With blooming flowers and more sunshine comes spring cleaning! To get your home ready for picnics and grilling season, treat yourself to a DIY pantry refresh with flavor-packed products your whole family will love. (Of course, you can also give your pantry a glow-up any time of year.)
Freshen your fridge and clean up your cabinets using our kitchen pantry makeover ideas to swap in premium condiments, spruced-up sauces, and real-food favorites. Pro Tip: Pay it forward and donate any unused, unexpired goods to your local food bank! Find one near you here.
Pantry Makeover 101: The Must-Haves
Ready to make every meal a masterpiece? If you want to freshen up your pantry without making a lot of changes, start with these four essentials.
Avocado Oil
The secret to baking, grilling, sautéing, dressing and more? A high-heat cooking oil. Our Pure Avocado Oil contains monounsaturated "good fats" and is a perfect light-tasting oil on its own or as a valuable addition to cooking and baking.
Mayo
Try Mayo made with avocado oil for all the flavor and creamy texture of this beloved condiment without the cane sugar, corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners. This mayo is a creamy base for a treasure trove of recipes from potato salad to mayo chocolate cake. (Yes, seriously! It helps keep cake moist.) You can also use mayo as a spread for crackers or a cozy dip.
Ranch
Even the pickiest of eaters can’t resist the versatility of ranch, but many store-bought dressings are made with corn syrup and industrial seed oils. Replace your old standby dressing with a real-food alternative like our creamy, classic, no-seed-oil Ranch or Caesar Dressing so you can drizzle and dunk without regret.
Balsamic Vinaigrette & Marinade
Traditional marinades and dressings can be overloaded with sneaky sugars and other unwelcome ingredients. Make over your marinade with this simple Balsamic Vinaigrette for a tangy-sweet flavor that braises and glazes meats and adds punch to salads.
Want to stock up in one shot? Purchase the Primal Kitchen Pantry Kit to load up on all the essentials.
10 Easy Swaps: This for That
If you're trying to eat a little better (or even striving for an eating plan like keto, Paleo, or Primal), swapping out a few of the less desirable options is one of the easiest things you can do. Spring cleaning your pantry with swaps isn’t about deprivation — it’s about fueling your body with ingredients you feel good about and enjoy eating.
Skip: Canola Oil
Swap: Avocado Oil
This simple switcheroo forgoes industrial oils in favor of neutral, high-heat-ready avocado oil. Use the spray to prep pans and stick with bottled avocado oil for baking, grilling, sautéing, and much, much more!
Skip: Salty Snacks
Swap: Nuts & Seeds
Stock up on seeds and nuts for snacks and crunchy salad toppings. If you're avoiding industrial oils, look for dry-roasted options or reach for raw nuts and seeds.
Skip: Sugary Sweets
Swap: Tasty Treats
Have a sweet tooth? No problem. Swapping out refined sugars and corn syrup doesn’t mean skipping dessert. Satisfy your sweet tooth with cacao nibs, fruit, or decadent desserts made with our Collagen Fuel in Chocolate Coconut or Vanilla Coconut. (Check out these recipes.) You can also mix Whey Protein into yogurt and oatmeal or add a scoop to a smoothie for rich flavor and 10g of protein per serving.
Skip: Conventional Condiments
Swap: Primal Condiments
Savor the flavor of condiments made with real ingredients you can trust. Unsweetened and Organic Ketchup, Spicy Ketchup, BBQ Sauce, Golden BBQ Sauce, and Organic Spicy Brown Mustard are pantry standbys that don’t need tons of added sugar or corn syrup to be sweet, savory, and full of flavor.
Skip: Dressings with Seed Oils
Swap: Avocado Oil Dressing & Marinade
Don’t spoil a salad with seed oils. Marinate, dress, dip, and dunk with delicious avocado oil dressings. From Greek and Italian to Caesar, Green Goddess and Ranch, our no-seed-oil dressing varieties add real flavor without soy or canola oils. These delectable dressings also double as marinades for meat and veggies, so stock up and get creative.
Skip: Standard Tomato Sauces
Swap: Organic Pasta Sauces
Robust tomato sauces are a versatile, crowd-pleasing must for every pantry. Made with California-grown tomatoes and other premium organic ingredients, this Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce and its Roasted Garlic cousin let you recreate the farm-fresh flavor of your favorite Tuscan dishes at home. They're not just for pasta, either. Pour over veggies, chicken, or salmon for an easy skillet meal.
Skip: Old-School Steak Sauce
Swap: Organic Steak Sauce
Your average steakhouse sauce can’t compete with the organic ingredients and tangy, slightly smoky flavor of our Steak Sauce. It's an absolute necessity if you're trying a carnivore diet, which focuses solely on animal products for every meal — sometimes eliminating vegetables, fruits, dairy, and other food groups.
If that sounds too restrictive for your tastes, but you’re transitioning into a meat-centered lifestyle, you might be “carniflex.” Get more information about carnivore and carniflex eating plans here.
Skip: Bulk-Buy Cooking Oils
Swap: Organic EVOO & Italian Balsamic Vinegar
We love the pure, neutral flavor of avocado oil for cooking, but Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the go-to when you want a bolder flavor. Organic Balsamic Vinegar of Modena possesses a more complex, sweeter taste than basic cooking vinegar. Use it to glaze vegetables and salmon, drizzle bread and gluten-free pasta with EVOO, or try a blend of both on salads.
Skip: Too-Sweet Tea Lattes
Swap: Collagen Tea Lattes
Ditch your daily trip to the coffee house, save cash, and keep mornings simple (and support your hair, skin, and nails) by whipping up a collagen latte in Matcha or Chai Tea. On a keto diet? These lattes are a lifesaver. Get insights on keto and Mark Sisson's Keto Reset in our guide to keto.
Skip: Ho-Hum Holiday Sauces
Swap: Flavorful Sauces Made with Avocado Oil
Sauce without the added sugar? Now that’s a sweet swap. Try Primal Kitchen Cocktail, Tartar, and Buffalo sauces for updates on party platter favorites. Primal Kitchen’s Unsweetened & Organic BBQ Sauces, No-Soy Teriyaki, and Island Teriyaki bring big, bold flavor to grilled meats, portobello mushrooms, and all your summer grilling faves.
Bonus: Plant-Based Pantry Makeover
Trying to add more vegetables to your diet and cut down on meats? With a plant-based diet, plants take center stage. If you’re going a step further and pursuing a vegan diet, you’ll want to eliminate all animal products. Try this simple swap to get started.
Skip: Sauces with Eggs and Dairy
Swap: Vegan Ranch & Vegan Sauces
When you’re experimenting with more plant-based recipes, the secret is in the sauce. A flavorful sauce or oil can transform veggies like these balsamic roasted vegetables, which are full of complex taste. Stock shelves with pantry staples that replace dairy with plant-based alternatives, like vegan Mushroom Gravy or vegan Buffalo Sauce without butter.