Home Uncategorized 40 Food Storage Recipes and Food Storage/Pantry Staple Lists

40 Food Storage Recipes and Food Storage/Pantry Staple Lists

by Jamie

The two lovely winners of Heaven is Here are [email protected] and [email protected]. I will be contacting you soon to get your mailing addresses. Thanks for entering everyone!

I’ve been getting a lot of emails lately regarding food storage, and pantry staples. 

“What do you keep stocked in your kitchen, what are some fabulous food storage recipes, Where should I buy my food storage and What can I feed my family if I can’t go to the store for 3 weeks in a row”. These are just a sampling of the questions posed.  

Now, I am by no means a food storage specialist, however I thought I would put together a few tips, lists and recipes together for you regarding the subject. Please know that the advice I am giving here is just from my own personal experiences, and not the only tried and true method around. If you have some food storage advice, I would love you to leave it in the comment section for others to view. 

Acquiring a substantial food storage can be overwhelming, I realize. The intention of this post is not to cause you stress or grief or feelings of extreme anxiety. When I was newly married, some 18 years ago, I remember coming across an article in a magazine that had to do with organizing a kitchen and what spices a person should  purchase. After taking one glance at the list I tossed it in the trash and thought to myself…”there is no way I’ll EVER be able to acquire all of those things, I wonder how long we can live on cupboard lint.”

It’s true. Those were my very thoughts. 

However, I learned as I’m sure many of you have, that it just takes a little bit of time, effort and financial planning and a well stocked kitchen can be attained. The same is true of obtaining a useful supply of food storage. You don’t need to spend 1 million dollars or build an underground bunker storing 95 years worth of food to be successful. 

Alright, let’s get to it. If you are already a food storage pro, and are just looking for the 40 Food Storage Recipes promised, please scroll to the bottom of the post and enjoy. 



WHY IN THE WIDE WORLD SHOULD I STORE EXTRA FOOD?

As a means of being prepared for difficult circumstances, such as job loss, natural disasters or an economic downturn. 



WHAT KIND OF FOOD SHOULD I STORE? 

You should store food that your family regularly eats, that also has at least a 3 month shelf or freezer life. Baking supplies, spices and seasonings, canned goods, as well as frozen vegetables, fruits, meat and poultry. (Lists found if you keep scrolling down.)

Expensive Freeze Dried Food is not really my cup of tea. I may regret not purchasing it if the continents end up colliding and I am forced to dig a hole in my back yard and eat tree roots to survive. Truly. I may regret it at that point. But for now, stocking and storing a 6 month to 1 year supply of real food my family regularly eats is my course of action. 

Store some long term food storage items such as hard winter wheat, rice, dried beans, etc. I try to keep about a 3 year supply of these things. (Keep scrolling down for a complete list). They are inexpensive, healthy and if stored properly they have a 30 year shelf life! That is a long old time, wouldn’t you agree? I keep these items in large, sealed, 5 gallon buckets (they can accommodate about 40 pounds). I don’t have a big food storage room so I just stick them here and there, which really means my kids all have 3 or 4 buckets in the bottom of their closets. But they don’t mind, they would rather eat rice and beans than tree roots…or so I keep telling them. 🙂


WHERE SHOULD I PURCHASE FOOD STORAGE?

Read the grocery store ads weekly: Watch for things to go on sale and then buy as many as you can reasonably afford, and have space to store. There are a lot of great online resources available that can help with this process. Deals To Meals is a wonderful aid that I recommend highly. 

Case Lot Sales: In my area, both in the late summer and late winter, many of the grocery stores sponsor Case Lot Sales. Canned goods and baking items are sold at a reduced price. I try and buy 6 months worth of cased goods at these sales. We often save some of our tax return to make it happen. I figure we are going to keep eating for the at least the next six months so I may as well buy the stuff when it’s cheap. 

Shop Warehouse Stores: I purchase most of my baking supplies and spices at Costco. Their price is always reasonable and the quality is superb. Wynco and other grocery stores that carry spices in bulk are also a great option.   

