Basic Ingredients You Need for 3-Ingredient Meals

March 7, 2022

Having these basic ingredients in your pantry will help make it easier to cook many of our 3-ingredient meals. I usually buy these in bulk at Costco or Amazon.

I like to always have them in my kitchen pantry because sometimes you never know what you’ll crave for dinner, snacks, or desserts. Below is a list of all the ingredients I used in my 3-ingredient meals. You can grab them on Amazon or at a local grocery store near you.

Also, I may earn a small fee you make a purchase from the links below. Thank you in advance as this helps me and my team run the site.

Chia Seed

Organic Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are tiny seeds packed with essential nutrients like omega-3s and fiber. When the seeds are soaked, they can take up to 12 times their weight in liquid and become gel-like. It’s one of the reasons why they are so great as a thickening agent in smoothies and puddings. 

Dry uncooked chia seeds may be sprinkled on top of other meals, morning cereals, energy bars, granola bars, and yogurt. They may also be turned into a gelatin-like material in smoothies, puddings, and cereals. 

Ground seed gel may be used instead of eggs in cakes while also delivering other nutrients and is a popular vegan and allergen-free baking replacement. Because the seed coat is thin and easily digested, whole chia seeds do not need to be ground, potentially enhancing nutritional bioavailability. Check out this delicious chia seed pudding recipe.

Cacao Powder

Organic Cacao Powder

Cacao powder is made from cacao seeds or beans from the cacao tree. This South American plant produces large pod-like fruits with multiple dozens of beans wrapped in a white sticky pulp. 

The cacao beans are what get processed to produce cacao powder and cocoa. 

Before being processed into cacao or cocoa powder, cacao beans go through a fermentation process to create taste and texture.

Cacao powder is a great way to add a chocolate flavor to any baked goods like muffins, cakes, and energy bars. They can also be added to smoothies and puddings to add a rich flavor of chocolate without adding sugar. 

What’s more, it’s a healthy alternative to sweetened cocoa powder that contains a hefty level of sugar and milk. 

Cacao powder is a great source of magnesium, selenium, and flavonoids. Flavonoids in particular have been shown to lower blood pressure, improve brain and heart blood flow, and aid in the prevention of blood clots. They may enhance insulin sensitivity, decreasing your risk of diabetes. 

Apple Cider Vinegar 

Organic apple cider vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is a fermented apple juice vinegar. 

Compared to white vinegar, apple cider vinegar has a milder taste with sweetness from apples. It’s an excellent vinegar to use in salad dressings, marinades, and pickling vegetables. 

Apple cider vinegar is prepared by smashing apples and then pressing the juice out. To begin the alcoholic fermentation process, bacteria and yeast are added to the liquid, which transforms the carbohydrates into alcohol. 

In a second fermentation stage, acetic acid-forming bacteria turn the alcohol into vinegar. 

Almond Flour

Blue Diamond almond flour

Almond flour is an excellent gluten-free alternative to all-purpose wheat flour. It can be used in baking and coating. 

It’s also a popular flour alternative on low-carb diets as almonds contain fewer carbs than wheat. 

Almond flour adds an earthy, nutty flavor and is preferred in some high-end pastries and sweets like almond macaroons and Parisian macarons.

Almond flour’s vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants may provide significant health advantages. Manganese, for example, aids in the normal clotting of blood, enabling the body to mend after an injury. Almond flour is also high in magnesium, which might help you manage your blood sugar levels more effectively. 

While almond flour is often treated as an equal substitute to all-purpose flour, proceed with caution. Unlike wheat flour, almond flour contains no gluten yet has more fat than wheat flour, which changes the moisture level in baked goods. 

If you are substituting wheat flour with almond flour, you may need more eggs to bind the flour. 

Honey

Pure raw unfiltered honey

Honey is a sweet, viscous syrup produced by bees. It is roughly as sweet as sucrose and often used as a liquid sweetener in baking and cooking. You can spread it on biscuits, toasts, and banana bread. 

You can also use it to sweeten drinks like lattes, smoothies, and tea. This nature’s best sugary liquid can be used as a substitute for maple syrup and drizzled on top of pancakes, waffles, and yogurt. 

