Reducing your grocery bill to under $250 is a cinch, if you maintain a fully stocked pantry of basic ingredients. Here is a basic list of must have ingredients:
Complete Free Printable Pantry List (268kb) This Pantry list can be checked off & printed
Baking Mix (Biscuit)
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Beans (dried)
Breadcrumbs
Chocolate chips
Cocoa, unsweetened baking
Cornmeal
Cornstarch
Corn Syrup, Light
Corn Syrup, Dark
Dried Fruits
Evaporated Milk
Four, all purpose
Flour, whole wheat
Flour, Semolina
Gelatin
Honey
Lentils
Molasses
Nuts, various
Oatmeal
Pasta
Peanut Butter
Powdered Milk
Split Peas
Rice, Arborio
Rice, brown
Rice, Jasmine
Rice, White
Shortening
Soy Sauce
Sugar, confectioners
Sugar, granulated
Sugar, brown
Unsweetened baking chocolate
Semi-sweet baking chocolate
Worcestershire Sauce
Yeast
Minced Garlic
Canned tomatoes
Tomato Paste
Tomato Sauce
Broth
Canned Pineapple
Canned Fruit Cocktail
Condensed Soups
Pie Fillings
Tuna
Crab Meat
Hot Sauce
Olives, black
Olives, Green
Pickles
Salsa
Nonstick spray
Canola Oil
Coconut Oil
Corn Oil
Olive Oil
Vegetable Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Cider Vinegar
Red Wine Vinegar
Rice Vinegar
Seasoned Rice Vinegar
White Vinegar
Allspice
Basil
Bay leaves
Bouillon (Chicken, Beef, Vegetable)
Caraway seeds
Celery seed
Chives
Cilantro
Cinnamon (ground)
Cinnamon (sticks)
Cloves (ground)
Cloves (whole)
Cumin
Curry
Dill seed
Dill weed
Extracts- Vanilla, Almond
Fennel
Garlic (minced)
Garlic powder
Garlic salt
Ginger
Italian seasoning
Mace
Marjoram
Mustard
Nutmeg
Onion powder
Onion salt
Oregano
Parsley
Pepper (black)
Pepper (cayenne)
Peppercorns
Pickling spice
Rosemary
Sage
Salt (coarse & Iodized)
Thyme
Turmeric
Vanilla
I’m sure that I’ve left out a few items, but this will give you the general idea of the items that you should have on hand.
i have one of these taped to inside of pantry and go over it at least once a month to make sure i have what i need…..
baking mix (biscuit), all purpose flour, minced garlic, non-stick spray… that’s not exactly saving money. who, seriously, can’t make biscuit mix from scrap in under 10 minutes?
Pre-minced garlic and non-stick sprays are just wastes of moeny to buy. It costs more than it saves in time (garlic) and money:amount used (spray). As for Corn syrup (light and dark)…..
that stuff is disgusting. Why would you do that to yourself? It’s low quality, and if you have sugar, molassis and honey already, why on earth would you use corn syrup?
**giggles out loud** apparently you’re quite new to the site!
when liss says baking mix she means make your own, same with the Non-Stick Spray. I don’t know where you live but in many areas it’s actually cheaper to buy minced garlic in large containers than it is to buy whole garlic cloves.
Hehehe, I love it when newbies join it’s entertaining!
:overreaction: lol, yes, you’re right, you can make those items yourself and you should- the items on the list do not specify homemade, but that’s what is intended (um, that’s what this site is- a guideline for making your own groceries).
as for the light & dark corn syrup, these are basic pantry items for normal households and the recipes for making your own (using molasses, etc) are in the convenience foods section.
btw, your post tone comes across as argumentative and condescending. perhaps you ought to spend a few minutes getting to understand the point of the site and realizing that its all about making your own groceries and saving money (before you jump to conclusions!).
just curious… why all the different types of rice? i’ve see the, arborio and jasmine at our local grocery store, and they’re quite a bit more expensive, not to mention come in smaller packages, than white or brown.
There is a rather large difference between each type of rice. For example Arborio is a short-grain Italian white rice Italian short grain with high starch content and is used for making risottos – and would be terribly thick and sticky if you cooked it like white rice thinking you’d serve it as a side dish, it would be thick/gummy.
White Rice is rice that has had the husk, bran and seed germ removed.
“Brown rice” has only the husk removed, it requires longer cooking time and more water to cook, but has more complete nutritional value and fiber than polished rices. Cooked brown rice has a slightly chewy texture and a nut-like flavor.
