Pantry-Friendly Ingredient Substitutions

It's always good to keep some pantry-friendly ingredients on hand, even if you don't use them normally.  In some cases, you might want to start using them regularly, while in other cases it's just good to have on hand in case you need it.

For example, I almost never buy chicken breasts to cook and then chop up for soups, enchiladas, and the like.  It's so much work, and the fresh chicken has an expiration date I have to be careful of.  Instead, I just use freeze-dried chopped chicken (from here) or sometimes cans of chicken breast (usually found in the tuna fish area of grocery stores).  On the other hand, I will always prefer using real butter over margarine or shortening, but I do keep some butter flavor shortening on hand since it's a great substitution for butter in an emergency.

Listed here for you are some possible pantry-friendly substitutions to use in your cooking and baking.  Some of these are things you might want to just replace altogether (like that chopped chicken I love), while others are things you just might want to keep a little on hand in case of emergency.

(I'll come back to this page and update it any time I find out something new!)

NOTE:  The difference between freeze-dried and dehydrated is the drying method.  Because of this, all "dried" food doesn't really taste the same.  Freeze-dried tends to lock in flavor a little better.  So if you don't like one brand, try another.

Here are some pantry-friendly ingredient substitutions for your consideration.  If you don't have:

• MEAT 1:  freeze dried (I love this stuff.  I use it a lot.  It's so much easier!  And I love that I can literally have it on hand all the time without a trip to the store.)
• MEAT 2:  canned (such as canned chicken breast, canned tuna, etc.)
• MEAT 3:  grains with seasonings added (Lentils are a good meat substitute in some recipes, especially when combined with the seasonings in the recipe, and quinoa cooks up nicely and mixes with taco seasoning for a great taco meat substitute.)
• MEAT 4:  a can or two of beans, rinsed and drained  (Depending on the recipe, you can try black beans, navy beans, pinto beans, or great northern beans in place of meat in your recipe.)
• BUTTER 1:  butter flavor shortening  (I personally like the kind that comes in sticks like butter does.)
• BUTTER 2:  powdered (made from real butter; mix with water and/or vegetable oil)
• EGGS 1:  freeze-dried (made from real eggs; needs to be reconstituted with water first)
• EGGS 2:  You can substitute 1 large egg in cooking or baking with 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise OR with 1 packet unflavored gelatin mixed with 1 Tbsp. cold water and 2 Tbsp. boiling water
• CHEESE:  freeze-dried (needs to be reconstituted with water first)
• BROWN SUGAR:  to make 1 c. brown sugar:  1 c. white sugar plus 1 Tbsp. molasses
• MILK 1:  Evaporated milk is a good substitute for fresh milk.  (Just be sure you are buying evaporated milk, not sweetened condensed milk.  That's *really* not the same thing.)  Evaporated milk comes in fat free and whole.  Evaporated milk has had a lot of the watery elements of milk boiled away, so it's best to mix with water for your desired final product.  To make 1 c. of whole milk, you mix 1/2 c. regular evaporated milk with 1/2 c. water.  Fat free can be used measure for measure the same as skim milk.
• MILK 2:  powdered form (Most of what I find out there is nonfat milk, which my family and I can't stand drinking by itself but usually does fine in recipes that call for a little milk.  For actual drinking, I prefer Nido milk, which I just get at my local Walmart in the Mexican foods area.  I used to use a whey milk from a company that went out of business, which tasted as close to regular 1% milk as I've ever tasted.  I'm sad I didn't drink enough to keep them in business!  Try a few different powdered milks, and see what you like best.  And share in the comments if you find a great one.  Also:  even if you drink skim milk, some milk with a little fat it in is going to taste better in powdered form.  Peak is also very good--it's whole milk.  Countries outside the US are better at powdered/canned/boxed milk, so I tend to look in the "foreign" sections of the grocery store for milk.)
• MILK 3:  shelf-stable boxed milk  (You can find the Parmalat brand at most grocery stores, but I love Gossner Foods shelf-stable milk.  They do ship in bulk, but unfortunately their shipping prices essentially triple the price of the milk.  I did an internet search to see if I could find Gossner milk near me, and it turns out my local Dollar Tree carries it!  They sell a quart for $1, which is only a little more than it is the Gossner Foods website without the shipping!  At that price, it's about the same as fresh milk from the supermarket.  Score!)
• BUTTERMILK:  to make 1 cup buttermilk:  1 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup
• LIGHT CREAM:  to make 1 cup light cream:  1 Tbsp. melted butter plus enough milk to make 1 cup
• HONEY:  to make 1 cup honey:  1 1/4 c. sugar plus 1/4 c. liquid, or you can buy dehydrated honey crystals here that reconstitute with water!
• OIL (for baking recipes) 1:  Rinse and drain a can of beans (black, pinto, kidney, or navy).  Puree in a blender with 1/3 c. water.  Use measure-for-measure in baking.  
• OIL (for baking recipes) 2:  unsweetened applesauce or pureed pumpkin
• CREAM OF ANYTHING SOUP:  2 c. instant dry milk, 3/4 c. cornstarch, 1/4 c. chicken bouillon, 1 tsp. onion powder, 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, 1/2 tsp. dried basil, 1/4 tsp. pepper, For condensed soup, combine 1/3 c. of this mix with 1 c. water.

Do you know any great pantry-friendly substitutes?  Tell me about them in the comments below and I'll add them to this list.

To print this substitution list, hit the "print" button below.  If you don't see the print button, scroll back up and click on the title of this blog post, then scroll back down and you'll find the button below.