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If you are looking to balance out your prepper pantry, you might want to consider adding an assortment of powdered foods. Powdered foods are an excellent source of calories and nutrition without taking up much space. You can purchase premade powdered foods or make your own powdered foods to start stockpiling.Â
In this article, we’ll talk about the best powdered foods to start stockpiling. We’ll also take a look at how they’re made and how to cook with them. But first, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of storing powdered foods.Â
Pros and Cons of Powdered FoodsÂ
Pros
- Powdered foods have a long shelf life. Dry goods, especially those with very little fat, will store longer than foods with moisture in them. Therefore, powdered foods generally have a long shelf life.Â
- Pack more nutrients and calories in a smaller volume. When powdered foods are dried, their nutrients are compacted into a much smaller space. So you’ll get more nutrition in smaller amounts of food. They’ll take up less storage space in your prepper pantry.Â
- Powdered foods can be used in a variety of ways. Powered vegetables can be used to make smoothies, soups or be blended into other dishes. You can use powdered meat as a broth or mixed into other dishes for added protein. Store in Mylar bags with silica package and oxygen absorbers in buckets.
- Some powders can be used as currency during SHTF. For example, certain foods, like chocolate, may be hard to find when SHTF, but you can store extra cocoa powder for use as barter or trade.Â
ConsÂ
- High-fat powders have a shorter shelf life because the fat will go rancid over time. However, you can mitigate this by choosing powders with a fat content under 10%.Â
- Some premade powdered food can be expensive.Â
- You will need to have water to reconstitute powdered foods.Â
How Powdered Foods Are MadeÂ
Some powdered foods are better off being storebought, such as powdered milk. However, many powdered foods can be made at home.
There are two main methods for creating your own powdered foods. You can dehydrate them and grind them into a fine powder, or you can freeze dry them and then grind them into a fine powder.
Either method will work as long as the moisture content is low enough. You need to dehydrate them to less than 10% water content.Â
Check out this video on making and using vegetable powders:
You may also be interested in this video on making meat powder:
How to Cook with Powdered Foods
If you purchase premade powdered foods, you’ll want to check the directions on the packaging and store any additional foods that you might need to use.
For example, premade mixes such as pancake mix, bread mix, biscuit mix, etc., will have directions on the packaging to tell you what additional ingredients you need and how to prepare them safely.Â
When cooking with powdered foods, keep in mind that the reconstituted version may not taste or look the same as the original. For example, you can make great scrambled eggs with egg powder, but you can’t make poached eggs that way.
You may need to stir powders really well and experiment with the amount of water you use to get the consistency you need, especially if you’re turning peanut butter powder into spreadable peanut butter.Â
For example, some brands of pancake mix in Number 10 cans may also require baking soda, eggs, and water to make pancakes. Therefore, you’ll want to store some of these items to cook a nice meal.Â
On the other hand, if you powder your own foods or purchase powdered ingredients such as butter or meat, you’ll need to know how to use them as well. We’ll include a few tips on cooking powdered foods in our list below.Â
32 Powdered Foods to StockpileÂ
Alfredo Powder
Alfredo powder is famous for being made into alfredo sauce for pasta, but it can be used just like parmesan powder to add flavor to snacks, breads, and sauce.Â
Baking Powder
Baking powder is important to store because it contains leavening agents that will help you bake fluffy biscuits or even breads. In addition, baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate, which is baking soda. If the baking powder expires and no longer works, it can still be used as baking soda, especially for cleaning purposes.Â
Biscuit Mix
Biscuit mix is very similar to pancake mix and will have a long shelf life when stored properly. You can purchase long-term storage biscuit mix or store the everyday mix in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. Â
Bread Mix
Bread mix will come with directions on making different kinds of bread with the same mix. Make sure you have the extra ingredients on hand to bake the kind of bread you need. Â
Butter Powder
The Survival Mom says that you can reconstitute butter powders with water. But if you will use powdered butter as an ingredient, use the powder dry and add the appropriate amount of water to the recipe.Â
Cheese Blend Powder or Kraft Cheese powder
You may want to store some cheese powder. If you have children who love macaroni and cheese or like to put cheese on your vegetables, this can be a morale booster and a great way to get some additional calories.
You can get real cheese blend powder, which is freeze-dried, or Kraft Cheese powder, which you find in boxes of Mac and Cheese. Kraft Cheese Powder is probably less expensive and easier to find.Â
Chicken Soup Base
Chicken soup base can be used to make broth by adding hot water, or it can be used as a flavoring for sauces, rice, and noodles. This powder has a high sodium content, which will help preserve it longer.Â
Chickpea Powder
Chickpea powder is similar to vegetable protein powder. It is a good source of protein, energy, and amino acids. It can be added to sauces, rice, and pasta dishes or mixed with milk and made into a smoothie. Â
Cocoa Powder
Cocoa powder has a shelf life of about two years. And while it doesn’t technically go bad, it can lose its potency. However, in an SHTF scenario, it can be tough to find, so you may want to stockpile it for barter and trade. Also, chocolate is always a morale booster, so it’s good to have on hand! Â
Cornmeal
When stored correctly, cornmeal can last up to 10 years. You’ll want to store it in Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers or purchase pre-canned cornmeal specifically for long-term storage.
