Are you struggling to find things to make with items in your pantry or freezer? Sometimes when we are stuck at home we need some Healthy Pantry Meal Ideas that don’t use fresh food. Here are some great ideas for healthy recipes during this time that we have to stay home.
Healthy Pantry Meal Ideas
During times like these when we need to keep grocery shopping trips to a minimum, having a healthy stock of pantry staples in your home can be invaluable. So many items that we can keep in the cabinets or freezer can be used in so many different ways for quick, easy meals.
These times are so uncertain, it’s important to be able to make food for our families using items that aren’t always fresh. But that doesn’t mean they are not healthy! Here is a list of some amazing healthy recipes that use a lot of pantry or freezable items.
Lately I’ve been purchasing frozen vegetables, chicken broth, tomatoes in the carton, dried beans, yeast and flour. It’s amazing how many meals you can come up with using a small list of similar items. Scroll down and download the printable list of pantry staples to keep as well as a printable weekly meal planner.
More than 50 Healthy Pantry Meal Ideas
Mexican Ground Beef Skillet
This Mexican ground beef skillet makes great use of both frozen and canned foods.
Old Fashioned Goulash Recipe
This delicious Old Fashioned Goulash Recipe will remind you of your childhood! Made with foods that you likely already have on-hand, everyone will love the comfort and flavor of this tasty dish!
Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe {Easy Weeknight Slow Cooker Recipe}
Easily made with ingredients from your pantry and freezer, this crockpot soup is a family favorite!
Pasta e Fagioli aka Pasta and Beans
Such an easy, quick, nutritious and inexpensive dish, pasta and beans will be asked for on a weekly basis! I can almost guarantee it!
Pantry Chicken Spaghetti
This pantry chicken spaghetti is creamy and is full of flavor. It’s made completely from canned food - a quick and easy dinner for your family.
Black Bean & Rice Open-Faced Tacos
Gently spiced, quick and easy rice and bean filled tacos. A great family recipe that uses pantry staples.
Instant Pot Lentil Soup
This Instant Pot lentil soup is so comforting, hearty, healthy, and filling! Don’t settle for bland tasteless lentil soup, and try this amazing recipe. All it takes is a few herb flavorings, bay leaves, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Vegan Potato Soup
I believe my love of creamy potato soup developed in childhood. It’s deep-rooted comfort food for me. Even now, it doesn’t have to be cold outside. We eat the vegan potato soup recipe year-round.
Easy Black Beans and Rice (Stovetop or Pressure Cooker)
An easy complete meal made with 2 pantry staples, rice and beans. It is affordable, delicious, and can be made either in the pressure cooker or on the stovetop.
Vegan Tiger Masala
The awesome thing about this recipe is you can put any veggies you have on hand in it, and it always tastes amazing. Even with no veggies, it tastes great!
5 Soup Pasta
5 Soup Pasta is an easy dinner for your family that uses 5 cans of soup in the mouthwatering sauce. It tastes a little like Hamburger Helper
Easy Vegetable Pasta Soup Is Hearty and Healthy
This easy vegetable pasta soup is an all-in-one-pot meal that is ideal for weeknight dinners or simple lunches. It’s a nutritious, filling, and satisfying bowl of comfort that is incredibly straightforward to prepare. And it's made with canned goods, frozen veggies, and dry pasta that's you likely have on hand.
Easy Pea Soup Recipe Made with Frozen Peas
Fresh is typically my first choice, but this easy pea soup made with frozen peas is absolutely delicious. And, peas are one of the few vegetables that I usually have on hand in my freezer.
Pasta E Fagioli Soup
Pasta e Fagioli is a classic Italian soup made primarily with pasta and beans. There is so much flavor in this simple soup and one special ingredient makes this unlike any other.
Italian Bean Soup - Food Fun & Faraway Places
This Italian Bean soup is hearty and so healthy. Filled with three varieties of fiber-rich beans, this will be one of your family's favorite meals!
Easy Canned Tuna Pasta (Ready in 15 Minutes!)
This canned tuna pasta recipe is quick, healthy, and comforting. The perfect recipe when you don’t have a lot in your pantry!
Vegan Chili | Slimming World Friendly
This hearty vegan Chili uses pantry staples and dried pulses, keeps well and is suitable for freezing.
Easy Seven Can Soup
No cooking skills are needed to make this easy Seven Can Soup.
Simple Tomato Chicken Alfredo
This Tomato Chicken Alfredo recipe is easy to make and just the comfort food your family is craving. Use canned chicken and your other pantry items.
