Here's a list of 50+ recipes that can be made with pantry and frozen ingredients for times when you are stuck at home due to weather, sickness or an emergency. These pantry recipes are easy to make using your Instant Pot, Air fryer or stove, and can be adapted to available ingredients, and most of all, they are healthy and tasty.

A well stocked pantry and freezer can really come in handy at times when you are stuck at home for any reason and cannot do a grocery run for a few weeks.
The idea is to stock shelf-stable foods with common frozen ingredients, and use them efficiently. If you are wondering what all you should buy, here's a post that will help:
How to Stock Your Pantry and Freezer
The recipes in this collection can be made with pantry and freezer ingredients, and offer easy substitutes so you can adapt and customize them based on availability of ingredients.
The key idea is that if you run out of an ingredient or two, you can get creative and substitute with what you have on hand and still enjoy a healthy and balanced meal. On that note, let's get started!
Master Sauces
Here are some base sauces that can be made-ahead, doubled or tripled, and frozen for later use. Freeze in 1-meal portions in ziplock bags to optimize space. To reuse, simply thaw it in the refrigerator overnight, and heat as per recipe directions. Alternatively, you can stock store-ready substitutes in your pantry.
Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
Indian Curry Sauce | Onion Tomato Bhuna Masala (Instant Pot)
Easy Bolognese Sauce- Instant Pot & Stove
10-Minute Pesto Sauce
Tikka Masala Sauce - Instant Pot | Stove
Tips for Making healthy and Tasty Meals out of the Pantry & Freezer
- Aromatics and Flavor Base: Frozen aromatics like ginger, garlic and onions, and other flavoring vegetables, such as celery, carrots and peppers are great for adding flavor to your meals. You can buy frozen aromatics from the store, or freeze them yourself. These frozen veggies stay good in the freezer for a month.
- For onions, peppers, carrots and celery, chop or pulse them in a food processor and store them in 1-meal portions and freeze.
- or ginger and garlic, blend or mince, add to ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a ziplock bag to save space.
- Vegetables: Use frozen vegetables to add vitamins, minerals and fiber to your meals. Common examples are: spinach, broccoli, stir-fry medleys, soycutash, peas, corn, edamame (good source of protein), green beans, squash and peppers. Check here for a list of long lasting vegetables and fresh foods.
- Protein: Tofu and Cheese stay good in the fridge for 3-4 weeks. Cheese can also be frozen for later use. Stock up your freezer with lean ground meats, chicken, shrimp or similar proteins that can help stretch a meal for a family. Beans and lentils are a great way to add plant based protein and fiber to your meals. Keep dry or canned beans and use them in soups, quesadillas, curries and more.
- Pasta, Bread & Grains: Pick whole-grain pasta, bread, noodles and tortillas to increase the fiber content in meals. Buy tortillas and bread with a longer shelf life. Both of these can also be frozen for up to a month.
- Spices and Seasonings: Most spices and sauces have a long shelf-life (months). Keep your pantry stocked with your commonly used one. Sauces like soy sauce, hoisin, Thai curry pastes, sriracha, chili garlic paste, pasta sauce, salsa add a ton of flavor to meals.
Notes and Tips About These Recipes
- Beans: If using canned beans, use any kind you have on hand for the following recipes. Pressure cooking time remains the same.
- Lentils: Dal Tadka recipe or Lentil Soup recipe can be used for the following lentils with adjusted pressure cooking times:
- Red lentils: same time
- Green Lentils: 10 mins pressure cook (high), NPR
- Brown Lentils: 12 mins pressure cook (high), NPR
- Black eyed peas (Lobiya): 15 mins pressure cook (high), NPR
- Split chickpeas (chana Dal): 12 mins pressure cook (high), NPR
- Veggies: Customize with what you have in stock. Carrots, celery, peppers can be added to any or all recipes. Canned baby corn, water-chestnuts, bamboo shoots are a great addition to Asian recipes. Frozen spinach, broccoli, peas, corn, edamame, soycutash are great source of nutrients. Frozen riced cauliflower can be added to soups and curries to bump up the fiber content (you can't taste it).
- Aromatics- Ginger, Garlic, Onions: Once you run out, use dry onion flakes, garlic and ginger powder. Here are easy substitutes based on trusted resources:
- Onion: 1 tablespoon of dried minced onion equals ½ cup finely chopped onion.
