Shopping for ingredients every time you want to cook can be a real hassle. But with these basic and essential ingredients to always have in your kitchen, no more worries about going shopping every time. You can make some of the finest and healthiest recipes with these ingredients. 

These ingredients are also very low maintenance. You can store them in your pantry or in a dry place in your kitchen cabinet. You can also store some of them in your fridge or freezer. However, most of them can still be preserved without a fridge or freezer. 

With these 10 essential ingredients to always have in your kitchen, you can cook different delicacies of your choice. This is not to say these are the only ingredients you should have in your kitchen, but these ingredients can be made into simple, enjoyable meals and they will come in handy when you are too busy to go shopping.

10 Essential Ingredients to Always Have in Your Kitchen 

1- Seasoning and Spices

Every meal needs seasonings and spices. They complement your meal. They add taste and can change the taste of your meal. However, when adding seasonings and spice, add sparingly and ensure you add the right seasoning or spice to the right meal. The quantity of seasonings or spices in your meal can make or mar the meal. 

Some examples of seasonings and spices are:

• Salt, 
• Maggi, 
• Ginger, 
• Garlic, 
• Vinegar, 
• Paprika, 
• Curry, 
• Thyme, 
• Yellow mustard, 
• Chili powder, 
• Cayenne pepper, 
• Bay leaves, 
• Nutmeg, 
• Parsley, 
• Cinnamon, 
• Turmeric, etc. 

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2- Cooking Oil

There are different types of oil with different uses. The common types are groundnut oil, vegetable oil, and palm oil – made from palm kernel (commonly used in Nigeria for traditional soups). Most people can’t tell the difference between groundnut and vegetable oil. However, there’s a difference but you can use either one of them. It is essential to have vegetable and palm oil in your home. You can use vegetable oil to fry your eggs, cook jollof rice, or make rice and stew. The palm oil can be used to make stew sauce and native jollof rice with iru (locust beans).

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3- Eggs

You can make over 200 delicious recipes with eggs. From your basic fried omelet, and scrambled eggs, to pancakes, and several other egg meals. You can also add boiled eggs to your rice and stew or jollof rice. 

4- Rice

Rice is one of the most versatile and essential ingredients to always have in your kitchen. It complements your pepper and tomatoes as a stand-alone dish or when cooked together as jollof rice. You can also fry it with eggs to make fried rice or garnish it with some veggies. There’s no end to the creative ways to cook rice.

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Also read: 15 Best Cooking Tips for Beginners that Will Make You an Expert

5- Flour

Another basic and essential ingredient is flour. Especially if you love baked goods. It is a versatile ingredient every baker should have in the kitchen. You can bake bread, cake, pancakes, etc. It is also a good source of protein and vitamins. Flour also has non-cooking uses in the home. It can serve as a brass or metal cleaner, can be used to make glue, and can be used to wipe away tough stains in the home. 

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6- Sugar

Everyone loves a sweetener—but remember—moderation. Sugar is an incredible sweetener for your tea or coffee. It can be made into syrup for your pancake. You also need it when baking or making your fruit juice or smoothies (if you like).

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7- Honey

A healthy and toxin-free sweetener. Some people prefer it to sugar. You can put it on your pancake instead of syrup. You can add it to your tea too. You also don’t have to worry about getting illnesses caused by too much sugar when you use honey. Honey also serves as a face scrub. When mixed with hot water and ginger (grated or paste), it cures sore throat (I have tried this and it works. It also gives the body a very soothing feeling. I sometimes take my honey with Lipton (or any other black tea).

8- Tomato Paste

Tin tomatoes or sachet tomato paste are the real lifesaver. It takes your stew and jollof rice from 10-100. It is also low maintenance. You can keep it in your pantry, fridge, or kitchen cabinet for as long as you want. You can mix it with ground pepper when cooking or use it as a tomato additive in your pasta, stew, or rice.

9- Baking powder

Baking powder has a lot of health advantages and home advantages. A great addition to your baking ingredients and a plus to your home cleaning agents. You can use it to make your bread, cake, muffin, and other baked goods. You can also use it to scour the dirty areas in your sink, faucet, and basins. 

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10- Grinded Pepper

One thing you will find in my mom’s freezer is frozen ground pepper. She always says “If you have ground pepper in the house, you can make any meal.” You can complement and garnish any meal with ground pepper. Ensure your ground pepper is rich in tomatoes, bell peppers, habanero pepper, and scotch bonnet (which is locally called in Nigeria ata rodo, Bawa, and tatase).

When you combine the pepper together, grind with your blender, pour into an airtight container, and keep in your freezer for as long as you want. 

Whenever you decide to use it, you can defroze it by keeping it in the oven for a while or just put it on fire till you are ready to add other ingredients. 

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Meals you can make with these essential ingredients to always have in your kitchen 

• Rice and stew
• Fried eggs
• Bread and eggs
• Pasta and stew
• Jollof rice
• Jollof pasta
• Pancakes

What other meals can you make with these essential ingredients to always have in your kitchen? Share with me in the comments section.