I make batches of seitan to throw into meals, sometimes I’ll make ‘steak style’ that goes with stirfry and noodles, or sausage styles that’s for spaghetti or other red sauce based dishes. It’s easy to make and stores well in the fridge too.
Also tofu, of course. Easy to make white sauces using the silken kind and can just mix up in a basic blender.
Variety of rices. I prefer black rice and wild rice. I used to think I didn’t like rice becuz all I was exposed to was basic long grain white, but then I found wild rice and recently black rice, and what a game changer. If I’m making sushi or a ‘red beans & rice’ I’ll use jasmine, which is the only good white rice to me lol
Beans. Black beans for tacos & bowls, pintos for soups, kidney for chilis and kidney bean salad, and chickpeas for falafel and what-have-you. I don’t like white beans or lima.
Canned/frozen fruit. Fresh doesn’t last and attracts pests. Can toss frozen into a smoothie, pancakes, oatmeal, or mix some frozen raspberries with plain vegan yogurt for a nice little ‘wet snack’. Canned fruit I buy the most is pineapple and mango. I like tossing some pineapple into certain stirfry or red sauce things like lasagna for a tropical twist. Fresh lemons always tho, I’m obsessed with lemons and use them in my tea and water, grated for certain dishes.
Lemon juice becuz I love it lol
Frozen vegetables—spinach chopped & okra, primarily. I don’t really like broccoli but it goes well with some stirfry I make so I’ll use it every now and then. Frozen peas for soups and stews.
Flours—basic white flour for dumplings, the old style drop dumplings using oat milk, or for making pizza dough, or flouring things like eggplant, and occasionally I’ll have a small bag of specialty flours like tapioca or chickpea. Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer is handy too.
Cheapass margarine that doesn’t have any animal milk, a big tub of that and if I find it on sale or crave it muchly, then miyokos oat milk butter.
Oils & vinegars. Olive oils for flavour and sunflower/olive mix in a big jug for frying. Apple cider vinegar with the mother for lots of things like dressings and adding tangy to sauces and things, balsamic for red sauces and dressings, white for multi-purpose uses.
Lapsang souchong loose leaf tea, becuz smokey is also one of my top flavour profiles that I love.
Canned tomato sauce, cheaper than using full tomatoes for a sauce base and easily customisable, especially for bbq sauces.
These are my basic restocks aside from things like tofurkey slices and plant cheese slices, spring mix and romain lettuce, and spices.