!

Recipe via Taste of Home

Finally, if you’re looking to level up your culinary skills, these celebrity chefs have taken to Instagram to help home cooks. Get ready for easy, unintimidating recipes, insider tips and fun quarantine cook-a-longs.

David Chang
Embedded content: https://www.instagram.com/p/CAmBPoHgkbi/

Ina Garten
Embedded content: https://www.instagram.com/p/CAp-OHepP1Q/

Martha Stewart
Embedded content: https://www.instagram.com/p/CAqzFkyA8qJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link/

Gordon Ramsay
Embedded content: https://www.instagram.com/p/CAiWn1HjZKj/

Rachel Ray
Embedded content: https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_skq_mpRDL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Eric Ripert
Embedded content: https://www.instagram.com/p/CAnA7Vvn6HO/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link