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What to Do With All That Random Stuff in Your Pantry: Spring Reset Edition
How to use everything up, the truth about expiration dates, the only restock list you actually need, and NEW beautiful ingredient images in Pepper!
Saanya Ali
March 05, 2026
Last weekend I found a can of coconut milk from 2020 in the back of my pantry...
It was behind a bag of quinoa that I swore I was going to meal prep with, so I bought the big Costco Family Size (spoiler alert: “family” …not a big fan of quinoa anything).
The ancient discovery forced me to actually asses what lives in The Deep Beyond. I felt like an archeologist wiping the dust off of bags of novelty pasta that came in a gift basket from who knows when, a spice with no label on it, and a sauce jar filled with (probably) flour from when Pinterest told me that it was more aesthetic to decant all of my dried goods into not the bags they came in...it might have been powdered sugar, but I wasn’t brave enough to check.
This week, we're breaking it once and for all. We're cleaning out the pantry, using up all the random bits and bobs before they go to waste, getting honest about expiration dates (spoiler: most of them are lying to you), and restocking with intention so you actually know what you have and use what you buy.
Face the chaos. Turn it into dinner.
…or at the very least, be my accountability buddy while I try to.
The Great Expiration Date Myth
Before we start cooking, we need to do some debunking, because so often expiration dates feel like they are personally pointing and laughing, mocking me for not being the person that I thought I was when I was grocery shopping three years ago.
There is no federal law requiring expiration dates on food (except for infant formula). The dates on your cans and boxes are set by the manufacturers, and they're almost always about quality, not safety.
"Best By" or "Best Before"
This is the manufacturer's estimate of when the product is at peak flavor and texture. It does not mean the food is unsafe after this date. Your pasta is going to be justtt fine.
"Use By"
This is the last date the manufacturer recommends for peak quality. Still not a safety date for most shelf-stable items. Canned goods, dried pasta, rice, and most pantry staples are fine well past this date.
"Sell By"
This one isn't even for you. It tells the store when to rotate stock. Ignore it entirely for pantry items.
The USDA estimates that Americans throw away about 30-40% of their food supply. A huge chunk of that is perfectly good food that people toss because of a date on a label that doesn't mean what they think it means.
The Real Shelf Life of Common Pantry Items:
Canned goods (tomatoes, beans, coconut milk, broth): 2-5 years past the date, as long as the can isn't dented, bulging, or rusting
Dried pasta: 1-2 years past the date. It's already dry. It's not going anywhere.
Rice (white): Basically forever. White rice has been found in edible condition in storage for 30+ years. Brown rice has oils that go rancid faster, so use that within 6 months of the date.
Dried beans and lentils: 2-3 years past the date. They might take longer to cook as they age, but they're still perfectly safe and nutritious.
Spices: They don't go bad, they just lose potency. Ground spices are good for 2-3 years. Whole spices last 3-4 years. If you can't smell it when you open the jar, it's time to replace it.
Flour: 6-8 months in the pantry, up to a year in the freezer. Whole wheat flour goes rancid faster than white (the oils again).
Oils: 1-2 years unopened. Once opened, most oils are good for 3-6 months. Give it a sniff. If it smells like crayons or paint, it's rancid. Toss it.
Honey: Literally never expires. Archaeologists found 3,000-year-old honey in Egyptian tombs that was still edible. If it crystallizes, microwave it for 30 seconds.
The real test for most pantry items: look at it, smell it, and use common sense. If it looks normal, smells normal, and the packaging isn't compromised, it's almost certainly fine.
What’s cooking on Pepper this week? 🌶️
With the world feeling rather un-whimsical as of late, Pepper’s newest ingredient icons in recipes are bringing some fun to my daily scroll! I love the “measure with your heart” emojis. They feel so Modern Grandma!
Tag yourself: I’m grated parm 🧀
5 Recipes That Use Up the Random Stuff in Your Pantry
Now that we've established that half the stuff you were about to throw out is actually still good, let's cook with it.
1. Fridge Clean-Out Chili
This is the ultimate "whatever you've got" recipe. Chili is forgiving to its core. It doesn't care if you use three kinds of beans because you have partial cans of each. It doesn't care if your ground beef has been in the freezer for two months. It welcomes all pantry orphans with open arms.
The Formula:
Protein: ground beef, ground turkey, or skip it entirely and go all-bean
Beans: whatever you have. Kidney, black, pinto, cannellini, chickpeas. Use canned (drained and rinsed) or dried (soaked overnight)
Canned tomatoes: diced, crushed, whole, or even tomato paste mixed with water
Vegetables: that sad bell pepper, the half onion, frozen corn, wilting celery, a carrot that's seen better days. Dice everything small and it all disappears into the chili.
