Food Pantry Box Meals: What to Cook With What You Get

Food Pantry Box Meals: How to Cook With What You Receive

A food pantry box is easier to cook from if you treat it as a set of ingredients, not a set of recipes. Start with the foods that will spoil first, choose a filling base such as rice, pasta, potatoes, or tortillas, and build meals around what is actually in the box. You can add seasoning if you have it, but the meal should still work without it.

The three boxes below are illustrations, not predictions of what a food bank will provide. Each meal uses only the ingredients listed for that box, plus water. Salt, spices, and other additions are identified as optional. Yields are approximate; a “serving” may be a light meal for one person or part of a larger meal for another.

Before cooking, check fresh food for spoilage and canned food for damage. Discard cans that are bulging, leaking, or badly rusted. Once a can is opened, transfer any unused food to a covered container and refrigerate it. Refrigerate cooked leftovers within two hours and use them within three to four days.

Illustrative box 1: Potatoes, carrots, beans, and rice

What’s in the box

• 2 pounds potatoes
• 1 pound carrots
• 1 onion
• Two 15-ounce cans beans, any kind
• One 14- to 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups dry rice

Use first: Cook the onion and any carrots that are softening. Sound potatoes can usually wait longer, but cut away green areas and discard potatoes that are extensively green, rotten, or bitter. Keep the rice and unopened cans for later.

Meal 1: Potato, carrot, and bean stew

Required: All the potatoes, carrots, and onion; one can of beans; the can of tomatoes; 2 to 3 cups water.
Optional: Salt, pepper, dried herbs, chili powder, or a little vinegar.
Yield: About 5 to 6 servings.

Dice the potatoes and carrots into small pieces so they cook at roughly the same rate. Chop the onion. Put the vegetables, tomatoes, and 2 cups water in a pot. Cover and simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender, usually about 20 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the pieces.

Drain and rinse the beans if you can, then add them to the pot and heat through. Add more water for a thinner stew, or mash a few potato pieces against the side of the pot to thicken the liquid. The tomato provides some acidity and flavor even if there is no broth or seasoning in the kitchen.

If you cannot cook the stew right away, use the vegetables in order of condition. A bruised carrot that is still sound can go in the pot today; a firm potato can wait.

Meal 2: Beans and rice bowls

Required: The remaining can of beans, 2 cups dry rice, and water according to the rice package.
Optional: Any leftover stew, salt, hot sauce, or canned vegetables from another meal.
Yield: About 4 to 5 servings.

Cook the rice according to its package directions. Drain the beans and warm them with a splash of water in a covered pot or microwave-safe dish. Spoon them over the rice. If there is a small amount of stew left, add it on top to supply moisture and flavor. It can turn plain beans and rice into a different meal without opening another can.

The full 2 cups of dry rice will make a substantial batch. If refrigerator space is limited, cook only what you expect to eat soon and keep the rest dry.

Illustrative box 2: Spinach, zucchini, pasta, and canned protein

What’s in the box

• One 5-ounce bag fresh spinach
• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 pound dry pasta
• One 5-ounce can tuna
• Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas
• Two 14- to 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes

Use first: Check the spinach when you get home. Cook it promptly if it is still sound but beginning to wilt. Discard leaves that are slimy or spoiled. Cook the zucchini next. The pasta and unopened cans can wait.

Meal 1: Tuna, zucchini, and spinach pasta

Required: 8 ounces pasta, both zucchini, all the spinach, the tuna, one can of tomatoes, and water.
Optional: Salt, black pepper, garlic, lemon juice, or grated cheese.
Yield: About 4 servings.

Cook half the pasta in water according to the package. Before draining it, save a mug of the cooking water if you can. Return the empty pot to the stove, add the sliced zucchini and about ½ cup water, and cover. Cook until the zucchini begins to soften, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with their liquid and the drained tuna. Stir in the spinach a handful at a time until it wilts, then add the cooked pasta. A little reserved pasta water loosens the mixture if it seems dry. No oil or jarred pasta sauce is required.

One small can of tuna is spread across four servings here. The pasta and vegetables provide much of the volume. For a more filling plate, serve larger portions and expect fewer servings.

Meal 2: Chickpea and tomato pasta soup

Required: The remaining 8 ounces pasta, both cans of chickpeas, the remaining can of tomatoes, and about 5 cups water.
Optional: Salt, pepper, dried herbs, or a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Yield: About 5 to 6 servings.