Long Term Food Storage Items such as wheat, rice and dried beans can be purchased in 25 pound bags at any LDS Bishops Storehouse. (You don’t have to be a member of the LDS Church to buy goods there). They are located all over the United States. You can access a complete list of locations here

 

FOOD STORAGE STAPLES
The following are lists of food storage staples I try and keep a 6 month to 1 year supply of, excepting the long term storage items, of which I keep a 3 year supply of. 


* Items with a * are those that I purchase at Costco. 

BAKING and COOKING STAPLES:
*White Flour
Wheat Flour
*White Sugar
Cornmeal
Rolled Oats
*Brown Sugar
*Powdered Sugar
Baking Soda
Baking Powder
Corn Starch
*Salt and Pepper
*Cocoa Powder
*Vanilla
Almond Extract
*Canola Oil
*Olive Oil
Sesame Oil
Shortening (butter flavored)
*Cooking Spray
*Soy Sauce
*Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar
Rice Wine Vinegar
Lime Juice
Lemon Juice
Mayonnaise (Best Foods Light)
Ketchup
*Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce
*Maple Syrup
*Honey
*Pasta, all kinds of shapes and sizes
Italian Bread Crumbs
Spices and Seasonings

SPICES, SEASONINGS:

Chicken Bullion Cubes or Granules
Beef Bullion Cubes or Granules
*Yeast (I always use Active Dry)
*Johnny’s Garlic Seasoning
*Johnny’s (or Lawry’s) Season Salt
*McCormick Taco Seasoning
*McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning
Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix
*Italian Seasoning
*Garlic (granulated or powder)
*Oregano
*Parsley
*Basil
*Rosemary
*Smoked Paprika
Thyme
*Ginger
Cumin
*Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Dry Mustard
Diet Coke (just kidding…sort of)

 

Canned Goods



CANNED GOODS:

Corn
Green Beans
Stewed Tomatoes (both Mexican and Italian flavored)
Tomato Sauce
Tomato Paste
Cream of Chicken Soup
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Tomato Soup
Chicken Noodle Soup
Peanut Butter
Mandarin Oranges
Pineapple, chunks and crushed
Black Beans
Kidney Beans
White Beans
Green Chilis
Red Enchilada Sauce
Green Enchilada Sauce
Homemade Canned Salsa
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Homemade Jam
Diet Dr. Pepper (again, only sort of kidding)

Freezer Staples



FREEZER STAPLES:

Chicken Breasts, boneless and skinless
Chicken Thighs
Ground Beef
*Pork Loin Roast
*Corn
*Green Beans
*Peas
*Blueberries or Strawberries

Long Term Storage



LONG TERM STORAGE:

*Hard White Winter Wheat
Dried White Beans
Dried Black Beans
Dried Kidney Beans
Lentils
* White Rice
Brown Rice
*Steel Cut Oats

40 FOOD STORAGE RECIPES
The recipes I have listed for you below, are recipes that primarily use food storage staples as ingredients. You may need a fresh egg, some milk, butter or cheese for some of them, but I tried to keep the list as food storage friendly as I could. 

 

BREAKFAST RECIPES

 

 BREAD AND MUFFIN RECIPES
 DESSERT RECIPES
DINNER RECIPES:

I hope you found this post to be helpful. New recipe coming up on Friday morning. Have a great day!

 

Leave a Reply to Candi Cancel Reply

34 comments

Renee September 12, 2012 - 11:22 am

Love your recipes and family values. I only wish i could print you food storage recipes in one swipe …they are so good and i’m trying to increase my food storage management.
Thanks again from another Utah Lady

Reply
Joani October 1, 2012 - 5:38 am

Wonderful post! I appreciate all the work that you put into your blog. I have tried several of your recipes and love them all!!!

Reply
LindaG December 1, 2012 - 7:52 pm

Where do you buy the 5 gallon containers? At any box store? Or do they need to be a certain type for safe storage?

Wonderful post. Thank you so much!

Reply
Jamie December 3, 2012 - 6:43 am

Linda,
I buy them at Costco, they are cheapest there.
~Jamie

Reply
Karen Bontrager April 19, 2014 - 5:01 am

White 5 gal buckets food grade at home depo,walmart, farm supply stores and hardware stores. Home depo also has the gramlids. Look in the paint department.

Reply
Arlie January 1, 2013 - 2:30 am

Jamie,

Thank you very much for sharing this information. I do have one question for you though. How do you calculate what a six month or three year supply is?

