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I’m going to show you how to stock a healthy pantry, one that works for a regular Tuesday night and for the week the power goes out.

Updated September 2026

Because there’s no point in having a prepared pantry if it’s only filled with junk.

If disaster strikes and you have to live off that pantry, you want food that lets you actually function.

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What is a pantry?

A pantry is a cupboard, closet, or small room for shelf-stable food and kitchen supplies: the dry goods, cans, oils, and staples you reach for most.

The word started with bread. “Pantry” comes from the Anglo-French panetrie, originally “a storeroom or closet, especially for bread,” from the Latin panis, meaning bread. (Source)

If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me how we eat, and how I get my kids to eat the same way, I’d be set for life.

There are few places in our house I love more than the pantry.

When we moved into our California house years ago, the pantry was the “room” I was most excited about. I had never had a separate space, door and all, just for pantry items.

That’s where I got good at this.

7 tips for stocking a healthy pantry

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1. Keep it basic

Your pantry holds the food you use most often. If it’s a separate room, it’s also where the overflow goes.

No matter the size, you want everything necessary to fit. The easiest way to do that is to keep it basic.

I keep a list of the things I use most often and build the pantry around that list.

2. Buy in bulk

I buy a ton from bulk bins, then transfer everything into jars.

It cuts costs. And it lets me try things I might not buy in a full-size package.

3. Be practical

Yes, you’ll find snacks and treats in our pantry. But about 90% of what’s in there is basic and practical: rice, beans, oats, oils, cans.

4. Know where to get the best deal

You can stock a healthy pantry just by doing a little research on local and online grocery stores.

I shop several places because I know which one has the best price for the highest quality on each item. Online memberships like Thrive Market can help on organic pantry goods if you don’t have great bulk bins near you.

5. Keep a notepad (or a note on your phone)

Keep a notepad inside or next to the pantry and write items down the moment you’re getting low.

It’s not fun to plan rice for dinner, walk into the pantry, and find 1/4 cup of white rice left. Nope. Not pleasant.

If you use my journal, you can pair it with your pantry list.

6. Buy organic when you can

This matters to me, but you can stock a healthy pantry without going fully organic.

The reason I buy organic so often is that most of it comes from bulk bins, which saves a lot of money. (Almost everything on my list below that I buy in bulk is organic.)

7. Organize for how you cook

Type A over here. But if you organize your pantry around how you cook and bake day to day, you’ll keep track of things much better.

You won’t buy things you don’t need. You won’t end up with 5 of the same thing. And you’ll grab what you need in seconds.

How to store pantry food so it lasts

A stocked pantry only helps if the food is still good when you need it.

• Keep it cool and dry. The USDA says to store canned and shelf-stable food in a cool, dry place, away from the stove, the sink, and damp garages or basements. Temperatures below 85°F are best. (USDA)
• Know your can timelines. High-acid canned foods (tomatoes, fruit, pumpkin) keep 12 to 18 months. Low-acid canned foods (beans, vegetables, fish) keep 2 to 5 years. (USDA)
• Toss bad cans. A small dent is usually fine. Deeply dented, rusted, leaking, or bulging cans go in the trash.
• Rotate. New items go to the back, older items move to the front.
• Chill the fats. Nuts, seeds, and nut flours go rancid faster than grains. I keep extras in the fridge or freezer and only a jar’s worth in the pantry.

Stocking a pantry for emergencies

Ready.gov recommends storing at least a several-day supply of non-perishable food, choosing foods your family will actually eat, and planning for any special dietary needs. (Ready.gov)

That last part is the one people skip.

If you have gut issues, an emergency is not the week to be stuck with foods that flare you. Stock your safe foods first: the rice, the canned fish, the oats, whatever you know your gut tolerates.

A prepared pantry for a sensitive gut is built on your safe foods, not someone else’s list.

Not sure what your safe foods are yet? Start with my Elimination Diet Food List [Phase 1].

What’s in my healthy pantry (the full list)

I separate everything into categories. Mine might not be “normal” for your family, and that’s fine. The point is that categories help you find things. Figure out your own and this gets much easier.

Here’s a snapshot of our pantry. It changes from time to time.

