42 Pantry Foods to Stock for Emergencies

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I’m a bit of a “prepper.” Not a full-blown prepper, but enough of one to have the 42 Pantry Foods to Stock for Emergencies handled. Why? Because we lost our home in a wildfire in 2007 and we were not prepared. At all.

Now we are living through a pandemic, and I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful for the “living” part, not the “pandemic” part. And, while I was writing A Rookie’s Guide to Grocery Shopping During a Pandemic, we were hit with a 4.9 earthquake. A few days earlier, a 6.5 earthquake hit Idaho.

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So, I ask you…

Do you have these things in place?

Emergency Food Supply: are you Ready?

Family Emergency Kit: are you Ready?

Water: are you Ready?

Emergency Planning Checklist

What’s in Your First Aid Kit?

Emergency Contact Sheet: are you Ready?

Throughout my years as a blogger, I’ve written many emergency posts from a wildfire perspective. However, many of my posts apply to all kinds of emergencies. If you are following the guidelines of a stay-at-home directive, this might be the perfect time to tackle some of these emergency preparation projects that we all save for another day.

Don’t be caught unprepared during the next emergency, whether personal, local, state, national, or global. Use this robust list of pantry foods as a guide to create a supply of shelf-stable foods for emergencies. While it may not be practical to stock all of these items because of space constraints, choose a few from each category to stock in your home. You should strive to have a two-week supply of food for each member of your household to include pantry, refrigerator, and freezer food.

Two Notes about this list of Pantry Foods

One – please note that many of these pantry foods to stock for emergencies are linked to Amazon for your convenience. However, in many cases, Amazon has listed them as “out of stock” or “currently unavailable.” We are keeping the links in this post because, eventually, these items will be available again and this post will be an easy reference.

Two – this is a robust list. I’m not advocating that your pantry include each one of these items, but instead am providing readers with “food for thought” as you round out your pantry items. 

