9 best store cupboard cookbooks: Get creative in the kitchen during self-isolation

Although not the latest release from food writer Claire Thomson, we feel it’s particularly useful currently. A book of two halves, she argues that with just a few fresh ingredients, if you have a well-stocked cupboard you’ll always be capable of making “something from anything”. Dishes such as the Greek roasted tomato and oregano timbale with yoghurt topping were completely new to us, however we could see how simple they’d be to make with very obtainable ingredients. Most of the recipes are designed to serve four people.

The premise behind this book is to take your hero tin (ideally the one that’s been languishing at the back of the cupboard the longest), add two or three fresh ingredients, a contrast (perhaps a lemon or fresh herbs) and finally some texture, such as toasted nuts. Each recipe comes with a wealth of ingredient substitutions, so they should be something for everyone to rustle up, no matter what you’ve got to hand. Dishes such as the three way lentil dahl or the chilled chilli tomato noodles show just how versatile and interesting store cupboard staples such as beans and lentils can be.

Living on a remote farm with a large family means it simply isn’t an option for Suzanne Mulholland, aka The Batch Lady, to constantly be popping to the shops. In comes batch-cooking, which she promises will free up more of your time, do away with waste and save you money too. However, rather than making a large volume of something and having to eat it for days on end, this book is about using similar ingredients to make very different meals. So one batch might look like moussaka, followed by lamb & feta burgers later in the week. In fact by the end of it, she reckons you’ll be able to cook 10 meals (that’s 40 portions) in just one hour, all from one shopping list. Clever aye?

As the name suggests, each of the 80 recipes in this book centre around at least one humble tin. Many of which use 10 ingredients or less, with most of them found in the store cupboard, although a lot benefit from fresh herbs if you happen to have them. None of the recipes contain any meat, although there is a chapter on fish, with sections focusing on pulses and beans, tinned tomatoes and veggies and also fruit and sweet tins for pudding. Far from being bland, recipes include a comforting flageolet bean and artichoke gratin or the warming spice from a Sri Lankan mackerel curry.

If you’re self-isolating, it’s extremely important you’re looking after yourself by eating well. Not only will the act of cooking provide much needed structure to your day, but it can also be extremely therapeutic as well as being nourishing for both mind and body. Proving that cooking for yourself can be both fun and liberating, Johansen argues that it’s the ultimate “me” time activity. Far from being worthy, this is a pragmatic guide for solo eating. She encourages us to take stock of what’s already in the cupboard, with suggestions on what we should always have on hand. “One-pan wonders” is the chapter to turn to for minimal washing up, and includes a recipe for the warm hug of a baked sweet potato with feta, herbs and tomatoes. The recipes in this book sometimes make more than one portion or can be easily scaled up, with variations provided for how to eat leftovers.

We’re probably all watching our pennies a little more than usual at the moment, however, with so little else on offer by way of entertainment or escapism, we probably don’t want to eat the same boring food each day either. Famous for rustling up meals for the paltry sum of one pound a head, this is Miguel Barclay’s fifth book in the series, with all 85 recipes being completely meat-free. As you’d expect from such a thrifty promise, recipes never have more than a handful of ingredients, however, flavours are always interesting. We were particularly impressed with how quickly the aubergine pho came together and will definitely be making the fiery and filling nasi goreng again (an Indonesian take on stir-fried rice).

This book opens up with a shocking truth – about 35-50 per cent of all food produced is wasted. If you find yourself shuddering at the thought of throwing good food away, this book will teach you how to make the most of what you have. By the end of it you’ll be looking at vegetables stalks, peels and leaves in a whole new light, and rustling up the likes of carrot top pesto, leek scrap omelette and broccoli stem slaw with gusto.

It might be tempting to rely solely on ready meals and frozen pizzas when trying to keep costs down, but rustling up a home cooked meal is the more nutritious option. With a strong reliance on the freezer to make things last longer, this book starts with a shopping list that promises to feed a family for a whopping eight weeks, which sounds particularly appealing to us all right now. Even the fussiest of eaters will enjoy starting the day with banana breakfast cookies, with simple pastas, pies, tray bakes and one pot meals making up the rest.