All My Kitchen Recommendations

When I shared the list of what I’m loving the other week, a lot of people asked for a full pantry & kitchen staples list.

If you’re refreshing your kitchen for spring or helping someone set up a new apartment, these are my go-to’s in every category to keep your kitchen running smoothly and make cooking enjoyable.

I’m starting with my pantry staples—if you’re looking for tools and equipment recommendations, scroll down!

Pantry Staples

Spices & Seasonings

We get a lot of spices at the shuk in Israel and store them in the fridge. I’ve linked my favorite brands for you here!

• Sea Salt

• Black Peppercorns

• Garlic Powder

• Onion Powder

• Oregano

• Sweet Paprika with Oil

• Ground Cumin

• Ground Turmeric

• Za’atar

• Vanilla Paste

• Nutritional Yeast

Oils & Vinegars

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Avocado Oil (or another neutral oil)

• Toasted Sesame Oil

• Coconut Oil

• White Vinegar

• Rice Vinegar

• Red Wine Vinegar

Pantry

• Tomato Paste

• Tomato Sauce, most likely Rao’s to make magic sauce

• Rice

• Dried Pasta in shapes my kids will eat

• Chickpeas

• Medjool Dates, for desserts

• Vegetable Broth - love Bonafide

• Honey

Dry Goods

• All-Purpose Flour

• Bread Flour (Adi uses this for sourdough, you may not need it!)

• Granulated Sugar

• Brown Sugar

• Whole Oats

• Baking Powder

• Baking Soda

• Dark Chocolate Chips

Nuts & Seeds

• Raw, unsalted cashews

• Pumpkin Seeds

• Sesame Seeds, I like a black & white mix

• Sliced Almonds

Fridge & Freezer Staples

• White Miso Paste - this can usually be found near the tofu in the refrigerated section near produce. Essential for miso vinaigrette.

• Dijon Mustard

• Mayonnaise

• Tamari or Soy Sauce

• Maple Syrup

• Pickles, Olives, and/or Capers

• Tahini

• Homemade Bone Broth (freezer)

• Sourdough Bread, we store it in the freezer

• Pita, we buy it fresh and usually eat it immediately, but you can store it in the freezer

• Tortillas are a great freezer staple! Just warm them up in a frying pan.

On My Regular Grocery List

Every week I fill my cart with these staples and then think about what else we’ll need for meals for the week.

Fridge & Freezer

• Mini Cucumbers

• Whole Milk Cottage Cheese

• Fresh Herbs (Cilantro, parsley, dill)

• Eggs - My kids eat a LOT of them (in this economy 😅)

• Small mozzarella balls to pack in lunches

• Garlic

• Lemons

• Onions and/or shallots

• Red Bell Peppers for lunches and salads

• Frozen Edamame

• RISE Cold Brew, which now has a home in my drink fridge

• Proteins for the week, often salmon and ribeye

Pantry

• Grains - Farro, Freekeh, Bulgur, Quinoa, Lentils

• Nori - My youngest likes to eat it with salmon and rice

• Soba Noodles

• Jarred Artichokes

• Canned Tuna

• Breadcrumbs

• GroundUp Nut Butter - My nut butter of choice! Use MELISSA10 to get 10% off your first order.
  

Kitchen Staples

Knives & Other Blades

• THE Knife - This cleaver-like knife is what I reach for most often. It’s great for everything, from microchopping salads to cutting meat.

• My Favorite Knife of the Moment - I’ve been loving this one recently for chopping just about everything.

• Paring Knife - Great for cutting smaller or fewer produce.

• Serrated Knife - I love this little one for cutting bread and tomatoes.

• Tomato Knife - Like the above, great for thinly slicing ripe summer tomatoes and bread.

• Kitchen Scissors - A good pair that can do anything (cut herbs, break down meat, cut pizza) is so helpful in the kitchen.

• Mandoline - Watch your fingers!

• Microplane - How I make dressings bursting with garlic but without huge pieces.

• Y Peeler - A good peeler is essential.

Cooking Tools

• Wooden Utensils - These are great on all cookware and are perfect for soups and sautés.

• Wooden Tongs - I use these for just about everything, including toast and meatballs.

• Long Metal Tweezers - Same as above.

• Metal Tongs - Great for toast or mixing salads.

• Pastry Brush - Get just the right amount of oil on roasted veggies with an easy-to-clean brush.

• Whisk - I love the grip on this handle.

• Salad Spinner - Perfectly wash and dry everything, like lettuce, herbs, leeks, and more.

• Citrus Juicer - My favorite!

• Can Opener - Adi bought this for me so I’d stop cutting myself on the one we had.

• Spatula - Scrape everything out of a bowl, blender, or food processor.

• Bench Scraper - A great mess-free way to transfer chopped onions, carrots, garlic, etc. from board to pan.

• Mixing Bowls - Good, lightweight mixing bowls make cooking and cleaning so much easier.

• Cutting Board - I use this wooden board most of the time; for meat and beets (anything that would stain my big block), I use this board. A good wooden cutting board is a great housewarming gift!

• Measuring Spoons - Or just measure with your heart.

Pots & Pans

• Stainless Steel Pan - I use this for just about everything. It’s great on the stove and in the oven.

• Griddle - Perfect for pancakes!

• Baking Sheets - My go-to bakeware for just about anything.

• Muffin Tin - A must-have in my kitchen.

• Braiser - A deeper pan like this is great for one-pot meals and braising meat.

• Stock Pot - For soups and stocks.

• Square Pan - I use mine for snacking cakes, brownies, and blondies.

Organization & Cleaning

• POP Containers - These keep everything in my pantry perfectly fresh. Great for all dry goods!

• Jars - We get a lot of spices from the shuk in Israel, so it’s great to transfer them from bags into containers.

• Turntables - These hold SO much. I use mine for various olive oils, vinegar, and other bottles in my cabinet and pantry to make them easy to find.

• Sponges - These sponges are a lifesaver to get stuck-on grease off my stainless steel. (And they’re made by my dad!)

Appliances

• Food Processor - I love that this has a smaller footprint than larger food processors so it doesn’t take up as much space.

• Blender - I use this every day; it’s a great investment. If you want something smaller, I also like this one.

• Stand Mixer - A must-have if you want to bake a lot of bread, cookies, etc.

• Hand Mixer - Requires more attention than the stand mixer but great for shredding chicken.

• Air Fryer - Having this is like having an extra oven—which makes cooking so much faster and easier.

• Kettle - Ours is electric, so we can keep the stovetop open while we cook (and it looks great on the counter).

• Pizza Oven - This is more of a nice-to-have than a must-have, but we LOVE ours if you have the space.

• Drink Fridge - Like the above, if you have space this is great (and frees up space in your fridge).

Need more recommendations? Throw it in the chat!