How To Stock a Pantry on a Budget For $50 A Month In 2025

Learning how to stock a pantry on a budget is am important party of frugal living. This starter pantry list or emergency food list is great for essential food items grocery lists and pantry staples, cheap meals in hard times, or basic pantry list for new house.

How To Stock A Pantry On A Budget (UPDATED)

If you’re wondering how can I spend less money on food, one of the ways to accomplish this is to stock your pantry with meals you can cook cheap.

I get it.

When money is tight, the last thing you want to do is spend money on extra things to create a frugal pantry.

But, learning how to build up your pantry will actually save you money in the long run.

You can work up to stocking a pantry for 3 months and beyond for when money is tight or for emergency situations and how to afford food when times are tight! Here’s how to get begin stocking a pantry for around $50 per month!

What should I stock my pantry with?

• Think about what kind of meals you may be making. (There’s no need to store things that your family doesn’t like just because they’re on everyone else’s pantry stocking list.)
• Take note of your current pantry items so you don’t duplicate them.
• Shop the sales (including BOGO and 10 for $10).
• Only buy things you know your family will eat. It doesn’t matter how great the deal is if you’ll be throwing it away in a few weeks because everyone hates it!
• Buy in bulk.
• Don’t buy everything at once. Add a little on each grocery trip.
• Go generic / off-label when you can.
• Look for pantry staples for cheap and easy meals. We keep canned chicken and canned sweet potatoes for a quick and yummy comfort food soup.
• Stick to dried and canned food (for the first pantry phase).

How To Build Up Your Pantry On $50/Month

There are some  budget-friendly pantry staples that all pantries should have (unless you have dietary restrictions, then you’ll have to adjust the list for those). And, by adding around $50/month to your pantry stock (or whenever you can), you will quickly build a nice reserve of food.

Here’s how to build up your pantry, starting with basic pantry staples for families or if you’re wondering how do I stock my first pantry?

Household staples and pantry essentials include:

• Dried Pasta
• Dried Beans
• Rice or Quinoa (or Other Grains)
• Canned Meat
• Broth / Bouillon
• Oats
• Canned Vegetables
• Canned Fruit
• Flour
• Cornmeal
• Sugar
• Cooking Oil
• Pasta Sauces

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Of course, your pantry staples to stock up on a budget may look a little different than our pantry list based on your dietary needs and food likes and dislikes.

So think about those things when learning how to stock your pantry on a budget. (You don’t want to be stuck with a food storage of things your family won’t eat!)

Give careful consideration to what to put on your essential food items on a budget list!

TIP: Allow your pantry storage to build up for a few months before you start using it. Otherwise, you’re just basically grocery shopping and then using / re-buying.

Remember: the goal of stocking a pantry is so you have extra food you can rely on to stretch your money or if you need food for emergency purposes!

Let’s go into more detail on the items we would start with on our How To Stock a Pantry On a Budget list.

It will give you a better understanding of why we recommended these for pantry staples!

For this pantry list, we’re going to cover longer term food storage items (canned, bottled, dried food, etc.) and not freezer, refrigerator, or fresh fruits and vegetables. We’re also going to assume that you have spices, so we’ve left those off.

This is a great beginner pantry list if you’re wondering:

• What to stock a pantry with for saving money
• How to stock a pantry for the first time
• How to stock a pantry for an emergency

You’ll build on this list monthly (or weekly, or as your budget allows) by adding more items. Once you build up your pantry food storage, you can even start saving money with once a month grocery shopping!

Stock Pantry List

A NOTE ABOUT THE PRICES LISTED - UPDATED: We updated the list with 2025 first quarter pricing from Amazon Fresh. When generic/off-brand was available, we used those in our food examples.

Pantry Item List #1: Pasta

Dried pasta is a must-have pantry item:

• Pasta is easy to cook
• You can get a variety of different pasta to meet dietary needs (whole wheat, gluten-free, egg-free, etc.)
• It makes cheap meals
• Pasta is filling
• Pasta makes great fillers to stretch meat dishes
• It’s easy to mix with other items for a large variety of meal ideas
• Pasta is great comfort foods in emergency times
• It stores for a long time before you need to use it

To start, we would include these in our pantry:

• Dried spaghetti – ($1.09/16 oz) – 2
• Egg noodles ($2.49/12 oz) – 1
• Elbow macaroni noodles ($1.09/16 oz) – 1

Egg noodles are great because they are super cheap and can be used with just sauce, make a hearty meal with meats, or can be used in a variety of different casseroles or dishes.

The same with elbow macaroni noodles. They can be used for macaroni, chili, soups, and casseroles, so they're a great addition to your food storage.

Pantry Item List #2: Canned Tomatoes

Many people recommend storing pasta sauces for your pantry list. While it’s fine to store those, I find canned tomatoes to be cheaper and more versatile option.

With a pasta sauce, you’re stuck using it for pasta (or maybe pizza sauce). With canned tomatoes, you can use them for soups, chili, pasta sauces, other sauces, casseroles, pizza and more. (And, it’s easy to convert canned tomatoes to pasta sauce with a few seasoning or vegetables.)

• Diced tomatoes ($1.69/28 oz) – 1
• Crushed tomatoes ($1.69/28 oz) – 1

Pantry Item List #3: Rice, Quinoa, or Grains

Rice (or grains) are another must-have pantry item for the same reasons as pasta: it stores well (for long periods), it’s cheap, and it’s both filling (for our tummy) and makes a great filler to stretch meat recipes.

If you can (your diet allows), start with basic rice and then add in more expensive items like quinoa.

• Long Grain White Rice ($1.18/1 lb) – 1

GRAINS NOTE: We've really gotten into using wheat berries as a main grain and really enjoy the chewier text of it compared to rice. Plus, they're great in soups or can be ground with a hand grinder like this to make flour.  So they really are great for storing food for long-term emergency prepping or for your pantry foods.

