# What can you cook when the fridge is nearly empty? Canonical: https://zestasy.com/food/what-to-cook-when-the-fridge-is-empty/ Section: Food · Updated: 2026-10-13 · Publisher: Zestasy If you have eggs, a tin of something, a starch, an onion or some garlic, and something sharp, you have dinner. Fry the allium, add the tin, bring in the starch, put eggs on or in it, and finish with the sharp thing; the combinations cover pasta, frittata, beans on toast, fried rice and more. An empty fridge is rarely empty. It is usually a jar of mustard, half a lemon, a few eggs and a lot of light. The trick is to stop looking for a recipe and start looking for five categories, because almost any combination of them makes a plate of food we would happily eat. ## The five things **1. Eggs.** The great finisher. Fried on top, scrambled through, baked in, whisked into a frittata. They turn odds and ends into a meal (more in /food/eggs-for-dinner/). **2. A tin.** Tomatoes, beans, chickpeas, lentils, sweetcorn, artichokes, olives. The tin is the body of the dish. **3. A starch.** Pasta, rice, bread (stale is fine, often better), potatoes, couscous, a pack of tortillas. This is what makes it dinner rather than a snack. **4. An allium.** Onion, garlic, shallot, a leek, a sad spring onion. Cooked slowly in oil, this is where flavour starts. **5. Something sharp.** Lemon, vinegar, capers, pickles, mustard, chilli, a spoonful of yoghurt. This is what makes it taste deliberate. Anything else, a wedge of cheese, a handful of frozen peas, a bag of spinach, a few herbs, is a bonus. ## How we put them together The order of operations is nearly always the same: 1. Warm oil gently, add the allium and cook until soft and sweet-smelling. 2. Add the tin and let it bubble and thicken into something saucy. 3. Bring in the starch: toss in pasta, spoon over toast, stir in cooked rice. 4. Add the eggs: cracked into the sauce, fried separately, or scrambled through. 5. Finish with the sharp thing, taste, adjust salt, done. ## Five dinners from the same shelf - **Eggs in tomato.** Onion and garlic, a tin of tomatoes simmered thick, eggs cracked into little wells and covered until the whites set and the yolks still wobble. Bread for mopping. Chilli or a spoon of yoghurt for sharpness. - **Chickpeas on toast.** Garlic in plenty of oil, a drained tin of chickpeas, half crushed with a fork, lemon and chilli. A fried egg on top if you're feeling fancy. - **Pantry pasta.** Garlic, chilli, a tin of tuna or beans or artichokes, pasta and a splash of its water, lemon zest and capers. Breadcrumbs fried in oil instead of cheese if the cheese has run out. - **Fried rice.** Leftover rice, onion, frozen peas, eggs scrambled through, soy and a squeeze of lime or a dash of vinegar. - **Frittata.** Whatever is left, fried with onion, eggs poured over, cooked gently until just set. Good hot, better at room temperature with a sharp salad. ## Leaning on the freezer A freezer with peas, spinach and a loaf of sliced bread in it doubles the options. Frozen vegetables are not a compromise here; they are the reason the empty-fridge dinner has something green in it (/food/is-frozen-veg-cheating/). ## Building the habit The five-things approach only works if the five things are usually in the house. We keep a short pantry list (/food/weeknight-pantry/) so that "nothing in the fridge" means "time for chickpeas", not "time to stare into the fridge again". ## FAQ ### What if there are no eggs? Use cheese, a spoonful of yoghurt or ricotta, or a handful of toasted breadcrumbs for richness and texture. Beans or chickpeas can carry the dish on their own. ### What if there is no fresh onion or garlic? Dried chilli, a spoonful of tomato paste fried in oil, or a pinch of dried oregano will give the base some flavour. It won't be identical, and it doesn't need to be. ### Is stale bread worth keeping? Yes. Toasted, it carries beans and eggs; torn and fried, it is the crunch on pasta. /food/using-stale-bread/ has plenty more. ### How do we stop it tasting like an emergency? Finish properly: taste for salt, add the sharp thing, add good oil or herbs if you have them. A dish finished with care tastes planned. ## Related - [What should you keep in the pantry for quick weeknight dinners?](https://zestasy.com/food/weeknight-pantry/) - [How do you make eggs for dinner without it feeling like breakfast?](https://zestasy.com/food/eggs-for-dinner/) - [How do you make tinned beans taste like you meant it?](https://zestasy.com/food/make-tinned-beans-taste-good/) - [What can you do with stale bread?](https://zestasy.com/food/using-stale-bread/) - [How do you cook for one without eating the same thing all week?](https://zestasy.com/food/cooking-for-one/) - [All Food answers](https://zestasy.com/food/)