There are days when you open the fridge and realize you barely have anything to work with. Maybe there are a few vegetables, some leftover rice, a couple of rotis, or just basic pantry ingredients.

That doesn’t always mean you need to order takeout or make a grocery run. With a few simple staples, you can often put together a quick, satisfying meal.

You don’t need every ingredient listed below. Think of these as ideas you can adapt based on whatever happens to be sitting in your kitchen.

Here are some easy ideas for those “almost nothing in the fridge” days.

1. Make a Simple Dal

If you have lentils, you’re already halfway to a meal.

Cook dal with basic spices such as turmeric, cumin, and salt. Serve it with rice or roti if you have them.

You can also add whatever vegetables you have available, such as tomatoes, spinach, carrots, or even a small amount of leftover vegetables.

2. Turn Leftover Rice Into a New Meal

Leftover rice can be surprisingly useful.

You can make: Vegetable fried rice, lemon rice, curd rice, jeera rice, simple tomato rice, or rice with dal and pickle.

Even a little rice can become a quick meal when combined with eggs, vegetables, yogurt, or a simple tempering of spices.

If you have more cooked rice to use up, see these 12 creative ways to use leftover rice.

3. Make a Simple Paratha

If you have flour and a few basic ingredients, homemade paratha can be an easy option.

You don’t necessarily need a special filling. A plain paratha with yogurt, pickle, chutney, or whatever you have on hand can make a satisfying meal.

If you have leftover vegetables, you can also turn them into a quick stuffing.

4. Eggs Can Save Dinner

You can make: Masala omelet, egg bhurji, boiled eggs with toast, scrambled eggs with leftover vegetables, or egg fried rice.

If you eat eggs, they are one of the easiest ingredients to turn into a meal.

Serve with roti, bread, rice, or even a simple side of cucumber.

5. Don’t Forget the Pantry

When the fridge is nearly empty, check your pantry before deciding there’s nothing to eat.

Some useful staples to keep on hand include: Rice, pasta, flour, oats, instant noodles, canned beans, and soup.

A few extras can make simple meals easier: Peanut butter, crackers, khakhra, pickles, chutney, and jam.These ingredients can become a quick meal when combined with whatever fresh food you have left.

6. Look in the Freezer

Your freezer can be your backup plan when the fridge looks empty.

Before deciding there’s nothing to cook, take a quick look through what you’ve already frozen. You may have complete meals, leftovers, or individual ingredients that can help you put dinner together.

You might find: Frozen dal or curry, homemade kofte, stuffed parathas or other flatbreads, frozen vegetables, herbs or chutney, shredded cheese, tomato puree or sauce, leftover cooked food, or homemade snacks and cutlets.

A container of homemade kofte can become dinner with a quick gravy. Frozen peas can go into rice or a simple sabji, frozen spinach can be added to dal, and frozen parathas can turn yogurt and pickle into an easy meal.

A well-used freezer doesn’t need to be full of complete meals. Even a few frozen ingredients can make cooking much easier.

Start With What You Have

Sometimes the easiest way to decide what to cook is to start with the one ingredient you do have.

When You Have Potatoes 🥔

Potatoes can turn into plenty of simple meals and snacks:

You can make: Baked potatoes, potato paratha, potato sandwiches, crispy potato chaat, or roti chips with a potato topping or dip.

When You Have Onions & Tomatoes

A couple of basic vegetables can still give you several options:

You can make: Onion-tomato chutney, onion paratha, simple tomato rice, or tomato sandwiches.

When You Have Besan

Besan is especially useful to keep in the pantry because it doesn’t require many additional ingredients.

You can make: Besan pithla, besan chilla, or a simple besan-based sabji.

When You Have Yogurt

Don’t overlook a container of yogurt. It can easily become part of the meal.

You can make: Dahi tadka, curd rice, yogurt with paratha or roti, or a simple cucumber or onion raita.

When You Have Leftover Roti or Paratha

Yesterday’s roti doesn’t have to go to waste.

Turn them into: Roti chips, roti wraps, roti pizza, paratha rolls, or crispy paratha strips cooked in a pan.

When You Have Just a Few Sandwich Ingredients

You can make: A cheese, pesto and tomato sandwich, potato sandwich, tomato chutney sandwich, or grilled cheese with whatever vegetables you have available.

Before You Order Takeout

When it feels like there’s nothing to cook, take another look around your kitchen.

Check the pantry. Look through the freezer. See what’s hiding in the vegetable drawer. A little leftover rice, one potato, some frozen peas, or a container of yogurt might be enough to get dinner started.

You don’t always need a perfectly planned recipe or a fridge full of ingredients.

Sometimes the easiest meals start with looking at what you already have and turning it into something simple.