Pantry Chicken Taco Soup - made in 20 minutes! • Food Folks and Fun
Chicken Taco Soup is a quick and easy recipe that is made with canned pantry ingredients.
Healthy Crockpot Chicken Chili Recipe
The best Healthy Crockpot Chicken Chili ever! This recipe is so easy to make and is the perfect dinner to feed a crowd! Loaded with veggies, fiber and protein this meal is even freezer-friendly!
Best Easy Chili Recipe (30 Minute Beef Chili + Video)
Made in 30 minutes on the stovetop, this beef chili is a delicious family-friendly dinner to enjoy in the fall! It’s made from scratch (no packaged seasoning)!
Homemade Tuna Sushi Bowl
If you’re looking for a healthy, easy, and budget friendly sushi inspired meal, I’ve got you covered! This healthy homemade Tuna Sushi Bowl is made with canned tuna and the most cooking you’ll do is the rice!
Smoky Slow Cooker Baked Beans -This Healthy Kitchen
These baked beans are cooked low and slow to absorb all the savoury, smoky, delicious sauce. Made using pantry staples, just dump everything in your crock pot and let the magic happen.
Vegan Pasta e Fagioli [No Oil+IP Option]
This classic Italian dish is filling and satisfying. Made using pantry staples like pasta and beans for a hearty meal the entire family will love.
Shrimp and Green Peas Stir Fry
This shrimp and green peas stir fry is a quick Chinese recipe. It’s so flavorful, affordable and very easy to make. A healthy Asian dinner for your family.
Chicken Chili
This flexible recipe will have you covered when you forgot to take chicken breasts out to thaw or when you have leftover cooked or store-bought rotisserie chicken. Everything else comes from the pantry and you’re likely to have it on hand. Making this the perfect easy meal you can make anytime!
Spaghetti Peperonata with Tuna and Olives
Spaghetti Peperonata with Tuna and Olives is a rustic Italian style pasta that’s easy to throw together on a weeknight. It’s an inexpensive, healthy 30 minute meal with that casual Mediterranean ‘let’s set up dinner in the vineyard tonight’ vibe. Not bad for a box of pasta, some fresh peppers, and a can of tuna!
Vegetarian Pasta E Fagioli With White Beans and Basil - A High Protein Vegan Recipe
Easy Spanish Rice Casserole
Easy Spanish Rice Casserole gives me that south-of-the-border fix while not making my family crazy.
Easy Vegetable Pasta Recipe
The best thing about this recipe is how versatile it is. When I first started making it, I used only tomatoes and zucchini, but lately I’ve started adding asparagus to this recipe and shredding my zucchini lengthwise.
Easy Vegetarian Bean Chili (Ultimate Vegan Chili)
This stovetop recipe for easy vegetarian bean chili is delicious and healthy. It’s packed with flavor and protein from the canned beans. Walnuts give it a great “meaty” flavor!
Grandma's Chicken Zoodle Soup
Use canned chicken and boxed broth to make this scrumptious Chicken Zoodle Soup and dip your spoon into something delicious!
Cornbread Chili Casserole
Cornbread Chili Casserole is a great option when you want a hearty meal! With beans and ground beef, you’ll be asked to make this one over and over!
Chicken Casserole with Broccoli
This Chicken Casserole with Broccoli is an easy and healthy dinner recipe. It is so creamy and simple to make, it is the perfect comfort food.
Super Fast Vegetable Fried Rice
This fast and easy fried rice uses frozen vegetables and leftover rice. After a quick sauté, you have a healthy tasty dinner for your family that costs less than $2 a person.
Easy Classic Chili Mac Recipe
Delicious, comforting, classic Chili Mac {i.e., Goulash, American Chop Suey} is neither sophisticated nor fancy, but Mom’s Chili Mac recipe is one thing I can always depend on.
Healthy Mac and Cheese (Vegan and Oil-Free) - Key To My Lime
This healthy mac and cheese is the perfect way to sneak extra veggies into your kids dinner! You can swap the carrots for canned carrots (or even omit them) to make a meal entirely from your pantry.
Yummy Tater Tot Casserole! - Rachel's Crafted Life
This Yummy Tater Tot Casserole meal is easy and delicious and gets requested often in our house. Plus the ingredients are easy to keep on hand in the pantry or freezer.
Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Recipe
This recipe for Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili is my new go-to when the family wants some comfort food! It’s the perfect combination of soup and stew, using red lentils instead of rice for fiber.
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