Learning how to Cook from Scratch for Beginners

Cooking from scratch is on the rise these days as processed foods and their ingredients have raised many of concern. Learning to cook from scratch can seem daunting, especially if you did not grow up watching it be done. Don’t worry, cooking from scratch is much easier than you may think! Here’s a few tips as you learn how to cook from scratch in your very own kitchen.

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The Early Days

Believe it or not, I did not grow up around from scratch cooking. As many of us did, I grew up with cream of soup everything, Knorr rice packets, toaster strudels and canned biscuits. Of course when I think back on homecooked meals, creamy comfort foods made with Campbells cream of mushroom soup are first to pop up.

So, when I was first out on my own I cooked for my now husband the same comforting foods my mother did. Pork chops baked with cream of mushroom soup over mashed potatoes, chicken in the crock pot with cream of chicken soup, and my favorite concoction I came up with – frozen shrimp scampi mixed with alfredo sauce over noodles.

It wasn’t until my second born son was a month old and diagnosed with a dairy allergy that the world of cooking from scratch was opened to me.

I have a blog post here that you can read all about breastfeeding with dairy allergies.

Learning to Cook from Scratch

If you didn’t know, there is dairy and soy in almost all prepackaged foods. At least this was the case back in 2015 when I had to completely change my diet while I breastfed my son with a dairy allergy. Surprisingly, I had never heard of dairy free cooking before his diagnosis and had no idea where to start. Thankfully there was almond milk and dairy free butter was starting to gain popularity.

As I mentioned previously, I used a lot of cream of soup everything in my cooking so I had to totally revamp my way of cooking. I once spent 2 hours inside a grocery store scanning every single item I bought holding a list of ingredients to look for. When all was said and done, I knew I was going to have to make my own recipes if I wanted what I ate to be safe for my son.

Fast forward I now cook 90% of our meals from scratch. Breads, desserts, sauces, gravy, seasoning mixes, etc. I make it all. And it is much easier than you may think!

Tips for Learning to Cook from Scratch

Cooking from scratch is simply the act of using individual ingredients to make a meal. For example instead of buying loaves of bread with its many many ingredients so you can’t even pronounce, you simply combine yeast, sugar, milk, butter, flour, and salt, knead it, let it rise, and bake it. Taking individual ingredients and turning it into something edible. Simple.

I think a common misconception is that it is time consuming and there’s always too many ingredients. Looking at a recipe with its ingredients and steps, it may sound like a lot but once you’re doing it, it’s not much at all. And while you may need to set more time aside for some recipes, it’s not the case for the majority.

My best advice for learning to cook from scratch is to start with your sauces and seasonings. These are super easy to make from scratch and you most likely have the ingredients already on hand.

Starting small and learning the basics is a great way to start cooking from scratch and you build your knowledge from there.

Sauces/Dressings

Sauces or dressings are usually a concoction of things you most likely already have in your fridge. You need a base – kethcup, dijon mustard, mayo, yogurt etc. Then you may add an oil like olive oil or butter. And you will add seasonings and ingredients to bring out the desired flavor. Maybe even a vinegar or soy sauce.

Some basic sauces or dressings I would recommend starting with:

Seasoning Mixes

Seasoning mixes are so super simple to make, about as simple as it is to run to the store and pick up a packet of premade. The difference, however, is the homemade version doesn’t have any additives, preservatives or unnecessary ingredients. I’m talking about you gluten and dairy – whyyy is there dairy in taco seasoning!?

Like sauce ingredients, you probably already have these spices in your pantry or possibly your garden. Another advantage here is that you can make batches of seasoning mixes and store it just like you would any mix but in bulk! Just take it out and use it as desired.

Some commonly used seasoning mixes you can start making now:

Just like anything new, learning to cook from scratch comes with its trials. However it comes with so many benefits – simply using real ingredients to start!

I hope you begin your from scratch journey and follow along as I share more on cooking from scratch for beginners.