This is Starter Kit, a series where our editors share the food, drink, and kitchen essentials they recommend when you’re setting up from scratch. Here, Alaina Chou writes about everything you need to stock a pantry—whether you're a first-time cook, just moved, or finally did that long-overdue cleanout…
Believe it or not, before my pantry shelves devolved into a sprawling mess composed of seemingly every consumer packaged good known to man (which is what happens when you write about said goods for a living), there was a time when they were entirely empty. That time was nearly four years ago, when I first moved into my current apartment and had nary a spice jar or condiment to my name.
Building a pantry from the ground up may feel like a daunting task—it certainly did to me. But while I’m admittedly a sucker for stuffing my cupboard with niche olive oils and seasoned salts I never end up using, curating a highly effective starter pantry requires just a few key products and guiding principles.
If you’re currently building out a pantry from scratch (maybe you moved, maybe you’re getting into cooking for the first time, or maybe you just did a massive spring cleanout?), consider this your checklist-slash-guidebook. Add all of the following products to cart, and I guarantee your pantry, fridge, and freezer will be stocked with a well-rounded selection of essentials to help get dinner (or breakfast, or lunch, or dessert) on the table.
For some expert input on pantry must-haves, I turned to cookbook author, Substack writer, and weeknight cooking whiz Caroline Chambers (whose new book, What To Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast, comes out in August), as well as our Test Kitchen editors. Read on for their tips (as well as some of my own) for how to fill your pantry with everything you need—and nothing you don’t.
How to customize this list for you
This list is by no means exhaustive (hence the “starter” in “starter kit”), but rather a suggestion of things to stock up on in an initial grocery run that will serve you well in your everyday cooking routine. Even so, my ideal pantry starter kit will look different from yours, or your neighbor’s, or your best friend’s, its contents dependent on your flavor and cuisine preferences and lifestyle choices.
When deciding what to stock up on, Chambers recommends you “look to your family's favorite five recipes. Chances are, if you stock your pantry with those items, every week you're only going to have to buy meat and fresh produce, because you already have the pantry goods (rice, pasta, beans, spices) that you need to make all of your favorite things.” She recommends keeping those five favorite recipes in a notes app, with each of their ingredient lists bulleted below.
Similarly, if you gravitate towards certain cuisines, that will invariably influence which pantry items you should keep stocked. For instance: I cook a lot of Chinese food at home, so I keep a fridge door shelf’s worth of essentials—like light and dark soy sauce, black vinegar, brown bean sauce, and a billion types of chili crisp—on hand at all times. Use the following list as a starting point and supplement it with whatever it is you need to cook the way you want to.
Dry goods
Kitchen cabinet space is precious (unless you have a separate pantry or loads of cupboards, in which case, can I move in?), but a few basic ingredients can go a long way. And before you start loading your shelf with bags of flour and sugar, might I implore you to decant those dry goods into sealed containers? Sincerely, someone who has had one too many pantry beetle infestations in her lifetime.
Grains
If you’re anything like me, grains form the base of most of your dinners—but that doesn’t mean you need to buy ten different types. Start simple with white rice (senior test kitchen editor, Jesse Szewczyk, likes to keep both short and long grain on hand, but you could pick one) and a couple of pasta shapes, one long and one short (associate test kitchen manager, Inés Anguiano, prefers mezzi rigatoni and bucatini, but to each their own). I like to keep both regular pasta and a more protein-rich option like Brami stocked for nights when I can’t be bothered to cook an additional protein.
Spices
I know it’s tempting to buy that 24-pack of spices, but before you do, consider whether this set of ten essentials from Spicewalla can cover all of your bases. Tack on a couple of your favorite spice blends or seasoning mixes to round out your collection—food director Chris Morocco is partial to curry powder and za’atar.
Of course, we can’t forget about salt and pepper. Buy a big box of kosher salt (we use Diamond Crystal in our Test Kitchen) and decant it into a salt cellar as needed. And while I can’t deny the convenience of pre-ground pepper, the fresh stuff is infinitely more flavorful (and easy enough to make use of with the right pepper grinder).
