30 Vegetarian Pantry Recipes

What is Pantry Food?

Pantry Food staples include food items that have a long shelflife. In case of an emergency situation or possible quarantine situation, these are some pantry staples that you should have on hand.

For Meals – spices, pasta, rice, quinoa, canned tomatoes, sauces, salsas, tomato paste, broth, chickpeas, black beans, lentils (Indian dal) and oats. For Baking – sugar, oils, baking soda, baking powder, white flour, whole wheat flour, oat flour, buckwheat flour, chickpea flour and more. Any flour will do, you certainly don’t need all. Fresh Vegetables that have a long shelflife – onions, ginger, garlic, and potatoes.

What Foods Can You Freeze?

To extend the shelflife of fresh foods, I will sometimes freeze them. For example, I can’t possibly consume a loaf of bread each week, so I simply freeze my bread for a month or two, and you can’t tell the difference. Also, because I can’t cook every single meal, every single day, I like to buy ready-made frozen food, especially those from Trader Joe’s and the Indian Store.

Here are some fresh/frozen foods to have on hand:

Basics – bread, cheese, paneer, meats, tofu, readymade masala, ginger, and garlic – all of these items can be easily frozen. Bread doesn’t require thawing, simply place the bread from the freezer into the toaster oven and it’s perfect. Frozen Veggies – frozen corn, frozen peas, frozen mixed vegetables, frozen chopped spinach. Frozen Fruits – mango, strawberries, blueberries, cherries for your smoothies. Trader Joe’s offers great frozen meals – veggie burgers black beans & roasted corn and Thai sweet chili veggie burgers. Indian Frozen Foods – rotis, parathas, naan, masala dosa, khaman, muthiya, patra, and vegetable samosas.