Hard, semi-hard, and aged Affordable meal discounts such as cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Parmesan can staplea frozen successfully for up to four months if you wrap them well. Charlee Flaminio. Quite the opposite, actually: oats can be really nourishing to inflamed digestive systems.

Bargain-priced food pantry staples -

If you're not sure what we're talking about, then make sure you check out our Shelftember post to catch up so you can keep up with us the rest of the month. We get a lot of questions about how you can shelf cook if you don't keep your kitchen stocked with food.

While you do have to keep certain pantry staples stocked, you don't have to constantly eat the same things all the time. We polled the Freebs in our Shelf Cooking Community and they gave us their favorite pantry staples they always keep on hand.

Check out our pantry staples post to see what they said! Are you ready to see if your favorites made the list? Let's do it! The Freebs we polled were so helpful to us in writing this post!

So, thank you!!! It was really fun reading through all of your favorite pantry staples and the ways you use them. While we got a TON of responses, there were two items that really stood out from the rest. Can you guess what they were? If you guessed rice and pasta, then you were spot on!

A grand total of Freebs voted these as their top pantry staples. Crazy, huh? Read on to learn what their favorite uses are. Rice is one of those pantry staples that pretty much goes with anything! It's a great way to stretch a meal, especially if you have some ravenous teenagers or toddlers!

in the house. Pro Tip: Use a rice cooker or Instant Pot to cook your rice quicker if it needs to be cooked before going into a recipe. Oh pasta, you are our love language! We think it's safe to say that you're the love language of many Freebs, too! This pantry staple is another one that will go with just about anything and it's cheap and easy to keep on hand.

Pro Tip: When you're cooking pasta, don't use oil in your water for boiling. A lot of Freebs keep canned pasta sauce on hand as it pairs naturally with pasta.

It's a pantry staple that is pretty cheap to stock up on and can go in lots of different things! Pro Tip: Pasta sauce is basically canned tomato sauce and some seasonings, so stock up on tomato sauce and you can easily make your own pasta sauce in a pinch!

Tomatoes are another pantry staple that a lot of Freebs keep on hand! Whether they're canned tomatoes, or tomato paste or sauce, there are so many different recipes you can make with them! Don't be afraid to doctor your tomato sauces with fresh herbs, garlic, cheeses, or thickeners to get the results you want.

You can even combined tomato sauce with paste for a slightly different take that uses up both ingredients. Now that you have some ideas about how to use up those delicious canned and jarred tomato soups, sauces, and pastes, let's talk beans!

Whether they're canned or whole, beans are good for so many things! Eat them plain, add them to meat to bulk up the meal, add them to a soup…. Those are just a few of the reasons that beans are one of the top pantry staples for the Freebs! You can even use your leftover canned beans in easy peasy dishes like my tamale casserole!

Beans are a delicious filler and add protein and other nutrients! Although unopened oil keeps for two to three years, once the top is popped, it can go rancid more quickly.

Keeping olive oil in the fridge can extend the life of an open bottle for at least a year. The oil might become cloudy and thick, but the taste won't be affected. With nut oils sesame, walnut, grape seed , expect six to eight months before they start to go bad — even in the fridge.

Heat and light are the enemies, so if you must keep oil by the stove, put it into small containers that will be emptied quickly. For more great meal ideas and grocery tips, please sign up for our free newsletters.

Nuts contain oil and, like oils, can turn rancid and taste funny. The life expectancy of nuts stored in the pantry is just a few weeks, but they last up to a year in the freezer. Processed nut butters, such as peanut butter, last longer in the pantry than nuts — up to a year for an unopened jar and a few months after opening.

Natural nut butters without preservatives have a shorter shelf life and should be stored in the fridge after opening, for up to six months. It's sometimes worthwhile to buy those giant containers of herbs and spices when you find a good deal.

Dried, whole leaf herbs such as thyme, oregano, and rosemary retain their flavor for up to three years, but anything ground or powdered has a much shorter shelf life. Keep dried herbs far from light, heat, and dampness but never in the fridge, where they might absorb odors.

Salt lasts indefinitely, and whole peppercorns hold their potency for a few years. Keep both away from moisture. Other whole spices, such as cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon sticks, maintain flavor for a long time but rarely go on sale. Mustard, ketchup, horseradish, sriracha, and other condiments go on sale frequently and stay potent for at least six months after being opened.

Although salad dressings and mayonnaise should be used up a little more quickly once the seal is broken, unopened bottles keep for quite a while, so buy several if storage space isn't an issue.

While most dairy products have a short shelf life, there are some you should feel free to buy in bulk and freeze. Hard, semi-hard, and aged cheeses such as cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Parmesan can be frozen successfully for up to four months if you wrap them well. It's best to grate or cook with cheese that's been frozen, rather than eat it on crackers or a sandwich.

Butter freezes well and keeps for up to a year. Eggs can be frozen for up to six months, if they are scrambled lightly with a bit of salt and put into freezer containers. When a sale hits, fill your shopping basket with frozen fruits and vegetables. Frozen veggies will keep for up to a year if the package is unopened and the freezer is kept at the proper temperature typically, zero degrees Fahrenheit.

Most fresh fruit can also be frozen. To freeze oranges, peel and divide into sections, place in freezer containers, and cover with water. Buy fresh berries when cheap and in season, then wash and freeze on a baking sheet and place in freezer bags.

The frozen fruit should keep for at least six months. If your freezer is large enough, meat and fish are ideal foods to stock up on when prices drop. Repackage them in freezer containers or bags and they'll keep for up to six months.

Note that cut-up chicken has a shorter freezer life than whole chicken. The USDA suggests using the freezer as short-term storage if the temperature is set higher than the recommended zero degrees Fahrenheit — three months max. Cheapism may earn a commission if you buy through a link on our site.

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Do you stock these cheap pantry staples? You should! Because Staplws basic staples will help Free trial products make Barfain-priced Reduced-price food promotions meals fast! Reduced-price food promotions your kitchen stocked with cheap, panty pantry items is panty to Bargain-pticed money on your grocery bill because it allows you to more easily make your own meals at home. So I put together this list of the top basic food staples that I try to keep on hand at all times. FLOUR One of the mainstays if you plan to cook or bake from scratch! Not only do I use this in many of my baked goods, but I also frequently use to create roux to thicken soups and sauces.

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Cheap Pantry Staples and Essentials to Save You Money ATM Bargain-prlced. Are you tired Bargain-priced food pantry staples breaking the staplees every Barrgain-priced you hit the grocery store? You cringe with each blip at the checkout line. Syaples, there Bargain-priced food pantry staples Bargain-priced grocery deals things you could be doing to shop smarter. Peanut butter is not only incredibly affordable, but also versatile. From spreading it on bread to making savory Thai peanut noodles or a rich peanut sauce for your stir-fries, peanut butter is a must-have in your budget arsenal. The ultimate pantry MVP, rice is a blank canvas for flavor.