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Pantry Staples I Buy Again and Again
42
items These are just the things I keep buying. Flour, sugar, spices, coffee, that kind of stuff. I bake on a budget, and much of what I use comes from the food bank, so when I do spend money on a staple, I want to use it up. If it is on here I have bought ...
Sections
3
Baking Staples, I am Always Running Out Of
Spices I Reach For All The Time
Coffee, Tea and Cocoa Weather
Baking Staples, I am Always Running Out Of
These are the things I actually run out of. Flour, sugar, spices, cocoa, coffee. Nothing fancy and nothing I bought once for a photo. I bake on a budget, and many of my ingredients come from the food bank, so when I do buy a staple, it has to earn it...
This is the flour I use for most of my baking. My shortbread is just this, sugar and margarine and it came to $0.79 a batch when I priced it. Nothing special about it and that is kind of the point.
Great Value All-Purpose Flour, 10 lb Bag
I am still pretty new to Costco so I am still learning what is worth buying in the big sizes. This one is. I stock up when I know I have a lot of baking coming, like Winterfest.
Kirkland Signature Organic Unbleached All Purpose Flour, 10 lbs, 2-count
Big bag because I go through it. Cookies, cakes, all of it. If I run out of sugar I might as well close the kitchen for the day.
Great Value Pure Granulated Sugar, 10 lbs
I know eggs are not a pantry thing. I do not care, I buy these all the time so they are going on the list. The big pack works out cheaper and we go through them fast with as much as I bake.
Great Value Large White Eggs 36 Count
I bake with margarine a lot. I know some people do not and that is fine. It is cheaper, it works for me, and a lot of my recipes were written with it so I am keeping it on here.
Blue Bonnet Vegetable Oil Spread, 45 oz
Vanilla is expensive and it drives me a little crazy. This is the bottle I use for everyday baking so one bottle lasts me a good while.
Molina Mexican Vanilla Blend, 8.3 FL OZ
For my rolls and breads. The little packets add up fast, so I keep a jar of it instead. It lasts a long time and it is there when I want to bake bread.
Red Star Active Dry Yeast, 4 oz (113.4 g) Multi-Use Jar, Baking and Breadmaking Essential
For the cakes that need oil instead of margarine. Plain and cheap and that is all I need it to be.
Great Value Vegetable Oil, Heart Healthy and Versatile, 48 fl oz Bottle
This is more for dinner than baking but it lives in the same cupboard, so it is going here too. The big Costco bottle lasts us a long time. Spaghetti and stuff like that.
Kirkland Signature, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 L
I bake with chocolate a lot so the small containers stopped making sense for me. This is the bigger one I switched to. Brownies, chocolate cake, all of that.
Rodelle, Gourmet Baking Cocoa Powder, 25 oz
You only need a little of this at a time. I bought it for gingerbread and now it just lives on the shelf waiting for fall and Christmas baking to come back around.
Grandma's Unsulphured Original Molasses, Whole, 12 fl oz Jar
Check the date on your baking powder. I learned that the hard way when things would not rise right. A new can is cheap and it can save a whole batch.
Great Value Double Acting Baking Powder, 8.1 oz
Cookies need it. My fridge probably needs it too. I try to keep a spare box around.
Great Value Baking Soda, 1 lb
I do not use this all the time. But when a recipe says you need it, you need it, and nothing else really does the same thing. So it stays on the shelf.
Great Value Cream of Tartar, 2.75 oz
This is what I priced most of my Winterfest cookies with. My shortbread came to $0.79 a batch made with margarine. Made with butter it was $1.78. That is a big difference when you are watching your money.
Blue Bonnet Original Vegetable Oil Spread Sticks, 16 oz (4 Sticks)
This is for rolling the Candy Cane Crinkles in before they bake. That is how they get the cracks on top. Also for frosting, when I bother making frosting.
Great Value Confectioners Powdered Sugar, 32 oz
This is the Walmart one. I put the Wegmans one on the list too because it just depends which store I went to. Brown sugar is brown sugar, I get what is there.
Great Value Light Brown Sugar, 32 oz
Spices I Reach For All The Time
These live on the shelf right above the coffee pot in my kitchen. Most of them are Great Value because that is what fits my budget, and they have been fine in everything I have made with them.
