Wondering what are the best no-cook foods to stock up on in case of a power outage? Here’s what’s in my stockpile so far.
Today let’s talk about stocking up and preparing our pantries to serve our families well in case of emergencies!
Prefer video? Watch my power outage stockpile video on YouTube here.
Being prepared and having at least a small stash of extra food is something that I’ve been thinking about and wanting to do better at for quite some time.
There’s really a couple reasons that I’ve been wanting to do this. First, and maybe the most obvious, is because I want to be prepared in case of an emergency. But besides that obvious reason for stocking up, I also want to do it because it saves money in the long run when you buy ahead by stocking up on sales. It just makes sense to do.
But, as much as I’ve wanted to do this I’ve honestly never been very good at buying ahead and having much of a stockpile.
Back when we first got married we were on a pretty tight budget and didn’t have much margin for buying extra, so I pretty much just bought what we needed for each week as it came.
Nowadays with five kids added to the mix I do have a larger grocery budget (thankfully) but with the way we go through food I’ve found it difficult to keep much extra around.
As much as I want to stock up, by the time I purchase our regular groceries every week there never seems to be much left in the grocery budget for extras (thanks inflation!) And even when I’ve been able to stock up a bit we always seem to fly through everything in record time and then I’m back to square one haha.
So all that to say, it’s been a struggle.
However, over the last several years we have been hit by several storms that have knocked our power out. Texas had a huge winter storm a couple years back and while we only lost power for about six hours many people across the state were out of power for days.
Then earlier this year we had a strong storm blow through our area that knocked down a ton of trees in our neighborhood and resulted in a long power outage for our area of five days or so.
That most recent storm and the extended loss of electricity made me realize yet again the need to be more prepared for power outages and emergencies like that. Thankfully we were able to drive to the store to get what we needed, but if we hadn’t been able to get to the store we would’ve had a much rougher time because I hadn’t stocked up on some of the necessities. I knew that next time I wanted to be more prepared.
So, a couple weeks ago I finally started what I’m calling my “power outage stockpile.“
I’m calling it a power outage stockpile because this is not a huge amount of food that will last us months and months. While that would be amazing, that’s not where we are right now.
My goal for now is just to have enough food on hand for a couple weeks should we find ourselves in a situation with no power and no ability to get to the grocery store.
While I think that the best way to build a stockpile is little by little as you buy extras on sale, we decided to jump start our emergency food stash by spending a couple hundred dollars right off the bat.
But first, before making my purchases I had to decide where to keep this stockpile. I’ve found that if I just add the extra items to my regular pantry they get used up right away instead of saved. And honestly, my pantry is just a small closet and really can’t hold much more than the typical things that I have in there. So I needed to find a new spot.
Pablo and I brainstormed a bit and I realized that I could move some things around and use one of the shelves in our hall linen closet. Now, this space won’t hold tons and tons of food, but it’s perfect for now.
When I shared about starting my power outage stockpile on YouTube I received a lot of helpful suggestions for places to stash away extras, including in slidable bins under the bed, on the back of a door in a hanging shoe organizer, under sinks (for storing water), and in the garage for non-food items.
Once I decided on a spot to store my stockpile, I came up with a list of no-cook foods that I wanted to stock-up on.
The nice thing about stocking up on specifically no-cook, shelf stable foods is that you won’t have any food safety concerns like you would with perishable food if you experience a loss of electricity.
I want to note that I chose to only stock up on foods that our family is actually going to eat and I encourage you to do the same when you’re stocking up. Don’t buy bags and bags of lentils if you can’t stand the things. Choose to store foods that you know you will actually eat!
Here are the no-cook foods that I’ve chosen to stock up on so far:
1. Canned meat
I started out buying tuna because that is something that we eat on a fairly regular basis. However, I would like to branch out and try canned chicken because I think that’s something that would be more palatable for some of my kids.
2. Canned beans
I stocked up on black beans and pinto beans because we use these both regularly. Dry beans are cheaper and I do purchase those regularly too, but during a power outage if you have no way of cooking you’ll want to have some canned beans on hand.
3. Peanut butter
Peanut butter is a great, quick source of protein, plus we go through it pretty quickly with five kids, so I definitely knew I wanted several big jars in my stash.
4. Oats
I decided to include oats in my stash because you technically don’t need to cook them – just soak them in liquid for a while and they’ll soften up. Minute oats would probably be the best in a no-cook situation, but I chose old fashioned oats just because, again, I’m trying to mainly stock-up on items that we use regularly.
5. Rice
Regular rice is always the cheapest option but instant rice, while pricier, is the best choice if you are unable to heat water. Room temperature water will work fine to soak and reconstitute the rice if necessary.
6. Crackers
The shelf life of crackers isn’t as long as some things like the rice and the beans, but they are a nice, easy snack to have on hand. Some peanut butter (or other nut butters) spread on crackers would make a great little meal in a pinch. You could also consider storing some shelf stable cheese like Velveeta (or possibly some kinds of hard cheeses but don’t quote me on that one. I do know that soft cheeses are a no-go.)
