60 Cheap Items to Have in Your Pantry

We usually eat at home--it's cheaper and definitely healthier.  The reason we can easily cook meals at home is because we keep a well stocked pantry.  If you don't have the basics for cooking simple meals, the usual option is to just eat out which is both a money and health fail in many cases.  Here are the items we always have on hand in our pantry:

1. Flour
2. Sugar
3. Spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried dill, turmeric, ginger, bay leaves, chili powder, curry powder, etc)
4. Yeast
5. Baking soda
6. Baking powder
7. Brown sugar
8. Molasses
9. Vanilla extract
10. Chocolate chips
11. Cake mixes/brownie mixes
12. Condensed milk
13. Evaporated milk
14. Coconut milk
15. Shortening
16. Cooking oil
17. Olive oil
18. Vinegar
19. Balsamic vinegar
20. Corn meal
21. Corn starch
22. Canned tomatoes
23. Canned vegetables
24. Canned fruit
25. Oatmeal
26. Spaghetti sauce
27. Assortment of pasta
28. Rice
29. Lentils
30. Cous cous
31. Barley
32. Canned beans
33. Dry beans
34. Maseca (to make tortillas)
35. Peanut butter
36. Jams/jellys
37. Honey
38. Maple syrup
39. Buckwheat pancake mix
40. Mustard
41. Ketchup
42. Mayonaise
43. Ethnic foods (Patis, chili oil, tahini, nori, soy sauce, rice wrappers)
44. Canned soups
45. Canned broth
46. Gravy mixes
47. Dried fruit (raisins, cranberries)
48. Coffee
49. Tea
50. Nuts and seeds (walnuts, cashews, sun flower seeds, etc)
51. Crackers
52. Popcorn
53. Salsa
54. Canned fish (anchovies, tuna, sardines)
55. Tomato products (tomato sauce, tomato paste, sun dried tomatoes)
56. Pickles
57. Hot sauce
58. In the fridge: almond milk, butter, eggs
59. In the freezer: we have cut way back on meat but keep some steak, some shrimp, and a chicken in the freezer for last minute meals for friends
60. Fresh fruit and vegetables: we always have a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables on hand...melons, berries, bananas, broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, bok choy...whatever is in season