9 Packaged Staple Foods You Can Easily Make From Scratch

There are a plethora of staple foods to choose from at the grocery store and sometimes it seems easier to pick up a loaf of gluten-free bread or a tub of hummus rather than making them yourself. Once you get the hang of making packaged staple foods from scratch, though, you’ll have a hard time purchasing those store-bought options.

You also can’t argue with the health benefits, either. Homemade staple foods:

Taste fresher and don’t include any harmful additives or preservatives
Are less expensive than store-bought options and typically provide more servings
Can easily be frozen or made in large batches
Teach family members valuable food skills they can use throughout their lives (especially the kiddos, who can benefit from discovering how to make nutritious food and cope with picky eating)
Are fantastic for trading if you’d like to start a cooking co-operative or food exchange
Reduce your exposure to chemicals in packaging that may leech into your food, such as BPA in canned goods or plastics
Offer you a sense of accomplishment and pride for making the basics from scratch

With a little bit of prep and planning, you can begin to make these packaged staple foods at home. Here are some of our favourite things to create, along with some simple recipe inspiration to get you into the kitchen.

If you’d like to take the overwhelm out of healthy eating, consider joining us for Everyday Culinary Nutrition, an online course that helps you implement from-scratch cooking, or take your existing healthy cooking to the next level.

9 Packaged Staple Foods You Can Easily Make From Scratch

1. Gluten-Free Bread

Homemade gluten-free bread may seem intimidating, but it’s actually easier to make than glutenous, yeasty breads. There’s no kneading or waiting for the dough to rise – simply mix your gluten-free flours, spread in the pan and bake (you can grab our free guide to using and substituting gluten-free flours here). Or, if you want to make gluten-free bread even easier, bake a flatbread!

When baked with whole grain gluten-free flours, gluten-free breads are usually shorter and denser than glutenous breads, but this means you’ll only need a small slice to feel satisfied. You can also forgo the bread and try one of these gluten-free bread-like alternatives.

Recipes to Try

20 Best Gluten-Free Bread Recipes
Grain-Free Almond Bread by Meghan Telpner (*ACN Founder + Director)

2. Condiments

Guacamole, hummus, salsa, pickles, sauerkraut, tomato sauce, ketchup, mustard, and more – these are the condiments we tend to buy but they are actually some of the easiest packaged staple foods to make! Discover these amazing 12 homemade condiments you’ll never need to buy again.

Recipes to Try

3. Salad Dressing

Salads are like a little black dress and the salad dressings you drizzle on them are the accessories you play with to change things up. Homemade salad dressings are simple to blend or shake – and we’ve got a full guide to salad mixology to help you become a salad dressing pro.

Recipes to Try

4. Crackers

You don’t need to pluck crackers from a box when you can whip up a batch of them at home. If you’re not down with rolling out crackers, there are many recipes where all you need to do is spread out the mixture on a baking sheet and pop them in the oven. Easy peasy!

Recipes to Try:

22 Best Gluten-Free Cracker Recipes

5. Granola

Homemade granola is one of the most expensive packaged staple foods and it’s much more economical to make it at home. By using a range of spices, natural sweeteners, nuts, seeds and dried fruit, you can create endless variations of homemade granola and never get bored.

Recipes to Try

20 Best Grain-Free Granola Recipes
Choose Your Own Adventure Gluten-Free Granola by Sondi Bruner (*ACN Head Program Coach)
Lazy Girl’s Granola by Ashleigh Grange (*Culinary Nutrition Expert)

6. Soup

Skip the salt-filled and BPA-laden canned soup and opt for homemade soup instead. Nutritious, dairy-free soups are a breeze to cook (here are 25 recipes that prove it) and you can make them in large batches to freeze for later. Or, if you’re feeling lazy, just throw your soup ingredients into a slow cooker and come home with dinner ready to go on the table.

Recipes to Try

7. Nut or Seed Butters

This is another packaged food staple that can be supremely pricey, especially if you are choosing nut butters over seed butters. Nut or seed butters are the ultimate one-ingredient recipe – all you need is a pile of nuts (raw or roasted) and a blender or food processor. You can dress up your nut/seed butters with oil, sea salt, cinnamon, maple syrup or other spices, or keep them plain Jane. Either way, you win.

Recipes to Try

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8. Nut or Seed Milk

Boxed dairy-free nut and seed milks may be convenient, but they also tend to be packed with unhealthy oils, added sugars, and preservatives like carrageeenan, which is linked to digestive upset and inflammation. Plus, we find store-bought nut and seed milks watery and not all that flavourful. Milk your own nuts and create your own combos!

Homemade nut and seed milks don’t keep as long as store-bought, since they don’t contain preservatives. They’ll last for about 3 to 4 days in the fridge and you can shake them up if there is any separation. We like to make a large batch and freeze in containers of different sizes, from ice cube trays to a variety of mason jars. Then you can use what you need when you need it.

Recipes to Try

How to Make Nut and Seed Milk
Milk It: Dairy-Free Milk Recipes by Meghan Telpner
Toasted Cinnamon Hazelnut Milk by Sweet Lizzy (*Culinary Nutrition Expert)

9. Seasoning Mixes

Custom seasoning blends are very easy to prepare and add a ton of flavour and nutritional benefits to your food, especially those vegetables! They also make wonderful edible gifts.