How to Stock Your Kitchen

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I had someone message me last week on Instagram asking for a quick list of pantry baking essentials they could pick up to easily bake a majority of my recipes. I haven’t felt the need to post a list like that on the blog, for it felt a little redundant for what you could find on Google (fun fact: I Google everything). However, after opening up the idea to y’all for writing this style of post, I got an overwhelming, YES, do it, please!! (thank you). So, here we are.

I expanded from just the pantry to my top kitchen essentials. I broke it up into three categories, listing out 10 staples when it comes to baking, cooking, and kitchen gadgets. Writing this post was actually really fun, so I hope you enjoy!

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photo by KGC photography

Baking:

  1. All-Purpose Flour. However, if you are Gluten-Free, this is my favorite brand!

  2. Granulated Sugar

  3. Brown Sugar. Please do not buy at Trader Joe’s. While I love TJ’s, their organic brown sugar isn’t great for my recipes. I prefer C&H. This goes for granulated sugar as well.

  4. Vanilla Extract

  5. Baking Powder

  6. Baking Soda

  7. Cinnamon

  8. Chocolate Chips

  9. Morton Salt

  10. Maldon Salt. A must for Perfect CCC’s and how I finish almost every dish I bake. You can buy on Amazon, but I’ve also found it at Whole Foods, Sprouts and Central Market.

Cooking:

  1. Olive Oil. I don’t worry about anything too fancy, I love Trader Joe’s selection of well-priced oils.

  2. Coconut Oil

  3. Liquid or Coconut Aminos

  4. Peppercorns with a grinder. Please grind your own pepper, it makes all the difference.

  5. Red Pepper Flakes

  6. Ground Turmeric

  7. Quinoa or Brown Rice

  8. Dried Pasta. I like red lentil or chickpea pasta.

  9. Chickpeas

  10. Marinara Sauce

BONUS!! Gadgets and appliances:
(shop the items below)

  1. Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer. The holy grail. And NO, you don’t have to wait to get engaged and put this on your register to buy one :) I bought mine in honor of my grandmother after she passed back in 2013. And no, you don’t have to get a gender-neutral color. Think pink folks!

  2. Cookie Scoop. I like 1.5-2 tablespoon size, and prefer one with a rubber grip.

  3. 10-Set Glass Mixing Bowls. If someone has this on their wedding registry, it is my go-to gift to buy. I use these bowls on the daily and they are so well priced.

  4. Wooden Spoon. Mine are so old, but I’m thinking I need to get this one while it’s on sale for $2!

  5. Spoonula. Scrape and spoon! This set allows you to buy a whole spatula set or the spoonula on its own.

  6. Mini Spatula. These are used on a daily basis in my kitchen. Perfect for scraping smoothies out of the blender, making eggs or stirring around fried rice!

  7. Saute pans. I use this 8” and 10” non-toxic set. A 12” size is good to have if serving more than 1-2 people.

  8. Nonstick Cookie Sheet. What I bake all cookies on. This 3-piece set that includes a cooling rack is on sale right now!

  9. Nonstick Sheet Pan. Also known as a rating pan or jelly roll pan. This style is used for my Banana Sheet Cake and all roasted veggies. quick tip: never use this style of pan for cookies, the raised sides will alter the baking.

  10. Parchment Paper. Love this for lining baking sheets compared to using cooking spray.

I could go on and on with this list of pantry staples and favorite gadgets! We didn’t even get to the fridge or freezer. Although, these were the first 10 that came to mind in each section, which means they must be my go-tos. Of course, if you have any questions or want to know my extended list feel free to DM me on Instagram or email me at annie@takeabiteblog.com!

Annie