20 Items to Stockpile for an emergency in the UK

When people first start building an emergency food supply, they often search for a single list telling them exactly what to buy. A list can give you a useful starting point, but it should never be followed blindly.

Every household is different. There is no point storing ordinary pasta if someone in your family cannot eat gluten, litres of milk if everyone is dairy-free, or tins of food nobody actually likes. Use these 20 foods as a framework, then adapt them around your household’s diet, health needs, available storage space and cooking arrangements.

Water must always come first. You also need to consider how you would open tins and cook dried foods during a power cut. Keep a manual tin opener and a safe backup cooking method, and never use outdoor cooking equipment inside your home.

The Quick List

White rice
Dried pasta and noodles
Oats
Flour
Yeast and other raising agents
Dried lentils
Dried beans, chickpeas and split peas
Tinned beans and pulses
Tinned meat
Tinned fish
Tinned vegetables
Tinned tomatoes and tomato purée
Tinned soups and ready meals
UHT or powdered milk
Peanut butter or another suitable spread
Cooking oil or ghee
Stock cubes or powdered stock
Salt, herbs and spices
Dried fruit, nuts and seeds
Sugar, honey or jam

This is not a complete emergency plan, and you do not need to buy everything at once. Start with foods your household already eats and build gradually.

1. White Rice

White rice is inexpensive, filling and easy to combine with other stored foods. You can serve it with beans, lentils, curry, chilli, tinned meat, fish or vegetables. Leftover cooked rice can also be turned into fried rice if you have a safe cooking method.

White rice generally stores better than brown rice because brown rice contains more natural oils. Keep it dry and protected from pests, and rotate it through your normal meals.

Rice is naturally gluten-free, but anyone with a serious allergy should still check the packaging for cross-contamination warnings.

2. Dried Pasta and Noodles

Pasta provides an easy base for tomato sauces, soups, tinned meat, tuna and vegetables. Noodles can be combined with stock, dried vegetables, spices and protein to make a quick meal.

If your household is gluten-free, choose gluten-free pasta made from rice, maize, lentils, chickpeas or another suitable ingredient. Do not store ordinary pasta simply because it appears on someone else’s list.

Both pasta and noodles require water and fuel, so include that in your planning.

3. Oats

Oats can be used for porridge, overnight oats, flapjacks, biscuits, muesli and savoury dishes. They are inexpensive, filling and useful for breakfast when other options are limited.

If someone has coeliac disease or must avoid gluten, buy oats specifically labelled gluten-free. Ordinary oats can be contaminated by wheat during growing or processing.

Oats can be served with powdered or UHT milk, dried fruit, honey, seeds or peanut butter.

4. Flour

Flour gives you the ability to make bread, flatbreads, pancakes, dumplings, pastry, biscuits and simple sauces. It is much more useful when you already know how to cook with it, so practise before you ever need to rely on it.

For a gluten-free household, consider an appropriate gluten-free flour blend, rice flour, gram flour, maize flour or another alternative you already use successfully.

Flour must be kept dry and protected from insects. Rotate it regularly rather than buying a huge quantity and forgetting about it.

5. Yeast and Other Raising Agents

Yeast makes ordinary flour far more versatile, allowing you to bake bread, rolls and pizza bases. Baking powder and bicarbonate of soda can be used for quick breads, pancakes, cakes and other recipes that do not require the same proving time.

Yeast will not help if you have no suitable flour, water or way to cook, so store ingredients as part of meals rather than as isolated products.

Check dates, keep packets dry and test older yeast before relying on it.

6. Dried Lentils

Lentils are useful sources of protein and fibre and can be added to soups, curries, stews and tomato-based sauces. Red lentils cook more quickly than many whole pulses, which may make them more practical when cooking fuel is limited.

They work well as a meat alternative or can be mixed with smaller amounts of tinned meat to make meals stretch further.

Lentils are naturally gluten-free, although packaging should be checked where cross-contamination is a concern.

7. Dried Beans, Chickpeas and Split Peas

Dried pulses are affordable, nutritious and useful in chilli, curry, soup, stew, hummus and bean-based meals. They take up less storage space than the equivalent number of tins.