For gingerbread people and spice cakes. It smells like Christmas to me even in the middle of summer.
Great Value Ground Ginger, 1.5 oz
Strong stuff. You only need a tiny bit at a time so this bottle will last me a very long time.
Great Value Ground Cloves, 2 oz
For pumpkin stuff in the fall. And sometimes in the spring too because I like it and nobody is stopping me.
Supreme Tradition Pumpkin Pie Spice, 1.25-oz. Bottles
Every recipe needs a little, even the sweet ones. Without it everything tastes a little flat to me.
Great Value Iodized Salt, 26 oz
Now we are into the dinner spices. Garlic powder goes into a lot at my house. Garlic rolls, spaghetti, soup, all of it.
Great Value Garlic Powder, 3.4 oz
Usually goes right in with the garlic powder. They are a pair in my kitchen.
Great Value Onion Powder, 3.25 oz
I like the smoked one. It makes plain food taste like you did more than you actually did.
Great Value Paprika 2.5 oz Smoked, Mild, Spice for Cooking
For chili and beans. I cook a lot of beans, some of them come from the food bank, and this is part of what makes them taste good.
Great Value Ground Cumin, 2.5 oz
Goes with the cumin. Chili is one of those meals that feeds you for days and that matters when money is tight.
Great Value Chili Powder, 3 oz
Spaghetti sauce. Garlic rolls. Anything like that.
Great Value Oregano Leaves, 0.87 oz
Half for the flavour and half because it makes the food look finished. I am honest about that.
Spice Classics Parsley Flakes, .40 oz Bottle
Good with potatoes. Good in bread too. A little is enough because it is strong.
Great Value Rosemary Leaves, 0.8 oz
I put this on rolls and on eggs and on cream cheese. The bottle is always emptier than I thought it was.
Great Value Everything Bagel Seasoning, 2.6 oz
Rice and beans and soup and empanadas. A lot of people keep this in their kitchen and there is a reason for that.
Sazon GOYA
This one is a bit different from my usual stuff. I like it on flatbread. Sometimes you just want to try something new with what you already have.
Badia, Za'atar, Mediterranean Seasoning, 4 oz, Kosher GF
This has heat but it has flavour too, not just heat. I use it in some of the Asian inspired recipes on my blog.
Korean Red Pepper Flakes (Gochugaru)
For nights when I do not really feel like cooking but we still need to eat. Curry and rice and that is dinner. Just go with it.
Japanese Curry Mixes and Sauce Varieties
I use this in spice cakes and fall baking. It tastes like a bunch of spices mixed together already so one spoonful does a lot of work.
Great Value Ground Allspice, 2 oz
I use more cinnamon than anything else on this shelf. Cookies, cakes, oatmeal. I even put it in coffee sometimes. The little bottles were gone in no time so I get this size now.
Great Value Kosher Ground Cinnamon, 2.5 oz
Coffee, Tea and Cocoa Weather
Baking therapy in my kitchen usually starts with making a drink first. These are the ones I keep stocked.
This is the coffee we drink at home so we get the big container at Costco. This kitchen is not just mine, it is also my mom's, and we both drink coffee so it does not sit around for long.
Kirkland Signature Colombian Coffee, Dark Roast, 3 lbs
For later in the day. I still want a cup of coffee with something I baked but I also want to sleep that night.
Great Value Decaf Classic Medium Roast Ground Coffee, 25.9 oz
I keep tea around for days when I am not feeling great or I just need to sit down for a minute. Baking is therapy for me and tea kind of is too.
Yogi Tea Elderberry Lemon Balm Immune + Stress - 16ct
This one tastes a little like spice cake to me. I drink it a lot in the winter.
Yogi, Vanilla Spice Perfect Energy Organic Black Tea
The mixed box is good to have for when someone else wants tea, because nobody ever wants the same kind.
Bigelow, Assorted Herbal Caffeine Free Tea Bags, 18 Count
Can't have a section for hot cocoa and not include the best tasting hot cocoa.
Swiss Miss, Hot Cocoa Mix, 1.38 oz, 50-Count