How to Start Your From Scratch Kitchen in 10 Simple Steps

How to Start Your From Scratch Kitchen in 10 Simple Steps

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HOW TO AVOID ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS

Are you tired of eating takeout and ultra-processed food for most meals? Do you wish you had more energy and felt better overall? Maybe you’ve been looking for a way to feed your kids healthier meals. However, you might have no idea where to start. If you are not cooking at all or very rarely and regularly consume pre-packaged food or takeout, making three gourmet meals a day is going to be too much. I’ll let you in on a secret: Most people who cook from scratch aren’t making three gourmet meals a day. If they were, they’d probably spend their entire days in the kitchen!

In recent years, there has been a push to return to traditional ways of living, and for many, that includes making homemade meals. If you are on social media, you have probably seen videos of women donning linen dresses and aprons while milling their own flour to make sourdough. While some women are doing this, if this doesn’t appeal to you but you want to cook from scratch more, have no fear! You can make it happen.

Just like living a crunchy lifestyle is a spectrum of sorts, so is having a from scratch kitchen. You can start with baby steps or go cold turkey. Social media gets us to play comparison games, but I’m here to tell you that you should stop. If you are living in an apartment in the city, longing for the days of having a 30-acre homestead with cattle might not be in your near future. It’s ok to stop watching content that makes you discontented with your life. In this post, I’ll give you 10 simple steps to help you start your from scratch kitchen, no cattle or aprons required.

Table of Contents

Benefits of From Scratch Cooking

So, let’s begin by talking about the benefits of homemade food and from scratch cooking. What are the advantages to cooking food at home versus eating out or getting takeout meals? For one, you know exactly what is going in your food. Most recipes use whole ingredients, allowing you to purchase the exact ingredients that will be best for your family. Maybe you can’t afford organic, pasture-raised meat, but you can buy organic dry beans or canned tomatoes. The great thing is that you decide what the tradeoffs will be.

The second benefit to having a from scratch kitchen is that, because you are choosing the ingredients that go in each meal, there is a good chance those meals will be more nutritious. When you cook from scratch, you naturally use ingredients that are less processed and refined, leading to better nutrient density and lower calorie consumption. The third benefit is that it’s fun and gives you a new skill to practice! If you have never had a from scratch kitchen before or learned from scratch cooking, now is a great time to do so. I’m so excited to share these 10 simple ways to start your own from scratch kitchen.

1. Define your “from scratch” terms.

I like to think of the many facets within life as a spectrum. Life is not black and white, although we often treat it that way. If you see a content creator making every meal from scratch while harvesting their own meat and milking their own cows, you are only seeing what they want you to see. You don’t know all the work that had to go into that 30-second clip. If watching these videos makes you feel guilty that you’re not at that level, again, please feel free to unfollow. You should never feel guilty for where you are currently at. We are all on separate journeys and that’s ok!

Just because you are not growing your own wheat that then gets harvested, hand ground, and turned into flour does not mean you are unsuccessful or a loser. If you have been eating a lot of pre-packaged food and takeout and you make a homemade soup with broth from a carton, I call that a win!

I say this all to say that YOU get to define your definition of from scratch cooking. If you are brand new to cooking, making your own bone broth and milling your own flour may be a pipe dream right now. That’s totally fine. Even for someone like me who is a seasoned home cook, I haven’t yet started flour milling or pasta making, but that is soon to come! Maybe for you, from scratch means making a homemade brownie recipe instead of using a boxed mix. This is also a great way to not rely as much on packaged items in the grocery store. You can start anywhere you want to, be it baby steps or going cold turkey.

2. Gather the right tools.

Cooking can be really complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. For your from scratch kitchen, start simple with tools if you haven’t done a lot of cooking. The crunchy girl in me will tell you to stay away from nonstick pans, but if you can’t afford stainless steel or cast iron right now, don’t make that a priority. Your priority should be building up a base of useful cooking tools that won’t overwhelm you. The list of tools below is a really good place to start and are basic items every home cook should own. There are also some bonus tools as well!

