Kitchen Staples for Beginners on a Budget
So you’ve just moved out of home, or you’ve just decided you want to set up your kitchen, and you want to figure out what you definitely absolutely need to get started.
I’ve seen attempts at this list before, but the thing is, they tend to just assume you’ll go “oh of course, naturally I will need these things” so I’m going to break this down with some actual explanations as to why these things are seen as “the basics”. Each of these lists is in order of importance, so if you’re trying to prioritize I recommend getting the first thing under each subheading and then work your way down based on budget.
Things to cook on
* One stove/hotplate/something that heats up that you can set your pot on
*One oven or microwave
**I also strongly recommend a kettle and a toaster or ricecooker but that’ll depend on what you’re most likely to use.
Things to cook in
* A pot with lid that is ovensafe and fine for putting on the stove. Something you can simmer or boil things in, like casserole, or soup, or rice, or spaghetti sauce, or put in the oven to roast/bake in. You’ll probably want more than one of these, but one will get you started. Hot tip- if you’re doing a dish with spaghetti or rice plus the sauce, do the carbs first, then set it aside while you do your sauce, then when the sauce is ready tip the carbs back in and stir through. That’s how you cook in a onepot kitchen. In the long term, definitely at least get two of these.
* A frypan. Because you’re probably going to want to fry something eventually. Can be substituted for a wok if stir-fry is more your speed, but if unbroken fried eggs is your jam you’re going to want something with a flat surface. Woks are fine for scrambling though, and stirfried veggies are awesome, so decide based on what you’re most likely to cook and then maybe purchase the other when you have extra cash.
* A baking tray. This is assuming you have an oven/intend to use it. That way if you want to cook most basic things in the oven that aren’t cakes or bread you have something for putting (e.g.) your frozen pizza or your veggies for roasting or your chicken or whatever on.
* A microwave-safe bowl or container with lid or that you can put a plate over as an impromptu lid. Because things often go “pop” in the microwave, especially if they’ve got oil or fat in them, and you don’t want to have to clean that up all the time. This is of course assuming you have a microwave, I assure you that this is not actually a necessary thing for a kitchen even though it’s a super convenient one.
Things to cook with - Implements
* Three sharp knives - 1 Vegetable knife, 1 carving knife, 1 bread knife. Why? Because it’s not sanitary to cut vegetables after cutting meat, so you need separate knives, (and separate chopping boards if possible), otherwise you going to get salmonella or something. You need the bread knife because bread’s a totally different texture to veggies or meat, and you’re going to want something serrated to deal with that. Though that said if you don’t eat bread or cake or some kinds of pie-crust, this is not going to be an issue.
* At least two chopping boards. Or I guess you could use plates if you really have to, but chopping boards make your knives last longer because they’re a more forgiving surface. If you’re cooking meat and veg, use separate chopping boards as explained above, I cannot emphasize this enough. Cut bread on the veg chopping board, the cross contamination there isn’t really a problem.
* A wooden spoon. This is the most versatile implement in your kitchen. Get one that’s more flat and scrapey if you’re going to be cooking a lot of stirfry, or get one that’s got a bit of bowl to it if you’re going to use it more as a serving spoon. Either way, get at least one, but ideally eventually a couple in different shapes for different purposes. My kitchen has soup spoons, stirring spoons, scraping spoons and serving spoons, you figure out what your priorities/dishes you think you’ll cook all the time are and then work it out from there.
* A spatula for frying things/getting small things off your baking tray
*Oven mitts. For getting hot food out of the oven or microwave, and for holding onto handles of pots on the stove that are too hot when you need to stir the contents/pick up the pot to serve.
* A veggie peeler because whilst you *can* peel potatoes with a knife, why would you want to when veggie peelers are cheap as chips and a way easier and more efficient option?
* Baking paper - because things sticking in your baking tray is a massive pain.
*A measuring jug - if you cook to recipes, you’re definitely going to need one of these. Otherwise it’s good for mixing up and serving gravy or salad dressing or pancake mix (you just pour it straight into the frypan, no muss no fuss).
* A collander/strainer. Because whilst you can pick your boiled pasta/potatoes/whatever out of the pot with a fork, it’s much less of a hassle to just pour it out over a collander in the sink. Also good for washing berries or wrinsing legumes.
