When you want to cook more at home, the best thing you can do is start stocking up on ingredients.
It can be really frustrating when every time you want to cook or bake, you are missing ingredients.
While you don’t need every ingredient from day one, there are some pantry staples that are great to start with.
Dry Goods to Start With
The first set of pantry staples are your dry goods, which is going to make up a lot of the ingredients you end up using in your cooking and baking recipes.
One of the best things about dry goods is that many of them can be purchased in bulk, saving you a lot of money.
You can even get them in bins in your grocery store to save even more.
Some dry goods to keep in your pantry for cooking and baking include:
- Beans
- Lentils
- Rice
- Pasta
- Baking powder
- Baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
- Oats
- Sugar (different varieties)
- Flour (different varieties)
Herbs and Spices
Next up, you have all your seasonings, herbs, and spices.
It is okay to stock up gradually on your spices, depending on your preferences and the types of recipes you make.
Dried herbs and seasonings won’t last forever and it sometimes takes a while to get through them, so it’s one thing you might not want to buy all at once until you know you like them and use often.
Start with the basic seasonings you know you will use often, like salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, and cinnamon.
You can then get other dried herbs like oregano, basil, cumin, thyme, and others.
Liquid Staples
 There are also some pantry and refrigerator items that are liquids, but are just as important as your dry goods.
This is when you want to stock up on different types of oils, like avocado, olive, and vegetable oil.
Make sure you have non-stick oil spray as well.
Some other liquids might include:
- Vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Hot sauce
- Honey
- Vanilla extract
- Condiments
Refrigerated Staples
Lastly are your refrigerated staples.
These might not go in the pantry, but they are still important to have on hand!
This includes:
- Milk or plant-based milk, such as almond
- Yogurt
- Cheese
- Butter
- Eggs
As you begin cooking more often, you will become familiar with items you use often and should probably stock up on.
But these are good basics to start with.
