Pantry-Friendly Recipes From Our Favorite Foodies

by Abby Montanez

Food is comfort. That’s something we’ve always known. Perhaps now more than ever people have been held up in their kitchens, myself included, whether for stress-relief or out of necessity. While the offerings on store shelves are less than abundant during these difficult times, pantry-friendly recipes have come to the rescue. We’re sharing five pantry-friendly recipes from our favorite foodies like Alison Roman, Smitten Kitchen and Chrissy Teigen to get you through the next few weeks. We’re also checking in on what celebs have been cooking up at home. 

Spicy White Bean Stew with Broccoli Rabe

“Not quite a fridge clean-out situation, this extremely flexible stew can use up much of what you’ve got on hand. It’s vegetarian by nature, but feel free to start the pot with sausage, slab bacon or leftover ham if you’re feeling more omnivorous. If you can’t find harissa, use tomato paste and a pinch of red-pepper flakes for spiciness.”

Recipe by Alison Roman, cookbook author and food columnist for the New York Times (main image)

Vegetarian Chili With Lots of Fritos

“Quick, spicy, filling, and made mostly of pantry ingredients, this chili/tortilla soup/frito pie mash-up is calling your name. (Shhh. Listen closely.) Garnish it with the toppings of your choice: We like avocado, sour cream, and chopped white onion, but you can add shredded cheese, pickled or fresh jalapeños, and/or sliced scallions or radishes. You can use any tortilla chips you like—they add body and flavor to the soup itself and go on top for extra oomph. You could also fry or bake your own stale tortillas, cut into strips, but if we’re being honest, salty, crunchy Fritos will probably taste better.”

Recipe by Sarah Jampel, Editor at Bon Appétit

Chicken and Dumpling Soup 

“Chicken and dumplings make up everything that my father’s side of the family is all about: carbs, meat, and vegetable things that just taste like more meat.

The pot-pie soup in my last book has become such a kitchen staple for so many of you. It’s an amazing feeling, but it also told me that I wasn’t going to get away with writing this book without a great chicken soup in it. So here we are: You start with a whole chicken’s worth of chicken, which you sear and simmer until it gives all its flavour to the broth. The dumplings are fluffy and doughy and tender and just spongy enough to absorb the savoury soup, and along with the chunks of chicken, turn this into a legit main-course situation.”

pantry-friendly recipes
Two Peas and Their Pod

Recipe by Chrissy Teigen

Broccoli and Egg Fried Rice

“A pan full of veggie-packed fried rice is one of the easiest and most satisfying weeknight dinners we know of. And once you get the hang of this basic method, you’ll be able to turn leftover rice and whatever odds and ends you have in the fridge—some rotisserie chicken, roasted veggies, a wedge of cabbage, kimchi—into a quick and delicious meal. If you don’t have a well-seasoned cast-iron skillet, using a non-stick pan is your best bet; you won’t get the same char on the veggies, but you don’t want the eggs to stick to the pan. And don’t be tempted to leave out the sugar—as weird as it may seem, it’s the secret to getting color on the rice in a hurry.”

Recipe by Kat Boytsova, Bon Appétit

Quick Pasta and Chickpeas

“Pasta e ceci (pasta and chickpeas) is one of Rome’s most iconic dishes…I bet you think this means it will be complicated. It is, in fact, the opposite…I bet every single one is in your pantry right now, and takes 20 minutes, which is why there’s no making it just once. We all need more 20-minute dinner magic in our lives, so it’s not surprising that it’s already made the web rounds from Food52 to Dinner: A Love Story.”

pantry-friendly recipes
Smitten Kitchen

Recipe by Smitten Kitchen

What The Celebrities Are Cooking:

1. Iliza Shlesinger

Comedian Iliza Shlesinger and her husband, Noah Galuten (a professional chef by trade), started a cook-along Instagram and Facebook live series entitled Don’t Panic Pantry. Since its inception this past week, the two have made recipes including pasta fagioli, ginger chicken soup, spring vegetable pesto for St. Patrick’s Day and Matzo Brei.

2. Dan Levy 

The creator and star of “Schitt’s Creek” had the amazing idea this past weekend to recreate the famous cookies from New York’s Levain Bakery. He took to his Instagram story (which has since timed-out) to give viewers a step-by-step look. Most recently, he also tried his hand at waffle-making calling it “breakfast for dinner.”

pantry-friendly recipes

3. Ed Helms

A beloved member of “The Office” and “The Hangover,” actor Ed Helms shared on his Instagram that he made his family a big batch of chili. He followed it up by saying in his caption, “This might be the dumbest thing I have ever done…#chiliregrets.”

4. Nick Kroll 

We love Nick Kroll for his work on “Big Mouth,” but we didn’t know the comedy star was also a chef. Well, not exactly. Kroll shared an isolation recipe of an apocalyptic breakfast sandwich containing peanut butter and bacon between an English muffin. Maybe this would be better for a hangover? Just a thought.

About the Author/s

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Abby is The Digest's Managing Editor. She spends her time looking at dogs on Instagram and eating her way around Jersey City.

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