Category	Healthy pantry staples
Grains and beans	Gluten-free rolled oats, white rice, brown rice, quinoa, lentils
Canned goods	Beans, wild-caught sardines and tuna, tomato paste, pumpkin, olives
Oils and vinegars	Coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, apple cider vinegar
Nuts and seeds	Almonds, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds
Baking	Almond meal, coconut flour, arrowroot, coconut sugar, baking soda, cacao powder
Protein and support	Protein powder, collagen, gelatin, nutritional yeast
Snacks	Tortilla chips, coconut chips, ginger chews, a few real treats

And here’s the detailed version, some brands included.

Beverages

1. Sparkling Water
2. Coconut water
3. Organic Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
4. Coconut Milk (Aroy-D, Golden Star)

Snacks

People are surprised this category exists in our pantry.

But yes, yes, yes, of course it does!

Most of these live in one basket. We don’t eat them at every meal, and I don’t believe in shaming snack foods.

Besides, yum!

1. Unreal Candy Coated Milk Chocolates (we’ve made Monster Cookies with these almost weekly)
2. Various Made in Nature snacks
3. Chimes Ginger Chews
4. Back to Nature Organic Cookies
5. Kirkland Organic Tortilla Chips
6. Coconut chips

Oils and vinegars

1. Nutiva Organic Coconut Oil (yes, we really keep a gallon of it in the house at all times)
2. Bragg Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
3. Olive oil
4. Nutiva Organic Hemp Oil
5. Avocado oil
6. Nutiva Organic Buttery Coconut Oil
7. Red wine vinegar
8. White balsamic vinegar
9. White wine vinegar
10. Dry sherry

Canned goods

1. Water chestnuts
2. Kidney beans
3. Lima beans
4. Garbanzo beans
5. Black beans
6. Lentils
7. Butter beans
8. Olives
9. Wild Caught Sardines
10. Wild albacore tuna
11. Capers
12. Tomato paste
13. Organic, diced tomatoes
14. Pumpkin
15. Annie’s Organic Tomato Soup

Protein powder

1. Organic, Low-FODMAP Protein Powder
2. Collagen
3. Truvani Protein Powder, all and any flavors – it’s so good!

Baking

1. Raw almond meal
2. Pure cane sugar
3. Fleur de Sel
4. Nutiva Organic Shortening (this never has to be refrigerated, even after opening, and it’s vegan)
5. Nutiva Organic Coconut Flour
6. Wholesome Organic Powdered Sugar
7. Nutiva Organic Coconut Sugar
8. Bob’s Red Mill Arrowroot
9. Anthony’s Organic Ginger
10. Baking soda
11. King Arthur 100% Organic All-Purpose Flour
12. Shredded coconut
13. Baking powder
14. Extracts
15. Cacao nibs
16. Cacao powder

Nuts and seeds

1. Raw pecans
2. Raw almonds
3. Raisins
4. Cashews
5. Walnuts
6. Pumpkin seeds
7. Hemp seeds
8. Filberts
9. Brazil nuts
10. Sunflower seeds
11. Nutiva Organic Chia Seeds
12. Ground flaxseed

Why so many nuts and seeds? Simple.

I use most of them in my homemade trail mix for kids. And I still practice seed cycling most of the time.

Nut butters

1. Nutiva Organic Coconut Manna
2. Homemade nut butters from A Loving Spoon, my nut butter recipe book
3. Costco Organic Peanut Butter, plain

Grains and beans

1. Gluten-free rolled oats
2. White rice
3. Quinoa
4. Brown rice
5. Freekeh
6. Orange lentils

The amount of white rice we eat in our house is ridiculous.

It’s always a staple because it’s so versatile.

Nutritional support

1. Gelatin
2. L-Glutamine
3. Wedderspoon Organic Manuka Honey Drops
4. Nutritional yeast

For the record, I have an entirely different cupboard where most of my supplements live.

Bulk, overflow, and misc. edible

1. Thrive Market Organic Pasta Sauce
2. Rice paper
3. Salsa

Other (non-edible)

1. Many of my recommended kitchen items
2. Mason jars
3. Paper towels
4. Aprons

You’ll notice I don’t leave out entire food groups, except dairy (which isn’t a pantry item anyway).

I don’t believe a normal, healthy lifestyle has to ban entire food groups.

I have to, because of my own gut issues. But I would never make my family live the exact same way.

Healthy pantry FAQs

So there you have it: my pantry, and how to stock a healthy pantry of your own.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

1. Prime Pantry for a Gut Healthy Holiday
2. 14 Things to Stock Up On [That Will Actually Make a Difference]
3. 36 Essential Cooking + Baking Tips

Xox,
SKH