Alongside the usual savory and sweet items that every pantry needs, there are a few ingredients that are particularly useful for vegetarians or those wanting to eat more meatless meals. As a lifelong (since age five) vegetarian and sometime vegan, here are the items that I like to keep on hand for protein, texture, and flavor. Of course, each household's pantry will vary according to personal taste, ethnic background, and food allergies. Let us know what you would include in the comments.
How To Stock a Vegetarian (or Vegan) Pantry
• Beans. Though I like to keep a variety of dried or canned beans, I always make sure my pantry has at least two: lentils and chickpeas. Lentils cook quickly and are great additions to soups, pilafs, and salads. I like to throw chickpeas into pasta dishes and vegetable braises and stews. Pinto, black, kidney, and cannellini beans are also good to have on hand.
• Tempeh. Once you know how to prepare it, tempeh can be one of the best staple sources of protein. It can be refrigerated for a week or two (check the date on the package) and will keep up to several months in the freezer.
• Tofu. Like tempeh, tofu is not strictly a pantry item, but it's an essential for vegetarian kitchens. I like to keep blocks of refrigerated extra firm tofu for baking and frying, vacuum-packed silken tofu to blend into dressings and puddings, and dried tofu for soups and stir-fries. Stay tuned for a tofu post later this month.
• Grains. Using a variety of grains lends nutrition, texture, flavor, and interest to vegetarian meals. I like to keep my pantry stocked with brown rice, white rice, quinoa, spelt, farro, millet, and bulgur.
• Nuts. I always have almonds and cashews and try to keep pistachios and pine nuts around, too. Whole or chopped nuts can be used in salads and grain dishes. Ground nuts can add body to lasagna. And there's always pesto. Extend the life and freshness of nuts by keeping them in the freezer.
• Dried fruits. Raisins, dried apricots, dates, etc. are not only great for snacking but they can add interest to grain dishes, vegetable braises, and sautéed greens.
• Vegetable stock. I prefer to make stock from scratch and keep it in the freezer. But if you don't have the time or inclination, Better than Bouillon is a great option.
• Nutritional yeast. I've sung the praises of nutritional yeast before, and it can be used in sauces, as a coating for tofu, and sprinkled on potatoes and popcorn.
• Miso. I like to keep both light and dark miso paste in the refrigerator for different degrees of savoriness, but if I had to choose just one, it would be the mellow white variety. Miso makes excellent soup as well as dressings for salad, vegetables, and tofu.
• Tahini. Tahini or sesame paste often works in conjunction with miso in my kitchen. A quick tahini-miso sauce (try adding lemon juice and garlic, too) can be poured over steamed vegetables, tofu, or tempeh for simple weeknight dinners.
• Dried sea vegetables. I like to keep several kinds of seaweed, from sheets of nori that can be wrapped around rice and vegetables, to kelp/kombu that adds flavor to broth, to hijiki that can be reconstituted and used in salads and vegetable dishes.
What else would you add to this list?
Related:
What Every Pantry Needs: Savory
What Every Pantry Needs: Sweet
Weekend Project: Stocking the Fridge
Times Top 5: How to Stock Your Pantry in 2009
(Images: Emily Ho, Faith Durand, Flickr member FotoosVanRobin licensed under Creative Commons, Emily Ho)
Comments (15)
The Kitchn Weekly Email
Top Posts
Top Recipes
Top Kitchen Tours
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
I have everything in the kitchen right now but nutritional yeast. I am curious about the BTB, but need to see if the ingredients contain anything I am allergic to.
view kmarie's profile
that's a good starter list.
other things I keep:
tomato paste
molasses
pomegranate molasses
rosewater
tamarind puree (found at indian grocers)
rice vinegar
vital wheat gluten (for making seitan)
whole wheat pastry flour
earth balance margarine- tub and sticks
whole wheat couscous
pretty much; the ingredients to making my favorite ethnic dishes; which are naturally vegetarian and easy to make vegan.
view jillrenee in boston's profile
I'd add flax seeds -- they're super nutritious and can be used as egg replacers, too. Just grind them up in a clean coffee grinder and add it to shakes, oatmeal, salad dressings, or whatever to get more healthy omega-3s. Same goes for other seeds, like raw sunflower and pumpkin - I keep them in the freezer to keep them fresh and not rancid. They're great for snacking or adding flavor to pasta dishes or salads.