The disadvantage is that many require soaking, plenty of water and a longer cooking time. That matters during a power cut or water outage.

Do not depend entirely on dried beans unless you have sufficient water, cooking fuel and experience preparing them safely. A mixture of dried and tinned pulses is more practical for most households.

8. Tinned Beans and Pulses

Tinned beans are already cooked and can usually be eaten cold if necessary. Kidney beans, chickpeas, butter beans, baked beans and mixed pulses can become salads, soups, stews, chilli or simple meals with rice.

They cost more and take up more space than dried beans, but they save water, time and fuel.

Choose the varieties your household already eats. Where necessary, look for reduced-salt, no-added-sugar or allergy-suitable options.

9. Tinned Meat

Tinned chicken, ham, corned beef and ready-made meat dishes can add protein and flavour without relying on a fridge or freezer. They can be used in sandwiches, pasta, rice dishes, pies, stews and hash.

Tinned meat can be salty or fatty, so it should be balanced with other foods rather than becoming the whole emergency diet. People following vegetarian, vegan, religious or medically restricted diets should replace it with suitable pulses, plant proteins or other familiar alternatives.

Never eat food from tins that are bulging, leaking, badly rusted or seriously damaged.

10. Tinned Fish

Tuna, sardines, salmon and mackerel can provide protein and useful fats. They work in sandwiches, fishcakes, pasta, rice dishes, salads and spreads.

Choose fish your household genuinely enjoys. Buying large quantities because it appears on a preparedness list only creates waste if nobody will eat it.

Vegetarian or vegan households can use beans, chickpeas, lentils, seed-based spreads or shelf-stable plant proteins instead.

11. Tinned Vegetables

Tinned vegetables are already cooked and can be eaten without heating if necessary. Peas, carrots, sweetcorn, green beans and mixed vegetables can be added to soups, curries, stews, pasta and rice.

The texture is different from fresh or frozen vegetables, so try them before buying large quantities. Rinsing can reduce some of the added salt, although that requires clean water.

If your family dislikes tinned vegetables, consider dried or dehydrated alternatives instead.

12. Tinned Tomatoes and Tomato Purée

Tomatoes form the base of countless useful meals. They can become pasta sauce, curry, chilli, soup, stew, shakshuka or a sauce for beans and vegetables.

Tomato purée adds concentrated flavour without taking up much space. Combine it with stock, herbs, water and other stored ingredients to create a basic sauce.

People who cannot tolerate tomatoes will need a different sauce base, such as stock, coconut milk or a familiar vegetable-based alternative.

13. Tinned Soups and Ready Meals

Tinned soup, stew, chilli, curry, ravioli and other complete meals are valuable when time, water or cooking facilities are limited. Many can be eaten cold in a genuine emergency, although they are usually much nicer heated.

They provide convenience, but relying entirely on ready meals can create a repetitive, salty and poorly balanced diet.

Keep a small selection for difficult days, illness or power cuts, alongside ingredients that can be combined into more varied meals.

14. UHT or Powdered Milk

UHT and powdered milk can be used in drinks, porridge, sauces, baking and hot drinks without relying on fresh milk. Once opened or prepared, however, they may still require refrigeration and must be handled according to the instructions.

Dairy-free households can choose shelf-stable oat, soya, coconut or other plant-based milk. Check that it suits the person’s allergies and nutritional needs.

Store what you already use rather than buying unfamiliar powdered products that may never be opened.

15. Peanut Butter or Another Suitable Spread

Peanut butter provides calories, fat and some protein without cooking. It can be spread on crackers or bread, stirred into porridge, added to sauces or eaten with fruit.

For nut-free households, use a suitable seed butter or another familiar spread. Always check allergy information carefully, particularly when buying for children or anyone with a severe allergy.

Because fats can deteriorate over time, rotate jars instead of treating them as permanent storage.

16. Cooking Oil or Ghee

Fat is easy to overlook, but it provides energy and is needed for frying, baking and making many stored foods more enjoyable. A little oil can transform rice, pasta, beans and vegetables.

All oils eventually deteriorate, particularly when exposed to heat and light. Store sensible quantities in a cool, dark place and rotate them through normal cooking.

