Easy Dinners When You Have No Groceries

By What's For Dinner · October 4, 2026

It's 5:30, the fridge looks empty, and ordering takeout again doesn't appeal. Most kitchens hold more dinner than it seems like. The trick is to stop hunting for a recipe and start looking for a starch, a protein, and something that adds flavor.

The three-part formula

Nearly every simple dinner is three things: a starch (rice, pasta, tortillas, potatoes, bread), a protein (eggs, beans, canned chicken or tuna, cheese, frozen meat), and a flavor (a sauce, canned tomatoes, salsa, broth, cheese, or spices). Check what you have in each group, then combine one from each.

Ten dinners from almost nothing

Quesadillas. Tortillas, cheese, and anything else you have: beans, leftover chicken, peppers.
Egg fried rice. Leftover or quick-cooked rice, scrambled eggs, frozen peas and carrots, and soy sauce.
Pasta with garlic and canned tomatoes. Warm garlic in olive oil, add canned tomatoes, simmer, and toss with pasta and cheese.
Bean and rice bowls. Canned beans, rice, salsa, and cheese, topped with whatever else is around.
Breakfast for dinner. Scrambled eggs and toast, or pancakes from a mix.
Loaded baked potatoes. Bake or microwave potatoes, then top with cheese, butter, bacon, or sour cream.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup. A classic for a reason.
Pantry soup. Broth, frozen vegetables, a handful of pasta or rice, and a can of beans, seasoned to taste.
[Chicken Enchiladas](/recipes/chicken-enchiladas). Built almost entirely from pantry staples: cream of chicken soup, sour cream, green chilies, canned chicken, corn tortillas, and cheese.
[Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup](/recipes/creamy-tomato-tortellini-soup). A base of canned tomatoes and broth, with tortellini from the fridge or freezer.

Stock a small “no groceries” pantry

A few shelf-stable and freezer items turn an empty-fridge night into a normal dinner. You don't need all of them, just enough that you can always make one of the meals above:

Rice and pasta
Canned tomatoes, canned beans, and broth
Tortillas (they keep in the freezer)
Eggs, cheese, and butter
Frozen vegetables
Onions and garlic
Olive oil, soy sauce, and a few dried spices

Make the next empty-fridge night easier

The hard part of a no-groceries night isn't the cooking, it's the thinking. Keep a short list of meals you've made from the pantry before, on paper or in What's For Dinner, so you can pick one instead of starting from nothing. If you can't decide between a few, the dinner picker will choose for you.

Let the app settle it tonight

What's For Dinner keeps your list of dinners and picks from it. Roll for tonight's meal, or let the whole household vote. Or try the dinner picker right here first.