10 Ingredients the Pioneer Woman Can’t Live Without
Updated: Dec. 18, 2023
Ree Drummond is known for her easy-to-follow, crowd-pleasing recipes. But what ingredients does she love the most? Read on to find out.
Butter
Drummond is no stranger to the delights of butter. Whether melted on top of a steak, whipped into a batch of mashed potatoes, or creamed together with sugar in a scrumptious cookie recipe, the Pioneer Woman is not one to shy away from this indulgent ingredient.
Cream
If you watch her show on the Food Network, you know that heavy cream is one of Drummond’s go-to ingredients. Heavy cream adds plenty of richness to both savory and sweet recipes. Many of Drummond’s most popular comfort food recipes include a dose of cream.
Get some of Drummond’s favorite potluck recipes (with cream!) here.
Bacon
Whether stored fresh in the refrigerator or long-term in the freezer, bacon is one ingredient that Drummond absolutely loves. She uses it in BLTs, as a burger-topper or as a base for pasta sauce or soup recipes when chopped and fried along with onion.
Looking for some bacon inspiration? Try our best bacon recipes.
Coffee
“Good or bad, right or wrong, I wouldn’t want to live in a world without coffee,” Drummond once confessed on her blog. Coffee is definitely one of Drummond’s guilty pleasures. “Any coffee-flavored dessert is a weakness of mine,” Drummond told the Food Network. “Tiramisu, coffee ice cream, coffee-toffee pie … I’ll take it all.”
Cheese
Cheeses with a long shelf-life, such as cheddar, Parmesan and feta, are another ingredient that Drummond always has on hand. Whether shredded atop a lasagna or melted to the perfect consistency in a grilled cheese sandwich, this ingredient adds just the right amount of salty and savory flavor to many recipes.
Is there anything more comforting than the warm and melty cheese found in a toasted sandwich? These grilled cheese sandwich recipes will take your love to a whole new level.
Frozen Dinner Rolls
Drummond swears by frozen dinner rolls (even the store-bought kind!). These unassuming balls of dough can be transformed into calzones, mini-pizzas or baked up as-is and brushed with butter and chopped fresh herbs for a quick-and-easy dinner accompaniment.
Pesto Sauce
According to Drummond, “Jarred pesto is an easy way to inject big flavor into soups, pasta, quiches, chicken salads, dips, and dressings when you don’t have access to fresh basil.”
While jarred pesto is a perfect pantry staple, it’s also a great ingredient to make from scratch when your basil plants are growing like crazy in the summer. Here’s one of our favorite recipes.
Panko Breadcrumbs
Though breadcrumbs might most often be associated with frying chicken or fish, they also make a great topping for casseroles or as a binder for meatballs or meatloaf.
Frozen Fruit
Drummond always keeps plenty of frozen fruit in her freezer. “These are awesome stand-ins for pies, crisps and cobblers when the fresh fruits aren’t in season,” she says. “And you throw the frozen fruit right into the blender for smoothies whenever you want.”
This blueberry fruit smoothie is a low-fat alternative to a traditional shake or malt recipe.
Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
When it comes to spicy foods, Drummond is all-in. One of her favorite ingredients to add a little spicy flavor to a recipe is chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. “Add to soups. Add to roasts. Puree with mayonnaise for a great salad dressing or veggie dip,” she says.
Originally Published: August 10, 2018
