Essential Pantry Staples You Can Grow

We all know a well stocked pantry is the key to an efficient kitchen and well fed family. With rising food costs at the grocery store, it can be a daunting task to maintain. What if I told you, you could have a well stocked pantry for a fraction of the cost of what you would pay at the grocery store? It is true! All you need is a little time, seed, and dirt to be on your way to a well stocked kitchen pantry. With these essential pantry staples you can grow in your garden, you will always have essentials on hand.

There are a lot of things to consider when planning your pantry staples garden. When choosing what to grow in your garden, you should first take stock of what your family eats most often. One of the biggest mistakes you can make it planting something you and your family don’t enjoy eating. It is fun to experiment, but when you have limited space it is essential you make the most of what you have with foods you love to eat.

You should also consider the time you have, as well as how you will preserve and store the fruits of your labor, but that’s a different post!

This list compiles some of the most common pantry staples that are easy to grow and preserve. The most important thing to remember is to not waste time or space growing things you don’t love. If you don’t like beans, don’t grow them. Only grow the pantry staples that you and your family love to consume.

1. Dry Beans- an essential pantry staple for centuries

For centuries dry shell beans have been a pantry staple due to their high nutritional content, ease of preserving, and long term storage ability. Dry beans are a set it and forget it crop and require very little in the way of human interference when growing, which makes them great for beginners. When grown in your garden, beans are also a great nitrogen fixer for your soil.

Dry beans, or shell beans, are one of the easiest crops to grow and preserve. You put them in the ground, weed them a little, and let them dry on the vine. Once the bean pods are completely dry on the vine, they are ready to pick and remove from their pods and use or store.

Some of my favorites pantry staple beans are pinto, navy, black eyed peas, and black beans. The nice thing about beans is you can save them for the next year and replant! No need to buy seeds after that first year!

2. Herbs

Herbs are another great pantry staple that bring flavor and healing power to your kitchen. Perennial herbs like sage, mint, and dill are prolific growers that will come back year after year. While basil, cilantro, and parsley are fantastic companion plants that add pizazz to any dinner. Herbs are lovely when used fresh, but also are easy to dry for use in the winter months.

Many herbs can also be used in many healing tinctures and tonics to fight off colds and illnesses making them a great multipurpose pantry staple.

3. Tomatoes- The most versatile pantry staple

Tomatoes are a huge pantry staple for us because they are so versatile. We love snacking on fresh tomatoes, but majority of our tomato crop gets canned into whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, and salsa. You can also make products like Ketchup, tomato paste, spaghetti sauce, and soups to really round out your pantry stock. Not only are these items so much tastier than the store, but they also lack all the extra non-essential ingredients that store bought items have making them a healthier option.

One of my favorite things about canned tomato products is that even if you have very little canning equipment or knowledge you can still can tomatoes. Tomatoes are a high acid food which makes many canned tomato items water bath only, meaning you don’t need a pressure canner to make them safe to eat. If you are looking the begin canning this year, tomatoes are a great beginner vegetable to test out

4. Green Beans

Green beans are one of our favorite pantry staples because we eat a lot of them! Our favorite variety to grow hands down is Jade green beans, but whatever your preference of variety, green beans are a must have.

When choosing a green bean variety, space is important to keep in mind. Pole beans are often prolific, but will require trellising, while a bush bean will be short and compact. Personally I prefer bush beans because they are easy to take care of.

Green beans do require a little more in the way of processing however if you plan to make them shelf stable through canning. A pressure canner is required as they are a low acid food.

Don’t want to can them? You can always blanch and freeze, pickle for a fun snack, or turn them into leather britches which is a form of dehydration.

5. Jams and Jellies

While you may not be able to grow all the fruits quickly, there are some that will give yields in the first year of growing, like strawberries. This particular one, may take a while to establish on your property, but the long term benefits of food security are worth it.

There are other ways though! We were blessed to have wild blackberries, raspberries, and sour cherries on our farm and have made jams and jellies from foraging. You can also buy local or trade to get what you need to make these tasty pantry staples. We love visiting a local blueberry farm in the summer months and picking our own while our blueberry bushes grow and mature.

Jams and jellies are so easy to make and so expensive in the grocery store. The key to making jams and jellies at home inexpensively is to buy sugar in bulk and either growing or foraging fruit. Most jams and jellies are also super easy because you can water bath can them, so no need for expensive canning equipment.

You can also mix and match your fruits and come up with interesting jelly combinations that you may not find in the store, or you can stick to the old faithfuls like Strawberry jam or Applebutter. We have even made hot pepper jelly which makes a delicious appetizer. Whatever you decide, you can rest easy knowing the ingredients that are going into your jams, jellies, and homemade preserves. No more artificial flavors, artificial colors, or corn syrup. You can feel good about what is on your pantry shelf when you make it at home from whole ingredients.

