68 Items Every Woman Should Have in Her Kitchen

I have this cookbook called 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know: Engagement Chicken and 99 Other Fabulous Dishes to Get You Everything You Want in Life written by the editors at Glamour Magazine. Is that not the cutest cookbook you’ve ever heard of?! It has so many amazing recipes and they’re all super easy and have really fun names like “Instant Seduction Pork Chops”, “Let’s Make a Baby Pasta”, “Make it in the Car Artichoke Dip”, and so on. There are also a lot of really good tips and tricks in the cookbook for women who are venturing out, living on their own, and starting to run their own house’s kitchen and cooking for themselves. So it really got me thinking about what every woman needs in her kitchen and pantry to look like she has her sh*t together! So here are the 68 items every woman should have in her kitchen!

I’ve been living on my own since Sophomore year of college (2012). I lived in an all-girl’s dorm my freshman year where we had a dining hall and food made for us, but after that I got an apartment with some other girls and apartment hopped the rest of my college career. And after graduating I stuck around in Austin instead of moving back in with my parents, and I just recently moved into a house with my boyfriend. So I’ve been running my own kitchen and cooking for myself for over seven years now. I’ve definitely learned a lot over these seven years and learned what’s good to keep around, what just takes up space in a tiny apartment kitchen, and what spices and other basics to always keep on hand. This might be common sense for most women, but there are always those who are just now graduating college or moving out of their parent’s house and are spreading their wings to start fending for themselves. And it would have been a lot easier transitioning for me if I had had this list below at the time! 

So here are the 68 items every woman should have in her kitchen:

In the Pantry:

1. Spaghetti or linguine noodles
2. Penne or farfalle noodles
3. White rice
4. Brown rice
5. Pinto beans
6. Kidney beans
7. Canned tuna 
8. Canned tomatoes (diced)
9. Pasta sauce 
10. Balsamic vinegar
11. Baking soda
12. Baking powder
13. Good mustard (dijon or spicy brown)
14. Onions
15. Cloves of garlic
16. Potatoes 
17. Sriracha
18. Low sodium soy sauce
19. Chicken stock
20. Wine vinegar
21. Peanut butter
22. Crackers
23. Instant oatmeal
24. All-purpose flour
25. Sugar
26. Brown sugar
27. Bottles of water or gallon jugs 
28. Tortillas 

On the Spice Rack:

1. Garlic powder
2. Salt
3. Pepper
4. Onion powder
5. Bullion cubes
6. Dried oregano
7. Dried thyme
8. Rosemary
9. Bay leaves
10. Dried basil
11. Dried parsley
12. Cumin
13. Cinnamon
14. Paprika
15. Cayenne

In the Fridge:

1. Milk
2. Eggs
3. Butter
4. Favorite jelly or jam
5. Favorite vinaigrette salad dressing (mine is Brianna’s Real French Vinaigrette, I use it as chicken marinade also!)

In the Cabinets & Drawers:

1. Large pan (with lid)
2. Small or medium pan
3. Large pot
4. Medium pot (with lid)
5. Small pot (with lid)
6. Mixing bowls
7. Cutting board
8. Good cutting/chopping knife
9. Colander 
10. Measuring cup
11. Measuring spoons
12. Mixing spoons
13. Spatula/Pancake flipper 
14. Whisk
15. Baking sheet/Cookie Sheet
16. Oven-safe casserole dish
17. Blender or food processor 
18. Tupperware
19. Plastic bags/Ziplock bags
20. Peeler

You can make so many different meals with all of these ingredients, spices, and cooking utensils. If you’re running low on groceries, you can always whip something up with these ingredients so you won’t starve. Just reading off of the list above, you can make pasta, egg and potato breakfast tacos, rice and beans, baked potatoes, a cake, tuna on crackers, PB&J crackers, etc. 

If you always keep this stuff on hand, when you go grocery shopping, really the only thing you would need to buy are vegetables, fruit, cheese, and meat. And of course anything else that a recipe calls for that you don’t already have. But always having those 68 items every woman should have in her kitchen on hand, it will save you a lot of unnecessary trips to the grocery store or to a neighbor’s house to borrow something small. And you look professional AF when you have people over and they see your pantry and spice rack stocked with all of this adult sh*t!!