A while ago I ran out of taco seasoning and condensed soup. Normally I would just add them to the grocery list. But I REALLY needed them for dinner that night, and in desperation I looked up how to make them. And that’s when I realized something… they are basically just a mix of regular ingredients plus some weird stuff like fillers and additives, which I don’t even want or need. Which was funny, because I already had every one of those things in my kitchen.
And once I noticed that, I started seeing the same pattern everywhere. Brown sugar. Pancake mix. All just mixes. And a lot of the things we buy at the grocery store aren’t really necessary. They are just ingredient mixes.
I WONDERED
When did we start buying these instead of making them ourselves? And how hard would it really be to stop?
So I tried it. And it worked!
Use my “recipes” for these simple staples and you’ll always have what you need on hand:
The Experiment
That night I mixed up a quick batch of taco seasoning, added it to the pan, and dinner turned out exactly the same as it always does. Actually… it tasted a little better.
But what stuck with me wasn’t really the flavor.
It was the fact that I had just replaced something I normally buy at the store… with ingredients that were already in my kitchen.
And that made me curious. How many other things are like that?
Take brown sugar.
Most of us think of brown sugar as its own ingredient. Something you have to buy in a bag.
But brown sugar is really just white sugar mixed with molasses.
That’s it. I know, right? I was so surprised when I learned this.
DID YOU KNOW THIS?
If you run out, you can make more in about thirty seconds. AND it will be fresh, not all hard like it usually is by the time you dig your bag of brown sugar out from the back of the cabinet. You know what I mean.
Then there’s something like cream of chicken soup. Or cream of mushroom or cream of celery..
Those cans look like a finished product… but they are really just a quick sauce made from a few basic ingredients.
Thickener, seasoning, and flavor.
Once you start looking at pantry foods this way, something interesting happens.
The grocery store starts to look less like a place full of completely different foods… and more like a place selling pre-mixed ingredients.
Sometimes that convenience is useful.
But other times, you realize you could make the same thing yourself just as easily.
And often with better ingredients.
So I started experimenting.
Instead of buying certain packets and mixes, I tried making them myself using the things I already keep in my pantry.
Some worked immediately.
Some needed a little tweaking.
But a few of them turned out so simple that I honestly wondered why I had been buying them in the first place.
Taco Seasoning
The first thing I tried replacing was taco seasoning.
And once I looked up what was actually in those little packets, it was almost funny how simple it was.
Chili powder.
Cumin.
Garlic powder.
Onion powder.
Salt.
That’s basically it.
In other words, the packet isn’t really a special ingredient.
It’s just a pre-measured mix of spices.
So instead of buying the packets, I started mixing a small jar of it myself.
And something interesting happened.
The flavor was actually better.
Store-bought spice mixes can sit on shelves for months, sometimes years.
When you mix it yourself, the spices are fresher, and you can adjust it however you like.
A little more cumin.
Less salt.
Maybe some smoked paprika.
But the biggest difference wasn’t really the flavor.
It was realizing that something I thought I needed to buy… was actually something I already knew how to make.
And once I replaced taco seasoning, I started looking at other things in my pantry the same way.
Brown Sugar
Take brown sugar.
This stuff is such a pain because it always comes in a bag, which leaks air, and it gets all hard and difficult to work with if you don’t use it all up right away.
I always thought brown sugar as its own thing.
Something you have to buy.
But brown sugar is actually just white sugar mixed with molasses.
That’s it.
If you ever run out, you can make more in about thirty seconds.
A little molasses stirred into regular sugar, and suddenly… you have brown sugar again.
The first time I did that, it felt almost like a kitchen magic trick. Now I always have fresh brown sugar, because a bottle of molasses can last a long time if stored in a cool, dry place.
So that bag at the grocery store isn’t really a different ingredient at all.
It’s just the same ingredients already combined for you.
Cream of Anything Soup
Another one that surprised me was the condensed cream soup.
That little can shows up in a lot of recipes — casseroles, pot pies, slow cooker meals. I use these a LOT.
For years I just kept cans of it in the pantry because that’s what the recipe called for.
But if you stop and think about what’s actually in that soup, it’s really just a quick sauce.
A little milk.
Some flour to thicken it.
Water or broth.
And whatever flavor you want: chicken, mushroom, celery, or just herbs.
Plus, you can control the salt … and avoid a long list of stabilizers and additives.
Once you realize that, you can make the same thing in just a few minutes on the stove.
And the nice part is you can make exactly the amount you need.
One recipe might need a cup.
Another might need two.
You’re not opening a can and trying to figure out what to do with the rest.
And just like the taco seasoning, the flavor is usually better.
Because it’s fresh, and you’re starting with real ingredients.
That’s when it really clicked for me.
What I Realized
At that point I started looking around my kitchen differently at everything.
Because once you notice this pattern, you start seeing it everywhere.
Pancake mix.
Biscuit mix.
Seasoning blends.
Many of the “foods” we buy are really just shortcuts.
Convenient shortcuts, but still shortcuts.
When We Stopped Making Our Own
I grew up on all of these pre-packaged food and convenience ingredients, and I just thought they were normal.
But when I looked into it, these things became really popular in the 50s and 60s, when supermarkets became a big thing.
And I’m not here to make anyone feel guilty for taking the convenient shortcut. I love shortcuts.
Sometimes it’s exactly what we need. Like when I bought a living sourdough starter instead of taking the time to make it myself.
I think what’s most surprising is just realizing how many of those conveniences were already sitting in my pantry.
Just in separate containers.
So I really don’t have to go to the grocery store to buy something every time I run out. That’s the BIG thing here for me.
So WHY Did I Stop?
Now I know I could just stock up, so WHY did I stop buying so many of these packaged foods?
First, the flavor is better.
Spices and mixes that sit on store shelves for months tend to lose their aroma. When you mix things yourself, they’re fresher.
Second, you control what goes into them.
Less salt if you want.
No additives.
No fillers.
And third, it’s usually cheaper.
Like a packet of taco seasoning currently costs me about 80 cents to a dollar 20, depending on which one I get. But if I mix the seasonings together myself, I can get it down to 50 cents per ounce.
And those cans of soup are closer to two dollars a can these days. But with the ingredients alone, I can get it down to about 60 cents for the equivalent of a can. And the ingredients are better, too.
So it’s not life-changingly cheaper, no, but when you stop buying packets and cans over and over again, the savings do add up.
What Really Matters
The biggest change isn’t about money or ingredients.
It was about how my pantry works now.
I now feel confident that I can keep simple ingredients.
And from those ingredients, I can make almost anything.
And the recipes are simple, too. Here are the links to all three:
If a better pantry interests you, watch my video on how I finally came up with a pantry that works!
I hope this helps you, too! Let me know if it does.
Meet Jennifer
Jennifer cooks and experiments in the kitchen at Maker Farm, where she focuses on simple pantry cooking, homemade staples, and practical recipes that make everyday meals easier. Over the years she has tested many ways to make cooking simpler and more dependable, and shares the methods that work best in her own kitchen, occasionally showing them on her Heart to Home at Maker Farm vlog.
