My 12 Staple Ingredients for Cooking
Published October 25, 2020
If you’ve followed my recipe videos before, you know that my pantry and fridge are usually stocked with staple ingredients that I use for most recipes. I normally go to the store for the star protein, unique spices, or new ingredients I’ve never worked with before.
Thus, I thought you may be interested to know the staple ingredients I always keep stocked in my kitchen.
My 12 Staple Ingredients for Cooking
12. Eggs
I grew up in Northern New Jersey, surrounded by corn fields and farmers. Most families, if they didn’t have a full-time farm, raised their own chickens, tended a garden, and stocked their freezers with venison.
My family had chickens — hatching the chicks from eggs, building a chicken coop, and dealing with the rooster crowing at sunrise.
That meant, the fridge was stocked with fresh brown eggs, and the occasional greenish blue eggs.
As a foodie, eggs are central to most meals. From breakfast omelettes to dinnertime batters and washes, eggs are a key ingredient to have in the refrigerator.
Dishes with Eggs
11. Tomatoes
You know your girl is Italian, so my pantry and fridge is always stocked with tomatoes. From homemade tomato sauce to cans of tomato paste, tomato puree, and diced tomatoes.
Fresh and canned tomatoes can be used to create sauces, soups, and used in salads and sandwiches.
New Jersey is known as “The Garden State” for a reason. There’s nothing more delicious than a homegrown, Jersey tomato. They taste like sunshine, and make any dish pop.
Dishes with Tomato
10. All-Purpose Flour
If you’re a dedicated baker, having a variety of flours is important for the type of recipe you’re making. For my kitchen, I always have all-purpose, unbleached flour.
I use all-purpose flour for desserts, breading proteins, and flouring work surfaces when cooking.
Other types of flour to have — depending on the dish — include semolina flour, bread flour, self-rising flour, whole wheat, and coconut/almond flour.
Dishes with Flour
9. Leafy Greens
I’ve incorporated more leafy greens into my cooking this year. My favorite leafy greens to keep in the fridge are spinach, arugula, and spring mix.
You can use leafy greens in salads as the star of the dish, or serve as a base for light entrees. It’s easy to incorporate leafy greens in place of starches, or alongside your favorite side dishes.
Dishes with Leafy Greens
8. Stock or Broth
Whether homemade or from your favorite brands, having stock or broth in your kitchen is essential for cooking.
Fall is a great time of year to make hearty soups, stews, and roasts. Stock/broth is used for the bases, sauces, and basting in these dishes.
If you make your own homemade broth or stock, you can store it in glass containers and freeze it for when you need it.
I’ve also seen cooking hacks like freezing stock in ice cube trays, so that you have smaller portions to defrost for sauce.
Dishes with Stock/Broth
7. Wine
Add a splash of your favorite wine to soups and sauces. I usually cook with red wine, and white wine for scampi and francese sauce.
I cook with the same wine that I drink, so I’ll use the open bottle in the fridge for cooking, and then pour a glass when it’s time to eat!
Dishes with Wine
6. Italian Herbs and Spices
I grow my own Italian herbs and spices like fresh basil, sage, oregano, parsley, thyme, and more. I dry my herbs and use them throughout the winter. When dried and stored well, these herbs can add as much flavor to a dish as freshly picked herbs.
I add my fresh herbs to all of my dishes. They’re great in marinades, sauces, and seasonings. Growing your own herbs indoors in small pots, or outside in large gardens, are a great way to save money and have access to great ingredients when cooking.
Dishes with Italian Herbs and Spices
5. Onion
I start nearly every dish with yellow or white onion — finely minced in soups and sauced, thinly sliced and pickled, and sautéed for a sweet topping.
Shallots — a member of the onion family — are also helpful to have in the fridge. Shallots go a long way, so I keep one in the fridge and use a quarter of it anytime a recipe calls for it.
Onions can also be served raw on salads and sandwiches, depending on your preferences. I don’t enjoy raw onion. If I had to add it to a dish, I would make sure to slice it thin and small.
I buy my onions in bulk from Costco, since it’s a better deal than buying individual onions at the farmer’s market.
Dishes with Onion
4. Cheese
Cheese — of any kind — is a must for cooking (and snacking).
Mozzarella, Parmesan, Burrata, Swiss, Provolone, and Pecorino Romano are some of my favorites. Sometimes I’ll have a block of cheddar in the fridge, for mac and cheese, tacos, or nachos.
I buy cheese whenever I find a unique flavor. My farmer’s market has great deals on Parmesan, so I usually buy a new chunk every time I stop in.
Depending on your store, you can sometimes find unique cheeses and recommendations. Costco (not spons) has premade packs of 5 different cheeses which you can try for ~$10, which is a good deal.
Dishes with Cheese
3. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Olive oil is great to use in homemade salad dressings and marinades. Olive oil with cheese and herbs is a great snack with fresh Italian bread.
When I cook on the stovetop, I start my pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil. This helps add flavor to the sautéed ingredients and keep them from sticking to the pan.
Extra virgin olive oil is the highest quality olive oil you can buy, followed by virgin olive oil. This means that the oil is unrefined and didn’t require heat or chemicals when processing.
Epicurious has a great article about what to look for when buying olive oil, and to make sure you’re not getting “fake” olive oil, which is diluted with sunflower or soybean oil.
Dishes with Olive Oil
2. Butter
I’m told that as a kid, when my parents left butter on the counter to soften, I would take it to snack on, as if it was a banana.
Butter Queen I was, and shall always be.
I drop a pad of butter alongside my olive oil when sautéing. This adds extra richness and flavor to the ingredients. Butter is essential for baking, finishing sauces, and overall deliciousness.
I’m young enough at this point, that I don’t have to consider processed butter alternatives. So my freezer is stocked with pounds of butter. When I need a new stick, I leave one on the counter to thaw, and put the other sticks in the refrigerator. This helps save time with unnecessary trips to the store for an everyday ingredient.
Dishes with Butter
1. Garlic
Garlic is my number one, favorite ingredient. I cook with it all the time.
If you read my visit to the 2019 Hudson County Garlic Festival, you know that I adore everything about garlic and the recipes you can make with it.
I buy sleeves of garlic at the farmer’s market. There are so many varieties of garlic to work with. The most common garlic to get from a supermarket is softneck and hardneck garlic. I cook with both of these, and sometimes roast elephant garlic for dishes.
I used to cook with jars of minced garlic, but found that overtime, the jar garlic loses its flavor. Instead, I switched to freshly chopping my garlic cloves each time, and I’ve found it’s made a ton of difference with the flavor.
Dishes with Garlic
What Ingredients Do You Keep Stocked in Your Kitchen?
These are my 12 staple ingredients for cooking — what are yours?
Tell me about it in the comments below, or click here to find some foodie inspiration for your next homemade recipe.
