We all have a lot going on and want to do everything possible to limit exposure, especially to vulnerable groups of people. Whether you are already experiencing quarantine or just trying to limit your exposure, we are here to help you with delicious dinners that won’t leave you feeling like you’re eating from the pantry. We hand chose from our favorite recipes to bring you 14 days of dinners that focus on freezable meats, pantry stapes, and frozen veggies. Some of these recipes won’t need any modifications, and some might require substitutions of fresh produce for frozen. Omit ingredients where necessary and be creative with what you have on hand to make these work for you. It is important to keep breakfast, lunch, and snacks in mind with meal planning and shopping lists, but because those meals can rely heavily on shelf stable cereals, bread, (can last a long time in the freezer!) nut butters, and oats, we are going to keep the focus on dinner in our meal plan. If you are looking for breakfast suggestions, our easy pancake mix is great to make and store large batches, and you just add water when you’re ready to cook
Day 1: Best Baked Lemon Pepper Chicken
SERVE WITH: frozen, canned, or fresh veggies and easy cheesy rice pilaf This has a super quick prep time, and can be ready start to finish in under 40 minutes. Frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts can be thawed in the fridge ahead of time, in an airtight bag in a bowl of cold water, or even in the microwave on a defrost setting. If you don’t have lemons on hand, you can always use bottled lemon juice. We like to stock up on lemons when they’re on sale, juice them immediately, and freeze in either ice cube trays or half pint sized glass jars. No need to garnish with fresh parsley. You can simply omit or replace with dried parsley.
Day 2: Chicken Noodle Soup
SERVE WITH: try making your own Homemade French Bread. It only requires a few pantry staples. There is something about a bowl of chicken noodle soup that just makes you feel better and truly warms your soul. It is also a great way to use those canned veggies you keep on hand ‘just in case.’ You can use fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables in this soup, and whatever chicken you have on hand. Bonus: you can make this in the slow cooker too!
Day 3: The Best Tuna Casserole
SERVE WITH: This is a complete meal on its own. Fresh or canned fruits or a smoothie would make a great addition. We love how easy this recipe is to modify to make work with what you have on hand. If you don’t have egg noodles you can use practically any style of pasta! We think this works best with a small or tube shaped pasta, rather than long noodles: think penne, rigatoni, or macaroni noodles. You can use freeze died onions, reconstituted, and pre-minced garlic as well. Don’t have panko bread crumbs? You can make bread crumbs from stale bread you already have on hand. Just pulse it in a food processor until it’s the desired size crumb and freeze in an airtight bag.
Day 4: Roast Chicken
SERVE WITH: Add diced potatoes, carrot chunks (or baby carrots), and onion wedges to the pan for the last 40 minutes to make it a whole meal. We always keep extra whole chickens on hand in the freezer, and this is our favorite way to prepare and roast chicken. You can either carve and serve as is, or you can remove all of the meat from the bird and use it however you like! The lemon and fresh rosemary add to the flavor, but if you don’t have access to them, you can just leave them out. Pro tip: shred and freeze any leftover chicken for later use.
Day 5: Pasta Carbonara
SERVE WITH: this is a complete meal, but you can always serve it up with canned, frozen, or fresh vegetables. You’re going to eat so good tonight. This recipe is just delicious, and it also pulls from a lot of pantry and freezer staples! Bacon freezes and thaws so easily, and eggs have such a long life in the fridge. You might just be tempted to eat this every day.
Day 6: Classic No Fuss Chili
SERVE WITH: this is a complete meal, but can be served with tortilla chips, sour cream, and shredded cheese if you have it. When you think of pantry cooking, you probably think: beans. Chili is the perfect meal when eating from the pantry. We know you have a tube of ground beef somewhere in your freezer, and the rest you can grab from the pantry!