- Garlic: â…› teaspoon garlic powder for each clove of garlic
- Ginger: ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger for 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- Paneer & Tofu can be used interchangeably. Most chicken recipes in this list can be substituted with either.
- Chickpeas & Beans: Good to add to any rice pilaf to add protein and fiber to the dish.
- Spaghetti noodles can be used for asian noodles recipes too, like in Lo Mein.
- Full fat coconut milk is a good dairy-free 'canned' substitute for heavy whipping cream for curries and pasta.
Vegetarian Meals
These recipes are easy to put together with the following pantry and freezer items that can be stocked up for 3-4 weeks.
- Pantry: Canned or dried Beans, Lentils, Canned Tomato (paste and diced), Jarred salsa, Jarred Pasta sauce, Jarred Roasted Red Peppers, Coconut milk, Thai curry paste, Cashews (can substitute with almond flour), Rice, Bread, Pasta, Tortillas and Quinoa.
- Freezer: Frozen Paneer, Assorted Veggies (including spinach, green beans, carrots, peas, corn, peppers, celery, onion, ginger and garlic), Ravioli, Soy Meatballs.
Black Bean Chili Recipe
Creamy Black Beans in Instant Pot
Veggie Burger | Black Bean Burger
Moroccan Chickpea Soup
Black Bean Quesadilla
Dal Tadka | Dal Fry
Mexican Quinoa
Chana Masala
Instant Pot Lentil Soup
Easy Instant Pot Vegetable Biryani Recipe
Broccoli Cheddar Pasta in Instant Pot
Chana Masala Biryani (Indian Chickpeas Rice)
Instant Pot Minestrone Soup with Quinoa (Gluten-Free)
Rajma Recipe - Rajma Masala
Pasta Fagioli Soup - Instant Pot | Stove
Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
Veg Manchurian Recipe: Instant Pot & Stovetop Recipe
Saag Paneer | Palak Paneer in Instant Pot
Taco Pasta
Dal Makhani
Misir Wot - Ethiopian Red Lentils
Paneer Butter Masala | Paneer Makhani
30-Minute Pesto Tortellini
Instant Pot Thai Green Curry (Vegan)
Quinoa Biryani
Rava Idli Recipe
Instant Pot Egg Bites | Frittatas Muffins (6 ways)
Chicken & Meat Recipes
Stock up your freezer with ground meats, chicken or similar proteins that can help stretch a meal for a family and are also economical. Most of the recipes using chicken can be made with tofu or paneer, and vice versa. Here's what you need from your pantry and freezer:
- Pantry: Canned tomato, rice, pasta (noodles), coconut milk, Thai curry paste, canned baby corn, cashews (can substitute with almond flour).
- Freezer: Frozen chicken, ground turkey (or any ground meat), veggies (including spinach, stir-fry medley, corn, peppers, celery, onion, ginger and garlic), fish (salmon/ mahi-mahi/ cod).
Instant Pot Chicken Lo Mein
Instant Pot Salsa Chicken (3-Ingredients!)
Chicken Curry Recipe in Instant Pot
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Thai Curry Soup
Easy Instant Pot Chicken Chili
Easy Butter Chicken and Saffron Rice
Thai Massaman Curry
Thai Salmon Curry
Instant Pot Goulash
Chicken Saag (Chicken Spinach Curry) | Palak Chicken
Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup (Gluten Free)
Chicken Korma- Instant Pot | Stove
Chicken Noodle Soup with Ethiopian Spices (Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker)
Easy Chicken Wonton Soup
Rice and Sides
Spinach rice in Instant Pot | Spanakorizo
Lemon Rice (Indian)- Instant Pot / Stove
Coconut Rice
Restaurant-Style Mexican Rice
Instant Pot Basmati Rice
Instant Pot Brown Rice (Basmati & Jasmine)
Instant Pot Quinoa
Jeera Rice / Cumin Rice
Saffron Rice
Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread- Oven & Instant Pot Recipe
Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs (5-5-5 method)
I hope you find these recipes useful and easy to stock for. With a little bit of planning and organizing, you can make healthy and delicious meals for your family from a well-stocked pantry and freezer.
For stocking tips, read this article on How to Stock Your Pantry and Freezer. If you have any suggestions and tips, or need substitution ideas, please comment below and let us know! Stay healthy my friends!
Leave a Reply