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I'm so with you on the onions and garlic. I went to visit a friend and I was going to make her dinner and I asked where the onions and garlic were. She didn't have any! I couldn't believe it. Its as if someone said we don't have water here.

Beans! Cans of beans are a great source of quick protein. I actually like Whole Foods fat-free refried beans, too.

I definitely agree with most of these, and it makes me curious to play around with anchovies! Most grains are great to have around, even stuff like farro. Even though it might take a little longer than couscous, it's definitely less than an hour cooking.

Graciela, I can't even imagine! Sometimes I run out of them, and don't realize it, and I swear, I can't do a good meal without one or both!

All of the above along with canned beans. I know its better to make a pot of your own but you can't beat the convenience and nutrition of the canned variety.

Oh gracious! Canned beans - I forgot them. They were what gave me the idea for the post in the first place.

I especially like canned chickpeas; they seem to hold their shape and texture better when canned than other softer varieties.

All of the above, but also:
-frozen corn (burritos, southwestern stews, corn chowder, cornbread)
-frozen peas (no need to cook them, throw them frozen into pasta, fried rice, grain salads, add a bit of broth and fresh herbs and yogurt milk for a spring pea soup)
-instant dashi stock for impromptu noodle bowls
-canned beans

trader joes, represent!

1. pasta
2. rice
3. canned beans (cannellini and black)
4. frozen peas
5. onions
6. garlic
7. parmesan cheese
8. eggs
9. canned tomato puree
10. olive oil
11. lemons

This started as my bare-minimum top 10, but I had to add lemons because if the pantry is just about truly bare when I get home from work, but I have those 10, I can do something. Add a lemon and I feel I can do something NICE.

lemons, fresh herbs (we have a little garden), homemade frozen chicken stock, tortillas and block cheeses of all variety.

Frozen bread (good quality, mind you), cut into slices before freezing. It isn't dinner without bread. :)

Eggs, onions, and garlic; where would I be without them? Oh, and cooked brown rice, also portioned out and stored in the freezer. It thaws in no time at all in the microwave.

ABreadADay.com

I am loving this thread. I'm someone who's not a good cook, and is plagued by poor planning -- i.e., I never have anything around to whip up, and end up eating out, or nibbling on potato chips. Thanks for these easy ideas -- I'm inspired!

@eprewitt - love the idea of freezing portions of brown rice. My weeknight dinners typically go like this:

9 Year Old: "When is dinner going to be ready?"
Me: "As soon as the rice is done."
9 Year Old: "When is that?"
Me: "When it's done cooking."
9 Year Old: "How long will that take?"
Toddler: "Mommmmeeeeeeeeeee Dinnnnnerrrrrrrrrr!!"
Me: "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

I agree on all these things, but I wish I could come up with more low carb staples. I fall back on pasta and rice too much! I like having some canned wild salmon around for salmon cakes or to throw in with a white bean salad.

Definitely frozen peas, or the peas-and-carrots mixed bag. With that and a hard-boiled egg in slices, a packet of ramen is actually like real food (as long as you leave out most of the seasoning).

Ditto to almost everything that everyone stocks. During the summer, I make and freeze pesto (basil pesto and argula pesto are favorites) so with pasta, I have a quick dinner. I also keep corn tortillas in the freezer and some soy "cheddar" on hand, which, with beans, make up into quick tostadas. (During the summer, I add whatever garden veggies make sense; during the winter, Trader Joe's peach salsa.) I'm also a BIG fan of vacuum-packed Mori-No silken tofu and cartons of soy milk, neither of which require refrigeration. We also continue to grow greens in our garden throughout the winter (in cold frames, last year). Having a four-season garden has extended the pantry in wonderful ways.

This is a small point but I have to make it: cous cous is not a grain at all, it's just pasta, and not whole wheat pasta either. I'm not anti-pasta (haha) but don't want people to think they are preparing some nice healthy whole grain side dish when really they are just eating very tiny noodles! :')

Good call, Pav09. Couscous and orzo, delicious as they are, are 'just' forms of pasta.