Bring the water and tomatoes to a boil in a large pot. Add the pasta and cook according to its package time, stirring occasionally. Drain the chickpeas, add them during the last few minutes, and simmer until heated through. Add water if the soup becomes thicker than you like.

This soup is best eaten soon after cooking because pasta continues to absorb liquid as it sits. Refrigerated leftovers may look more like a pasta dish the next day; a splash of water will loosen them when reheated.

Illustrative box 3: Tortillas, cabbage, and black beans

What’s in the box

• 8 small flour or corn tortillas
• 1 small head cabbage
• 1 pound carrots
• Two 15-ounce cans black beans
• One 15-ounce can corn
• One 14- to 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

Use first: Check the tortillas for their package date and any signs of mold. A cut cabbage should be refrigerated; an uncut head generally keeps longer than delicate greens. Cook any carrots that are softening. The unopened cans can wait.

Meal 1: Black bean and cabbage wraps

Required: Four tortillas, half the cabbage, half the carrots, one can of black beans, half the can of corn, and water.
Optional: Salt, chili powder, vinegar, hot sauce, or cheese.
Yield: 4 modest wraps.

Slice the cabbage thinly and grate or finely chop the carrots. Put both in a covered skillet or pot with ½ cup water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they soften, about 8 to 12 minutes. Drain the beans and add them with half the corn. Continue cooking until hot, letting extra water evaporate so the filling does not soak through the tortillas.

Warm the tortillas in a dry skillet or microwave and divide the filling among them. Each person gets one generously filled wrap. If you need larger portions, serve fewer people or add another food you already have.

Put the unused corn in a covered container in the refrigerator. Plan to make the second meal within three to four days.

Meal 2: Tomato, bean, and cabbage soup

Required: The remaining cabbage and carrots, the second can of black beans, the remaining corn, the can of tomatoes, the last four tortillas, and 3 to 4 cups water.
Optional: Salt, cumin, garlic powder, or a squeeze of lemon or lime.
Yield: About 4 servings, with one tortilla each.

Put the cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, and 3 cups water in a pot. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the drained beans and remaining corn; heat through. Add water if needed. Warm the tortillas to eat alongside the soup, or tear them into pieces and dip them into the broth.

The cabbage cooks down considerably, so a pot that looks full at first will become easier to stir. If the carrots are cut into thick pieces, give them a few extra minutes before adding the beans.

When milk, eggs, oil, or sauce is missing

A missing ingredient does not always need a substitute. Often the easiest choice is a dish that does not call for it. The meals above use water for cooking, and none requires milk, eggs, oil, or prepared sauce.

For a meal you are adapting from another recipe, consider what the missing ingredient was meant to do:

• Milk: Use water for oatmeal, boxed rice, or a simple soup if the package or recipe allows it. The result may be less creamy. If you have evaporated milk, it can be mixed with an equal amount of water for many cooking uses. Check the label on shelf-stable milk before using it.
• Eggs: Choose a different preparation when possible. Potatoes can be boiled instead of made into egg-bound patties; bread can be toasted instead of made into French toast. Eggs do different jobs in baking, so no single replacement works in every cake, pancake, or quick bread.
• Oil: A covered pan with a small amount of water can soften onions, zucchini, cabbage, and other vegetables. Add more water a spoonful at a time if the pan dries out. It will not brown food the way oil does, but it will cook it.
• Sauce: Canned tomatoes and their liquid can coat pasta or start a stew. Mashed beans can thicken a filling. If neither is available, use a little cooking water to keep the food moist and add any seasoning you have. Plain food is still a workable meal.

Package directions deserve a look before making substitutions. Some pancake mixes require only water; others require milk, eggs, or oil. A box labeled “complete” may simplify breakfast, but the instructions on that particular package are the reliable guide.

Make the box last without making a rigid plan

The sample meals pair a first meal built around the most perishable foods with a later meal made largely from dry or canned ingredients. That order is useful even when your box contains entirely different items. If you receive fresh greens, use them early. If you receive dry pasta and unopened beans, keep them for a day when the refrigerator is nearly empty.

You do not need to turn every item into a separate recipe. A can of tomatoes can provide the liquid for a pot of potatoes, and the same method works with carrots, greens, or beans that need using. Cook the food that is at risk of spoiling, keep unopened shelf-stable food for later, and make portions that fit the people and storage space you have.