Cooking can be very intimidating for someone who just moved out to college, a newlywed, new mom, or even for the person who decided to learn to cook after years of ignoring it and relying on frozen dinners. Cooking does not need to be scary and with this in-depth cooking essentials ingredients list, you will be fully prepared to confidently cook at home!
Essential Ingredients
I have divided this into 9 separate categories to simplify the list and make it easier to navigate:
1- Fats and Vinegar: cooking oil, finishing oil, other fats, and vinegar
2- Spices: salt, pepper, dried herbs, and other spices
3- Sweeteners: sugar, honey, maple syrup
4- Grains: rice, oats, bread, and pasta
5- Legumes, nuts, and seeds: beans, peas, nuts, and seeds
6- Baking: all-purpose flour, bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, vanilla extract, yeast, gelatin, chocolate (cocoa powder, semi-sweet chocolate chips), sugar
7- Canned Goods & jarred sauces: tomato products, fruit, vegetable, sauces, broths/stocks, and meat
8- Perishables: fresh herbs, fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs, cheese, garlic, and onion
9- Frozen: fruit, vegetables, and proteins
10- Other: coffee, tea, crackers, condiments, dried fruit, and breadcrumbs
1) Fats & Vinegar
Cooking Oil: corn, canola, vegetable, avocado, peanut, or grapeseed oil.
Any kind of neutral-flavored oil with a high smoking point is essential for almost any cooking. Neutral oils are made from nuts, seeds, grains, or fruits.
Finishing Oil: extra virgin olive oil, sesame oil.
This is a higher-quality oil than the cooking oils from above. It is an oil that can be drizzled on top for a finishing touch. A good finishing oil will affect the flavor profile, texture, and bring a depth of flavor to complete the dish. Finishing oils are best used for salad dressings, vinagrettes, pestos, and other sauces like homemade mayo.
Other fats: butter, lard (neutral flavored fat rendered from pork), or bacon fat (differs from lard as it carries a smokey flavor).
Whether for flavor or cooking, these are still essential ingredients for the home cook!
Vinegar: apple cider vinegar, distilled white vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, rice wine vinegar, or balsamic vinegar
Vinegars carry very distinct flavors and for this reason there can be so many overwhelming options. The two most essential vinegars for a beginner cooking at home are apple cider vinegar and distilled white vinegar. As you expand your cooking knowledge, you will find that other types of vinegar may better fit your needs.
2) Spices
Salt: iodized table salt, pink himalayan salt, sea salt, kosher, pickling, or black salt
The topic of salt is so much more complicated than anyone could imagine. There is iodized table salt which is most common and this just means that iodine is added to the table salt. Many different salts are found naturally that provide different sets of health benefits. Whichever salt you choose, use in moderation.
Pepper: black pepper, crushed red pepper, or cayenne pepper
Fresh cracked back pepper is far better than pre-ground. If you have no other pepper in you pantry, black pepper is the only true necessity starting out. The best way to keep fresh ground black pepper on hand, is to purchase the whole peppercorn, and grind in a food processor, grinder, or blender, then store in an airtight container. You can use it as pre-ground, but provides the flavor of fresh-ground. It truly makes a difference!
Dried Herbs: thyme, oregano, basil
Herbs are essential to seasoning any good cooking. Fresh is always best, but dried will store longer in the pantry. Over time, dried herbs lose their potency. A quick tip to keep your dried herbs lasting as long as possible is to immediately transfer them to an airtight container after purchase.
Other Spices: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin, cinnamon and nutmeg
There are lots of other spices to choose from, but keeping basic ones on hand will be plenty to use in everyday cooking and even go as far as helping you make your own seasoning mixes like seasoned salt, ranch dressing mix, Italian seasoning mix, and so many more!
3) Sweeteners
Sweeteners: sugar, honey, maple syrup
If you’re adding a touch of sweetness to homemade sauce or dish, or if you are making desserts, a home cook’s cooking essentials ingredients list is not complete without a few sweeteners of choice. This could be cane sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, or just honey, maple syrup, or even simple syrups! Stick to your dietary needs, but I would stay away from artificial sweeteners.