Day 7: Mom’s Chicken Pot Pie
SERVE WITH: this is a complete meal on its own. We know you’re desperate for some good old fashioned comfort food at this point. Enter chicken pot pie. Remember how we roasted chicken a few days ago? You can easily do that again and use that shredded chicken here, or boneless skinless chicken breasts, or even canned chicken. Get as creative as you like with the veggies: if you don’t have access to any fresh vegetables, a bag of frozen mixed veggies is perfect in this! Pro tip: make two and freeze one for later use. It doesn’t take much extra time or effort at all!
Day 8: 30 Minute Taco Soup
SERVE WITH: this is a complete meal, but can be served with tortilla chips, sour cream, and shredded cheese if you have it. Taco soup comes together so quick and easy, and calls for so many canned pantry staples. Whether you’re starting from scratch with dry beans or using canned, frozen broth or shelf stable, it won’t affect the flavor and you will be thrilled with how this turns out! Just make sure to soak overnight and cook your beans first if starting from dry.
Day 9: Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings
SERVE WITH: add in a bag of frozen peas and carrots during the last 1-2 hours of cooking to make it a balanced meal. We know you’re hoping for a hearty crockpot recipe, and here it is! If you are just not up for making dumplings from scratch, you can always use frozen or refrigerated biscuit dough. Just roll them thin and cut into strips. Get it all ready in the morning, and you’ll have a super satisfying meal by dinnertime.
Day 10: Homemade Pizza
SERVE WITH: pizza can be a complete meal all on its own! Pizza in the freezer makes everything better. Making a large batch and freezing for lunches will feel like such a time saver. Pepperoni freezes really well, but you’re not limited to just that. BBQ chicken pizza? Amazing. Have access to fresh or frozen produce? Sauté onions, peppers, broccoli, or any of your favorite veggies.
Day 11: Old Fashioned Shepherd’s Pie
SERVE WITH: this is a complete meal on its own. Shepherd’s pie is so so good, and always leaves us with leftovers for lunch the next day. Potatoes can last a good long while when stored in cool, dry conditions, and if you don’t have fresh potatoes, you can always use instant potatoes.
Day 12: Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Thighs
SERVE WITH: serve with frozen, canned, or fresh veggies. Try a simple pasta side dish like brown butter garlic herb angel hair pasta. Oven baked chicken thighs only requires a handful of ingredients, all of which you probably already have on hand. It is hearty and flavorful and so easy to make. We’re sure you’ll keep coming back to this recipe.
Day 13: Easy Stovetop Mac and Cheese
SERVE WITH: frozen, canned, or fresh veggies Mac and cheese is a kid favorite, and when it’s made from scratch it’s our favorite too! Did you know that you can freeze cheese? If you freeze bags of pre-shredded cheese, it can thaw extremely fast, making it perfect for freezer food storage! Milk also freezes well, but you can also use reconstituted canned evaporated milk: just mix 1 part by volume of evaporated milk with 1 1/2 parts of water.
Day 14: Chicken and Rice Casserole
SERVE WITH: serve with frozen, canned, or fresh veggies. Chicken and Rice Casserole is a classic family favorite and a total comfort food. We love that it doesn’t call for much produce, and is really tasty when trying to eat from the pantry. We love this with thighs, but you can use whatever cut of chicken you have at home.
Side Dishes
Some of these dishes are full meals by themselves, but others may not be quite enough food for your family. Along with the recommendations under each recipe, some other sides you should consider are:
Vegetables:
The Best Roasted Broccoli EverBest Green Beans EverRoasted CauliflowerHoney Roasted Carrots
Starches (Potatoes, Rice, Pasta):
Honey Roasted Smashed PotatoesCilantro Lime Rice PilafSuper Easy Olive Oil PastaPerfect Baked Sweet Potatoes
Breads:
The Best Homemade Dinner Rolls EverRapid Rise Skillet Yeast RollsPerfect Homemade French BreadIrish Soda BreadHomemade Sandwich Bread
Shopping List for the 14 Day Self Isolation and Home Quarantine Meal Plan
See our printable shopping list here. Shop your pantry, fridge, and freezer first and check off what you already have. Then be sure to add any necessary substitutions, sides, breakfast, and lunches to your personal shopping list as well. Δ Δ