Cornmeal can be used as a thickener for sauces, as breading for meat, and as the main ingredient in cornbread. It can also be used to make tacos and crackers.Â
Cornstarch
Cornstarch is typically used as a thickener for sauces and soups. Doing this can help stretch a meal a little further, but it also has plenty of non-food uses.Â
Cream of Wheat
This powder can be mixed with hot water or milk to make a filling hot breakfast cereal. You can also use it to thicken sauces.Â
Egg Powder
Egg powder is an excellent powdered food to store because eggs are easy to digest, and the nutrients are easy for your body to absorb. In addition, egg powder can be used to cook and make omelets.Â
Flour
Flour needs to be stored in sealed Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. This can significantly extend the shelf life to anywhere from 10 to 15 years. Use flour like you usually would in cookies, cakes, pies, and breads.Â
Fruit Juice Mix or Tang
Powdered drinks can be mixed with water to make a cold drink. Tang can help replace electrolytes. They can also be frozen to make homemade popsicles or ice cubes.Â
Garlic Powder
This spice can be used in any dish you would use fresh garlic for. Just add it to taste to stews, soups, vegetables, pastas, and rice dishes. Here’s how to make your own.
Ground Cinnamon
Cinnamon can be added to dishes as a flavoring, or it can be added to turmeric tea for health benefits. Some say that it has antifungal properties, as well. Cinnamon probably won’t ‘go bad,’ but it will lose its potency over time, so try to practice good rotation for the best flavor.Â
Hemp Powder
Hemp powder has a shelf life of around two years. Although it has a dry sandy texture when reconstituted, it works well in smoothies and is an excellent source of protein.Â
Jello Powder
Jello powder is easy to store, cheap to purchase, and makes a variety of fun desserts for adults and kids.Â
Meat Powder
Meat powder can be used to make broth or added as flavoring to dishes and sauces, rice, or noodles. It also makes a great food base for pets, as well. Here’s how to make your own.
Pancake Powder
Pancake powder can be either the regular, everyday kind you purchase at the store or specially packaged long-storage brands. Pancake powder should last a long time because it is a mix of flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Be sure to check the directions on the packaging to see if you need to store any additional ingredients. Also, if you purchase pancake powder that isn’t intended for long-term storage, you may want to put it into Mylar bags with oxygen absorbers to preserve its qualities.Â
Parmesan Powder
This is not the same as grated cheese. This can be sprinkled on snacks such as popcorn or French fries, mixed into sauces for extra cheesy flavor, or reconstituted and melted. It has a shelf life of a year or two but can last longer if it is frozen.Â
Peanut Butter Powder
Peanut butter powder has the fats and oils pressed out to extend its shelf life to 5 or 10 years. You can mix peanut butter powder with water to create your own spreadable peanut butter or use it as an ingredient in different dishes, cakes, cookies, and breads. It has lots of nutrition and will give you some calories.Â
Powdered Honey
Although honey does not go bad in its syrup form, you may want to get some powdered honey to save on shelf space in your prepper pantry.Â
You can sprinkle the honey powder on cereal and oatmeal just like you would sugar, use it dry in recipes as a sweetener, or reconstitute it with ¼ of water per cup of honey powder.Â
Powdered Milk and Buttermilk
Powdered milk has plenty of uses, from cooking to baking. You can reconstitute powdered milk and drink it as you would drink a fresh glass of milk. It won’t have the same taste, but it works, especially if fresh milk is unavailable.
If you plan to cook with powdered milk, add the ingredient dry and add additional water to the recipe. Powdered milk is a good source of protein and micronutrients. In addition, skim milk will store longer than whole milk because it has less fat.Â
Powdered Sour Cream
Powdered sour cream can be reconstituted with water and then chilled to be used in place of fresh sour cream. It can also be used in sauces and other dishes, but you may want to add the sour cream dry and then add additional water to the recipe as needed.Â
Salt
Salt needs to be kept in a cool, dry place, but it should last indefinitely if you store it correctly. It’s worth storing a lot of salt as it has many other uses.
Sugar
According to ezprepping.com, sugar, when stored correctly, has an indefinite shelf-life.Â
Turmeric Powder
This spice typically won’t spoil, but it will lose potency over time. However, you can use it to flavor soups, grains, and noodles. Just add it to taste. There may be health benefits to using turmeric powder, as well.Â
Veggie Protein Powder
Vegetable protein powder often has pea protein as its base. This will contain many amino acids and will store longer than whey powder.Â
Whey Protein
Whey protein is a byproduct of cheesemaking. It is a good source of protein and calories when food is scarce. The shelf life of whey protein is about two years, but it may last longer under the right conditions.
For example, you can mix whey protein into sauces for extra nutrients, mix it with water or milk as a nutritious drink, or put it into smoothies.Â
Vegetable and Fruit Powders
You can purchase or make your own vegetable powders such as spinach, carrot, broccoli, kale, green beans, beets, tomatoes, strawberries, and kiwi. These powders can be stored long-term and used as soups or vegetable broth bases.
They can be stirred into smoothies or made into sauces or dips. You can even mix them into bread or pancakes for some extra nutrients.Â
