Ooey, gooey cheese is one ingredient that always makes everything it touches taste better. We use cheese on pretty much everything, which makes this one of the most bought staple pantry items in our house! We eat a lot of eggs in our home, especially because they are one of the cheapest breakfast foods you can feed your family!

This means we keep at least a dozen eggs or two on hand at all times. It even has a permanent spot on my weekly grocery shopping list.

Frozen Veggies Frozen veggies are so much cheaper than fresh produce, and they allow you the flexibility of always having them on hand. Broccoli, Green Beans, and Brussel Sprouts are three things you should keep stocked in your freezer to make it easy to add some healthy veggies to your meals without breaking the bank.

I also like to keep several bags of mixed veggies in there too. I can easily make a quick Instapot Chicken Pot Pie with them along with a few other ingredients I always have on hand. Or when you buy some delicious looking strawberries and you go to eat them only to discover that there was a moldy, rotten one in the middle ruining the whole batch?!

I hate that! Buying frozen berries eliminates all the frustrations. And usually they are cheaper than their fresh counterparts! Whether we are using them for a quick pancake topping, a quick milkshake or smoothie, we always have frozen strawberries on hand with our staple pantry items.

This sounds like an odd staple, but we start nearly every dinner with these two items in our crock pot or frying pan. Choose green peppers because they are your cheapest option over the other colors.

Onions add great flavor to every meal, without adding much extra cost for the healthy pantry staples for families. We use lemon juice for cleaning, but there are so many recipes that call for it as well!

Lemon juice has a long shelf life, making it one of the best staple pantry items. This is a great base for making your own homemade salad dressings. Where you aware that half a cup of white vinegar can be used instead of laundry softener or as a replacement for Jet Dry in your dishwasher?

Who knew?! Coconut Oil Coconut oil has about a gazillion uses! It has a higher burn point than butter making it a great choice for frying anything when you cook. It has become one of our most used staple pantry items.

No fresh ones, no frozen ones… then Onion Powder can come to your rescue! I am constantly using this as a substitute for fresh onion! And I do the same with Garlic Powder! Baking powder is a must for baking from scratch!

It is always on hand in my pantry. Baking soda is an important ingredient that can be used for cleaning and deodorizing around the home.

Beans: From black beans to chickpeas, beans are a cheap source of protein. Try making a flavorful chili, creamy hummus, or even a hearty bean soup with spices and veggies.

Canned beans are also a powerhouse of nutrients, and they are easy to cook. Pasta: Pasta is the hero of quick, budget-friendly meals. Create classic spaghetti with a homemade tomato sauce or try something more exotic like a garlic and olive oil-based aglio e olio. Dried Herbs: While fresh herbs can be pricey, dried herbs are a budget-friendly alternative.

Plus, they have a long shelf life. Dried herbs also pack more flavor than their fresh counterparts, so you can use less of them. Tortillas: Flour or corn tortillas are the foundation of many cost-effective and scrumptious dishes. You can make quesadillas, tacos, or even burritos with leftover ingredients.

Just fill them up with whatever you have in your fridge. Our tip? Combine the chicken, cheese, herbs, and beans on this list with sun-dried tomato tortillas to make one killer quesadilla.

Pasta Sauce: A good pasta sauce can turn your humble pasta dish into a gourmet meal. Keep a jar of marinara sauce in your pantry and elevate it with sautéed garlic, onions, and a dash of red pepper flakes. All Pantry. Beans and Grains. Hot Chocolate.

Cocktail Mixers. Olive Oils. Specialty Oils. Jamon Iberico. All Jamon Iberico. Whole Bone-In Ham. Whole Shoulder Bone-In Ham.

Whole Loin. Boneless Ham. Boneless Shoulder. Sliced Ham. Sliced Shoulder. Sliced Loin. Specialty Seafood. All Seafood. All Meats. All Paella. Paella Ingredients. Paella Pan.

Paella Kits. Paella Accessories. All Sweets. All Cookware. Cast Iron. Stainless Steel.

Super Easy Beef and Macaroni Skillet is one of my go-to recipes for busy days. We also love this No Boil Lasagna recipe too! DRIED HERBS SPICES Dried herbs and spices are a great way to add flavor to your recipes.

And while I occasionally buy fresh herbs, using dried is much more economical and they last much longer too! A few of the ones that I use regularly: basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, red pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg.

CHICKEN STOCK BOUILLON Chicken stock is a common ingredient in soups and casseroles and is super easy to make yourself! I also like to keep bouillon on hand since some recipes call for that instead.

Also, if I happen to be out of liquid chicken stock, I can always use the bouillon to make some- although the stock made using bouillon is not nearly as tasty or as good for you as the real thing! VINEGAR This is another ingredient that I use to make homemade salad dressings.

