Maintaining a well-stocked pantry and keeping a grocery budget in check is kind of my specialty. So when I was asked to step in for the Savinly team and attempt a pantry challenge, I didn’t hesitate. To be honest, I enjoy the puzzle of turning limited ingredients into satisfying meals.
Pantry challenges are about testing your usual cooking habits to create delicious dishes using only what you already own. So I rolled up my sleeves and began inventorying my pantry shelves.
How the Pantry Challenge Operates
There’s no single correct method for a pantry challenge. The point is to cut down on food waste by consuming the items you have on hand. That means no grocery shopping for the duration of the experiment. GASP.
The art of cooking with a mostly bare refrigerator is forcing yourself to be inventive with meal planning. This proved tougher than expected because, as vegetarians, our daily eating relies heavily on perishables like fresh vegetables and eggs.
Because I dislike frequent supermarket trips, I usually map out a monthly menu and try to lengthen the interval between shopping outings. By the time we began this pantry challenge it had been two weeks since my last run to the store, and the fridge was looking bleak. Let’s just say the light was on, but not much was home.
To stretch the food we had for a family of four through the weekend, I needed to be resourceful. Here are some lessons we picked up along the way.
4 Pantry Challenge Strategies to Help You Win
Success in a pantry challenge benefits from a clear plan for meals and recipe ideas. Below are the strategies that helped us shop our shelves and maximize what was available.
1. Begin With Protein
As vegetarians, managing protein sources requires juggling a variety of items. I aim to cover our needs with eggs, beans, lentils, seitan, tofu, nuts and more. Laying all potential protein options on the counter made it easy to divvy up what we had.
2. Raid the Freezer
With little fresh produce left besides baby carrots and limp arugula, I dove into the freezer to uncover forgotten bags of frozen fruit and vegetables. I unearthed some useful items and prevented likely waste. Win-win.
3. Draft a Menu
Most of our family meals happen at home, aside from packed lunches, and breakfasts follow a familiar rotation. I adapted our usual schedule (oatmeal Mondays, cereal Fridays) to fit available ingredients. The challenge was creating dinners that were more than merely edible — they needed to be appealing.
4. Share the Plan
In a household with teenagers, you must make it clear that impulsive pantry raids aren’t allowed. I explained what was OK for snacking and what was reserved for specific meals, so hands off the earmarked items.
A Pantry Challenge Menu That Worked
Before we dig in, note that a vegetarian pantry challenge doesn’t mean it must be strictly plant-based. Many recipes work just as well with a bit of frozen chicken or a cooked breast swapped in for a can of beans.
For this challenge we had only a handful of eggs left, under half a gallon of milk and six slices of bread that included the heel. Fresh produce had dwindled to limp greens, half a bag of baby carrots, a quarter head of browning cabbage and a few fruits like lemons, limes, an apple and two oranges.
Monday’s Pantry Challenge Meals
Breakfast: Homemade Oatmeal Packs
Oatmeal Monday began awkwardly because we were out of single-serve oatmeal packets. But rolled oats on the baking shelf are essentially the same thing. Add a little sugar and hot water, plus a handful of nuts or dried fruit, and breakfast is served.
Lunch: Leftovers and Sandwiches
The grown-ups finished leftover soup and curry from the weekend while the kids made sandwiches with the remaining bread and some sliced turkey.
Dinner: Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
We found several sweet potatoes tucked away. After baking, scooping their flesh and combining it with the last green onions, a can of chickpeas and a touch of homemade peanut sauce made for a satisfying meal. You can also adapt this idea into a Mexican-style version with black beans and salsa.
Verdict: So far, the pantry challenge meals felt close to our normal dinners, and grumbling was minimal.
Tuesday’s Pantry Challenge Meals
Breakfast: Smoothies
I decided we should use the remaining fresh produce while it still held up. The kids were happy to drink frozen berries blended with a scoop of yogurt, a little honey and coconut milk. I blended the limp arugula, frozen mango and extra coconut milk. With no bananas, I used protein powder to thicken and stirred in some chia seeds.
Lunch: Stir-fry and Snacks
The adults threw together a stir-fry from leftover ramen, a bit of seitan (our “fake chicken”), cabbage and chopped carrots. A mixture of soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch gave it punch. The kids munched on crackers, the last of the colby jack and shared the chopped apple and sunflower seeds.
