diff --git a/src/components/ui/combobox.tsx b/src/components/ui/combobox.tsx
index 55e26c3..3b3458a 100644
--- a/src/components/ui/combobox.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ui/combobox.tsx
@@ -110,20 +110,33 @@ export function Combobox({ options, value, onChange, placeholder = "Select…",
               </button>
             ))}
 
-            {filtered.length === 0 && !showAdd && (
+            {filtered.length === 0 && !allowCustom && (
               <p className="px-3 py-4 text-sm text-muted-foreground text-center">{emptyText}</p>
             )}
 
-            {/* Add custom option */}
-            {showAdd && (
-              <button
-                type="button"
-                className="w-full text-left px-3 py-2 text-sm hover:bg-accent flex items-center gap-2 text-primary border-t mt-1"
-                onClick={() => pick(trimmed)}
-              >
-                <Plus className="h-3.5 w-3.5 shrink-0" />
-                Add &ldquo;{trimmed}&rdquo;
-              </button>
+            {/* Add custom option — shows as "Add '[query]'" when typing, or "+ New" hint when idle */}
+            {allowCustom && (
+              <div className="border-t mt-1">
+                {showAdd ? (
+                  <button
+                    type="button"
+                    className="w-full text-left px-3 py-2 text-sm hover:bg-accent flex items-center gap-2 text-primary"
+                    onClick={() => pick(trimmed)}
+                  >
+                    <Plus className="h-3.5 w-3.5 shrink-0" />
+                    Add &ldquo;{trimmed}&rdquo;
+                  </button>
+                ) : (
+                  <button
+                    type="button"
+                    className="w-full text-left px-3 py-2 text-sm hover:bg-accent flex items-center gap-2 text-muted-foreground"
+                    onClick={() => inputRef.current?.focus()}
+                  >
+                    <Plus className="h-3.5 w-3.5 shrink-0" />
+                    Add new…
+                  </button>
+                )}
+              </div>
             )}
           </div>
         </Popover.Content>
diff --git a/src/lib/changelog.ts b/src/lib/changelog.ts
index c27e0c9..9914388 100644
--- a/src/lib/changelog.ts
+++ b/src/lib/changelog.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,13 @@ export type ChangelogEntry = {
 };
 
 export const CHANGELOG: ChangelogEntry[] = [
+  {
+    version: "0.19.2",
+    date: "2026-06-29",
+    changes: [
+      "Pantry: \"Add new…\" now shows at the bottom of the Category and Subcategory dropdowns at all times — click it, type the new name, and it becomes the \"Add [name]\" option.",
+    ],
+  },
   {
     version: "0.19.1",
     date: "2026-06-29",
diff --git a/src/lib/version.ts b/src/lib/version.ts
index bbd3986..7abd81f 100644
--- a/src/lib/version.ts
+++ b/src/lib/version.ts
@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 // Bump on every user-visible release. Changelog entries live in `src/lib/changelog.ts`.
-export const APP_VERSION = "0.19.1";
+export const APP_VERSION = "0.19.2";