The 2020 Coronavirus pandemic has really changed the way we go about our day to day lives, and has turned the phrase quarantine cooking into a household name! And if you are reading this during the crisis, then you are most likely under quarantine and plan to be cooking pantry recipes as much as possible.

Depending on mostly pantry items or refrigerated items with a longer shelf life means making fewer trips to the grocery store for perishables. Less shopping trips are safer for both shoppers and the awesome essential employees that are keeping us fed.

Cooking Pantry Recipes: Simple One-Dish Meals

These 15 one-pot pantry recipes include stovetop and baked casserole recipes that will help you plan meals with the food that you already have on hand. And while some of these recipes call for refrigerated or frozen items, most can be made without fresh produce.

1. Tater Tot Casserole

This yummy tater tot casserole has just six ingredients and you can round out your meal with a hot veggie or salad.

2. Healthy Vegetarian Mexican Casserole with Rice and Beans

Canned beans are a great source of protein and another good staple to have on hand for this delicious Mexican black bean and rice casserole.

3. Chicken Dinner Pasta Salad

This hearty pasta salad includes canned chicken, frozen mixed vegetables and a few refrigerator staples. This quick and easy recipe would make a great side dish or main dish meal.

4. Simple Pasta with Peas

This quick and easy meatless meal calls for just a few ingredients. Pesto sauce is optional, but it would be well worth keeping a jar in your pantry for this tasty recipe.

5. Easy Tuna Casserole

This quick and easy macaroni tuna casserole calls for just four ingredients and would be perfect to add to your pantry meal rotation.

6. Texas Hominy Casserole

This Tex-Mex inspired hominy cheese casserole recipe has plenty of southwest flavors.  It can be baked in the oven or cooked in the slow cooker.

7. Chili Mac 

Ground beef, Mexican cheese, and a few pantry staples are all that you need to make this easy dutch oven chili mac recipe that is similar to goulash or American chop suey.

8. Polish Pierogi Lasagna

This simple pierogi casserole features lasagna noodles and a few other staple ingredients. It’s delicious as a side dish or a meatless main meal.

9. Easy Vegan Chili

You won’t miss the meat in this quick and easy vegan chili recipe.  Oats are the secret ingredient that adds a little “meatiness” to this quick and easy meal.

10. Creamy Chicken Casserole

This cheesy chicken casserole recipe includes macaroni, a cream sauce, and a crunchy panko crumb topping.

11. Chow Mein Casserole

Chow Mein Casserole (also known as Minnesota Hot Dish) features ground beef, rice, condensed soup, and crunchy chow mein noodles. It’s a favorite with both kids and adults.

12. Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole

This delicious casserole includes the obvious (chicken, bacon, and ranch dressing) along with penne pasta, cheese and a few other pantry ingredients for a delicious weeknight meal that freezes well. Just double the recipe, bake one and pop the other in the freezer!

13. Chicken Parmesan Casserole

Chicken, jarred pasta sauce, linguini pasta, and two kinds of cheese are the perfect combination for this tasty twist on an Italian favorite.

14. Potato Casserole

This variation of an all-time favorite hashbrown casserole is finished off with a delicious cornflake topping. Perfect for potlucks as well as a delicious main or side dish meal.

15. Easy Meat and Potato Casserole

This delicious one-dish meat potato casserole recipe features thinly sliced potatoes, ground pork, cheese and tomatoes for a delicious flavor combination.

Hopefully, you will find enough ideas to be cooking pantry recipes for the next few weeks. You can plan your menus to use your perishables first, then rely on frozen items or items with a longer shelf life to get you by until your next shopping trip.

This list can also help you strategically plan your next grocery trip to include plenty of pantry staples for future meals. You can purchase shelf-stable items that can be substituted in recipes. such as evaporated or powdered milk, canned fruits and vegetables, and even canned meat. Fresh or frozen may be best, but at times like this, we just want to do what we can to feed our families a well-balanced diet.

Want to get started cooking pantry recipes? Pin these simple pantry recipes to save for later!