I buy wheat berries like this in bulk and then vacuum seal them in portions for longterm food storage.

Pantry Item List #4: Dried Beans

I know this is going to sound like a broken record, but dried beans are also an important as frugal pantry staples for the same reasons as rice and pasta: the price is relatively cheap in bulk, long-term shelf stable, great fillers for recipes, and they make us feel full.

We recommend different beans to add variety to soups, casseroles and recipes.

I buy them dried and then then vacuum seal them with this for long-term food storage.

• Red kidney beans ($2.69/1 lb) – 1
• Black beans ($2.19/16 oz) – 1
• Pinto beans ($1.29/16 oz) – 1

MORE HELPFUL INFO: How To Save Money On Groceries (Without Clipping Coupons!)

Pantry Item List #5: Bouillon

Using broth or bouillon adds a lot of dimension and flavor to your dishes.

Many pantry lists recommend you store broth (like the kind you get in a carton). However, for long-term storage, I prefer bouillon (cubes or granule packets) because the dried bouillon lasts longer and it’s easier to store (takes up less room).

• Chicken bouillon ($2.29/3.4 oz) – 1
• Vegetable bouillon ($1.59/2.1 oz) – 1

Pantry Item List #6: Canned Fruits and Vegetables

Getting some fresh-tasting, healthy food pantry items is important.

Canned fruits can often be expensive, so you’ll want to add these slowly to your pantry stocking list.

Clearly, you can choose any combination of fruits and vegetables for your pantry. We’ve just given you an example with our pantry list below.

PANTRY STORAGE TIP: Always choose pantry items that have multiple purposes. For example, green beans can be eaten alone, but also used in soups and casseroles.

Here are some examples of fruit and vegetable pantry items to have on hand:

• Green beans ($ .89/15 oz) – 3
• Peas and Carrots ($ .89/15 oz) – 3
• Corn ($ .89/15 oz) – 3
• Pineapple chunks ($1.29/20 oz) – 1
• Peaches ($1.49/15 oz) – 1

Pantry Item List #7: Baking Goods

Baking goods are one of those things that people sometimes forget when stocking a pantry because they think, “Oh, I’m not going to be making cakes, so…”

Remember, along with sweet treats like cookies, cupcakes, and cakes, baked goods are also bread, cornbread, tortillas, biscuits and so many more items that you can save money by making from scratch or that you may need as comfort foods during hard times.

Be sure to stock your food storage with, at a minimum, these baking items to start:

• All purpose flour ($1.49/2 lbs) – 1
• Corn muffin mix ($.69/8.5 oz) – 4
• Sugar ($3.59/4 lb) – 1
• Baking Soda ($ .59/ 16 oz) – 1
• Baking Powder ($1.59/8 oz) – 1
• Dried Yeast (1.19/7.5 oz) – 1

Pantry Item List #8: Oats

Oats are another great pantry item because you can use them for breakfast or dinner and they have several purposes — eating alone, binding agents for dishes (think: meatloaf), and baking.

• Oats ($2.69/18 oz) – 1

Pantry Item List #9: Canned Meats

Can I be honest? I’m not a fan of canned meats like chicken or tuna in the can.

However, we always have some in our pantry stock for “just in case.”

You can easily use them in soups, salads, and casseroles, or add them to pasta for a heartier meal.

Canned meats are also more expensive canned items, so you’ll probably add these canned pantry items slower than other items or buy them at a bulk store to get more for your money.

• Chicken breast ($1.49/5 oz) – 2
• Tuna ($2.24/12 oz) – 1

Food Pantry Item List

If you want to see the pantry items to have on hand list all in one place, here’s what it looks like.

Remember, you’ll add to this list (and expand it) as your budget allows (hopefully at least monthly!).

This list will give you a start (and you can even build full meals off of just what is listed here!)

• Dried spaghetti – ($1.09/16 oz) – 2
• Egg noodles ($2.49/12 oz) – 1
• Elbow macaroni noodles ($1.09/16 oz) – 1
• Diced tomatoes ($1.69/28 oz) – 1
• Crushed tomatoes ($1.69/28 oz) – 1
• Long Grain White Rice ($1.18/1 lb) – 1
• Red kidney beans ($2.69/1 lb) – 1
• Black beans ($2.19/16 oz) – 1
• Pinto beans ($1.29/16 oz) – 1
• Chicken bouillon ($2.29/3.4 oz) – 1
• Vegetable bouillon ($1.59/2.1 oz) – 1
• Green beans ($ .89/15 oz) – 3
• Peas and Carrots ($ .89/15 oz) – 3
• Corn ($ .89/15 oz) – 3
• Pineapple chunks ($1.29/20 oz) – 1
• Peaches ($1.49/15 oz) – 1
• All purpose flour ($1.49/2 lbs) – 1
• Corn muffin mix ($.69/8.5 oz) – 4
• Sugar ($3.59/4 lb) – 1
• Baking Soda ($ .59/ 16 oz) – 1
• Baking Powder ($1.59/8 oz) – 1
• Dried Yeast (1.19/7.5 oz) – 1
• Oats ($2.69/18 oz) – 1
• Chicken breast ($1.49/5 oz) – 2
• Tuna ($2.24/12 oz) – 1

TOTAL PANTRY ESSENTIALS FOR 1 MONTH: $49.10

Soon, you’ll have a well-stocked pantry on a budget — whether you’re looking at
how to stock a pantry for a month, three months, six months of food storage, or even how to stock a pantry for a year all with pantry staples on a budget!

How To Stock a Pantry On a Budget Is Easier Than You Think!