How to Stock a Pantry for the First Time On a Budget

When you think about building a pantry from scratch, there are certain staple items that are the building blocks for any recipe. Flour, sugar, salt, pepper, other spices, and seasonings are integral for a healthy and well-balanced diet.

Oils, such as coconut and olive oil, pasta, and rice are carbohydrates that many people shy away from, but they are the essentials for frugal and sustainable meals. Instead of filling your casserole dish with chicken or beef, you can fill it with these carbs, and then build on top of them and add fewer of the more expensive ingredients.

The next pantry staples to stock up on are certain canned items, like tomato paste, diced, tomatoes, and dried beans. Dried beans are an excellent source of energy and protein at a minimal cost. These will help you build a nutritional diet even when you do not have much money to spare.

I have learned that by cooking from scratch, you can save a lot of money and reduce many of the filler ingredients that are not beneficial to our diets.

By adding items like baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup, and dry milk powder, to your pantry, you can reduce the number of processed foods that you have to purchase, which are both costly and nutritionally useless.

Canned vegetables, like green beans or corn, and canned fruit are both nutritious and super easy. Whenever you are trying to throw a meal together in minimal time, canned vegetables may be the best option, as they are usually cheaper than fresh veggies and last longer.

Finally, you are going to want to have fresh options as well. Things that will not go bad quickly, but will really add a lot of flavor and nutrition to your meals throughout the month, like potatoes and onions. These items will last a long time and give you a base and substance for your meals as you bake and cook at home.

Now that we have established what to buy, let’s talk about how you do it. I think the best place for you to go would be your local grocery store, Walmart, Aldi, Kroger, places like that, that would have staple items at a reasonable price.

That brings me to tips on how to factor in some money each week for you to have the extra money to build this pantry. You want your pantry to serve as the backbone of your diet, to hold all your regular essentials so that your weekly shopping is minimal.

That way, whenever you are in a pinch and you have to use these very frugal meal plans, stocking up your pantry will allow you to be able to pull from your inventory, instead of having to pay more because you were only able to buy a small portion.

I found several ways to stock up on these staple and necessary items without paying extra.

One thing that has allowed me to build up a stockpile of things like flour and sugar is to watch the sales circulars that come to my mailbox or in the newspaper every week and to find those items that I use on a regular basis.

Check the local circulars for your favorite items, and even if you are not a regular customer of those more expensive stores, they will allow you to come in, only buy the items that are on sale, check out and leave.

This is where really limiting your weekly meal plan budget is going to come in handy. If every week your family can budget $150 or $200 for your groceries, but you can create a frugal meal plan and only spend $100, you can save that extra amount to stockpile your pantry whenever you find your staple items on sale.

Try to set aside at least $30 to $50 per month to continue to build your pantry. Then, whenever you are in a tight spot and you do not have the extra money for a more expensive meal plan, you will still have nourishing filling meals available to you.

An important thing to keep in mind is that everybody's pantry is going to look different. I only stock my pantry with the things that I actually need and use. Pass up on items that are not part of your normal diet, even if you see them on clearance, but do stockpile the items you regularly use for months to come if you find them on sale.

My last tip is to start by cleaning out your pantry. Organizing your pantry is a perfect way to spend this weekend. Go to the Dollar Tree and get a couple of inexpensive baskets that will allow your pantry to be organized and stay neat, which will do wonders in building your pantry to be more user-friendly.

I have bins for condiments, snack items, baking goods, nuts, and bread. I also have a place in the bottom for fruits and vegetables that will stay fresh and not go bad quickly outside of the refrigerator.

How to stock a pantry for the first time

Preparing and stocking up on your pantry is not going to happen overnight. Just begin today, allowing for a little bit of extra in each week's budget, and in no time you will have a surplus that you can pull from to create tons of healthy, nourishing, and delicious meals.

I hope these simple tips on how to stock a pantry were helpful for you, and if you have some tips to add, share those with us in the comments below.