How to Make Meals With Whatever’s in Your Fridge and Pantry

There are tools to help you figure how to make the most of what you’ve already got.

Even at the best of times it can be difficult to come up with new recipe ideas. But, if your pantry or fridge are running low then it makes the nightly task of making dinner all that much harder. Parents are used to kids proclaiming that there’s nothing in the fridge, but even adults can fall prey to this kind of oversight, especially when supplies are dwindling. If you don’t have a lot of food in your kitchen or if you’re out of all your favorite, first tier foods, then have no fear. There are a few apps and websites to help with that!

Via/ Flickr

The first resource is called My Fridge Food and it works pretty simply. First you check which foods you have on hand from a long list they provide. Then you select which meal of the day you’d like to see recipes for, and this includes beverages, desserts, and appetizers as well. Then you can select what diet you need, i.e. paleo, vegetarian, keto, gluten free etc.

Then hit the “find recipes” button and the site will automatically generate a pretty comprehensive list of dishes you can make with the ingredients you have on hand. You’ll be surprised at how many recipes come up for even a partially-stocked kitchen!

Via/ Flickr

Instead of wracking your brain trying to remember what recipes you’ve made in the past or spending a lot of time searching online for recipes -often only to find out you don’t have all the ingredients listed- you can very quickly find something to make from this site.

Another option is to use a mobile app for this purpose. There are several available, including one from Whole Foods. These apps function in a similar way to the site mentioned above, although apps that are linked with grocery stores will often be more helpful in generating a shopping list than in helping you avoid another trip to the store.

Via/ Unsplash

There is one tool which has both an app and a website, SuperCook. A quick search of ingredients the author had on hand in the dessert category of this site yielded thousands of matches, though some did call for ingredients that were not listed – like flour.

Via/ Flickr

Using these sites and apps is a great way to find out what you can make just with what already have on hand, without having to leave the house. You may have a quite a few meals waiting to be made that you didn’t expect. And, who knows, you might just stumble upon a few new favorites that you can add to your monthly rotation of meals and desserts.