Declutter your kitchen and save time with expert dietitian tips for organizing your pantry. Plus, get easy, healthy pantry recipes and smart storage hacks.
A well-organized pantry is the secret to cooking with less stress, saving time, and cutting down on food waste. In this guide, registered dietitians share their top pantry organization tips to help you build a space that works smarter, not harder. Whether your goal is to eat healthier, stick to a budget, or simply stop buying that third jar of cumin, these expert strategies will help you get there. Plus, I’ve included easy, healthy pantry recipes to make the most of what you already have on hand—so you can cook confidently, waste less, and feel more in control in the kitchen.
Cooking meals from scratch can be one of the most impactful things you can do for your health over your lifetime. But so many people report that a shortage of time is the greatest challenge to getting in the kitchen and cooking up healthy, delicious meals. One of the ways you can save time in the kitchen is to get organized! I always say that if you are organized and prepared, you can get a healthy meal on the table in the time it would take you to order and pick up takeout (or do Uber Eats!). Yes, that’s right! One key to getting organized is to make your pantry a lean, mean, fighting machine! It should be organized, well stocked, and filled with all of the things you need to turn out healthful meals, lickety-split. With that in mind, I asked some of the top registered dietitian nutritionists for their best tips on organizing your pantry this year. I’m hoping these fabulous tips guide you to healthful eating all year long! Check out my eco friendly kitchen list, and get my FREE plant-based pantry guide here!
Eat and Live Well,
Sharon
Top 8 Nutritionist Tips for Organizing Your Pantry
1. Use Up While Organizing
Start off with a good pantry clean out, which can save you money as you use up forgotten items. “My absolute favorite way to clean out the pantry is to turn it into a money-saving meal planning opportunity! Take stock of everything available, and make a week or more worth of meals inspired by using up stored goods. This saves money, keeps food from going bad, and inspires creativity in the kitchen,” says Kelsey Lorencz RDN of Simply Nourished Home.
2. Restock by Category, Oldest Date First
As you do your pantry clean out, it’s a great time to reorganize and put older items up front. “Take everything out of the cupboards for starters. Clean the shelves before putting stuff back. Organize things in a way that works for you: all canned goods together, nut butters together, cereal, etc. You can even consider doing it alphabetically. Always keep some healthy choices front and center,” says Lisa Young, PhD, RDN.
“Be aware that the dates on packaged foods, not fresh, perishable foods, deal with a food’s quality, and not its safety. When you restock shelves, organize foods in categories. For example, group all canned products in one place and by type. Check the dates on foods and put the oldest in the back,” says Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD of Better is the New Perfect.
3. Invest in Pantry Storage
As you do your pantry cleanup, consider investing in some handy organizational tools, such as see through storage containers. “It’s easier to quickly check availability of ingredients as you’re making your grocery list. Also, you’ll be able to clearly see what’s available for snacking when you wander into the pantry with the munchies. All my crackers and dried fruit and vegetables are transferred from boxes or bags to jars when I get home from the store. Nothing gets lost or forgotten,” says Kristine Duncan, RDN, CDE of Veg Girl RD.
With so much knowledge on the damaging impacts of plastics, both for human health and the environment, it’s a good idea to get rid of plastic storage containers in lieu of glass jars, such as Mason or Weck Jars. “Focus on getting plastic out of your kitchen, which can impact your health and fertility and future generations,” says Judy Simon MS, RDN, CD, CHES, FAND of Mind-Body-Nutrition.
You may want to consider bins or baskets to gather certain items, such as snack foods, grains, or cereals. “I like to reorganize using basic bins, so you can pull foods out of the pantry easily. Group them by type, most used, or whatever makes sense for your family,” says Niki Morgan, RD of New Frontier Nutrition.
4. Organize Your Spices!
If there is one pantry category that can use more attention, it’s you dried herbs and spices! “Dried herb and spice bottles can get pretty unruly. To organize them, try a three-tiered, expandable, adjustable pantry organizer and arrange your spice and herb bottles in alphabetical order. Getting organized means your spices and herbs will always be at the ready and that you’ll be able to keep track of what you have and won’t buy spices and herbs that you already have,” says Liz Weiss MS, RD of Liz’s Healthy Table.
You can also try alternative methods of organizing spices. “I suggest you organize spices by the types of dishes you use them in. For example, Italian, Indian, warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves; and Mexican. Then you can easily pull out a collection of what you need for cooking dishes without spending a lot of time searching,” says Melissa Altman-Traub MS, RD, LDN of Melissa’s Food.
5. Try a “No Buy” Menu
6. Record the Date
7. Keep Less Healthful Foods in Hard to Reach Places
8. Hang a Pantry List
Top 10 Pantry Recipes
Discover these great recipes to use up your pantry staples here.
Mediterranean Potato Bean Olive Salad
Vegan Seafood Salad with Hearts of Palm and Chickpeas
Blueberry Lavender Granola
Smoky Chipotle Tomato Rice
Lima Bean Salad with Sumac Spice
Curried Oat White Bean Veggie Burgers
Rosemary Whole Grain Seed Crackers
Vegan Lentil Kaftas
Provencal Bean Salad
Vegan Bolognese With Lentils and Walnuts
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