Here’s the list of 42 Pantry Foods to Stock for Emergencies

1. Canned Beans (kidney, black, white, pinto, garbanzo, cannellini, baked beans, pork & beans, refried beans)
2. Dried Beans and Legumes (lentils, split peas, navy beans, lima beans, kidney beans, great northern beans, fava beans, 15-bean soup mix)
3. Canned Fruit (applesauce, pineapple, pumpkin, peaches, pears, fruit cocktail, mandarin oranges, grapefruit segments, apricots)
4. Canned Vegetables (corn, whole green beans, cut green beans, French-style green beans, peas, mushrooms, artichokes, beets, carrots, mixed vegetables, 3-bean salad, diced green chilis, asparagus, jarred roasted red peppers, potatoes, spinach)
5. Canned Tomatoes (whole, stewed, diced, crushed, sauce, paste, sundried, salsa)
6. Jarred Sauces (spaghetti, alfredo, vodka, butter sauce, tikka masala, barbecue sauce, pizza sauce, madras curry sauce, pad Thai sauce, pesto sauce, marsala sauce, peanut sauce)
7. Canned Milk and Shelf-Stable Milk (evaporated, sweetened condensed, canned coconut, coconut cream, whole and skim milk, whipping cream, almond, soy, oat, boxed coconut, creamer)
8. Alcohol – for cooking (red wine, bourbon, rum, tequila, vodka)
9. Nuts (peanuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans, cashews, trail mix)
10. Dried Fruit (raisins, cranberries, apricots, mango, prunes {plums}, dates, coconut, figs, cherries)
11. Cereal and Oatmeal (regular and instant)
12. Bottled Salad Dressings, unopened and not refrigerated (Italian, Ranch, Thousand Island, Caesar, Balsamic, Honey Mustard, French, Greek)
13. Condiments (yellow mustard, dijon mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, tartar sauce, horseradish, hot sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce)
14. Pickles (whole, sliced, relish – both dill and sweet; baby gherkins, black olives, green olives, kimchi, sauerkraut, capers, giardiniera, piccalilli, Mexican pickled carrots, and just about every other pickled vegetable!)
15. Honey and Syrups (honey, maple, corn, molasses, treacle)
16. Jams and Jellies (blackberry, blueberry, grape, strawberry, raspberry, orange marmalade, jalapeno jelly, chutney, cranberry sauce, apple butter, lemon curd)
17. Spices (salt, black pepper, Jane’s Krazy Salt, Italian seasoning, chili powder, Mexican seasoning, Greek seasoning, garlic powder, cumin, dill weed, onion powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, curry, paprika)
18. Vinegar (distilled white, red wine, balsamic, apple cider, rice wine)
19. Oil (canola, olive, coconut oil, non-stick spray, vegetable shortening, ghee)
20. Pasta (spaghetti, macaroni, fettuccini, ziti, lasagna, shells, rigatoni, penne, bow tie, extra-wide egg noodles, dried tortellini, ramen)
21. Broth, Stock, and Soups (chicken, beef, vegetable broth, and/or stock; bouillon cubes, chicken base, instant soup mixes, canned soup, soup mixes)
22. Boxed, Jarred, or Packaged Chicken and Turkey Gravy
23. Instant Mashed Potatoes, Boxes of Dried Mac & Cheese
24. Baking Supplies (flour, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, yeast, cornmeal, vanilla, baking cocoa, cultured buttermilk powder, powdered gelatin)
25. Baking Mixes (brownie mix, muffin mix, scone mix, pudding mix, biscuit mix, pancake mix, cookie mix, cake mix, mug cake mix, bread mix)
26. Nut Butters (peanut, almond, cashew, chocolate hazelnut, sunflower, walnut, pistachio, Brazil nut)
27. Canned Seafood, Poultry, Meat, and Ham (deviled ham, canned ham, roast beef hash, water-packed tuna, salmon, crab, chicken, Spam, Vienna sausages, anchovies, canned bacon, canned hamburger, canned beef taco filling, canned pulled pork, canned beef chunks, canned pork chunks)
28. Dried Meat – read the label to make sure refrigeration not required! (salami, summer sausage, beef jerky, pepperoni)
29. Chips (tortilla, potato, corn, pita, pretzels, vegetable, cheese curls, popcorn)
30. Grains (rice, wild rice blend, brown rice, Spanish rice, jasmine rice, basmati rice, arborio rice, couscous, wheat berry, quinoa, barley, polenta)
31. Crackers (soda crackers, wheat crackers, mini toasts, water crackers, multigrain crackers, seed crackers, matzo crackers, oyster crackers, buttery rounds, crispbread, cheese crackers, graham crackers)
32. Pantry Produce (russet potatoes, sweet potatoes & yams; red, yellow and white onions; whole garlic)
33. Snacks (snack packs, granola bars, toaster pastries, snack cakes, fruit leathers, snack mix, granola)
34. Cookies (chocolate chip, oatmeal, biscotti, pecan candies, snickerdoodles, animal crackers, ginger snaps, sugar cookies, shortbread cookies, sandwich cookies, peanut butter cookies, vanilla wafers)
35. Beverages (coffee, tea, hot chocolate mix)
36. Cheese – this is a list of shelf-stable cheese products (grated parmesan, Velveeta, Cheez Whiz, jarred queso dip, jarred pimento cheese, Old English Sharp Cheddar Cheese)
37. Bread (sandwich bread, French bread, croutons, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, slider buns, rolls, boxed cornbread stuffing, biscuits, tortillas, naan, pita bread, bagels, breadcrumbs: plain and panko)
38. Sweets (chocolate chips, baking chocolate, marshmallows, marshmallow crème, Jell-O, canned frosting, canned pie filling)
39. Extras (whey protein powder, fiber supplement powder, smoothie powder)
40. Pet Food (dry food, canned food, trayed food, pouch food, snacks, treats, pill pockets)
41. Water (bottled drinking water – 16 oz, half-gallon, gallon-size; and distilled)
42. Food Storage (aluminum foil, plastic wrap, wax paper, parchment paper, plastic snack bags, plastic sandwich bags, plastic quart-size freezer bags, containers, plastic gallon-size freezer bags, brown paper lunch bags {for storing face masks}, coffee filters {to use with homemade face masks}, cheesecloth, kitchen twine)
43. Cleaning Products (disinfectant, hand soap, dish soap, dishwasher soap, all-purpose cleaner, wipes, sponges)

Oops! That’s 43! Consider it a “bonus.”

Download your FREE Printable Checklist to have a detailed list of the 42 Pantry Foods to Stock for Emergencies handy when you start your emergency food supply overhaul!

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Will we have more viruses that result in a pandemic? Possibly. Will our country be better prepared the next time? Maybe. Will you, personally, be better prepared? Absolutely. By resolving to start now with building up your 42 Pantry Foods to Stock for Emergencies, you will be one step closer.

Stay safe,

RELATED POSTS FROM TOOT SWEET 4 TWO’S ARCHIVES:

A Rookie’s Guide to Grocery Shopping During a Pandemic
Emergency Planning Checklist
6 Crucial Home Safety Tips for Your Family to Consider
What’s in Your First Aid Kit?