7. Cereal
I haven’t stocked up on any dry milk or shelf stable milk yet, but I still went ahead and added a few boxes of cereal to my stash. Honestly all my kids enjoy snacking on dry cereal so I figured it would be nice to have even if we didn’t have milk.
8. Pop-Tarts
The kids’ best memory from when we lost power during an ice storm was eating pop-tarts while gathered all together to stay warm during the cold weather haha. So I knew I needed to add a couple boxes of pop-tarts to my emergency food stash in case we ever find ourselves in a situation like that again. Granola bars would be great too if pop-tarts aren’t really your thing.
9. Applesauce
I purchased a couple big jars of applesauce for my stash. However, someone pointed out to me that in a no-power situation the little individual cups would be much more convenient because you wouldn’t have to wash dishes or try to keep leftovers cold. So I plan to stock up on some of the cups or pouches in the future.
10. Canned fruit
I purchased two different kinds of canned fruit. I normally buy fresh fruits and rarely purchase canned (and it seems a bit pricey to me) but we all love it so it will definitely get eaten, emergency or not.
11. Water
I’ve only just started stocking up on water but wanted to be sure to mention it because obviously it’s one of the most important things. FEMA recommends as a general rule that you “store at least one gallon per person, per day” and says that you should “consider storing at least a two-week supply of water” for each family member.
I started to wash and fill old milk jugs with water, but was told by multiple people that milk jugs tend to leak very quickly. So instead I’m starting to fill plastic juice containers instead.
Non-food items in my emergency stockpile:
1. Flashlights and batteries
I have two nice size flash lights and one of these cool little lights stored away in a cabinet above my fridge, along with extras of the types of batteries that they all take. I purchased some Walmart brand batteries because of the good price, but they may not be the best quality so use your best judgement when it comes to what brand to get. Honestly it’s probably worth it to spend a bit more and get better quality ones if you can.
2. Toilet paper
TP is a great thing to have extra of, just don’t go insane with this one like everyone did in 2020! You will survive without hoarding toilet paper I promise haha. I just purchased one big package of the cheap 1000 sheets TP that lasts a long time to keep in my stash.
3. Diapers
If you have kids, diapers are a great thing to make sure you have extras of. Diaper wipes and rash ointment are also important. Right now I have them on the same shelf as everything else in my stash but I’m planning to move the diapers and toilet paper out to the garage to clear up more indoor space for food.
4. Hand soap
It’s always a good idea to have some extra soap on hand. Along with hand soap, hand sanitizer is also a good idea, especially if your water isn’t working for washing hands. (Sanitizer is definitely on my list to purchase next!)
5. Food thermometer
I purchased one of these a year or two ago but I wanted to mention it here because you’ll definitely want to buy one if your fridge doesn’t already have a built in appliance thermometer. For obvious food safety reasons you’re definitely going to want to know what the temperature of your fridge and freezer are when you have an extended power outage. Food loss is a bummer, but it beats getting food poisoning for sure.
What’s on my list to buy next for my emergency stockpile:
1. Milk
My first focus is on storing water, but shelf-stable milk or powdered milk is another good thing that I’d like to have on hand. Fruit juice would be nice to have as well, but I figure we would get some of that from the canned fruit.
2. Trail mix / nuts / dried fruit
I think I’ll add some trail mix mix first and go from there. I love dried fruit but I do find it a little pricey, especially for a large family.
3. Paper plates
Paper plates aren’t a necessity but they’d definitely be nice to have on hand in the event of a loss of water (or even just a loss of electricity so you don’t have to wash dishes in the dark.)
4. Lighters and/or matches
I want to pick up a couple more lighters and a box of matches just to always have plenty on hand.
6. Extra propane for the grill
We use propane regularly because Pablo likes to grill, so it definitely won’t go to waste if we purchase some extra.
7. Stocked first aid kit
We’re always running out of Bandaids, so that’s one thing I want to be sure to have stocked. I also want to have extra ibuprofen and kids’ fever reducer on hand, as well as some sort of Neosporin. Some good multivitamins would be nice to have as well.
Final notes:
Once you have plenty of shelf stable, no-cook foods stored away, you can then focus on stocking up on a few freezer essentials. Foods like hot dogs or other pre-cooked meats are easy to pull out and cook on the grill or on a gas stove in the event of a power outage.
It’s also a good idea to have some extra bags of ice or freezer packs in your freezer so that if your power goes out you can use those things to keep some of your refrigerator foods cold in a large cooler / ice chest.
Freezers are great at keeping food good a long time even when the electricity is off, provided that you don’t keep opening and closing the freezer doors and letting out the cold air.
But with that being said, stocking your freezer is a big enough topic that I’ll leave it at that for now and maybe we’ll cover that more in another blog post. 🙂
Do you feel prepared for a potential power outage or random natural disaster? Every little bit that you do to be prepared for emergencies is better than nothing. Even if you can only stock up on $10 extra this week, do it. If you keep preparing little by little, week by week, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can build up a nice emergency stockpile. Good luck!
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