Cooking utensils: Every home cook needs utensils to move foods around! I recommend these ones, this wooden set which I own, or these silicone utensils.
Sauce pot: Expect to be making plenty of recipes that fit into a sauce pot. This basic stainless steel sauce pot has lasted me three years and so has its mini me. Both are fantastic and very reasonably priced. If you want something a little more high-end, consider this non-stick set from All-Clad (crunchy approved!).
Stock pot: Stock pots will be your best friend when you make soups. Consider this option and this option.
Sauté pans: Stainless steel can be tricky to work with, so I’m providing a non-stick option as well. Try out this non-stick sauté pan as well as this set from All-Clad. Also consider this stainless steel option.
Grater: You will definitely want to grate your own cheese! I love this one that has a measuring cup attached.
Cutting board: Wood is best, in my opinion. There are so many choices, like this bamboo one.
Knife set: These are an must. They can get expensive but don’t have to be. This one is affordable and well-rated. This Cuisinart set is a little pricier but it’s a reputable brand.
Measuring spoons: Nothing fancy needed here. A simple set will do just fine.
Measuring cups: You’ll want to have liquid measuring cups as well as dry measuring cups.
Whisks: Purchasing a set of whisks is best because you’ll want different sizes for various recipes.
Silicone spatulas: I ADORE my Trudeau confetti spatulas but you can also go simple with these.
Sheet pans: Do yourself a favor and invest in Nordic ware baking sheets. They are the BEST. Get a set of their half sheet pans as well as the large size sheet pans. You will not regret it.
Tongs: In my opinion, stainless steel tongs are the best option.
Peeler: I have this peeler and this one and I highly recommend both!
Glass baking dish: This fun Pyrex set comes with lids!
Meat thermometer: This doesn’t have to be fancy, but it’s an absolute necessity when cooking meat. Make sure to purchase a digital one for the most accurate results.

Bonuses: These aren’t necessities per se, but they are well worth adding to your kitchen tools inventory.

Immersion blender: With an immersion blender, you can make dressings, sauces, and mayo in seconds. This KitchenAid one is fantastic.
Dutch oven: These have become a must-have for bread baking and soup/broth making. I recommend this 6-quart and 7-quart oven.

3. Create a budget for food.

Having a from scratch kitchen can not only be time consuming, but can also result in reckless spending if you’re not careful. To avoid this, create a food budget. This means you may have to create a household budget. While I won’t dive into that topic, I can tell you that if you plan to buy higher quality foods and ingredients, you’ll want to plan for an increase in your food budget. Due to inflation, food prices have gone up and it can be hard for some people who may not have as much money to spend on food than others do. That’s totally ok! No one is telling you how much you have to spend on food per month, but you will want to consider creating a monthly food budget if you haven’t yet. This will help you avoid overspending and will help prioritize the most important foods and ingredients for your family.

4. Stock your pantry and freezer.

The next step in creating your from scratch kitchen is to start stocking your pantry and freezer with regular items. From scratch cooking is not a diet, so you don’t need to come up with a whole list of new foods. Start with thinking about the foods you love and regularly eat as a whole, not necessarily recipes. More than likely, you will need meat, dairy, eggs, produce, and grains. This is a great place to start. For creating shopping lists, I love this pad from Knock Knock. Below, I’m giving you a list of commonly used foods and ingredients you’ll want to consider purchasing and have in stock in your kitchen. It might seem like a lot, but feel free to make it your own and slowly add things instead of buying all at once!

Meat, Eggs, & Dairy

Ground beef
Steak
Stew meat
Ground poultry
Sausage
Chicken (whole, breast, legs, etc.)
Fish and seafood
Eggs
Milk
Half & half
Heavy cream
Blocks of cheese
Yogurt
Sour cream
Cottage cheese
Butter

Produce

Potatoes (Frozen shredded hashbrowns are a must in my family!)
Fresh and frozen vegetables and fruit
Garlic
Onions
Carrots
Peppers
Tomatoes

Grains & Legumes

Canned or dried beans
Rice
Oats
Popcorn kernels
Pasta and noodles

Canned, packaged, and jarred goods

Nut butter
Avocado oil
Olive oil
Coconut oil
Lard
Beef tallow
Canned tomatoes
Canned vegetables
Vinegars
Bone broth
Soy sauce
Nuts and seeds

