Cheap Pantry Meals

1. Taco soup

This recipe doesn’t have any corn in it because we didn’t have any in the pantry. But we had some green chilies and canned tomatoes from last summer to use up. I’ll use seasonings and ground beef in the freezer that I need to use up. 

Mixing ingredients

I mixed the green chilies, canned tomatoes, and spices while the beef cooked up. My spices included a tablespoon of chili powder, a tablespoon of cumin, and a teaspoon of paprika, two teaspoons to a tablespoon of salt. 

Adding beans

I also have a lot of frozen beans I need to work through in some recipes. I opened up a bag of cooked beans that I made in my Instant Pot. I placed the bean into the soup to thaw and saute. You can also use the crock pot or Instant Pot to make this recipe.

I had some cheese and sour cream for this bowl of yummy chili taco soup.

2. Grilled lunch and dinner

I prepared dinner by thawing out chicken thighs. Then I made a marinade by stirring 1 cup of olive oil, 1 cup of apple cider vinegar, two tablespoons of Italian seasoning, and a teaspoon or two of salt. I poured the marinade on top of the chicken to let it sit there all day.

Grilled burgers

For lunch, I’m making hamburger patties from beef I need to use up. I keep the hamburger patties simple with just salt and pepper. My patties are about ½ inch thick with a divet in the middle of the patty to help it cook evenly.

Grilled chicken and corn

After the chicken thighs were marinating for six to eight hours, I put them on the grill for about 15 minutes. I added some seasoned corn-on-the-cob that I wrapped in foil and also grilled for about 30 minutes. 

3. Spanish rice

I have a lot of items to get out of the fridge, freezer, and pantry, such as peppers and tomatoes. I’m going to use these items to make Spanish rice. I made regular white rice–1 cup rice, 2 cups water. I cut up the vegetables and sauteed them in oil with chili powder, cumin, and salt. I added diced tomato and green chilies to the pan. 

Sauteing vegetables

I added ground beef that I had left and stirred it into the vegetables. I added ½ cup of water so it would not be too dry. 

I poured the vegetables over the rice and added some shredded cheese on top. I found more use for all those beans so I heated up black beans for a side dish.

4. Egg, biscuit, and bacon casserole

I have a ton of eggs. I get over a dozen eggs a day! This recipe is great for an abundance of eggs. I can also use up this maple-flavored bacon from Aldi.

The recipe is a mix of biscuits (store-bought or made from scratch), scramble eggs poured in over the biscuits, then add in cheese and bacon. Put it all in a casserole dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. 

Biscuits from scratch

I made my biscuits from scratch using 2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1/3 cup of bacon grease (you can use butter or coconut oil). Blend in the baking grease using a pastry blender before adding a ¾ cup of milk. 

Dicing the dough

I made the biscuit dough about ½ inch thick and sliced it into cubes. You can always use canned biscuits. Don’t cook the biscuits, though. You will need to add those to the rest of the ingredients.

Mixing the ingredients

I scrambled 15 eggs plus ½ cup of milk for this recipe but use however many eggs you want to use. I then added browned bacon bits and 1 cup of cheese to the egg. 

Prepping the casserole

I used a 13-inch by 9-inch casserole dish to fit everything in, including the biscuits and egg/bacon/cheese mixture. I put it all together in the greased baking dish, and preheated my oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, for about 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes, I took it out and topped it with more bacon bits and another cup or a bit more shredded cheese. Then I cooked it again for 10 minutes. The total cooking time should be about 35 minutes.

Cheap pantry meals

Well, I emptied out my pantry, freezer, and fridge with these quick and easy pantry meals. Is there a pantry meal you plan to make? How about your pantry–what meals have you made while cleaning out your kitchen? Share your pantry meal ideas here!