The 26 Best 3-Ingredient Recipes For When You're Low On Groceries

You know those times when you're super hungry, but both your fridge and pantry are seemingly empty? Sure, you have some random bits and bobs lying around, but you may not assume that they're enough to actually make a decent dish from scratch. In reality, though, there are plenty of recipes out there that only call for a handful of ingredients. In some cases, you may only need three ingredients to make exactly what you're craving (or at least something close enough).

That's why we love the following three-ingredient recipes. There's a good chance you already have what you need to make them on hand, which means that there's no need to run to the grocery store. In fact, once you see how tasty these recipes turn out, you may make them your go-tos instead of opting for the more complicated recipes with longer ingredient lists. It's never been easier to get dinner (or dessert) on the table when you're low on groceries.

There's nothing worse than craving a sweet treat and not having any cookies, cake, or ice cream on hand to satisfy your cravings. But with this simple mousse recipe, you can whip up a sweet dessert with very little effort. Just make sure you have some good-quality chocolate on hand (this is important), along with confectioners' sugar and heavy whipping cream. You can adjust the sweetness of the recipe according to your sugar preferences.

Recipe: Super Easy 3-Ingredient Chocolate Mousse

No, you don't need a special pancake mix just to make the breakfast of your dreams — not when you can make these pancakes using only three ingredients. Everything you'll need is a fridge or a pantry staple, so there's no need to go out and buy something else to add to the mix. If, however, you want to add additional toppings for an extra touch of flavor and sweetness, they can only make your otherwise plain pancakes better.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Pancakes

When you don't have any carbs on hand to make your dinner feel more satisfying and filling, just turn to this simple recipe for drop biscuits. All you'll need is some salted butter, self-rising dough, and buttermilk. Just keep in mind that you'll really want to use buttermilk — and not regular milk — for this recipe. They're two very different ingredients and will yield different final results in your biscuit-making process. Serve them with soup, stew, or anything else with a brothy base.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Drop Biscuits

Vanilla ice cream may not be everyone's favorite, but it's a classic for a reason: It always tastes good, even without any additional ingredients added to the mix. What you may not have realized, though, is that you can make your own vanilla ice cream at home — no churning required. The fact that the recipe only calls for three ingredients makes it one you absolutely have to try the next time you run out of ice cream in the freezer.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream

Have some chips in your pantry but have nothing to dip them in? We've all been there, and you don't have to spend $5 on a pre-made dip. Instead, just try this green onion dip recipe, which only calls for three ingredients (which you might already have stocked in your kitchen). You can eat this dip with just about any chips or crackers, but it's delicious enough to be used as a spread as well.

Recipe: Super Simple 3-Ingredient Green Onion Dip

If you're not a star baker, then you may be intimidated by the idea of making a sponge cake from scratch. However, it's surprisingly easy to make with just chocolate, eggs, and some unsalted butter. Keep in mind, though, that since you're using so few ingredients, you'll really want to make sure that the ingredients you are using are as high-quality as possible. If you do so, every bite will taste like you're floating on a chocolate cloud.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Chocolate Sponge Cake

Bananas are an incredibly versatile fruit, and they can be used for so much more than you probably think they can. This recipe for banana pancakes is no exception. The banana provides a sweet, fruity touch to the dish, while the eggs and oat flour help give the pancakes more structure. Of course, you can also add on any other toppings you happen to have in your pantry and fridge for even more flavor — but it's totally not necessary.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Banana Pancakes

Have some leftover apples and trying to figure out what to do with them before they go bad? Well, you're in luck: You can easily bake them into this super simple apple pie for a fall-time treat that your family and friends are absolutely going to love. In addition to providing a fruity flavor for the cake, the apples offer just the right amount of moisture, which keeps the cake nice, soft, and absolutely luscious.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Apple Cake

The ingredients you'll need for this fantastic pistachio ice cream recipe include pistachio crème, condensed milk, and double cream. Those may not be the most common ingredients to have lying around, but if you do a lot of baking, you may already have them on hand. If you want to give the ice cream an added layer of crunch, don't forget to add some crushed pistachios on top. Technically, you don't need them, but they make for a super solid upgrade you should consider.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient No-Churn Pistachio Ice Cream

Forget that sad can of tomato soup you have sitting in the pantry. With just three ingredients — tomatoes, garlic, and an onion — you can make your very own tomato soup from scratch. Start by roasting the vegetables, cooling them, and then blending. You'll be left with a surprisingly hearty soup that's bursting with flavor (thanks to all that garlic). It's also a great way to use up tomatoes that may be going off.

Recipe: Cozy 3-Ingredient Tomato Soup

You may assume that you can only make incredibly simple dishes with three ingredients, but did you know that you can actually make baked taquitos even when you don't have much food in the kitchen? This recipe calls for black beans, but in reality, you can use any kind of beans you have on hand. Canned beans make for a simpler recipe, but you can also make them from scratch for a more customizable flavor. Don't forget to include the diced green chilies — they really make this recipe shine.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Baked Taquitos

When you need something sweet but you don't have any ready-made desserts in your kitchen, try making this three-ingredient white chocolate fudge. Although fudge may sound tricky to the uninitiated, this recipe is actually quite simple, requiring just white chocolate chips, butter, and sweetened condensed milk. Basically, you just have to melt all the ingredients together, pour them into a pan, and let them all cool to achieve the white chocolate fudge of your dreams.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient White Chocolate Fudge