My list would include just about all of the things mentioned here, plus: canned coconut milk, marinated artichoke hearts, and -- because dinner includes dessert, right? -- those delicious and totally addictive butter waffle cookies (either the ones from Trader Joe's or their more expensive Belgian counterparts).

haha-- I live in Israel, but I actually use regular rather than "Israeli" couscous (which we call ptitim). I love the way a bad of whole wheat couscous can give me a grain side dish in five minutes no matter what, with just boiling water and a bowl. This has saved many dinners!

and by "a bad," I mean "a bag." hehe

The things I always have in the house are:
eggs
potatoes (Spanish tortillas or egg scrambles)
various frozen vegetables (these and a chicken leg/thigh make a quick soup with herbs, garlic and lemon)
pasta (I pre-make uncooked turkey meatballs and defrost a few at time for a quick meal with protein)
pasta sauce (with the above)
parmesan
canned tomatoes (various soups and pastas)
individually wrapped frozen fish fillets (tilapia, mahi mahi, salmon)
flour
milk (I'm a big breakfast person)
lemons (use the zest in scones, the juice with fish or soup)
canned beans (various)
swiss chard or collards (minestrone, caldo verde, side dish)
lowfat refried beans
torillas (I freeze these and toast as needed)
pita (I cut these in half and "open" them before freezing them in the bag. Then I toast as needed for herbed scrambled pita breakfasts)
mango pickle (great with the eggs and pita)
about 50 herbs and spices

Potatoes are such a necessity...
baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, potatoes au gratin, oven roasted in slices with olive oil and rosemary, cooked in curry with onion and carrots...

suprised they haven't made a stronger appearance on the list.

Pasta, Rice, Polenta, Couscous
Onions, Potatoes, Garlic, Shallots
Canned beans (black, kidney, and white), tomatoes, corn, hominy, artichokes, tuna, anchovies
Frozen peas, corn, broccoli
Fresh baby spinach
Cheese!
Eggs
Olive oils and vinegars
Dried fruit
Fresh herbs (grown in the windowsill!)
Stock
Bacon, frozen chicken breasts, frozen shrimp and/or scallops, frozen hamburger or turkey

That's the list of stuff that when I run out, or am close to running out, it goes on the shopping list. In a pinch I can make quiche, pastas, soups, chili, salads, baked potatoes with a chicken breast or some shrimp - my quickie, go-to meals in the evening.

The bacon and hamburger I usually bring home and portion out into smaller amounts so I can grab just a little bit to use at night.

Another favorite thing I like to do is make a batch of pizza dough and pizza sauce, and pre-portion and freeze that, along with some mozzarella cheese. Then, during the week, if I decide I want a pizza, I can just sit it out in the morning, and it's thawed and ready to go when I get home. Pizza in 15 - 20 minutes, and so much better than delivery.

And for any leftovers that I'm tired of, if they freeze well (soups, beans, meatloaf, cheese) I will portion and freeze for a lunch or dinner in a month or so, when I'm no longer tired of it.

Wow, thanks so much for the great idea. As a uni student living alone, cooking for one person has always been hassle, so quick & simple meal is always my issue in the kitchen. Instant noodle is likely to be my staple food...
I think I got good ideas from this post, which seems ideal for time-saving & healthy meal with students' budget. Now I run into the grocery to fill my pantry with those items above though some items would be replaced with upon my preference...

Rice (I always have both brown and white, but I try to save white for special occasions)

Turmeric, salt, red chili powder, and ginger-garlic paste (I'm Indian and I typically cook Indian food for dinner. I have many more spices but these are the basics - if I have these, I can cook something delicious very quickly.)

Frozen vegetables (mostly spinach and okra). I also buy the frozen cut onions.

Eggs (I try to always include a protein with dinner but there are days when I'm too lazy to make the simplest chicken recipes. Plus hard-boiled eggs are easy, portable snacks and omelets/scramblers are easy weekend breakfasts.

Those are my main staples. Of course I buy other basics every other week for groceries: plenty of fresh fruit and fresh veggies, milk and cheese, and meat. But these are the bare minimum basics.