Reply
Marie February 28, 2013 - 3:13 pm

Thank you so much for sharing so many recipes–I haven’t seen all of them yet, but I look forward to checking out more! I have linked to them on my blog–gotta love more ways to use your food storage. Thanks again!

Reply
Organizing Your Community for Disaster Preparedness | Food Insurance Blog May 7, 2013 - 11:44 am

[…] to do so. Set goals for each time you meet. For example, set a goal that everyone will bring five food storage recipes to the next meeting. Then next week, exchange information and set a new goal like assembling a […]

Reply
Kimberly November 4, 2013 - 5:16 pm

Thank you so much for sharing this list for us to go by. The only thing I would change is canning my meat and vegies instead of freezing. You may not have electric in some cases. When we had the black out in 2003 I lost everything in my freezer so I now can all my meats.

Reply
Rambuff January 15, 2014 - 9:32 am

A couple of viewpoints from a LONG time hoarder…. You may want to re-think your usage and storing of “Canola” oil… there is no such thing as a “Canola”; it is rape seed oil, and is toxic. Kind of like arsenic or strychnine, it adds up in the body until toxic results. Also – the cooking spray is good – it should be olive oil tho – for the same reason. Lastly – I strongly suggest NOT using buckets for long-term storage, especially the wheat and beans… get the canner from the Bishops’ Storehouse and put it all in the #10 cans. Rodents cannot smell it there, and have GREAT difficulty getting to it, which is NOT the case with those plastic buckets.
I’m going to have fun trying these recipes. Thanks!

Reply
Food Recipes | Food Recipes February 5, 2014 - 12:59 am

[…] 40 Food Storage Recipes and Food Storage/Pantry Staple Lists https://jamiecooksitup.net/2012/08/40-food-storage-recipes-and-food-storagepantry-staple-lists/ Aug 28, 2012 … “What do you keep stocked in your kitchen, what are some fabulous food storage recipes, Where should I buy my food storage and What can I … […]

Reply
Jessica February 11, 2014 - 7:23 pm

I think your blog is awesome! Thanks so much for this!

Reply
Celia April 29, 2014 - 8:52 am

Thanks! I’m teaching a short class on this for church this week. Love the lists.

Reply
Candi May 19, 2014 - 8:02 pm

Hi Jamie, I just discovered your blog and love it! Some awesome recipes that I can’t wait to try. I also wanted to let you know ( you may know all ready:) )you can bake bread, cake, cookies, anything withe freeze dried food. They do have margarine, butter, eggs, egg whites, a number of things trust me you cannot tell the difference when using them:). I use a number of Chef Tess Bakeresse of Meals In A Jar recipe’s from her blog. She’s quite the chef like you. I’m really excited by trying out some of your recipes! Keep up the great work,

Reply
Candi May 19, 2014 - 8:04 pm

P.S. I forgot to say thank you for the lists, they’re really great.i’ve been procrastinating for eons and you’ve helped me a lot! HUGZ:)

Reply
Janet September 27, 2014 - 11:50 am

Thank you for your wonderful list of recipes. I also store more of the basics and didn’t get any of the #10 can dried foods for years. Now I do have a few I know will be used/rotated.

Reply
Kyle Denney November 14, 2014 - 10:34 am

I created a great shopping app that is soon to allow multiple shopping lists and recipes. I think it would be a great addition to anyone wanting to budget their money, track their spending and schedule large shopping trips in advance which the app currently allows you to do. Check it out here:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kyledenney.staplelist&hl=en

Reply
JoEllen June 14, 2015 - 8:22 pm

That is a super post! Loved the diet soda idea since I am diabetic. Another such idea would be to store some cans of sparkling water and syrups (like the coffee shops use) and make your own sodas with or without sugar! More variety! Thanks for the post. Lots of good info.

