So, we’ve talked about Kitchen Essentials and we’ve talked Baking Essentials, which focused on the tools and equipment that make a kitchen both functional and practical.

Now let’s turn our focus to the pantry: with the right ingredients on hand you can easily throw together a last minute dinner when you simply can’t make it to the store, or bake up a batch of basic cookies or brownies for that surprise bake sale you didn’t know was happening (or, you know, the late night craving that hits just when the snow starts to fall…)

This post includes some of the items we use on a regular basis and like to have stocked and on hand for convenience when cooking. If you’re just starting to build your pantry, you certainly don’t have to go buy all this at once, rather slowly build up your inventory as needed. I’ve only included shelf-stable items here; pantry items that require refrigeration for storage/after opening are not included here.

Disclaimer: while this post is not sponsored and no brands have paid to be included here, many of these products were received as part of past/present brand partnerships. That said, should our kitchen be reduced to rubble today, we wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again ourselves tomorrow. Meaning, everything on this list is something we own and love and use on a regular, if not daily, basis. There are also affiliate links in this post, FYI. And if you’re reading this post in RSS or email you might want to click through to the post page for easy clickable links to every item on this list!

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