Cooking From Scratch and Building an Ingredient Household
When your kitchen is stocked with real ingredients, cooking becomes less about scrambling and more about nourishing. Do you long for meals that feel homemade, comforting, and doable on even the busiest days?
There’s something deeply comforting about walking into your kitchen and knowing you can make a meal—without running to the store, without relying on a pre-packaged mix, and without scrolling recipes for hours. Just simple, nourishing food made from ingredients you already have.
That’s what I mean when I say ingredient household. It’s a home where your pantry, fridge, and freezer are stocked with the basics—grains, beans, flour, spices, produce—so you can cook nearly anything with a little creativity and a skillet on the stove.
I became a mom really young – I was just 15 years old when my son was born. I didn’t have a lot of homemaking skills at that time but I was determined to learn. This was back in the 1990s and one of the ways I learned to cook was by watching television. The Food Network didn’t exist I don’t think, but I had the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, and PBS. Each of these channels had shows that taught folks how to decorate their homes and also taught you how to cook. Of course, I also frequented the library a lot and books were a great resource. And beyond that, I was blessed to have a mom and my kids’ great grandmother, Mrs. Jackson, who spent a lot of time teaching me how to care for my home and cook for my family.
I’ve talked about Mrs. Jackson (Granny) before, but she really did invest so much time instructing me. I lived with her for a few months after James was born and she would call me into the room where she was working and teach me. And so with a lot of practice, I learned to cook from scratch.
For me, cooking from scratch isn’t about perfection or gourmet meals. It’s about preparing food that nourishes your family and stretches your budget. But even more than that, homemade, from scratch food becomes a part of the legacy and traditions of your family. It works it’s way into core memories of your home and it becomes the food your children grow up, leave home, and call you for instructions on how to make each recipe when the craving hits.
What Is an Ingredient Household?
An ingredient household is a home where:
- You keep staple ingredients on hand instead of pre-packaged or ready-made meals.
- Meals are built from whole foods—like vegetables, grains, legumes, dairy, and clean meats.
- You rely on basic, versatile items you can use in multiple ways.
Instead of buying:
- Instant mashed potatoes → you keep a basket of real potatoes.
- Boxed mac and cheese → you keep pasta, cheese, butter, milk.
- Canned soup → you keep broth, onions, carrots, celery, garlic. (okay I still use cream soups sometimes haha)
It’s not about cutting corners or convenience—it’s about focusing on real food in your kitchen so that you can nourish your family well. An added benefit is that you’ll save money on groceries in the process.
Cooking from scratch is the way our grandmothers cooked and it has a lot of benefits:
- Save money. Ingredients stretch further and can be repurposed for multiple meals.
- Reduce waste. You use what you have instead of collecting half-used boxes and freezer meals.
- Feel more prepared. When your pantry stays stocked, last-minute meals are easy.
- Nourish our families. Whole foods are almost always healthier and more satisfying.
- Create rhythm. Cooking slows us down, draws us into the moment, and reminds us of our home’s heartbeat.
As a homemaker, feeding my family has been one of my greatest joys. I love cooking food my family loves and now that my children are grown, sharing familiar favorites with them or taking requests for food when they visit is all the more special. Cooking for your family is part of the ministry of homemaking. It’s ministry in action—quiet, everyday work that tells the people you love: “You matter. You belong here. I’m glad you’re here.“
related: Old Fashioned Homemaking Routines
How to Start Transitioning to an Ingredient Household
If you aren’t used to cooking from scratch or you’re just getting started, just remember it can take time to learn new recipes and build your pantry. You don’t have to overhaul your kitchen overnight. Just start where you are. It’s definitely worth the effort!
Step 1: Take Inventory
Look at what you already have. What do you use most? What sits untouched?
Step 2: Pick One or Two Meals to Start With
Choose dinner, breakfast, or even baking something simple once a week. Focus on that meal and practice making it from scratch.
Step 3: Build a List of Core Staples
Choose staples you’ll use often. A simple starter list might include:
- Potatoes, onions, garlic
- Carrots and celery
- Rice, oats, pasta
- Beans (canned or dried)
- Flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda
- Eggs, butter, cheese, milk
- Broth or bouillon
- Olive oil
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika
These basics can become soups, casseroles, stir-fries, stews, biscuits, breakfast bowls—and more.
Step 4: Learn a Few Basic Recipes
You don’t need a cookbook library. If you have friend or a mom you can ask for recipe recommendations, do that. If not, Pinterest can help. Just be sure to look for basic simple recipes that don’t have a long list of ingredients.
Start with:
- A simple soup
- Homemade bread or biscuits
- A skillet meal (rice or pasta with vegetables + protein)
- A basic sauce (like white sauce or tomato sauce)
Once you know how to cook, you’ll never run out of meals again.
Step 5: Let It Be Imperfect
Every homemaker learns over time. No one starts out knowing how to do everything. Your kitchen is allowed to be a place of learning. There will never be a time in your homemaking career when there will be nothing new you can learn. Homemaking is an adventure!
If you burn a recipe, or something doesn’t go right, that’s okay. It happens to all of us from time to time. Think about what happened and why and how you can improve the recipe next time. Some recipes take practice and that’s okay. Just be sure to pay attention, don’t walk away from the food you’re cooking without setting a timer, and if you aren’t sure about a cooking technique, talk to a friend or watch a YouTube video.
Cooking from scratch and having an ingredient household means your pantry is filled the staple ingredients you need to make basically any food or recipe you feel like eating. I love being able to walk into my pantry and pull the ingredients for any recipe or food I might be craving. When you have an ingredient household, your food options are endless.
What’s your experience with this? What are your favorite from scratch recipes? I’d love to hear in the comments below!