Reply
How Much Food Do You Really Need? Calculate Your Food Storage - Mom with a PREP November 3, 2015 - 12:17 pm

[…] Jamie Cooks It Up – great lists to print and recipes at the end. […]

Reply
Rick January 18, 2017 - 9:26 am

We live in hurricane ally so I’ve come up with a few things that I do. I cook hamburger and then dehydrate and pack in fat. That keeps the oxygen out and then I can it in a water bath. I also buy mixed vegetables and dehydrate them as well. They have already been blanched for freezing so there’s no need to do it again. Because they have been frozen the cell structure is ruptured and they take on water much quicker. I also cook and then dehydrate beans so less energy and cooking time is required later. Now that I’m retired I’ve also learned how to dry cure bacon and ham and a lot of other things. Also; when you load a five gallon drum and don’t have oxygen absorbers you can get a quart jar and stick some dry ice in it and attach a tube to the top and seal it. Stick the other end of the line in the bottom of the bucket and fill it. After you let it sit for a while see if a match goes out when you put it below the top of the bucket. If it does you have just purged the oxygen from the bucket. There are also numerous websites dedicated to charcuterie, fermenting vegetables and making your own miso, soy sauce etc tat are very useful.

Reply
100+ Food Storage Recipes - The Merrill Project March 6, 2017 - 8:02 am

[…] Jamie Cooks It Up […]

Reply
Thelma Jane Moseley October 24, 2017 - 11:11 pm

Where in the world did you get the idea that dry beans will last thirty years? They get hard and you can’t cook them soft no matter how you try.Now if you had said after a couple of years you will have to grind them up so you can eat them it would have made more sense.Typically dried beans are good for two years.After that you have to use baking soda to soften them.

Reply
Curtis Blanco May 18, 2020 - 12:01 am

It’s true that beans to get hard with age making the extremely difficult to cook. But they still can be cooked with a pressure cooker.

My mother left a lot of beans which were stored in plastic containers when she died 15 years ago. They were several years old at that time. I boiled some for 5 hours and they were still too hard to eat comfortably. I decided to borrow my sisters electric pressure cooker, an Instapot. I soaked more of my mom’s beans again for about 24 hours. Put the beans, water and some salt in. Set the pressure to high, and the cook time to 2 hours 30 minutes. Let the pressure cooker depressurize on its own. When it had depressurized, I sampled the beans. They were delicious. They melted in my mouth.

Yes beans can be stored for 30 or more years in an oxygen free or oxygen reduced environment. I buy beans in #10 cans with an oxygen absorber packet put in. After 7 years I opened one of these cans and the beans cooked just like normal beans that aren’t old.

Reply
Food Storage Recipes Blog | Food Recipes March 20, 2018 - 12:29 pm

[…] 40 Food Storage Recipes and Food Storage/Pantry Staple Lists […]

Reply
19 Food Storage Recipes for the LDS Family | Prep SOS October 17, 2019 - 10:12 pm

[…] it’s important to have plenty of the basic items stocked up. According to a well-known cooking blogger, Jamie, there are many food storage item staples that it’s good to have a 6-month to a year […]

Reply
Ranking the Best Long Term Food Storage of 2020 – Survival At Home April 20, 2020 - 4:48 pm

[…] A: One of the most often overlooked aspects of long term food storage is how to actually cook with it. Unless you bought strictly ready to heat and eat food products you’re going to need to figure out how to process and cook with the bulk foods you stored. There are plenty of recipes online, but you can also find some really nice cookbooks that offer some of the most popular modern recipes made using strictly long term food storage goods (17). […]

Reply
Basic Food Storage Recipe Resources | PreparednessMama January 18, 2021 - 7:45 am

[…] Jamie Cooks It Up! […]

Reply
Danny Lynn O'Hern February 11, 2021 - 1:12 pm

Can you store nuts longterm – in shell or shelled? What about foraged foods? Hard cheeses last depending on mousture and temperature but will continue to harden. mushrooms, vegetable garden produce can be stored in cold basement or under dirt and straw. Drying and fermenting are other ways to ensure food retains nutritional content.

Reply
Jerry Harrell March 26, 2022 - 7:31 am

This is i think the article i have been looking for. Mainly meals i can make from simple storable foods.

Reply
Cat July 3, 2022 - 9:18 pm

all the links are broken

Reply
Shelly October 19, 2022 - 8:45 pm

None of the links work

Reply
Jan December 25, 2023 - 7:11 pm

What are the best containers for long term storage of food?

Reply

Adblock Detected

Please support us by disabling your AdBlocker extension from your browsers for our website.