Seasoning: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper. If you have a taco seasoning packet, that works too.
Liquid: broth, beer, water, whatever you have on hand to thin it out
Brown the meat, dump everything else in, simmer for 30 on the stove or 6 hours in the slow cooker. Top with cheese, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips. This makes a massive batch and freezes perfectly for up to 3 months.
Here's a base chili recipe on Pepper that you can riff on!
2. Pantry Clean-Out Granola
Every kitchen has a graveyard of half-used bags. This is where they all find new purpose.
The Formula:
Base: 3 cups old-fashioned oats (not instant)
Nuts/seeds: 1 cup total of whatever you have. Almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews.
Sweet stuff: 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup (or a mix of both)
Fat: 1/4 cup oil or melted coconut oil or melted butter
Flavor: cinnamon, vanilla extract, a pinch of salt
Mix-ins: dried cranberries, raisins, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, dried apricots
Mix the oats, nuts, and spices. Combine the wet ingredients separately, pour over the dry, and stir until everything is coated. Spread on a sheet pan lined with parchment. Bake at 325 F for 25-30 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Let it cool completely on the pan (this is how it gets clumpy, which is the whole point). Add the dried fruit and chocolate chips after it cools.
Search "granola" on Pepper for more variations!
3. "Everything" Fried Rice
Fried rice is the patron saint of leftover cooking. It was literally invented to use up yesterday's rice, and it accepts almost any vegetable, protein, or sauce you throw at it.
What goes in:
Leftover rice (day-old is best because it's drier and fries better instead of turning mushy)
Eggs
Whatever vegetables are in the fridge: frozen peas, corn, diced carrots, that bell pepper, leftover broccoli, mushrooms, green onions
Protein: leftover chicken, shrimp, tofu, or just…extra eggs
Soy sauce + sesame oil + garlic.
Hot pan (high heat, this is important). Oil in. Scramble the eggs first and set them aside. Cook the vegetables and protein. Add the rice, press it flat against the pan so it gets crispy bits. Add soy sauce and sesame oil. Toss the eggs back in. Done in 15 minutes.
Here's an easy fried rice recipe on Pepper to follow!
4. Pantry Pasta
You have pasta. You have olive oil. You probably have garlic. That's dinner.
Level it up with pantry additions:
Canned tuna or sardines: toss with the pasta, add lemon juice if you have it, and capers or olives if you have them.
Canned chickpeas: drain, toss them in the pan with the garlic to get them a little crispy, then add the pasta. Protein and crunch!
Jarred pesto: skip the garlic and oil entirely, just toss the pasta with pesto and parmesan. Add cherry tomatoes if you have them.
That random jar of olives or roasted red peppers: chop them up and throw them in. Now it’s…Mediterranean pantry pasta.
Important: As per always, save some pasta water before you drain. It's starchy and acts as a free sauce thickener. Add a splash when you're tossing everything together and it turns olive oil into a silky sauce that clings to the noodles instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
Check out Pepper's garlic parmesan pasta recipe for inspo!
5. Stone Soup for the Soul
I always think about the Stone Soup books and the old fairytale where all the villagers contributed one ingredient to a pot of rocks and water and it became a feast whenever I make this.
The Formula:
Aromatic base: onion, garlic, celery, carrots. Saute in olive oil or butter for 5 minutes.
Vegetables: literally whatever you have. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini, green beans, corn, spinach, kale, frozen mixed vegetables. Cut everything roughly the same size so it cooks evenly.
Protein: canned beans, lentils, shredded rotisserie chicken, frozen meatballs, a diced sausage link.
Liquid: broth or water + bouillon cubes.
Canned tomatoes: optional, but they add body and acidity.
Seasoning: Italian seasoning, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and a splash of acid at the end (lemon juice, vinegar, or a spoonful of tomato paste)
Simmer for 30 minutes on the stove or dump it all in the slow cooker for 6 hours. This is the kind of soup that gets better the next day as the flavors meld together. It freezes for up to 3 months.
Pro tip: If you want it creamy, blend half of it with an immersion blender and stir it back in. You get a thick, rich base with chunky bits.
Here's a Pepper recipe to get you started!
The Pantry Restock: 45 Things You Actually Need
Now that your pantry is clean and your fridge is empty, it’s time to restock with the stuff you actually need to have on hand.
OILS & VINEGARS
CANNED & JARRED GOODS
GRAINS & PASTA
Brown rice or quinoa
SPICES & SEASONINGS
BAKING BASICS
FRIDGE & FREEZER STAPLES
Butter
Eggs
Parmesan
Lemons or lemon juice
Frozen vegetables
Frozen fruit
Xx,
Saanya