Potatoes

Potatoes are one of my all time favorite crops to grow. The kids have fun planting and digging them with me and they are very low maintenance. Potatoes are also a great companion crop for green beans. When planted together they shade out excessive weeds, deter pests, and exchange nutrients for a better harvest.

Many potatoes are also great for long term storage in a cool, dark place. I know what you may be thinking, I don’t have a root cellar. No problem! You can use totes with a loose lid under your bed or in a closet in a cooler part of your home! Get creative with your food storage solutions and enjoy homegrown potatoes year round.

Our favorites to grow are Kennebec and Yukon gold!

Canned Fruits

Similar to jams and jellies, canned fruits may take a while to establish a crop from your back yard garden unless you have forgeable fruits on your land. Fresh in season fruit from local farmers markets or bartered from neighbors is a great way to get these essential pantry staples on your shelves cheaply with out all the preservatives and added ingredients of the store.

One of our favorite fruits to can are apple slices, used in pies or as a side with ham. We also love canned peaches. These are a special treat in the cold winter months when peaches from the store are mealy and flavorless. We purchase ours from a local grower so we know exactly where they come from. One day our hope is to have an orchard in the back yard that will afford us the ability to grow and preserve our own fruits.

We also love to have apple sauce on hand for quick snacks. Applesauce is a great addition to baked goods as well if you are looking for an alternative to oils in baking recipes. We love to use it in Applesauce cake.

Pickles

Pickling is a great way to preserve foods and is super simple for beginners to canning. Whether it is a standard cucumber pickle, pickled green beans, or chow chow pickles are a great addition to any essential pantry staple list.

While you can pickle pretty much any vegetable, we love cucumbers for a traditional pickle. One of my favorites recipes is from the Homesteading Family. Crips and crunchy is how a pickle should be in my opinion, and this recipe does the trick.

If you love a little extra tang and zip to your plate, pickles are an essential pantry staple that you don’t want to miss out on.

Peppers

Every year I go overboard on planting peppers in the garden because we love to add spice to our food. My husband especially loves a spicy kick to his dinner plate. One of our favorite spicy date night dishes is shrimp and grits where we add in an abundance of spice with habaneros and jalapeños.

Typically we freeze a majority of our harvest, but you can also make peppers shelf stable and add spice to your dishes in many other ways! You can dehydrate peppers and grind to a powder to use as a rub or spice in cooking, you can pickle or candy them for extra zip on pizzas or tacos, or you can turn them into a deliciously spicy hot sauce that combines all your favorite flavors from the garden.

Whether you like sweet or spicy, peppers are a great addition to your pantry or your freezer.

Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is another pantry staple that I love to have on hand as an essential pantry staple that you can grow in your garden. This delicious fermented cabbage adds tang and zip to meals like sausage and potatoes while also supporting gut health. Fermented foods like sauerkraut are cheap and easy to make and so good for you.

The art of fermenting foods for preservation has been around for thousands of years and is a great way to get started in longer term food storage if you are new to the concept. You can ferment many different types of foods from milk to veggies. Sauerkraut is just one of our favorites and one that stays close at hand to add as a topper onto dishes for extra gut health and flavor enhancement.

Cabbage is a cool weather crop which makes it a perfect early spring or winter crop. Many herbs make great companion plants for cabbage to help keep away detrimental pests and boost growth.

If sauerkraut is not your thing, cabbage is also a great plant for long term storage if you have a root cellar or other cool environment as part of your pantry set up. Cabbage can last well over two plus months if stored properly. You can also pressure can cabbage if you are looking for a less tangy shelf stable option.

Essential Pantry Staples

There is nothing so wonderful as walking into a well stocked pantry full of essential pantry staples. Not only does it provide a sense of food security at a substantial cost savings, but it also makes throwing together a quick mid week meal a cinch.

While I encourage you to grow all you can to save the most, there are many other ways to stock your pantry while avoiding high costs and all the extra unnecessary ingredients in store bought items.

Buy Local and Preserve Essential Pantry Staples

Buying local is a great way to ensure quality of ingredients while also supporting local businesses and farmers. When you buy local and in season you can often times save money on whole foods you can then take home and preserve through canning, freezing, dehydrating, fermenting, or any of your preferred preservation methods.

Use a Co-Op

There are many Cooperatives that allow local families to pull together to purchase items in bulk at discounted prices. One of our favorites is Azure Standard. We get all of our bulk grains and hard to find organic items from them. They also have items that are “last chance” which is a great way to save cash while stocking your pantry.

Start Planning

All good things start with a solid plan. I hope this post has given you some ideas on how to plan your garden to maximize your pantry options and reduce your grocery bill.

Did I forget a favorite? Leave a comment below to let me know what your favorite pantry staples to grow are!

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