Saving More Money with Pantry Meals

I have been having a lot of fun joining so many other people in this month’s pantry challenge.  While I am buying fresh fruits and vegetables, I’m using the opportunity to use up things that have been lurking in the pantry for a long time (like packs of different kinds of dried beans), and in the depths of the freezer.  It’s fun seeing the different dishes that other people have come up with.  Thus far, I’ve saved about 20% on my usual grocery bill for the past couple of weeks, and I expect next week will be the same.  More importantly, I’ve tried a couple of new recipes, and used up some canned goods near their expiration date, which prevents them from being wasted. Here are some additional hints to save money by cooking from the pantry.

–Buy two or more of shelf-stable pantry items when on sale — not only do you save money because you are purchasing things on sale, but this prevents you from having to make a last minute trip to the grocery store, and therefore prevent you from any impulse purchases.  I always try to keep some staples on hand like canned tomatoes, canned beans, tuna fish, jarred salsa, and coconut milk, so that pantry meals are easy.

–Have a repertoire of pantry meals to go to — having some ideas for quick, no fuss meals based mostly on pantry ingredients has been great, especially on days when I’m running late with dinner or haven’t been to the grocery store in a while.  Two favorites are tuna pasta sauce and quick black bean soup.  Think of how much money you will save just by skipping dinner out (or takeout pizza) just a couple of meals a month.

–Learn to use substitutes — when I first started cooking, I would follow a recipe to the letter, purchasing exotic spices, fancy ingredients, and items that I would only use once.  As I’ve become more comfortable cooking, I no longer need diced tomatoes, whole tomatoes, and pureed tomatoes.  I can just chop up the whole tomatoes myself.

–Simplify recipes — some people change recipes to make them as fast to prepare as possible (which is great). I like to tinker with recipes to see if I can replicate great taste, while reducing the ingredient list. I find that simplifying recipes allows for the core ingredients (hopefully fresh vegetables, meats, fruits, etc…) shine through.  This also makes most recipes less costly and, yes less time consuming to make.  A good example is the Moroccan chicken stew and Indonesian spicy rice.  Both of these dishes omit a lot of ingredients that might be added in a restaurant or authentic international version; but they both taste great, and the short, and more easily findable ingredient list is really helpful.

shared at Food Renegade, Money Saving Mom, and  Frugal Friday