Pantry-Staple Ingredients for a Dairy-Free Kitchen
Looking to stock up on the most common pantry-staple ingredients for a dairy-free kitchen? This guide walks you through your pantry and kitchen for the best produce, refrigerated items, canned goods, spices and more!
What is a Dairy-Free Kitchen?
By definition a dairy-free kitchen would be one without any dairy products at all.
Personally, I am the only member of my household who follows a dairy-free diet so while I may have all of the dairy-free alternatives at my disposal, I also stock milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream for the other members of the family who consume dairy.
What is a pantry-staple ingredient?
The term pantry-staple ingredient refers to an ingredient you probably keep stocked at all time in your pantry. Think pasta, rice, beans, spices you use weekly, etc. These are items that you use frequently but also that you always keep an extra of for your cooking needs.
Many of the items listed in this post are both great for regular household pantries as well as items that make great dairy-free alternatives for your dairy-free family members as well.
Please keep in mind this is an ever evolving list that might change based on your personal preferences and your dietary needs. This is simply meant to be a guide, not the end all be all of what you keep in your kitchen.
Produce
All produce items by nature are dairy-free. Here are some of the most commonly used produce ingredients you might keep on hand at all time for a fully stocked kitchen.
- Apples
- Bananas- These do not keep nearly as long as the other produce items on the list, but I always keep them on hand if I plan to use them as a butter replacement in a recipe.
- Garlic
- Lemons
- Limes
- Onion
- Potatoes (Sweet and Regular)
Refrigerated Items
Non-Dairy Milk
By no means am I suggesting you will need to have all of these different non-dairy milks available at your home in order to make you life dairy-free but I would suggest figuring out what non-dairy milk works best for you and keeping that one on hand at all times. There might be a time you want to have two options but for the most part, decide on your staple non-dairy milk and go from there.
- Oat milk- This is the milk I keep on hand 100 percent of the time. I have found that I can use it in both sweet and savory recipes without it altering the taste of the final product. That said, it needs to be the unsweetened, non-flavored oat milk.
- Almond Milk– Great for a low calorie, sweet recipe replacement milk.
- Soy Milk– An excellent nut-free, non-dairy milk.
- Flax milk– Great for adding a boost of protein and fiber into your recipes.
Please note that there are many other non-dairy milk options on the market. I have merely included some of the most commonly found and used dairy-free milk replacements.
Other refrigerated items to keep on hand for pantry-staple recipes include:
- Eggs
- Non-Dairy Yogurt
- Plant-based butter baking sticks
- Spreadable plant-based butter
- Dairy-Free Cream Cheese Alternatives
- Non-Dairy Cheese (definitely optional and up to your preferences)
Frozen Foods
- Chicken
- Frozen Fruits (berries, mixed fruits, bananas, etc.)
- Frozen Vegetables (pick the ones you will actually eat and keep those on hand)
- Ground meat (beef, chicken, or turkey)
- Onions- diced and stored for easy use in recipes
- Spinach
Pantry Essentials for Your Kitchen
Oils and Vinegars
Like produce, all oils and vinegars by nature are dairy-free. You do not need to keep all of these on hand but a few different ones may come in handy for both baking and cooking.
- Avocado Oil
- Coconut Oil
- Canola Oil
- Olive Oil
- Apple Cider Vinegar- I use this all the time for making dairy-free buttermilk
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Rice Vinegar
- White Vinegar
Canned Goods
When stocking my canned goods, I stick to what I would be happy to have and pull out when a natural disaster happens. Think getting snowed in, hurricane supply box, etc.
- Broths (Chicken, Beef, or Vegetable)
- Canned Beans
- Diced Tomatoes
- Full-fat coconut milk- A must-have in my opinion since I use it as a heavy cream alternative for just about everything.
- Honey
- Agave- if you are following a vegan diet
- Maple Syrup- Remember to refrigerate after opening
- Peanut Butter
- Spaghetti/ Tomato Sauce
- Tomato Paste
Dry Goods
- Bread Crumbs- be sure to double check your bread crumb selection to make sure they are dairy-free
- Box of Pasta (honestly there are at least 5 different types of pasta in my pantry at any given moment)
- Dried Beans
- Dried Fruit
- Lentils
- Mixed Nuts
- Rice (Brown or White)
Baking Essentials
What you keep on hand for your pantry-staple baking essentials might look a little different than what you store in your kitchen for the holiday baking season. If you are looking for a more in-depth guide to stocking your pantry for the holiday season, check out my post on Stocking Your Dairy-Free Kitchen for Holiday Baking.
- Active Dry Yeast
- Cocoa Powder
- Corn Starch
- Crisco or other vegetable shortening*- Great for making pie dough
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Flour
- Ground Flaxseed- We keep this stocked for using as an egg-replacement in many different vegan desserts.
- Old-Fashioned Oats
- Salt
- Sugar (Brown, granulated, and powdered)
Herbs and Spices
Some of the most frequently used herbs and spices you will want to have in your spice rack include:
- Basil
- Chili Powder
- Cinnamon
- Dried Oregano
- Dried Thyme
- Garlic Powder
- Ground Cumin
- Paprika
- Pepper
- Onion Powder
- Salt
Pantry-Staple Recipes We Make on Repeat
These are some of my most frequently made pantry-staple recipes:
If you found this guide to stocking your dairy-free pantry helpful feel free to leave a comment below! You can also snap a picture of your dairy-free kitchen and share it with me on Instagram by tagging @mylifeafterdairy to share all your life after dairy adventures!
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