Top 10 Essential Pantry Items
As with everything that you consume, aim for super high quality ingredients. Some of these things may be pricey, but the long shelf life and taste makes it all worth it. These items are my most reached for and most loved from my pantry. They’re also the most extensible—I guarantee you can whip up something delicious if you keep your pantry stocked with these essentials.
Salt
Over time, you can grow your pantry and experiment with other infused/sea salts, but I think you only really need two basic kinds: a salt for cooking and a salt for finishing. Cook with kosher salt. Finish with Maldon or Fleur de Sel.
2. Tahini
So essential. Tahini is useful for so many dips and dressings—and the long shelf life makes it a no brainer to keep in your pantry. Soom is my favorite brand for tahini for its smooth and silky texture.
3. Tinned fish
Sustainable, delicious, and good for you. Sardines make for a great snack, lunch, or impromptu aperitivo hour. They’re also a great source of protein in salads. Sardines from Portugal or Spain tend to be the best tasting. Jose Gourmet, Bela, and Wild Planet are good options. Anchovies are a must if you want to boost the unami flavor of all of your sauces or dressings.
4. Chili oil
A good chili oil is great to have on hand to spice up any type of dish—from simple hard boiled eggs to roasted cauliflower. Lately, I’ve been digging the chili onion crunch oil from Trader Joe’s. This Chinese chili oil, however, is an old standby.
5. Oils
A good olive oil is essential for finishing, dressings, and some cooking. My favorite olive oil is the California Olive Ranch Everyday Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Avocado oil is great for cooking (like frying) at a high temperature because of its extremely high smoke point. Do your research on expeller pressed vs. cold pressed oils.
Sesame oil is a must for finishing and dipping meats. Simply mix together sesame oil, salt, and pepper, and you have yourself an essential accompaniment to Korean bbq at home. Coconut oil is fine, but it doesn’t make it onto my essentials list due to its distinct coconut-y flavor that can be super overpowering in most dishes.
6. Spices
My most reached for staples are: garlic powder, smoked paprika, pepper, tumeric, cumin, and za’atar. For sweeter dishes, cinnamon and cardamon are good to have too.
7. Canned tomatoes and tomato sauce
Tomatoes are the base to a variety of dishes, in every possible cuisine it seems. There are several types out there (from diced to whole), but I always go for crushed tomatoes because they’re the most versatile if you want to either create something saucy or substantial that can hold up. If you can’t be bothered to make your own tomato sauce, just make it easier on yourself and keep a jar of sauce on hand. I think Rao’s Homemade tomato sauce is the best for its super clean ingredients and low sugar content.
8. Vinegars
Definitely stock up on red or white wine vinegars for many good chicken dishes and dressings. Apple cider vinegar is always good to have on hand for its prebiotic properties and if you are doing a cleanse. If you are not doing keto, I’d definitely add balsamic vinegar to this list—it’s excellent for finishing, dressings, or in my mom’s adobo.
9. Condiments and sauces
Fish sauce is essential to any dish that needs a little something salty and special. Try it out in tomato based sauces as well. Other must haves include: gochujang, good quality honey, soy sauce, harissa, white miso, and dijon mustard. Dijon mustard is essential for many great chicken dishes and dressings.
10. Nuts
Sigh. And last but not least, this is my favorite category on the list. Nuts are excellent for snacking or adding good texture and depth to any dish. Stock up on almonds, pistachios, pecans, and pine nuts. Sliced almonds toasted in a pool of butter are magic with any roasted green veggie and fresh dill. I will always go for buying a big bag of pistachios since my most frequently made dish at this point are Yotam Ottolenghi’s delicious lamb and pistachio patties.
Extra credit
Not part of my essentials list, but I do think these are great to have on hand too: pepitas, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, almond/coconut flour, liquid stevia, your favorite hot sauce, sriracha, sazon goya seasoning (shout-out to my friend, Eric for teaching me how essential this is to any slow cooked meat), worcestershire sauce, and chia seeds. For the non-keto people in your life, ketchup (and banana ketchup), sweet chili sauce for dipping, couscous, rice, and pasta (obviously) are definite must-haves.