There are few things more comforting than a big, steaming bowl of broccoli cheddar soup after a long, cold day. But you don't need to go all out to make this kind of soup from scratch. As long as you have broccoli, cheese, and some whole milk in your fridge, you can whip up this recipe in no time at all. Add some croutons on top for a crunchy element, or just serve your soup with a side of bread or biscuits for a bit of extra heartiness.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Broccoli Cheddar Soup

You don't always have to go all out to make a main course. These tuna patties are both filling and cost effective, and they're easier to make than they look. In addition to tuna, eggs, and breadcrumbs, you'll also need some oil in which to fry the patties. Feel free to get creative with the different spices you include in these patties if you want to give them an extra kick of flavor. Starting with salt and cracked black pepper is always a good way to go.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Tuna Patties

Chocolate cherry cake sounds complex and indulgent, right? You might be surprised to find, then, that you can make an incredible chocolate cherry cake with only three ingredients. You'll want to start with some chocolate cake mix, which really forms the base of the cake. Then, find yourself some cherry pie filling, in addition to two eggs. This is just one of the ways you can transform an average boxed cake mix into something truly impressive.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Chocolate Cherry Cake

Dates are absolutely an underrated fruit. And as much as we love them on their own, they may be even better when they're made into this incredible date bark. Chocolate and peanut butter form the foundation of this dessert bark, which offers a backdrop of both sweetness and saltiness (if you use salted peanut butter, which you should) to complement the sticky sweetness of the dates themselves. It may just change the way you think about dessert from here on out.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Date Bark

Sure, some bread recipes are pretty complicated, but you don't have to have a pantry full of bread-making supplies to throw together this minimalistic bread recipe. You'll just need self-rising flour along with some beer and honey. We recommend an amber ale for this recipe, but you can get creative with the type of bread you use depending on what you already have in the fridge. That honey provides a lovely note of sweetness you won't find in an average loaf.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Honey Beer Bread

Let's be honest: Dipping a spoon into a jar of Nutella can be dessert all on its own. If you want to upgrade your post-dinner Nutella snack, though, combine it with flour and some eggs to create these incredibly moist, subtly nutty brownies. Since Nutella is already sweet enough on its own, you don't even have to worry about adding any additional sugar to the brownie mixture. You won't believe how dense and rich these brownies turn out to be.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Nutella Brownie

We've mentioned a few different types of ice cream on this list, but don't think you have to skip out on the chocolate ice cream just because you don't have many ingredients in the kitchen. It's actually very possible to make chocolate ice cream with only three ingredients. This recipe calls for dark chocolate, whipping cream, and sweetened condensed milk, all three of which come together to create an ultra sweet dessert that you'll want to make over and over again. That cheap tub of chocolate ice cream just got a lot less appealing.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Chocolate Ice Cream

Have a ton of oatmeal in your pantry but just can't bring yourself to eat a bowl of slop for breakfast? We've absolutely been there. Luckily, you can transform your oatmeal into something that feels a bit more indulgent than a bowl of beige. As long as you have milk and eggs in addition to that oatmeal, you can absolutely make homemade pancakes in a pinch. The best part? This recipe takes under a half an hour to make.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Oatmeal Pancakes

Yes, you can make fudge with only three ingredients. However, if you think that means you have to use dairy, you're wrong. This dairy-free recipe calls for coconut milk instead of cow's milk, which is enhanced by the inclusion of vanilla extract. Of course, you're going to want to make sure you use high-quality chocolate for this recipe for the best results, but there's basically nowhere you can go wrong here. As long as you combine the ingredients properly, this dessert is basically guaranteed to be good.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Dairy-Free Fudge

There's no need to go out and buy a package of store-bought cookies when you could just make these homemade Nutella cookies instead. You'll need a whopping cup of Nutella — which is where basically all of the flavor is coming from in this recipe. Make sure you have some all-purpose flour on hand, too, in addition to an egg. Just mix all those ingredients up, form them into balls and squish them, and throw them in the oven. Before you know it, you'll have a batch of chocolatey cookies to indulge in.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Nutella Cookies

Yes, you can make a main course with only three ingredients — a delicious one to boot. This teriyaki chicken recipe simply calls for chicken breast (although you can use thighs if that's all you have), soy sauce, and light brown sugar. Those ingredients yield a chicken dish that's simultaneously sweet and salty. If you want to upgrade it with a few more ingredients, consider adding some sesame seeds or chopped scallions to the finished dish.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Teriyaki Chicken

Sure, you don't need much to make this recipe, but one thing you do need is freshly fallen snow. You definitely don't want to use snow that's been sitting outside for a while for this dish, so make sure you make this on a day with plenty of flurries. In addition to that fresh snow, grab some condensed milk and sprinkles. Do the sprinkles add much in terms of flavor? No. But they absolutely make the dessert feel just a bit more magical than it already does.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Snow Cream

Who knew that you could make top-notch shakshuka with only three ingredients? It's absolutely possible, and you won't believe how quickly it comes together. First of all, make sure you have some eggs in the fridge, since this is what makes up the bulk of the dish. Then, grab some pasta sauce. That way, you won't have to actually make that rich, savory sauce from scratch. Finish it off with some freshly cracked black pepper, and you have a healthy breakfast meal you'll want to eat again and again.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Shakshuka

There's nothing like getting your day off to a savory start, which is just what these breakfast puffs will allow you to do. Although you only need three ingredients — eggs, grated cheese, and puff pastry — these breakfast treats come together beautifully, and nobody you serve them to will guess just how simple they really are. Sprinkling fresh herbs like parsley or chives on top of the finished pastries elevates them even more.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Savory Breakfast Puffs

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