Our Top Storecupboard Recipes
From grains to frozen vegetables, there are some things we always have in our store cupboard or freezer. Here are the best recipes for when you can't make it to the shops.
Here are our favourite store-cupboard recipes. We've combined our favourite recipes that use up predominantly dried ingredients, tinned ingredients, longer lasting vegetables (such as onions and carrots), frozen goods and bread. From using up that bag of lentils you forgot you had, to trying out that unusual spice you've never used before, now is the time to get creative!
TIPS:
• Spices are great for adding instant flavour to any dish if you’re running low on fresh flavour boosters. If yours are a tad beyond their best-before date, then toast in a dry frying pan over medium heat until aromatic to reinvigorate them.
• Think beyond pasta and rice, and make recipes including alternative grains, pulses and seeds, such as buckwheat, lentils and chickpeas.
• Combine different grains if you're running low on something, or combine grains with meat or plant-based mince to bulk recipes out and make them go further.
• It’s time to get creative with the protein in your recipes, and if a recipe calls for something you don't have, try substituting it with an equal weight of a pulse, seed or grain you do have.
• Rather than fresh vegetables, stock up your freezer with longer lasting frozen veg
Storecupboard Peach Crumble
This crumble is made purely from storecupboard ingredients and tastes delicious. It also happens to be vegan.
Recipe: Storecupboard Peach Crumble
Peanut Butter Noodles - best store cupboard recipes 2022
A few store cupboard staples are all you need to make this protein-packed meal.
Recipe: Peanut Butter Noodles
Corned Beef Hash- best store cupboard recipes 2022
Wonderful as a weekend brunch recipe or cheap midweek meal.
Recipe: Corned Beef Hash
One-Pan Puttanesca - best store cupboard recipes 2022
We've made this tasty pasta dish even simpler, by cooking everything in one pan - and there's less washing up, too!
Recipe: One-Pan Puttanesca
Pasta Con Le Sarde- best store cupboard recipes 2022
Transform storecupboard favourites into a traditional Sicilian meal.
Recipe: Pasta Con Le Sarde
Chilli Crab Noodles- best store cupboard recipes 2022
If you don’t have tinned crab, any tinned fish or fresh or frozen seafood would work just as well.
Recipe: Chilli Crab Noodles
Speedy Prawn Peanut Curry - best store cupboard recipes 2022
This curry is ready in just 20min and you’ll have many of the ingredients in your store cupboard already. Any nut butter can replace the peanut butter in this recipe - we particularly like it with cashew butter.
Recipe: Speedy Prawn Peanut Curry
Grown-Up Fish Finger Traybake- best store cupboard recipes 2022
This is an easy traybake recipe. Perfect for a midweek meal. The cod fillets and the vegetables all go in the same pan so it also saves on the washing up.
Recipe: Grown-Up Fish Finger Traybake
Lentil and Quinoa Burger - best store cupboard recipes 2022
A satisfying burger, sure to placate even the most demanding meat eaters.
Recipe: Lentil and Quinoa Burger
Crab Harissa Chickpea Soup- best store cupboard recipes 2022
If you’re after a fiery vegetarian soup, omit the crab and use vegetable stock (you’ll still be getting protein from the chickpeas). If using tinned crab meat, look for lump ather than shredded.
Recipe: Crab Harissa Chickpea Soup
Store Cupboard Omelette - best store cupboard recipes 2022
You can add a few basic ingredients to transform a plain omelette into a feast.
Recipe: Store cupboard omelette
Tuna Pasta Bake Pie - best store cupboard recipes 2022
You’ll likely have most of these economical ingredients in your store cupboard already, making it the perfect student meal.
Recipe: Tuna Pasta Bake Pie
Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Dhal - best store cupboard recipes 2022
Slow cooking the lentils gives this dhal layers of delicious flavour and texture. Try to use chana dall lentils (we used the ‘East End’ brand, which are found in many supermarkets): they hold their shape well when cooking for a long time, yellow split peas can be substituted but be aware they will turn mushy quicker so cook for less time.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Dhal
Sausage and Bean Hotpot - best store cupboard recipes 2022
This comforting recipe uses two store cupboard favourites - Baked Beans and Worcestershire Sauce.
Recipe: Sausage and Bean Hotpot
Chicken Puttanesca - best store cupboard recipes 2022
This pasta dish traditionally makes the most of your store cupboard ingredients – we’ve added chicken breasts to make it more substantial.
Recipe: Chicken Puttanesca
Simple Pea Soup - best store cupboard recipes 2022
This homemade pea soup recipe couldn't be simpler and tastes much better than shop bought.
Recipe: Simple pea soup
Fragrant Fish Tagine Traybake- best store cupboard recipes 2022
Harissa paste is a great flavour enhancer to keep in your fridge for whenever you need some spice.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
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