diff --git a/src/components/pantry/pantry-item-dialog.tsx b/src/components/pantry/pantry-item-dialog.tsx
index 1b6cc95..a1aefed 100644
--- a/src/components/pantry/pantry-item-dialog.tsx
+++ b/src/components/pantry/pantry-item-dialog.tsx
@@ -148,7 +148,22 @@ export function PantryItemDialog({ item, locations, plants, onSuccess }: Props)
     set("name", s.name);
   }
 
-  const subcategoryOptions = getSubcategoryOptions(form.pantryCategory);
+  // Merge static category list with any custom categories previously saved to the DB.
+  const catalogCategories: string[] = catalog?.categories ?? [];
+  const knownCategoryValues = new Set(CATEGORY_OPTIONS.map(o => o.value.toLowerCase()));
+  const extraCategoryOptions = catalogCategories
+    .filter(c => !knownCategoryValues.has(c.toLowerCase()))
+    .map(c => ({ value: c, label: c }));
+  const allCategoryOptions = [...CATEGORY_OPTIONS, ...extraCategoryOptions];
+
+  // Static subcategories for this category + any custom ones from the catalog.
+  const staticSubcategoryOptions = getSubcategoryOptions(form.pantryCategory);
+  const catalogSubcategories: { category: string; subcategory: string }[] = catalog?.subcategories ?? [];
+  const knownSubValues = new Set(staticSubcategoryOptions.map(o => o.value.toLowerCase()));
+  const extraSubOptions = catalogSubcategories
+    .filter(cs => cs.category.toLowerCase() === form.pantryCategory.toLowerCase() && !knownSubValues.has(cs.subcategory.toLowerCase()))
+    .map(cs => ({ value: cs.subcategory, label: cs.subcategory }));
+  const subcategoryOptions = [...staticSubcategoryOptions, ...extraSubOptions];
 
   async function handleSubmit(e: React.FormEvent) {
     e.preventDefault();
@@ -262,10 +277,11 @@ export function PantryItemDialog({ item, locations, plants, onSuccess }: Props)
               <div className="space-y-1">
                 <Label>Category</Label>
                 <Combobox
-                  options={CATEGORY_OPTIONS}
+                  options={allCategoryOptions}
                   value={form.pantryCategory}
                   onChange={v => { set("pantryCategory", v); set("pantrySubcategory", ""); }}
-                  placeholder="Select category…"
+                  placeholder="Select or add category…"
+                  allowCustom
                 />
               </div>
               <div className="space-y-1">
@@ -274,9 +290,10 @@ export function PantryItemDialog({ item, locations, plants, onSuccess }: Props)
                   options={subcategoryOptions}
                   value={form.pantrySubcategory}
                   onChange={v => set("pantrySubcategory", v)}
-                  placeholder="Select subcategory…"
+                  placeholder="Select or add…"
                   disabled={!form.pantryCategory}
-                  emptyText="No subcategories"
+                  emptyText="Type to add a subcategory"
+                  allowCustom
                 />
               </div>
             </div>
diff --git a/src/components/ui/combobox.tsx b/src/components/ui/combobox.tsx
index 07f824f..55e26c3 100644
--- a/src/components/ui/combobox.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ui/combobox.tsx
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 import { useState, useRef, useEffect } from "react";
 import * as Popover from "@radix-ui/react-popover";
-import { Check, ChevronsUpDown, Search } from "lucide-react";
+import { Check, ChevronsUpDown, Plus, Search } from "lucide-react";
 import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";
 
 export type ComboOption = { value: string; label: string };
@@ -14,9 +14,10 @@ type Props = {
   placeholder?: string;
   disabled?: boolean;
   emptyText?: string;
+  allowCustom?: boolean; // show "Add '[query]'" when no exact match
 };
 
-export function Combobox({ options, value, onChange, placeholder = "Select…", disabled, emptyText = "No results" }: Props) {
+export function Combobox({ options, value, onChange, placeholder = "Select…", disabled, emptyText = "No results", allowCustom = false }: Props) {
   const [open, setOpen] = useState(false);
   const [query, setQuery] = useState("");
   const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null);
@@ -25,7 +26,14 @@ export function Combobox({ options, value, onChange, placeholder = "Select…",
     ? options.filter(o => o.label.toLowerCase().includes(query.toLowerCase()))
     : options;
 
