What are your top 5 pantry staples and why?!

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Eggs,butter, cheese,milk and for the fridge
Flour,Pasta,Rice, Canned Tuna,Herbs and spices for the cupboard
ground beef ,chicken, sausages,few bags of veg and a couple of ready meals for the freezer
Make sure you have plenty of fresh fruit and veg
and of course the usual loaf of bread
from this combo you can make loads of things
Know you only asked for 5 but I love to be able to
make a cake or sauce at a moments notice
or make a meal for that unexpected guest
Then if your stuck for an idea of what to cook
just go to one of the many websites put in what
you have available and they come back with a tasty
meal for you to do.
Good luck with your selection and happy shopping and cooking

My kitchen

I'll presume you always have salt and pepper on hand

Canned tomatoes, diced, crushed, pureed, sauce (I like the fire-roasted variety): for sauces, casseroles, and soup

Panko breadcrumbs: for low-fat breading, great on baked chicken and fish

Italian herbs (I like Dell'Alpe): high flavor

Rice: cooks quickly and it can be flavored anyway you wish. Leftovers are de rigueur for fried rice. I always buy the 2 pound box of white rice (the bigger the box, the more economical)

Safflower or canola oil: highly nutritional, neutral tasting oil for baking, frying, an aid in breading (see Panko above), salad dressing, and more

After many years I have come to realize that you only need 2 staples in your pantry. If you have Pop Tarts and Guinness Stout you do not need anything else.

For me it would be bread, potatoes, rice, pasta.
For the fridge it would be milk, butter, cheese, eggs.

With those I should be able to make something added to canned, frozen and fresh foods.

Dry pasta. Canned pasta sauce. Instant mashed potatos. Cereal. Cake mix. Pasta can be both ramen noodles or mac & cheese. You'll be ready for a snack, a dinner, or a last minute celebration.

Noodles
Rice
Sugar
Canned Chicken
Hamburger Helper

Because they go with anything and are cheap- you can ususally always make a meal out of one of these