Baking ingredients

Flour
Sugar (Granulated and brown)
Baking chocolate
Chocolate chips
Honey
Maple syrup
Baking powder
Baking soda
Yeast
Palm oil shortening

5. Shop in bulk.

In order to have a well-stocked pantry and freezer, you should consider shopping in bulk. It’s not advantageous to do this for every item, especially for foods that expire quickly. However, especially for dry goods, meat, and frozen foods, buying in bulk is certainly worthwhile. Most health/natural food stores will keep items stocked for bulk purchasing. You can also order online with Azure Standard. If you are unfamiliar with Azure, check them out! You order online, and then pick up your items at a specified drop location. To order good quality, organic meat in bulk, consider companies like Good Ranchers, Primal Pastures, or White Oak Pastures.

6. Figure out your best place to start.

This advice for building your from scratch kitchen might seem a little generic, but here’s what I mean by it. When you move to cooking more from scratch, you need to determine where you want to start based on your skill level and interest in cooking and baking. If you are brand new to cooking and the most you’ve done is made Kraft mac n’ cheese, you won’t necessarily have the skill level as someone who has been at least making semi-homemade meals. If you are a novice at cooking, start with something easier like a basic beef vegetable soup or chicken noodle soup. If you are a little more experienced, you may want to consider adding recipes like dinner rolls or a delicious chicken broccoli casserole to your repertoire. Decide what’s going to work best for you and go from there.

7. Begin with easy recipes.

I’ll reiterate: If you are new to cooking, begin with easy recipes! Now, what I consider easy may be different from what you consider easy. My definition of easy for you as a new(ish) home cook is a recipe that doesn’t have too many ingredients (usually fewer than 10) and takes less than 45 minutes to make from start to finish. Recipes in this category typically consist of one-pot or one-pan meals like soups, stews, bakes, and casseroles. They are also going to be recipes that don’t have an extraordinary amount of steps to follow. For example, stay away from croissants if you’re new to baking! And, you may want to leave beef bourguignon to the fancy restaurants for now.

8. Build a bank of go-to recipes.

You don’t have to be a professional chef to make delicious recipes from scratch. In fact, those who work efficiently in their kitchens tend to keep things simple. This is why I recommend you have a bank of tried and true favorite recipes. They don’t have to be elaborate or even entirely from scratch! Most of my favorites have a least some store-bought ingredients like organic cornflakes or tortillas. I’ve found a lot of them on Pinterest and then printed them out so I don’t forget them. Also, it’s way more fun to cook from a printed recipe or cookbook than from a computer screen! Here are some of my personal favorite go-to recipes.

Autumn salad with maple dressing

French onion chicken

Mississippi Pot Roast

Hot honey chicken

Sesame garlic ramen noodles with beef

Broccoli rice casserole

Philly cheesesteak wraps

Fish tacos

Baked chicken parmesan

9. Turn to great resources for help.

When you are first creating your from scratch kitchen, you may need some help. Don’t feel like you have to do it alone. Enlist the help of friends or family and consider making meals together! You’ll have a good time and learn some new recipes. Also consider using books, cookbooks, and online resources. YouTube, blogs, and Pinterest are great resources. Some of my favorite food bloggers are Sally’s Baking Addiction, Spend with Pennies, Tastes Better from Scratch, RecipeTin Eats, and Ambitious Kitchen.

10. Make it fun!

Lastly, have fun! It makes me so sad when I hear others tell me they just plain don’t cook or they don’t enjoy it. I’ve been cooking for more than half my life and have found true joy in it. I want all people out there to find the same joy that I do in cooking. To make it more fun, watch fun cooking shows like The Barefoot Contessa or The Pioneer Woman. They are sweet, down-to-earth women that inspire me to make delicious food. Create some boards on Pinterest and find meals that look appealing to you, then Pin them. YouTube also offers fun videos for inspiration. Do what will inspire you to make delicious, from scratch meals. At the end of the day, when you find a recipe you think you’ll love, give it a try. It can be a bummer if something doesn’t turn out, but you’ll never know until you attempt to make it. You never know, it could be your next favorite meal!

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