I almost never buy garlic, unless I'm making a recipe for the first time and it explicitly calls for such. (Interestingly, my mom was talking the other day about how she's never ever so much as had to break up or peel a clove of garlic or grind it up.) We just use the ginger-garlic paste, and they also come in separate garlic paste or ginger paste. The flavor is very strong so a little goes a long way.

LOVE this. I agree with most of your top 10!!

Mine would have to be

1. Garlic
2. Onions
3. Potatoes
4. Dried Beans
5. Canned Tomatoes
6. Pasta
7. Quinoa
8. Frozen Veggies
9. Eggs
10. Parmesan

Frozen sausage.
We call it "emergency sausage" as we always have the other ingredients.

Great post! And great comments too. I want to add jarred salsa verde to the list. I'm amazed at how much we eat. I use it as a base for white chili, in casseroles, on eggs, on everything. Oddly never with chips :)

I love this post! I have some great ideas after reading everyone's list.

Here is mine:

1. Onions
2. Potatoes
3. Brown Rice
4. Chicken Stock
5. Frozen Spinach
6. Canned Tomatoes
7. Various Canned Beans
8. Good Whole Wheat Flour (King Arthur - I make my own bread)
9. Frozen Chicken Breast Fillets (I love these for a quick dinner)
10. A jar of organic marinara sauce. (Many leftovers from the week have been rescued by being tossed with sauce and baked with pasta)
11. Eggs!!!!!!

wow, these are all such amazing ideas. i've been trying to build up a nice arsenal of easy weeknight dinners (and weekday lunches). here's my list, similar to others:

1. pasta - tortellini, bowtie or penne
2. jasmine rice
3. chicken/beef/pork (cut into portions and frozen)
4. rice noodles
5. olive oil
6. small bags of instant-steam veggies
7. quinoa
9. lemons
9. eggs
10. margarita mix :)

seriously though, thanks for the great ideas...grocery shopping tonight!

I always have

Eggs
Cheese
Whole wheat tortillas (these three make up breakfast)
onions
pasta
tomato sauce
garlic
homemade chicken stock, frozen in ice cube trays
cooking wines and soy sauce

I should keep more stuff on hand, but I don't plan that well. I'll be adding frozen veggies (artichoke hearts! Yum!) and whole wheat couscous to my arsenal, though. Between this list and the sturdy veggies (carrots, cabbage, that sort of thing) I have rolling around in my fridge, I can usually make a reasonably healthy dinner pretty fast.

If I have them, 8 oz of sliced mushrooms cooked with red wine over a fried egg on cheese toast makes for a delicious dinner. They're also good cooked with marsala wine and tossed with pasta. They don't keep well, though, which is why they aren't on my list. Onions cooked slowly with oil or butter until browned and then splashed with madeira make for a delicious pasta sauce, too, but they do take time.

si, I like potatoes. esp. in easy potato torte/flan. make speedy pastry but grating butter and mixing it with four and a little water, kneed a bit, but not too much (why it puffs and is speedy). Roll out and bake 5-10 min in the oven. Thinly slice potatoes and layer over pastry - at this point add what ever is in cupboards, fresh tomatoes are good, as is spinach or leeks or caramalised onions under the potatoes. top with another layer of thinly sliced potato top with herbs (rosemary or fresh basil are good - and cumin deprending on what other veges you use) and cheese if you have it, or a bit more grated butter. Bake another 10-15 min. Umm. . . this suddenly doesn't sound that quick - was quick a prerequisite? I seem to be able to do this in the time that it takes to make and drink my afternoon, just walked in the door cup of tea and a salad to go with afore mentioned potato pleasure.

rice, some form of bread (my go-to lunch is bagels, they freeze great and go straight into the toaster, w. cream cheese or PB.)
beans, chickpeas, canned tuna, PB
forzen small portions of meat - usually chicken, extra lean grond beef
so much produce i cant keep up with myself: bananas, peppers and potatos are cheap, but i love to have berries, spinach, citrus around.
yogie, milk, or soy milk.
this site and jamie oliver are inspiring me to expand my herb and spice shelf!!

my number 1 would have to be either oatmeal (breakfast every day) or cereal, which i think i have a clinical addiction to. its so good dry as a snack mid-day, or anytime with milk and fruit and cinnamon on top.