How to stock a pantry you'll actually cook from in the new year

Before I actually started cooking for myself, I had a romantic vision of what dinner-making as an adult might look like. It’s the secret sauce to whipping up satisfying dinners without a last-minute grocery run, making meal prep feel seamless and leaning into your culinary goals for the year ahead. Early in the pandemic, when Alison Roman’s recipes, like The Stew and her caramelized shallot pasta, were riding wave after wave of virality, someone tweeted: “Has anyone made an Alison Roman shopping list so I don’t need to go recipe by recipe to get the staples?” Roman herself responded with a straightforward list: olive oil, lemons, fresh herbs, alliums, dried or canned beans and chickpeas, canned tomatoes and tomato paste, crushed red pepper flakes, anchovies, Parmesan, soy sauce, eggs, yogurt or labneh, and pickles or kimchi for snacking. Roman’s staples reflect her signature approach to cooking: bold flavors, minimal fuss and ingredients that do double or triple duty across recipes. Whether you’re whipping up a weeknight dinner, meal-prepping for busy days, or experimenting with a new cuisine, the right pantry makes it all feel attainable.