+  // Show "add" option when allowCustom and the query isn't already an exact match
+  const trimmed = query.trim();
+  const exactMatch = options.some(o => o.label.toLowerCase() === trimmed.toLowerCase());
+  const showAdd = allowCustom && trimmed.length > 0 && !exactMatch;
+
+  // Display: if value matches a known option use its label, otherwise show value as-is (custom)
   const selected = options.find(o => o.value === value);
+  const displayValue = selected?.label ?? value;
 
   useEffect(() => {
     if (open) {
@@ -34,6 +42,11 @@ export function Combobox({ options, value, onChange, placeholder = "Select…",
     }
   }, [open]);
 
+  function pick(val: string) {
+    onChange(val);
+    setOpen(false);
+  }
+
   return (
     <Popover.Root open={open} onOpenChange={disabled ? undefined : setOpen}>
       <Popover.Trigger asChild>
@@ -43,10 +56,10 @@ export function Combobox({ options, value, onChange, placeholder = "Select…",
           className={cn(
             "w-full flex items-center justify-between rounded-md border bg-background px-3 py-2 text-sm focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-ring",
             disabled && "opacity-50 cursor-not-allowed",
-            !selected && "text-muted-foreground"
+            !displayValue && "text-muted-foreground"
           )}
         >
-          <span className="truncate">{selected?.label ?? placeholder}</span>
+          <span className="truncate">{displayValue || placeholder}</span>
           <ChevronsUpDown className="h-4 w-4 text-muted-foreground shrink-0 ml-2" />
         </button>
       </Popover.Trigger>
@@ -75,30 +88,42 @@ export function Combobox({ options, value, onChange, placeholder = "Select…",
             {value && (
               <button
                 type="button"
-                className="w-full text-left px-3 py-2 text-sm text-muted-foreground hover:bg-accent flex items-center gap-2"
-                onClick={() => { onChange(""); setOpen(false); }}
+                className="w-full text-left px-3 py-2 text-sm text-muted-foreground hover:bg-accent"
+                onClick={() => pick("")}
               >
                 — clear —
               </button>
             )}
 
-            {filtered.length === 0 ? (
+            {filtered.map(opt => (
+              <button
+                key={opt.value}
+                type="button"
+                className={cn(
+                  "w-full text-left px-3 py-2 text-sm hover:bg-accent flex items-center justify-between gap-2",
+                  opt.value === value && "font-medium"
+                )}
+                onClick={() => pick(opt.value)}
+              >
+                <span>{opt.label}</span>
+                {opt.value === value && <Check className="h-3.5 w-3.5 text-primary shrink-0" />}
+              </button>
+            ))}
+
+            {filtered.length === 0 && !showAdd && (
               <p className="px-3 py-4 text-sm text-muted-foreground text-center">{emptyText}</p>
-            ) : (
-              filtered.map(opt => (
-                <button
-                  key={opt.value}
-                  type="button"
-                  className={cn(
-                    "w-full text-left px-3 py-2 text-sm hover:bg-accent flex items-center justify-between gap-2",
-                    opt.value === value && "font-medium"
-                  )}
-                  onClick={() => { onChange(opt.value); setOpen(false); }}
-                >
-                  <span>{opt.label}</span>
-                  {opt.value === value && <Check className="h-3.5 w-3.5 text-primary shrink-0" />}
-                </button>
-              ))
+            )}
+
+            {/* 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>
             )}
           </div>
         </Popover.Content>
diff --git a/src/lib/changelog.ts b/src/lib/changelog.ts
index c814630..fda5e64 100644
--- a/src/lib/changelog.ts
+++ b/src/lib/changelog.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,13 @@ export type ChangelogEntry = {
 };
 
 export const CHANGELOG: ChangelogEntry[] = [
+  {
+    version: "0.18.1",
+    date: "2026-06-29",
+    changes: [
+      "Pantry: you can now add a brand-new category or subcategory on the fly — just type the name into the Category or Subcategory dropdown and pick \"Add [name]\" at the bottom of the list. New categories are remembered in future add-item dialogs.",
+    ],
+  },
   {
     version: "0.18.0",
     date: "2026-06-16",
diff --git a/src/lib/version.ts b/src/lib/version.ts
index 906b756..7349a50 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 = "0.18.0";
+export const APP_VERSION = "0.18.1";