Doing a Pantry Challenge? Wondering what to eat for dinner? Let’s look at your options for pantry challenge dinners so you can use what you have and save money.
If you’ve ever watched the Food Network program Chopped, you’ll be familiar with the concept of making dinner with a group of disparate ingredients.
During a Pantry Challenge, that’s pretty much what you’re doing—only it’s real life. You don’t win $10,000, but you do get the chance to save money.
Depending on who live with, the judging can be pretty harsh. Trust me, as a mom of six, some of them quite picky, I know how a pantry challenge dinner can go terribly sideways—kids crying, mom grumpy, and food wasted.
Not exactly what any of us signed up for when we decided to eat down the pantry and save money.
What to eat for dinner during a pantry challenge?
So, whaddya gonna do? Well, meal planning and meal prep are key when you shop your kitchen for an extended period of time, but there are plenty of solid strategies to help you actually decide what to eat during this season.
If you’ve taken inventory of your food storage, you should have a pretty good idea of what ingredients are available to you. Hopefully, you haven’t gone too far off what your family normally eats, but it happens that you’ll find some ingredients that you’re not really sure what to do with.
Next it’s time to meal plan. When I’m deciding on pantry challenge dinners, I find that it’s helpful if I think in terms of the nights of the week. I know we’ll have tacos one night and breakfast another night. I fill in each night of the week with some kind of theme, like these:
Make family favorite meals.
When it comes to a focused pantry challenge where you may have to use things you regretted buying, it’s always helpful to balance those difficult meals with things you know the family loves. With good luck and savvy shopping, you’ll likely have ingredients to make some old stand by’s that the family will gobble up.
Serve a festive meal with all the trimmings.
Since we usually do our pantry challenge in January, I often have lots of leftover ingredients from the holiday, such as stuffing, cranberries, and even frozen turkey. You don’t need to wait for a holiday. A festive meal is always welcome, especially in the dreary days of winter.
Serve soup and really good bread.
Soup is a fantastic catch-all meal that uses up leftovers and little bits of this and that. Plan on a weekly soup dinner to warm the bones and help you avoid wasting food.
Try a new recipe that uses ingredients you have on hand.
Keep things lively by experimenting with new recipes—provided you don’t have to run out to the store to buy more. Chances are you probably have some interesting ingredients on hand that need using. Necessity is the mother of invention, so start inventing some new favorite dinners.
Make breakfast for dinner.
When all else fails, make breakfast. It’s easy, economical, and pretty much everyone loves it. Breakfast doesn’t have to be cereal for dinner, though it could be. Think about yummy options like Oven Pancake with Cinnamon Apples or a Bacon and Spinach Quiche.
Pantry Challenge Dinner Recipes
Here's what we had for dinner during our most recent Pantry Challenge. You can see that we had several different themes to our meal plans for dinners as well as weekend lunches.
Sunday Dinners
Over the last few months, I've been trying to make more of an effort for Sunday Dinners. This month's selections were based on what "big" proteins I had in the freezer, namely turkey breast and chicken.
Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast
Super easy to make, packed with flavor, roasted turkey breast is the ideal dish for folks who don't love dark turkey meat. Leftovers are great in soups and sandwiches.
An Easy Way to Roast Chicken At Home
Similar to roasting a turkey breast, roasting a whole chicken provides a bit of dark meat for those who prefer it. It's super cheap and yummy.
Susan Branch Lemon Chicken Recipe
While credit isn't given to Susan in this linked recipe, it's what came up when I searched it. It's one of our very favorite lemon chicken recipes. I had purchased frozen chicken cutlets which were perfect for this dish.
Bulk Batch Herbed Stuffing with Onion and Sage
I love this recipe for many reasons, including: it's the best stuffing ever AND it makes a lot. I made the bulk batch and froze half for a second night, making our second pantry challenge Sunday Dinner super quick and easy.
Easy Homemade Cranberry Sauce for People Who Think They Don't Like Homemade
I regularly load up on bags of cranberries during the holiday sales so that we can enjoy this whenever we want. I have yet to make too much.
The Mashed Potato Casserole My Kids Go Nuts For
My kids devour this mashed potato casserole; it's that good. Thankfully, it's freezer friendly. I make double batches whenever I can so that I can take it easy whenever we want it.
Pasta Night
Mondays tend toward pasta. It's easy. I can delegate the prep to other people. Everyone likes it. It's also pretty affordable.
Homemade Lasagna
Super simple to prep and totally delicious, this lasagna uses pantry staples, except for the meat and cheese, both of which are easily frozen. A homemade white sauce makes it extra affordable.
Cheesy Sausage Pasta in the Instant Pot
I love this IP recipe because it's so easy and hands-free. You can omit the meat and cheese to make it vegan if you like. It's delicious every which way.
Easy Chicken and Green Beans
While I normally serve this with rice, this month I served it with pasta and marinara sauce. Turns out it's a really nice switch that we'll do again.
Marinara Sauce
This is my go-to Marinara sauce. It comes together quickly and easily with regular pantry staples.
Easy Mac & Cheese in the Instant Pot
Mac and Cheese is ultimate comfort food. And while I am still a fan of boxed mac and cheese, this recipe is even EASIER.
Taco Tuesdays
It might not always be tacos on Tuesdays, but we almost always have Mexican food. Since we regularly have these types of dishes, they are easy to throw together during a Pantry Challenge.
Pork Carnitas Tacos
Cooked in the slow cooker and then finished in the oven, pork carnitas are a super tasty filling for tacos or burritos or topping for tostadas, salads, and burrito bowls. This makes a big batch so you can freeze extra for another time.