4) Grains
Grains: rice, oats, bread, pasta
In this category, I am referring to any food made from rice, oats, wheat, cornmeal, barley etc. These product are essential cooking ingredients for creating great meals. You do not need them all, but be sure to keep healthy grains or byproducts on hand to complete your pantry essentials.
5) legumes, nuts, and seeds
Legumes: garbanzo beans (chickpeas), lentils, green peas, black eyed peas, peanuts, black beans, kidney beans, lima beans, or pinto beans
Pick one or all! There are so many options and all are not listed here, but here is a great source with all you could want to know about legumes!. Any dried legume is still a cooking essential ingredient for a well-stocked pantry! You could also have these canned, but cooking beans from scratch is super simple! It’s truly as simple as boil for a long time then season!
Believe it or not, peanuts are actually a legume, though we commonly refer to them as nuts.
Legumes are often confused for pulse. Legumes are the entire plant including leaves, stems and pods. Pulse, however, is the seed from the legume plant, like beans, peas, and lentils. This is the part we eat!
Nuts: walnuts, almonds, pistachios, cashews, pecans, hazelnuts, chestnuts, or macadamia nuts
Seeds: sesame seeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, or pumpkin seeds
Whether to snack on, throw on a salad, in a yogurt parfait, banana bread, cookies, or even into a great pecan pie, nuts and seeds are another cooking essential ingredient to keep on hand.
These, along with beans, can be a wonderful source of protein for vegans and vegetarians. I was vegetarian for many years and vegan for a short period of time. During this time, i learned to make so many desserts that were nut based and delicious!
6) Baking
Baking: all-purpose flour, bread flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, vanilla extract, yeast, gelatin, chocolate (cocoa powder, semi-sweet chocolate chips), sugar
This short list of baking essentials should be able to get you through almost all of your baking needs, from pie crusts, and pizza crusts, to yeast rolls, pancakes, cookies and cakes! If you are baking breads or cookies, you should be set!
7) Canned Goods & Jarred Sauces
Canned Goods: tomato paste, diced, crushed, and whole tomato, green beans, carrots, beans, pineapples, peaches, pears, mandarin oranges
Any canned tomato product is great to keep on hand to whip up any sauce, soup, or chili really quickly. Canned veggies are great for those hectic evenings where you need to throw together a protein with some quick sides and call it good. and canned fruit are perfect for a quick snack, use in baked desserts, pies, or even to make your own baby food!
Jarred Sauces and broths: There is NO shame in opening up a jar of your favorite sauce and whipping up a healthy dinner in no time! Be sure to keep broths and stocks on hand for soups or even to make rice.
Meat: tuna, chicken
Many meals can be brought together very quickly by keeping essential ingredients like canned meat on hand.
8) Perishables
Perishables: fresh herbs, fruit, vegetables, milk, eggs, cheese, garlic, and onion
You will shop for perishables according to your meal plan for the week. However, as you continue growing in your cooking skills, you will notice yourself using some of the same ingredients over and over again. These are your essentials for your kitchen. Every home cook does things differently so this part is completely personal!
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9) Frozen
Frozen fruits/vegetables: These are often much less expensive than fresh, and truly do hold the quality of the ingredient.
Frozen meat: You could either buy in bulk from a local farm or even at the store when something is on sale or close to expiration and simply freeze for when you need it!
If you looked in my freezer today, you’d think i’m crazy! I freeze everything from fruit and meat, to bread, and even cheese! I even keep my active dry yeast in the freezer to make it last longer. I’ve even made meals ahead of time and froze to just throw in the oven for a quick healthy home-cooked dinner on a busy night! Never underestimate the power a freezer holds in a home cook’s kitchen. I cook 2-3 times a day and the freezer is absolutely a cooking essential in making my life easy.
10) Other
Other: coffee, tea, crackers, condiments, dried fruit, and breadcrumbs
These are just some extra cooking essentials ingredients that are great to keep on hand. I encourage you to explore the delicious recipes and cooking tips sprinkled throughout the blog to help make you a home cook that will impress even your grandma!
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