11 Must-Have Pantry Items If You Have Kids In The House

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When you have kids, providing them with enough healthy yet desirable food options is a must. Yet stocking your pantry with popular dried goods and snacks can be a weekly ordeal. With so many food options available, you may overcomplicate what you buy at the grocery store. Fortunately, you can keep your pantry well-stocked by choosing foods that adequately represent all the major food groups (besides dairy), incorporating fruits, vegetables, protein, and grains. Stocking your pantry with a few convenience items, plus one or two favored snacks, never hurts anyone.

More importantly, once you're aware of the items you should never store in your pantry, like fresh bread and nuts, you can better focus on stocking your pantry's shelves with foods that are safer, popular, and versatile for your kids' consumption. Start by having a solid organizational system in place so you can group similar foods together. Also, you may want to purchase a few baskets or clear bins to help keep certain foods well-identified and easier for your kids to grab.

While it's certainly easy to fall into the habit of buying every expensive snack and convenience food your kids want, sticking to versatile basics and more reliable foods they enjoy helps keep your budget in check. Here are 10 kid-friendly foods you should have stocked in your pantry at all times.

Oats are one of the most economical foods kids can enjoy in a multitude of ways. From a nutritional standpoint, they're full of fiber and carry a decent amount of protein per serving. Better yet, you can stock your pantry with different varieties like quick oats to make oatmeal on busy mornings or rolled oats to make muffins, granola, or bread. You can also incorporate oats into your kids' morning smoothies for a decent source of whole-grain goodness.

Canned beans are another cost-effective food that takes little time to prepare. Since they're pre-cooked, all you need to do is rinse and enjoy. These self-stable foods are also a good source of protein, so you can add them to a variety of kid-friendly dishes and snacks. Not to mention, if you're looking for more ways to serve one family dinner when you have a picky eater in the house, building your kid's plate with a small portion of these staple foods is a solid way to get them to consume a simple, fiber-rich protein with ease.

Peanut, cashew, and walnut butter (to name a few) are convenient spreads your kids can pair with other reliable food staples to create nourishing, satiating snacks. Your kids can easily enjoy apples dipped in peanut butter, a nut butter and jam sandwich, or a spoonful of nut butter in a bowl of vanilla-flavored yogurt. Keep in mind, if your kids are allergic to nuts or if the school they attend has a nut-free policy, simply stock your pantry with allergy-free alternatives like sunflower seed butter, soy butter, or pumpkin seed butter.

Since most kids love pasta, stocking your pantry with a few different varieties is always a good idea. Once cooked, noodles are easy to pair with basic proteins and vegetables for simplified dinners. You can also use cooked pasta to make a colorful pasta salad for lunch. Include a few of your kids' favorite varieties of shelf-stable pasta, like vacuum-packed cheese tortellini and boxes of macaroni and cheese. These pre-packaged foods serve as more occasional, all-in-one meals you know your kids will love. 

Canned tuna and chicken are both shelf-stable proteins that are easy to pair with your kids' favorite condiments, fruits, and vegetables to make a delicious sandwich filling or salad. These convenient proteins can also be mixed with a variety of grains for simple last-minute meals. Protein aside, canned tuna also houses a decent amount of omega-3 fatty acids, which promote brain health and immunity. Besides canned tuna, canned salmon, mackerel, and sardines are tasty, worthwhile alternatives.

Thanks to handy, on-the-go pouches, your kids no longer need a spoon to enjoy applesauce. What's more, fruit sauce pouches are easy to store and grab from your food pantry, providing your kids with a quick boost of carbs for an easy morning or afternoon snack. There are also other varieties of fruit sauce pouches you can buy besides regular applesauce. For instance, the GoGo SqueeZ Jurassic Fruit & Veggie Applesauce Pouches are infused with a wide variety of fruits and vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, berries, and pears.

Tortillas are a top-notch kid-friendly pantry item because they can be transformed into a variety of different meals and snacks with ease. Also, flour tortillas have a mild flavor, so you can pair them with both sweet and savory ingredients. Your kids can use these versatile foods to make breakfast tacos or simple cheese quesadillas in the microwave. Tortillas are also a worthwhile ingredient to make your kids' school lunches more interesting. Pair cut tortillas with tomato sauce and shredded cheese for makeshift pizza bites. Or make sweet-tasting pinwheels with cream cheese, chopped fruit, and cinnamon-sugar.

Rice is budget-friendly and easy on the palate. This simple grain is also easy to digest and usually picky-eater approved. Your kids can enjoy steamed rice all on its own, or you can use this versatile grain to bulk up simple family recipes. That said, white rice is usually the variety kids prefer. Yet, feel free to stock your pantry with brown or wild rice for more variety. While white rice has the husk, bran, and germ removed from each grain, brown and wild rice are whole grains and contain more protein and fiber per serving.

Dried fruit is a solid snack your kids can eat solo or pair with nuts, cereal, and pretzels to make homemade trail mix. You can also add dried fruit to everyday meals and recipes like yogurt bowls, muffins, and granola. These sweet and chewy foods include fruits like apples, dates, cranberries, and apricots. You should also consider stocking your pantry with freeze-dried fruit as well. Since the process of freeze-drying removes moisture, freeze-dried fruit has a crisp, airy texture that many kids enjoy.

When you want your kids to have a snack that fuels them with energy, whole-grain crackers are a win. They have a snappy texture and are available in many different varieties. Stock your pantry with a classic, lightly-salted option or choose specially seasoned whole-grain crackers like Triscuit Rosemary & Olive Oil Crackers or Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers Baked with Whole Grain. Kids can enjoy whole-grain crackers with many different spreads like peanut butter or hummus. They can also pair these versatile foods with sliced cheese and deli meat for a simple lunch.

Pre-packaged food bars come in many varieties and prove to be a worthwhile snack for kids. Since there are so many options to choose from, be selective and stock your pantry with varieties that contain sufficient amounts of protein and fiber. Also, aim to keep added sugars to a minimum. Solid options worth considering include Zbar Protein Chocolate Chip Flavor Snack Bars or Skout Organic French Toast Frenzy Kids Snack Bars. Skout bars have no added sugars and contain decent amounts of both protein and fiber.