I make so many things from scratch — not because I’m a perfectionist (I’m definitely not), but because it’s cheaper and it gives me flexibility. When you have basic ingredients on hand, you’re never stuck.
Out of brownie mix? No problem — I have flour, sugar, butter, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Want pudding instead? That same cocoa powder and some cornstarch makes chocolate pudding. I don’t even need a box.
That’s the real benefit of cooking from scratch: you have ingredients, not products. And ingredients can become almost anything.
It’s also cheaper. And yes, I’ll admit it — I like being able to say “I made this from scratch.”
You might be surprised how easy some of these things are. Here are the ones I reach for most, with enough detail to actually get you started.
Chicken Stock
This might be the single best thing you can start making from scratch. It’s almost free, requires almost no active effort, and tastes so much better than anything in a carton.
Save your vegetable scraps — onion skins, celery ends, carrot peels, parsley stems — in a bag in the freezer. When you roast a chicken, save the carcass. Throw everything in a pot with water and simmer for an hour or two. Strain it. Freeze it in portions.
Veggie scraps plus bones plus water. Almost free, tastes amazing. And once you’ve made your own, you’ll find it hard to go back to the carton.
How I Make Homemade Chicken Broth
Cream Soups and Sauces (Once You Know Bechamel)
A basic bechamel is butter, flour, and milk. Melt the butter, whisk in the flour, cook for a minute, then slowly add cold milk while stirring. In about five minutes you have a cream sauce that becomes whatever you need.
Add chicken broth: cream of chicken soup. Add cheese: cheese sauce. Add sautéed mushrooms: cream of mushroom. This one skill replaces a whole shelf of canned condensed soups — and it tastes like something a person made.
Biscuits
Flour, baking soda, salt, milk, and butter. Cheaper and better than the Pillsbury pop-ups, and they take about fifteen minutes from start to finish. Cut in cold butter until crumbly, stir in milk, pat out and cut, bake at 450° for about ten minutes. They don’t have to be perfect. Rustic biscuits still taste like biscuits.
Croutons
Stale bread, olive oil, and seasonings. Cube the bread, toss with oil, garlic powder, a little salt, bake at 375° until golden. Better than store-bought, and it uses something that would otherwise go to waste.
Frosting
Butter and powdered sugar. That’s a basic buttercream. Beat softened butter until fluffy, add powdered sugar, a splash of milk to get the right consistency, vanilla if you have it. Add cocoa powder for chocolate. Add cream cheese for something tangier. Done in five minutes and costs a fraction of the canned kind.
Chocolate Syrup
Cocoa powder, sugar, water, vanilla, pinch of salt — no chocolate chips needed. Simmer it together until slightly thickened. Pour into a jar. Keeps in the fridge for weeks.
Spice Mixes
Pre-made spice packets are expensive for what they are — mostly spices you already have, sometimes with fillers and a lot of sodium. I buy Williams Chili Seasoning in bulk and use it as a base for taco seasoning, BBQ rubs, and more. Or just mix your own: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt. Adjust to taste, make a big batch, keep it in a jar.
Tomato Sauce and Spaghetti Sauce
Tomato sauce: cook down diced tomatoes until saucy. That’s it.
Spaghetti sauce: tomato sauce (or diced tomatoes), garlic, onion, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer twenty minutes. Add ground beef or mushrooms if you like. It takes a little longer than opening a jar, but not much.
Salad Dressing
A simple vinaigrette is three parts oil to one part vinegar, a little mustard, salt and pepper — shake it in a jar. Honey mustard is equal parts mustard and honey with a splash of vinegar. French toast instead of frozen. Honey mustard instead of bottled. Once you start, you’ll keep thinking of things.
Brownies and Pudding
Why buy boxes when you already have all the ingredients? Basic brownies: melt butter, stir in sugar and cocoa, add eggs and vanilla, stir in flour, bake at 350° for about 25 minutes. Chocolate pudding: cocoa powder, sugar, cornstarch, milk, cooked on the stovetop until thick.
Same ingredients, different results. That’s the whole point.
Whipped Cream
Real cream, whipped. Pour heavy whipping cream into a cold bowl, beat until soft peaks form, add a little sugar and vanilla. Takes three minutes and tastes nothing like the can. (Unless it’s a party — then the spray cans are easier, and that’s completely reasonable.)
I Don’t Make Everything From Scratch
Recently I quit making pie crust. My recent attempts have been embarrassing, and you need a lot of clean counter space to roll it out. So I buy the refrigerated kind and have no regrets.
The point isn’t to make everything yourself. Just pick one or two things and start there. You’ll be surprised how easy some things are — and once you know how, you’ll never feel stuck in the kitchen again.
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