The thick liquid form is also useful in dressings, marinades, and dips. 

Honey is a healthy alternative to sugar and can be used in a wide variety of dishes and cooking. 

Kickin Chicken Finger Lickin 

Kickin Chicken Finger Lickin

In fact, this bottle has everything you’ll need to make your chicken the greatest on the street, the town, and the city. 

It has the perfect blend of paprika, cumin, garlic, onion, and other spices that make any chicken dish finger-licking delicious. 

You can this spice blend with cooking oil to create a chicken marinade. This spice mix can also be added to flour coating to make your best-ever fried chicken. 

It can also be used as a hidden flavor enhancer to taco meat, chicken and black bean chilis, and tortilla soups.

It has just the right blend of spices to make any chicken dish a blast and a family favorite. It’s one bottle you want to keep in the pantry at all times.

Lemon Pepper

Lemon pepper

Lemon pepper is a condiment prepared from crushed black peppercorns and lemon zest. It’s refreshing, citrusy, and light without lacking flavors. 

It’s a perfect spice blend for anything seafood and veggies, but it can also be used as an all-purpose seasoning on poultry and fish. 

Avocado Oil 

Avocado Oil

Avocado oil is made from the pulp of avocados, which are the fruit of the Persea Americana tree. 

It can be used as a raw or cooked edible oil, and it’s known for having a high smoke point. 

Unlike other oils like coconut oils, it only has a subtle taste, which doesn’t take away from cooking. 

It’s our preferred cooking oil as it’s abundant in healthy monounsaturated fats and vitamin E. It also helps carotenoids and other minerals absorb better. 

Avocado oil is abundant in oleic acid, an unsaturated fat that is good for your heart. 

You can use it in cooking, baking, or marinades and dressings. 

Sesame Oil

Sesame oil

Sesame oil is a sesame seed-derived edible vegetable oil. It’s a staple in Asian cuisines and has a wide variety of uses. 

In cooking, sesame oil adds a distinct aroma and nutty taste. It’s one oil you see in many of our Japanese, Korean, and Chinese dishes. 

Sesame oil is one of the best famous cooking oils due to its hearty, nutty taste and high quantities of mono- and polyunsaturated fats. 

It has antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. 

Coconut Flour

Organic coconut flour

Coconut flour is produced from dried coconut meat. It has a moderate flavor and is often used as a gluten-free substitute to wheat flour. 

Coconut flour is by far drier and denser than other flours including almond flour and all-purpose flour. It is also more absorbent than other flour types. 

In baking, you can’t substitute all-purpose flour for coconut flour on a 1:1 ratio. Typically 1/4 cup coconut flour for 1 cup of wheat flour is suggested. 

As for health benefits, coconut flour has in abundance. 

Coconut flour is an excellent source of protein, potassium, and iron, as well as being high in fiber. Coconut flour, in addition to its outstanding nutritional profile, may provide a number of health advantages when consumed as part of a balanced diet. Improvements in blood sugar control, digestion, and heart health are among them.

All-Purpose Flour

Unbleached all purpose flour

All-purpose flour is flexible and versatile wheat flour that may be used in a variety of recipes. It’s made from hard red wheat or a combination of hard and soft wheat. 

Bread, biscuits, pizza, cookies, muffins, and other baked items may all be made using all-purpose flour. 

Soy Sauce

Kikkoman Organic Soy Sauce

Soy sauce is a Japanese condiment made from a fermented paste of soybeans. It is said to have a strong umami taste, and it’s used as a secret ingredient in some baking. 

Soy sauce may be used as a dip or a salt flavoring in cooking, and it can be put straight into meals. 

For those looking for gluten-free options, go for ‘Tamari’ soy sauce as it contains no gluten. Coconut amino is a Paleo alternative to soy sauce but much sweeter. 

Maple Syrup

Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is a syrup that is often prepared from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees. 

It’s often served with pancakes, waffles, French toast, oatmeal, and porridge. Maple syrup is a vegetarian and vegan liquid sweetener that comes with an earthy, sweet flavor. It’s also utilized as a baking component, as well as a sweetener and flavoring agent. 

If you are looking for a vegan alternative to honey, maple syrup is a great option. 

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