Jasmine and Basmati are well-known varieties of long-grain white rice. They also have richer flavor and make great side dish choices because of their texture & their tendency to be Less Sticky. Jasmine rice is most frequently used in Asian- Style dishes and has an amazing flavor on its own, itcooks more moist and tends to cling together without having a sticky texture.
Basmati rice cooks into very long, slender grains which are dry, separate and fluffy and is most frequently used in Indian style dishes.
As with different types of pasta, there are numerous types of rice, each type has it’s own purpose & use. They have varying textures/flavors which can enhance or ruin a dish if the wrong type is used. Fortunately, most of them of fairly inexpensive.
hello liss, i am new to your site and i’ve been browsing for atleast 3 hours now! I cannot believe the amount of information I have come across! When I found your site I thought I already had my food/household budget completely stripped down thanks to coupons (family of 4, pre coupon grocery..$200-$225 per wk + around $100 per wk at Walmart for non-food items…crazy I know!) I had no concept of sales, etc.
Always just went to the closest store whenever I ran out of items..lol! Since couponing I spend around $100-$125 per wk for ALL items that enter my home (excluding gas for cars, lol). I thought that was pretty good..not anymore!!
Your site has opened my eyes!! Why would I spend $1 a box with coupon for granola bars when I can make them at home with no preservatives at a fraction of the cost! I love to cook so I am really excited to explore the recipes including OAMC since my lil one is going to kindergarten this week and I hope to be working soon.
Thank you so much for all of this eye-opening info especially this pantry list which will get me well on my way! Along with the weekly menus, I’m sure I can cut my weekly bill to around $75 which is insane considering what I once spent!! Thank you Liss and everyone on this site!
I am excited to try the tips/recipes etc and get to meet some new friends! Nancy
i’m with ya! i’m new also to the site and already am hooked!
🙂 if you have not yet made and tried the laundry sauce, you’ll love it! it is all they say…and more! have to get to work…enjoy!
:worthy:
i have been looking for a list like this all over the internet. thanks, so glad i found you
i am only 2 days into this site and I just love it and am excited about what I can learn and save. I am currently an independent sales rep for a line of food mixes, however, after seeing all the recipes for making my own mixes, I am seriously thinking I just might be able to do this myself and make a lot more on my own. Well, lots to research and learn about.
Just glad to be here and see what everyone else is doing and absorbing many great ideas!
this is an awesome list! ty!! i have downloaded…i have most ingredients but need to restock some i have run out of.
came here looking for a list just like this! ty!:stars:
this site is a gift from heaven to me! i was well on my way to covering a lot of the diy and myo items, then i found this site and bam! even more i can make my own of.
buh-bye grocery store rip off items! thank you liss for the time, the work, the effort, the coordinating and everything you have gathered here for us!
i’m so grateful for this site. thanks for all the great suggestions, recipes, and myo recipes. awesome info.
hi, i’m new to the site, having come here after buying the updated ebook. i have been budgeting $500 a month for groceries just for TWO people. Saving half my grocery money to help pay a large medical bill will be a godsend.
I have most of these items on hand, but I could do some fill-in for some that I don’t have, and the list looks pretty handy to just have. Thanks!
Great list, Thank you
been looking at the site for about 3 days now and I cant wait to try all the stuff on here.. I found out about the site from fae book someone liked you site.
are there any lists you could include for a family of three that lives on $190.00 a month and then every other month we adults don’t eat because we can’t go to our local food bank. I joined the group hoping to get more ideas on dropping our grocery and house hold useage bills. We are on extreme fixed income due to my husband’s,illness and as you know bills still have to be paid,and my child still has to be cared for.
Thank you in advance.
I love this
You have no idea how long I’ve searched for a pantry list
Thank you.
The link for the pdf seems to be broken, or the computer i’m using doesn’t like it anyway. it would be nice to have hyperlinks — or references — to the miy items for those of us who haven’t quite made it through the entire site. i’m grateful, though, for the ideas i’ve picked up here.
thank you for letting us know, i fixed it this morning. also, for the myo, if you go under the recipes section there is a “myo”: https://www.budget101.com/frugal/make-your-own-165/
Also- anything with the word MIX in it, is probably already in our Mix Recipes Section because we try to make just about everything from scratch these days.
https://www.budget101.com/frugal/mix-recipes-166/
If there’s a particular recipe you’d like, there’s a search bar on the top right hand side of each page on the navbar. :meatballs: And as always, if you’re looking and cant find something, give us a holler in the forums and I’ll definitely get on it and see if we can help out.
Happy Mothers Day to you!