Baking
Even if you rarely bake, I’d argue flour and sugar are essential enough to merit a spot on the shelf. You never know when you might want to thicken a sauce with a roux, or balance a dish with a pinch of sugar. And unless you truly never bake, it’s worth picking up baking powder and soda—just make sure to replace them every six months or so to ensure your bakes stay properly leavened.
Sauces and such
A.k.a., wet goods? These are the things you’ll stash in your fridge door, cupboard, or stoveside tray for all of your drizzling and dolloping needs.
Condiments
For added heat, a smooth hot sauce and a chunky chili crisp are both musts. Chambers loves the sriracha from Yellowbird, and while I love tasting every new wave chili crisp to hit the market, the OG Lao Gan Ma will always be my favorite. Soy sauce is a non-negotiable, both for drizzling over dumplings (more on that later) and for adding deeply savory saltiness to any dish. Morocco and senior test kitchen editor, Shilpa Uskokovic, both recommend keeping oyster sauce on hand as another easy way to add umami. (Morocco is partial to Lee Kum Kee for this: “So oceanic, yet so fresh and balanced by that edge of caramel,” he says.) Round out the condiment shelf with the classic trifecta of ketchup, mustard, and mayo. Maille’s Dijon can’t be beat, IMO.
Oils, vinegars, and syrups
I have about 20 different olive oils in my pantry right now, but you really only need one bottle of the good stuff for a starter pantry. California Olive Ranch’s 100% California olive oil is my go-to for its balance of affordability and quality. I also always keep a neutral oil with a high smoke point on hand—this can be grapeseed, canola, vegetable, sunflower, or my current choice, avocado.
When it comes to vinegar, I recommend choosing one sweet, syrupy option (like a good balsamic), one sharp and fruity option (Morocco’s a fan of Acid League), and a bottle of white vinegar, which is as great for cleaning as it is for adding neutral acidity to a dish, dressing, or sauce.
Last, a liquid sweetener of some sort will come in handy for everything from baked goods and your morning oatmeal to cocktails or salad dressings. Choose between honey, maple syrup, or agave.
Cans and tins
Stocking your pantry with the right shelf-stable canned goods can mean the difference between ordering takeout and throwing together a quick and satisfying home-cooked meal. With curry paste (I like Maesri) and coconut milk (Chambers loves Thrive Market’s) in your arsenal, you’re 20 minutes away from a flavorful curry at all times. Ready-to-eat proteins like tinned fish and seasoned, pre-cooked beans (A Dozen Cousins and Heyday are both staff favorites) make for excellent meal-starters, too.
For the fridge and freezer
If the contents of my fridge and freezer were to disappear today, these are the six things I’d replenish first.
For the fridge: Better Than Bouillon is one of my most-used pantry staples, so I keep a jar of the chicken variety stocked at all times. Stirred with water, it’s better than 99% of the boxed stocks I’ve tried, but its use cases don’t end there—I’ve also been known to add it to pasta water, soups, or sauces for an extra kick of savory flavor. Chambers recommends buying a jumbo jar from Costco, which I can attest is a great move. She also buys Costco’s large hunks of Parmigiano Reggiano, which she grates herself using a Vitamix. One last fridge staple? Kimchi. It’s a versatile way to add flavor and nutrients to a meal and comes especially in handy when you don’t have any fresh produce on hand.
For the freezer: Chambers leans on frozen garlic and ginger cubes for nights when she can’t be bothered to finely chop the fresh stuff. Frozen dumplings are a favorite among Chambers, the Test Kitchen, and me, great as a snack or meal starter in a pinch. And last, my number one freezer staple: bread. Rather than let a loaf go stale (and potentially moldy) on the counter, you’re best off slicing any bread you bring home and stashing it in freezer bags. A quick trip to the toaster will bring it back to life.