Choose an oil that suits your household’s diet and the type of cooking you normally do.

17. Stock Cubes or Powdered Stock

Stock adds flavour to rice, pulses, soup, gravy, stew and sauces. It is especially useful when meals are based on plain staples.

Keep chicken, beef or vegetable stock according to your normal diet. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and reduced-salt versions are available, but labels must be checked rather than assumed.

Stock is not a meal by itself, but it can make simple emergency food considerably more enjoyable.

18. Salt, Herbs and Spices

Salt is important for flavour and can also be used in certain food-preservation methods. Herbs, curry powder, chilli, garlic powder, paprika and other seasonings prevent a pantry full of basic ingredients from becoming painfully repetitive.

Choose the flavours you already use. There is no point buying twenty unfamiliar seasonings because another prepper owns them.

People limiting sodium for medical reasons should follow appropriate professional advice and choose suitable products.

19. Dried Fruit, Nuts and Seeds

Dried fruit can be added to porridge, baking, trail mixes and snacks. Nuts and seeds provide useful energy, texture and some protein without cooking.

These foods can be expensive and their natural oils mean they do not remain at their best indefinitely. Buy manageable amounts, store them correctly and rotate them.

For nut allergies, use safe seeds or another appropriate snack. Check packaging carefully for cross-contamination warnings.

20. Sugar, Honey or Jam

Sugar, honey and jam can sweeten porridge, drinks and baking, while jam can make bread, crackers or pancakes more appealing. Sugar is also used in some traditional preserving methods.

These are useful supporting ingredients, not replacements for proper meals. Store whichever products your household normally uses.

Anyone managing diabetes or another medical condition should build their emergency food supply around their individual health advice rather than following a generic list.

Build Your List Around Real Meals

The biggest mistake is collecting random foods without considering what they will become.

Rice, beans, tomatoes, stock and spices can make a basic chilli or stew. Pasta, tomatoes, tinned vegetables and fish can become a complete meal. Oats, milk, dried fruit and seeds can provide breakfast. Flour, yeast, oil and salt can become bread or flatbreads.

Write down ten simple meals your household already eats. Then identify which ingredients can be stored and which suitable alternatives you would use if fresh food, refrigeration or normal cooking were unavailable.

Consider Allergies and Dietary Needs

A general emergency stockpile list cannot account for every household.

If somebody is gluten-free, replace wheat pasta, flour and ordinary oats with safe alternatives. If somebody cannot have dairy, store a suitable shelf-stable milk. Nut-free households should avoid peanut butter and check labels carefully. Vegetarian and vegan households can build protein around pulses, beans and suitable shelf-stable plant products.

Medical diets, feeding difficulties and severe allergies need more individual planning. Do not assume that an emergency will suddenly make somebody able to eat food that is unsafe for them.

Do Not Forget Water and Cooking

Food is only one part of the system.

Some of the cheapest pantry foods require considerable water and fuel. Dried beans may look like excellent emergency food, but they are far less useful during a water outage if you cannot soak and cook them. Tinned beans cost more, but they are already cooked.

Store drinking water and consider the additional water needed for cooking, babies, medical needs and pets. Any backup stove must be designed and used safely. Never bring a barbecue, outdoor stove or generator indoors because of the risk of fire and carbon-monoxide poisoning.

How to Build a Stockpile Without Wasting Money

You do not need to buy all 20 items today.

Begin with the foods your household already eats. Add one or two extra products during your normal shop, place newer items behind older ones and use the oldest first.

Check your supplies regularly for damaged packaging, leaks, pests and deterioration. Treat best-before and use-by dates differently: a best-before date generally relates to quality, while a use-by date concerns safety.

A sensible emergency food supply should reduce waste and make ordinary life easier. It should not become an expensive cupboard full of food nobody wants.

Start With Your Household, Not Somebody Else’s

This list is a framework, not a set of rules.

Your final choices should reflect the people you feed, what they can safely eat, how much water and fuel you can store, and the meals you know how to prepare.

If you’re building an emergency food supply and aren’t sure what to buy or how much your household needs, my guide How to Stock Up for an Emergency walks you through it step by step.