*A grater. Because IDK you like cheese or grated carrots or grated ginger or whatever to cook with. I could live without one of these because I’d rather just chop but partner insists that this is a staple so you do you I guess.
Food Storage Things
* Tupperware or cling wrap. You only really need one of these things. I vote the plastic containers, they’re cheaper in the long run and more versatile and ooh, better for the environment because they’re not disposable. Re-useable ziplock bags are another option for dry things like nuts or trailmix.
Kitchen Cleaning Things
* Dishwashing liquid of some kind
* something to scrub with (brush, scourer, sponge, combo)
* A drying rack for your dishes/pots (because even if you have a dishwasher not everything should go in there, especially not your knives.
*tea towels for wiping things up (also these can be spare oven mitts if folded over enough timess and dry. DO NOT TRY THIS WITH A WET TEA TOWEL YOU WILL GET SCALDED)
Food serving things
*Enough plates, bowls, spoons, forks, chopsticks and knives for everyone in your house to use in one day without having to wash the dishes more than once at the end of the day. So that’s at least breakfast and dinner and a snack/lunch on weekends covered.
* Cups. Mugs for hot drinks or soups because they’re better insulated, tumblers for cold drinks if you prefer the aesthetic, but you can drink orange juice or wine from a mug if you really want, it doesn’t actually change the taste.
*Something to put your hot pan on after you take it off the stove. Unused Chopping boards will do in a pinch, but corkboards/pot holders are usually a better idea. Unless you have like stone benches or something, but in that case you probably don’t need this list because you’re flipping loaded.
Staple Pantry things (pick at least one per list item)
* Oil for your pan.
* Rice/spaghetti/potatoes/bread/wraps/other staple because cheap carbs are your friend
* tinned tomatoes because they’re awesome for sauces and casseroles
* legumes/beans, be they tinned or dry, for either main protein or a filler protein in casseroles or sauces. If you don’t use these yet for whatever reason, I recommend trying tinned lentils or red beans in your spaghetti sauce and then noticing how you’ve now got double the amount of food by just adding one cheap can of beans and it’s even delicious *and* lighter than if you use mince or equivalent.
* salt/soy sauce/olives for salty flavour
*Pepper/chilli powder/hot sauce/paprika/mustard/curry powder for spicy flavour
* garlic/ginger/onions because you have a soul
* sugar/honey for sweet
*Dried herbs. Rosemary/parsley/basil/cumin/coriander/fennel seeds/caroway seeds/IDK just chuck in a pinch into your savoury dish, experiment until you figure out what you like and then keep some in stock.
* vinegar for sauces or marinades or salad dressing
*Flour for baking or panfrying things like fish
*Snack stuff, because all humans need snacks: Dried fruit/nuts, crackers, jerky, sandwich spreads like peanut butter/jam/vegemite/tahini/whatever floats your boat
*Tinned or preserved vegetables - because they’re cheap and keep well and generally taste fine cooked into things. This includes saur kraut and pickles.
*Tinned or cured meats - because they keep for ages and are an easy source of protein.
*Cereal of some kind
Staple Fresh Food
* Apples. They are cheap and keep really well.
* Green leafy stuff like spinach or cabbage or kale or whatever. If you’ve bought too much to be consumed quickly a large bowl on your bench with like a centimetre of water (same idea as a vase for flowers) will keep that fresher for slightly longer.
* Carrots. They are cheap, good raw or cooked and keep really well.
* Milk or soy/almond/whatever milk of some kind for cooking/putting on your cereal.
* Cheese/tofu, for an easy source of protein.
*Tomatoes because they make salad awesome and can be fried for breakfast or put into sauce
* Mushrooms because cut fine they do basically the same sort of job as legumes and they’re hella good for you. Also easy to fry and put on toast or if you’re fancy you can stuff them and roast them I guess.
* Bananas. Buy if/when cheap and if you don’t eat them before they turn black, that just so happens to be when they’re perfect for baking into something like banana bread or banana pancakes.
**Naturally if you can get other fresh food, go for it, this is just the basics to give you a couple of ideas.
Caffeine Accoutrements
*Whatever you need to keep caffeinated. Kettle, teapot, coffeemaker, whatever.
Good luck!
