The Perfect Pantry

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Inventory of ingredients in The Perfect Pantry

The inventory changes frequently, but here are the basic ingredients you'll always find in my pantry. On each list, you'll find items marked with an asterisk (*) to indicate the absolute essentials if you're just starting to build a pantry or have limited space.

Items in the pantry today: 253

If there are ingredients you have in your own pantry -- things you use over and over again -- that are missing from mine, please let me know. I'm always looking for my next favorite ingredient. And if you have a recipe for how to use it, please share that, too.


Spice rack
(dried herbs and spices, hot pepper sauces, salts, etc.)

Cupboards (dry goods, canned goods, pastas, beans, grains, etc.)

Freezer, refrigerator, garden, counter top (condiments, frozen meats and vegetables, onions and garlic, etc.)


For more on pantry essentials, you might enjoy these posts about the things I'd plan to take with me if I were going to be stranded on a desert island, albeit one with running water, air conditioning, a garden, a dishwasher, high-speed internet, and high-definition television so I could keep up with Top Chef and Chopped:

23 pantry items you absolutely, positively, have to have

13 pantry items every baker absolutely, positively, has to have

Readers' favorites: the top 10 items you absolutely, positively, want to have


If you're just starting to build your pantry, or moving into a new kitchen with limited space (or a limited budget), here are the bare essentials you might want to buy:

How to stock your new apartment's pantry

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Recent Comments

  • sondra on Cumin (Recipe: mushroom bhaji/mushrooms in tomato-onion sauce)
  • Sandie (Inn Cuisine) on Tonka beans, a Pantry Special (Recipe: spice snap cookies)
  • Sandie (Inn Cuisine) on Cumin (Recipe: mushroom bhaji/mushrooms in tomato-onion sauce)
  • Julia on Tonka beans, a Pantry Special (Recipe: spice snap cookies)
  • Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) on Cumin (Recipe: mushroom bhaji/mushrooms in tomato-onion sauce)
  • AZ on Cumin (Recipe: mushroom bhaji/mushrooms in tomato-onion sauce)
  • getty leigh on The Perfect Pantry's spice rack: 58 essential ingredients (and we turn three today)
  • kirsten lindquist on Cumin (Recipe: mushroom bhaji/mushrooms in tomato-onion sauce)
  • Jessica Lee Binder on Cumin (Recipe: mushroom bhaji/mushrooms in tomato-onion sauce)
  • Kalyn on Cumin (Recipe: mushroom bhaji/mushrooms in tomato-onion sauce)

Lydia recommends

  • : Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

    Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking

  • : Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients

    Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients

  • : Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking

    Make It Fast, Cook It Slow: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking

Recent Posts

  • Cumin (Recipe: mushroom bhaji/mushrooms in tomato-onion sauce)
  • Tonka beans, a Pantry Special (Recipe: spice snap cookies)
  • How my father learned to cook (Recipe: traditional spaghetti gravy)
  • Other People's Pantries #94
  • Harissa (Recipe: Moroccan carrot salad)
  • Panko (Recipe: panko and mustard crusted fish)
  • Drop In & Decorate cookies for donation: have fun, do good, make someone's holidays happy
  • Other People's Pantries #93
  • Brazil food: Kitchens and cooktops (Recipe: chicken with ora pro nobis)
  • Turmeric (Recipe: saag aloo/potatoes with spiced spinach)

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