Stick this sustainable shopping list to your fridge

How to stock a perfect pantry

Hey team, and welcome back to Cool Beans! At this point, we’ve been on this delicious journey together for well over a year, and time and again we keep coming back to the pantry. Seasonal fresh produce may be the champ of Earth-happy eating, but your cabinets are where meal-makers live. Stocking the right staples—including an array of protein sources and some flavor superstars—will help you confidently cook quick, balanced, and craveable meals any time of day. 

Aside from the rice and pasta and olive oil you probably already have, many plant-forward recipes revolve around a core set of easy-to-find ingredients. Fill your cupboard, fridge, and freezer with this list of essentials—which we’ve recently refreshed with a couple newfound favorites—and you’ll have all the building blocks you need.

Credit: Corinne Iozzio

The Protein Pack

A well-rounded, plant-forward diet is naturally high in protein. In fact, many meatless staples—including quinoa, tofu, and tempeh—are actually complete proteins, meaning they contain the same nine amino acids animal products do. 

• Canned and dried beans (of course). These are essential for easy meals. You’ll get more beans for your buck if you can soak and cook dried ones, but canned varieties are excellent shortcuts with no nutritional difference.

  • Black beans. The most versatile legume in any cupboard is the GOAT for tacos, burritos, chilis, rice and beans, and burgers. 

  • Cannellini beans. Marinate these white beans for the perfect picnic side—and pile leftovers on toast or toss them in pasta salad. You can even bake them into a sheet tray dinner, which makes them deliciously crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Cannellinis are also our fave legume to use in this pantry cleanout ribollita soup and the secret ingredient in our breakfast cookies. 

  • Pinto beans. These off-white beauties are our No. 1 pick for homemade refried beans, which taste a million times better than store-bought.

  • Butter beans. These behemoths are incredibly creamy and add heft to curries and stews—a total meal in themselves. For a quick lunch or dinner, all you need is some brothy butter beans and a hunk of bread. When roasted, they become an addictive high-protein snack. 

• Canned chickpeas. The brine from a can of these (aka aquafaba) is super versatile. It can whip into a quick mayo, blitz into ranch dressing, or be used as a stand-in for egg white in desserts. Beyond that: Is there anything the garbanzo can’t do? Soups, hummus, pastas, “chicken” salad, crunchy snacks, burgers. 

• Tinned sardines or mussels. Surprise! You don’t have to swear off all animal products: Sardines and bivalves are some of the most sustainable proteins around. Keep a couple tins on hand for pantry pastas or quick lunches.  

• Lentils. There are dozens of varieties of these legumes, but three “musts:” Brown ones make a killer beefless bolognese, and red and yellow ones underpin hearty Indian recipes, like a cozy pot of dal. Pro tip: You can also swap half the meat for cooked lentils in your next batch of meatballs.

• Quinoa. A weeknight lifesaver, this grain (technically a seed) is fast to cook and super filling. It’s a mainstay in salads and grain bowls, but you’ll also reach for it in burgers, for breakfast, or as a “beefy” taco filling. 

• Buckwheat. Buckwheat groats have an earthy flavor and are way less fussy to cook than rice. Plus, they are a complete protein! Reach for them instead of quinoa, rice or farro in a grain bowl or use them to make risotto. For breakfast, swap those oats for groats to make a hearty baked porridge.

• Tofu. The OG plant-based protein absorbs the flavor of whatever it cooks with. We recommend keeping two varieties at the ready: Extra-firm tofu can be baked, fried,  scrambled, or shredded up to swap in for ground meat, while the silken variety is great for blending into dressings, smoothies, and puddings.

• Tempeh. This fermented soybean cake is firmer and funkier than tofu and holds up to any cooking method. It’s a satisfying stand-in for bacon in a sandwich or ground beef in a taco, but its meaty flavor really comes out when it’s deep-fried. 

• TVP (textured vegetable protein). Need a plant based swap for ground meat? This cheap, shelf-stable option is made from dehydrated soybean flour. Season and use the way you would use ground beef like in tacos or sloppy joes. 

• Soy curls. Talk about instant protein. This other form of dehydrated soybeans quickly hydrates in liquid and, when seasoned properly, make an uncanny substitute for chicken in soups, stir-frys and tacos. 

• Canned jackfruit. Green, unripe jackfruit doesn’t taste like much, but its texture makes it a great stand-in for meat. It tears apart easily and is an absolute flavor sponge, making it an ideal sub for shredded chicken or pulled pork.

The Dairy Replacers

These do-it-all ingredients will help you play with texture and flavor, but they’re also essential swaps for dairy.