I also use it for various other recipes and it works great as a natural cleaner too! SALSA I have quite a few Mexican-inspired dishes that call for salsa, so I like to always keep this on hand.

chips and salsa! DICED TOMATOES These are super inexpensive and way cheaper than buying fresh tomatoes. I love using them in recipes to give a bit of added flavor and color.

And I even show you how to can diced tomatoes yourself if you want to try that. PASTA SAUCE I know making your own pasta sauce is pretty easy, but since I can buy it so inexpensively, I prefer to just do that.

Pasta sauce is great for a quick meal of meatball subs, pizza, spaghetti or, lasagna to mention just a few. KETCHUP, MUSTARD, MAYO Okay, so maybe I should have listed these 3 things separately. I use many more condiments than these, but these are the three that I think every kitchen should for sure stock.

BREAD I typically make my own bread , but it is something that I always keep on hand. We often use it to make sandwiches for lunch, toast it to eat with eggs and occasionally use it in recipes like my Cheeseburger Casserole too!

TORTILLAS I use these all the time to make enchiladas, tacos, quesadillas and wraps. In fact, these Salsa Ranch Chicken Wraps are one of my favorite quick meals!

And these easy recipes with tortillas are also great as well. ONIONS GARLIC I use both of these items regularly to inexpensively add extra flavor to lots of different recipes. Of course, you can always freeze them too , if you prefer. CARROTS These are not only a great addition to many soups, but they also make a healthy snack or side dish.

POTATOES Super versatile! You can use them in soups, casseroles, breakfast dishes or side dishes. A few of our favorite potato recipes are Creamy Sausage and Potatoes , Cream Cheese Potato Soup with Ham , and Country Potato Soup.

BUTTER This is probably the one thing that might seem iffy to put on a frugal pantry list. Plus, I love using it to make these easy Garlic Butter Swim Biscuits!

SOUR CREAM I like to keep this on hand to use in soups, to make homemade dips and to use in several casserole recipes as well.

But , since I cook almost entirely from scratch, I do end up using it quite a bit even so. Just a little bit can make a lettuce salad, tuna salad sandwiches or refried bean quesadillas so much yummier!

And we love these White Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches! FROZEN VEGGIES Often much cheaper than fresh veggies, the other handy thing about frozen ones is that they last much longer!

I use them a lot as a side dish and also in recipes like my Easy Chicken Pot Pie , Cheesy Ham, Potato and Green Bean Bake and Easy Vegetable Beef Soup. CHICKEN Probably the cheapest kind of meat there is and super versatile too!

A few chicken recipes that we enjoy: Herb Roasted Chicken and Potatoes , One Pan Chicken and Rice , Creamy Crockpot Mexican Chicken and Homemade Shake and Bake Chicken. In casseroles or soups, I often can get by with using less than the amount called for.

A few ground beef recipes that we really like: Crockpot Tamale Pie and Super Easy Sloppy Joes. Sort Featured Best selling Alphabetically, A-Z Alphabetically, Z-A Price, low to high Price, high to low Date, old to new Date, new to old. Sort Sort Featured Best selling Alphabetically, A-Z Alphabetically, Z-A Price, low to high Price, high to low Date, old to new Date, new to old.

Mini Dipping Pretzels. Petit Toasts. Dill Relish. Classic Cranberry Sauce. Garden Dill Dip Mix. Chip Dip Mix. Cinnamon Syrup. Kari Kari Garlic Chili Crisp.

Black Truffle Butter. Vanilla Bean Infused Syrup. Smoked Albacore Tuna Tin. 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!

These soups are so good to have on hand. They go with pretty much anything and can really help to take a few ingredients from being a random assortment of items to a casserole in no time! Pro Tip: It is beyond easy to make your own cream of chicken soup if you keep broth on hand — just add milk, flour , and a little seasoning!

Genius, right!? These are an obvious pantry staple! They're great to have by themselves as a side or added to a recipe. Pro Tip: To improve the flavor of canned vegetables, first rinse them in a colander under cold water. Then add to your recipes as usual. Whether it's beef, chicken, or vegetable, broth and stock are great pantry staples to keep on hand!

Just buy the biggest carton or whatever is cheapest that you can find if you use it a lot. Be sure to refrigerate it after opening so it doesn't go bad! Pro Tip: I like to buy Better Than Bouillon from Costco. It's amazing and lasts a while!

Oatmeal is such a versatile pantry staple! It can either be eaten on its own or easily goes into so many kinds of recipes, from early morning breakfast to dessert.

Did you know that an ounce package of Old Fashioned Quaker Oats contains roughly 26, rolled oats? That's a lot of oats! Canned chicken, tuna, salmon, ham, and beef are all great ways to keep meat on hand without having to worry about the electricity going out and your meat ruining!

These pantry staples are so versatile and work in a lot of different meals. Pro Tip: If you're cooking the canned meats in a recipe, make sure you don't add it in until the very end. Your goal is to heat it up, not cook it and dry it out! Alright, well there you have it!