Dinner: Kitchen-Sink Taco Skillet
This is one of my go-to meals for low supplies. Rice, canned diced tomatoes, black beans, frozen corn and salsa come together into a tasty taco bowl. We were out of fresh onions, so onion powder had to do.
Verdict: The adults enjoyed the smoothies; the kids were less enthusiastic. The taco bowls, however, were a hit, and nobody asked when the next grocery run was happening.
Wednesday’s Pantry Challenge Meals
Breakfast: Lemon Bars
Hear me out: we were short on eggs because my daughter had used half a dozen earlier to bake lemon bars. When I was scrounging for breakfast, I figured — eggs, fruit and a dash of carbs and butter. Close enough. Lemon bars for breakfast it was.
Lunch: PB&J Pinwheels
By lunchtime, we were down to a few tortillas instead of bread. I spread peanut butter and jam on them, rolled, sliced and secured with toothpicks. Necessity truly is the mother of invention.
Dinner: Mushroom and Pea Risotto
While rooting around the freezer I found a large bag of peas and a smaller bag of mixed mushrooms. We had a half-used box of risotto in the pantry. Using veggie bouillon and skipping Parmesan in favor of a fried egg gave our risotto a protein lift.
Verdict: The kids were delighted to have dessert for breakfast earlier in the day. The adults enjoyed the risotto, although one teen suddenly remembered an urgent appointment once dinner started.
Thursday’s Pantry Challenge Meals
Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes
You might wonder about no eggs. For pumpkin pancakes that isn’t an issue — pumpkin can replace eggs in baking. The pancakes were a bit denser but paired nicely with our last maple syrup.
Lunch: Pea Pesto Toast
The kids warmed freezer-burned burritos to get through lunch, but I blended frozen peas into a pea pesto and spread it on the final slice of bread I’d been saving. It was delightful — no regrets.
Dinner: Green Chili
Have a jar of green salsa and some pantry beans? You can make a hearty chili. I poured a jar of salsa into a pot, added white beans, spices and corn. Meat-eaters could toss in leftover chicken or pork. We finished bowls with lime juice, a spoonful of yogurt and baked up torn tortillas as chips.
Verdict: Supplies were getting scarce. While nobody went hungry, I wouldn’t say they were thrilled with my dedication to the experiment.
Friday’s Pantry Challenge Meals
Breakfast: DIY Granola
During a pantry audit I made a startling discovery: we were out of cereal. Luckily, we still had rolled oats and pecans left from the holidays. I mixed up an easy homemade granola, using a few dried ginger bits instead of fruit.
Lunch: Lentil Soup
The kids scrounged leftover bits, while I whipped up a quick lentil soup with veggie bouillon, carrots, green lentils and other frozen vegetables.
Dinner: Thai Edamame Burgers
I found edamame in the freezer and decided to make veggie burgers. I combined cooked brown rice with the soybeans, but was missing a binder until I spotted a jar of peanut butter. The result: Thai-inspired soy burgers topped with chopped cabbage pickled in vinegar, served on old buns from the back of the freezer.
Verdict: I thought dinner was creative, though the kids disagreed. Later I found them popping kernels on the stove, spraying the popcorn with cooking spray and dusting it with a leftover cheese packet from a boxed mac and cheese. Thanks, YouTube.
Saturday’s Pantry Challenge Meals
Brunch: Tofu Scramble
No eggs left, but a single block of tofu sat forgotten in the fridge. I drained, pressed and crumbled it, then seasoned and tinted it with turmeric. Tossed with frozen vegetables, it nearly passed for an egg scramble.
Verdict: An Instacart delivery arrived that afternoon restocking the fridge, but overall I felt the week went well. The family was proud to have made it and we discovered some frugal, tasty recipes in the process.
Can a Pantry Challenge Actually Save You Money?
When it comes to saving cash, pantry challenges are a smart tactic. They help households cut food waste and stretch grocery spending. I estimate we saved roughly $100–$150 by using what we already had in the pantry and freezer.
Of course, there are hidden costs to emptying your shelves — particularly if you value your time. You give up some convenience and variety and spend extra hours preparing meals from scratch.
As a short-term money-saving move, though, this year’s pantry challenge was an effective way to trim the grocery bill. And who wouldn’t want to call that kind of exercise a win?
Ana Morales is a senior writer at Savinly.
If you’re planning to run your own pantry challenge and want ideas on what to keep stocked, check out our pantry essentials for cooking to make future weeks easier.