A Mexican Buffet is a Quick & Easy Dinner
You'll be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to pull together a Mexican food buffet. Beans, rice, salsa, and a protein can be mixed and matched in so many delicious ways!
Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix
Don't waste money on the packets when you can mix together your own seasoning mixes. This taco seasoning is super easy and affordable.
Super Easy Salsa Recipe
Homemade salsa costs just pennies and tastes so much better than the canned variety.
Chicken Fajita Burritos that You Can Freeze
Every couple weeks I make several batches of these burritos to stash in the freezer. They are packed with flavor and reheat beautifully!
Soup Night
From fall to late spring, we typically have soup once a week. This is particularly helpful during a pantry challenge as it's a great way to use up leftovers and help prevent food waste.
Chunky Potato Soup with Bacon & Tarragon
Potatoes and bacon are the building blocks of this tasty soup, but it can easily be made vegan if you prefer, something I did this month so my daughter could enjoy it with the rest of the family.
Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Who can say no to homemade chicken noodle soup? This one comes together in minutes and is ultimate comfort food.
Creamy Vegetable Soup that's Vegan!
One of the things I absolutely love about this recipe is that it can be made with whatever vegetables you have on hand, making it a perfect candidate for a fridge clean-out.
Soup is Good Food (or How to Make Stone Soup)
Stone soup is a brilliant concept: a little of this and a bit of that come together for a fantastic meal. This template will get you started on combining leftovers in a way that makes soup night something to look forward to!
Pantry Challenge Minestrone
Another template for making soup from leftovers, this Pantry Challenge Minestrone opens the doors for a multitude of different soup variations.
Frozen Food Thurdays
Knowing that I would want a break during the week but not wanting to spend money on take-out, I regularly stock up on some of our favorite Costco frozen entrees: yakisoba, potstickers, gyros, and naan.
To make it a little more healthful and/or interesting, I typically prepare a few complimentary side dishes or sauces to go with.
Seasoned Rice Pilaf
Rice Pilaf goes great with gyros and shwarma. Better than any boxed mix, this recipe comes together just as quickly.
Greek Tzatziki Recipe
Accent frozen kabobs or gyros with a homemade tzatziki. It's a great dip, topping, or dressing.
Quick Potstickers with Dipping Sauce
The sauce packets that come with frozen potstickers are a little less than amazing. This homemade dipping sauce is just the ticket to liven things up.
Chicken Fried Rice
Got rice and some veg and chicken, this homemade chicken fried rice is super simple and delicious.
Quick & Easy Cauliflower Fried Rice
Get more veggies when you mix up this 5-ingredient recipe. It's a go-to for a quick and easy side or main.
Friday Lunch Pizzas
This month, for the first in decades, we bumped Friday pizza night to Friday lunch. Basically because we could. This gave us a feast mid-day, an early start to the weekend, and the need for a very light dinner.
The toppings are usually the same: pepperoni, pepperoni/mushroom, American Hot, and a vegan option.
The Easiest Grilled Pizza You Can Make
We've been grilling pizza every week for more than two years. It's so delicious! Weather permitting, it should go on your list on new habits to cultivate.
Sourdough Pizza Crust
Since I learned to bake with sourdough a few years ago, this pizza crust has been a weekly must-make. Packed with flavor and super easy to mix up, it's a keeper.
Last-Minute No Cook Pizza Sauce
This sauce is my go to because it's so easy and one batch pretty much covers the six pizzas I make each week. Super flavorful but quick to make.
BFD = Breakfast for Dinner
Having breakfast for dinner during a Pantry Challenge makes for a super easy meal that doesn't require a whole lot. It's very fend-for-yourself which I love.
Basic Pancake Recipe - An Easy Pantry Staple
Homemade pancakes are so delicious! This recipe makes for 24 cakes so you can easily freeze some for later if you like.
Buttered Maple French Toast Casserole
Got leftover baguette or clearance bread, this french toast casserole comes together quickly and easily. Delicious for breakfast any time of day!
Slow Cooker Saturday Lunch
This month, filling the slow cooker on Saturday morning was a really easy way to make sure everyone had a hot lunch. I leaned toward chili-type recipes and made them vegan when I could so I knew the whole family would enjoy it.
Quickest Chili in the West - Slow Cooker or Stovetop
This chili is a favorite around here, especially with the hominy, something easy to keep in the cupboard.
Slow Cooker Taco Soup Recipe
A little more soupy than a chili, but really a chili. Mixes up really quickly!
Quinoa Chili with Three Chiles
The quinoa adds a plant-based protein which I appreciate, having one child who eats vegan. The three types of chiles add tons of flavor!
Saturday Grill Night
Except for the weekend it stormed, we grilled out on Saturday nights. If I didn't have buns already in the freezer, I baked homemade.
Seasoned Chicken
This is a standard recipe for baked or grilled chicken that my kids love, especially when I get leg quarters.
Making Burger Patties for the Freezer
If you find ground beef or turkey at a good price, make a bunch of patties as soon as you get home and stash them in the freezer. You can cook hamburger patties from frozen which makes for a really quick meal!
Homemade Hamburger Buns Recipe
Light and fluffy, these homemade hamburger buns are better than anything you can buy at the store!
5-Ingredient Italian Sandwich Rolls
These are tasty vegan rolls. Not as light and fluffy as regular hamburger buns, but they work well for a mixed grill of veggie and beef burgers.
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