Top 16 Prepper Pantry Essentials
Have you always wanted to start a prepper pantry, to squirrel away some necessary food for a rainy day? As food prices keep rising, utilizing a pantry is a great way to ensure you will have food for an unexpected emergency.
Natural disasters and emergencies are not the only reasons to stock up food in your prepper pantry. While you may not refer to your pantry as a prepper pantry, the principle of prudent prepping is sound.
All families should consider setting aside some basic food items, and that is what we will be discussing in this post.
View on Youtube
If you would like to see the video format, please see the 2-part series over on our YouTube channel.
Part 2
Top Prepper Pantry Essentials
- Beans—Dry beans are the most frugal, high-density prepper pantry food. They store easily for long-term, and can be prepared in a variety of ways. Our favorites include Pinto Beans, Black Beans, and Lentils, and I enjoy making my own soup blends. Here are a couple of bean-related blog posts to check out. Hearty Red Lentil Stew. Seven Ways to Eat Beans for Breakfast.
- Rice—After beans, rice is another frugal panty item to stock up on. Around the world, many nations subsist on white rice, but I think we can do better for not much more money. Brown rice offers more health benefits, and there are several varieties of whole grain brown rice available. Pair your rice with beans or legumes, and you have a complete protein! From basmati, jasmine, on to sticky short grain and long grain rice varieties, you can explore many flavors of rice without repeating!
- Oats—Oats are another great addition to your frugal prepper pantry stores. We like to purchase oats in 50-lb bags to save more, but whether you buy bulk or in smaller bins, oats are very versatile. Think beyond boring oatmeal, and explore making your own granola, crackers, and even savory patties!
- Flour and Grains—Baking your own breads, muffins, and pastries can save you money. With a few types of flour, your possibilities for baking and cooking are endless! Purchase flour in larger quantities for your pantry, and store in airtight containers such as 5-gallon buckets. All-purpose flour and several varieties of whole grain flour will allow you to make almost anything. If you purchase a grain grinder, you can then store wheat berries to grind on demand, which provides you with the freshest flour available! We use the Nutrimill Grain mill and it works well for us.
- Popcorn—Not just for snacking, popcorn is another grain that we like to stock in our prepper pantry. We actually grind our popcorn to make cornmeal and grits. We like to have the option of grinding our own, and at the time of publishing, popcorn was still not a GMO food. We make breakfast porridge and lots of cornbread from the corn we grind.
- Salt—All these foods would be so bland without some salt to flavor them! Salt stores indefinitely, and you will definitely need it in your prepper pantry!
- Oils—Oils for cooking are needed for baking bread, cooking, and more. Don’t overstock on oils, since they can go rancid, but do stock enough to last you for your baking needs and a bit beyond. We generally try to keep some sunflower, coconut, and olive oil on our shelves.
- Yeast—If you are baking breads and pastries, you will definitely need some yeast, baking powder, or leavening. If you tend to make mostly quick breads, then stock baking powder. We like to keep some Rumford’s aluminum free baking powder in our home and pantry. If you make sourdough, you may eventually get to leave off the yeast, favoring the natural leavening power of your sourdough culture.
- Potatoes—Believe it or not, potatoes are a very frugal addition to your prepper pantry, or at least your root cellar! At most grocery stores, you can actually find 50-lb bags of potatoes, which makes them very frugal. We like the Yukon Gold or red potatoes, and different stores may stock different varieties. You can can them up into jars to stock your pantry shelves if you can’t eat them all fresh!
Harvesting potatoes - Herbs & Seasonings—A good variety of different herbs and seasonings can help to turn your potatoes, beans, rice, and other foods into something flavorful. You can grow your own and dry them or freeze them also, which makes them even more frugal. Look at different discount stores which often have cheaper prices.
- Sugars—If you are baking, you’ll need some type of sweetener for breads, and a little sweetness helps to make the bland cereals and porridges more tasty. You can purchase in large quantities to save money. Source your own honey from local beekeepers to save money as well, or look for molasses, which is a natural sweetener.
- Canned Goods—Canned items like fruits and vegetables round out the nutrition and interest in your pantry. They can fill in gaps and add flavor and variety. Canning garden produce and locally picked fruits can keep the prices down.
- Pasta—Pasta is a quick and versatile food that can be added to many meals, or that can serve as a stand-alone meal. There are so many shapes of pastas, and you can look for bargains on your favorites. Pastas can also help to stretch your food farther, when added to other dishes, such as soups or entrees.
- Prepared Entrees/Canned Beans—Having some convenience foods can be a real help when you need to grab something quickly. Canned or ready-mix entrees make meals easy to fix in an emergency, so plan to stock some canned beans or main dish foods in your prepper pantry.
- Nuts & Seeds/Nut Butters—While nuts and nut butters can cost more initially, the nutrition they provide makes them still a great option for your prepper pantry. Nuts and nut butters provide fat and protein in a concentrated form—good to grab as a power-packed lunch or added to other foods. Stock only a reasonable amount, as they can more quickly go rancid than other pantry foods.
- Dried Fruits/Raisins—Dried fruits also can be expensive, so look for sales and discount stores. Dried fruits are important because they have a very long shelf life, provide vitamins and fiber, and add sweetness and flavor. Raisins can be more frugal than other fruits, and often you can find them cheaper if bought in larger quantities.
The BEST Frugal Prepper Pantry HACK
I believe that the best hack for saving money on your prepper pantry is found right in your own backyard. That’s right—it’s your garden!
If you don’t have a garden currently, now is a great time to explore growing some of your own food. You don’t have to go full scale to reap the benefits of home grown food. Grow boxes, containers, and raised beds all provide fun and relatively easy ways to grow food.
AdBy growing some different and exotic herbs and vegetables, you can even get a taste of gourmet flavors without breaking the bank.
16 Top Frugal Prepper Pantry Essentials
With these prepper pantry essentials, you can take your meal preparations so many different directions. You can always add more items that you enjoy or find available, but with these basic supplies, you will have a great base for a well-stocked pantry.
16 Top Frugal Prepper Pantry Essentials
Ingredients
- 1) Beans
- 2) Rice
- 3) Oats
- 4) Flour/Grains
- 5) Popcorn
- 6) Salt
- 7) Oils
- 8) Yeast/Leavening
- 9) Potatoes
- 10) Herbs/Seasonings
- 11) Sugars
- 12) Canned goods
- 13) Pasta
- 14) Prepared entrees/canned beans
- 15) Nuts/Nut Butters
- 16) Dried Fruits/Raisins
On our homestead, we do use the Nutrimill Grain Grinder for all of our grains. They stand behind their products and we have found the company to be excellent.
This is the model that we use, with a link to amazon.com.
Much of our pantry items we store in Ball half gallon mason jars. This keeps them airtight and is an attractive way to display/store the food.
Check your prices. They are available in many locations, such as farm stores, Walmart, and online. https://amzn.to/41sVYFi