Also, plain, unsweetened soymilk in aseptic containers are nice to have around. I usually buy mine at the Asian grocer since it's much cheaper than the grocery store. I make my oatmeal with it for a protein kick and add it to soups and sauces for creaminess. And there's always cereal!
view Lorena in SD's profile
This is what I like to keep around:
-Pinto beans, for making quick refried beans, which is a staple in my diet.
-At least 7 containers of tofu at a time
-Soy Vanilla Yogurt, Soy Milk, Earth Balance
-Mexican Fideo, for a quick tomato soup
-Tortillas, El Milagro-lots and lots, best tortillas in Chicago
And most of the things you listed.
But if I didn' have beans, rice and tortillas, I would go crazy.
view arstellla's profile
I never would've guessed that I'm especially dependent on processed foods in contrast to other vegetarians, but here's my additions to the list:
Newman's Own tomato sauce
whole wheat dried pasta
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
chili oil
Morning Star Farms ground beef substitute
risotto rice
view AMLitt's profile
Nice list. I always like to see what other people consider "essential" to their pantry. I still haven't ventured into nutritional yeast or miso. Perhaps I should make that one of my resolutions.
view Kalinda's profile
Love these vegan posts! Keep em comin!!
view liveinpeace's profile
oh... I always stock **hemp seeds** to sprinkle on anything and everything -- super good for you (akin to flaxseed)
Popular up here in Canada (w/o the THC of course!) (:
view liveinpeace's profile
oh... and **So Nice Original Soymilk**
(ingredients are simply organic soybeans and water, c'est ca -- no added sugar, preservatives etc). Great with coffee!
And I always have raw almonds on hand for snacking (remember your calcium, protein, iron, and b-complex!!)
view liveinpeace's profile
nice list!
that's pretty much what my pantry looks like. just add a few kinds of pasta and tons of soy milk and there you go.
view melanief's profile
For a new flavor adventure or for those who have soy allergies, I recently discovered there is a delightful world of rice products out there. Rice milk has a much different flavor than soy milk. I was surprised to find rice flour pasta and my new favorite breakfast is rice cakes (hello the eighties?) with almond butter topped with dried fruit.
And please add nut butters to your pantry list. They can also be utilized to create sauces and 2T is a super-fast-running-out-the-door protein boost.
view suziwest7's profile
Peanut butter!
view matchbookhymnal's profile
Bragg liquid aminos (it's not fermented and doesn't have that overwhelmingly salty flavor that most soy sauce does).
Lots of good spices, kept well away from heat sources. This should be obvious, but trust me, for some newbie herbivores who don't know how to cook, it's not.
Several kinds of oil. A good olive oil is a must, but safflower or canola is better for baking, and peanut and/or sesame oils are better for Asian-style dishes.
Ground flax seeds! Mix into your breakfast smoothie or into baked goods - it's an easy way to add fiber and omega-3s.
Capers. I always have a jar of capers in the refrigerator for faux-fish dishes.
A good hot sauce. When a newly-tested recipe doesn't turn out so well, the hot sauce just might make it edible. Also indispensable for Cajun or Mexican food.
view Stiletto's profile
I keep on hand at all times:
coconut milk (which I dilute 1:1 with water and use on my granola in morning and any other recipe that calls for milk), chickpeas, tahini paste, cashew butter, ginger, coconut oil, grain sweetened chocolate chips, oatmeal (to make granola and cookies with), agave nectar, honey, whole wheat/spelt/brown rice pasta, black beans, cocoa powder, spelt flour and whole wheat flour mix for baking, Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour mix, brown rice.
You can check out some of my recipes using my pantry staples and everyone else's wonderful suggestions at:
http:testkitchenette.wordpress.com
view charmedbynancy's profile
almond butter!
haha, i was so happy to see the peanut butter post b/c that on the same line as i was thinking. i live off of almond butter.
what else would i be diminished without? cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and oatmeal.
this list is great, the nutritional yeast is a good suggestion
view leilatamar's profile