When it first appears:

System 1: Water, Fruit, Oils, Seeds, Slime, Aluminum

System 3: Bugs

System 10: Algae, Fiber, Nitrogen, Titanium

System 20: Gems, Platinum, Helium, Microbiota, Spores

System 21: Meat

Water appears in your first system.

Water is the critical early-game resource, since all food requires the production of water. You will likely want to boost production of early water-producing planets by running Hard and WTF missions.

Water + Seeds + Fruit = 2 Rations.
2 Water + 2 Slime = 2 Desert.
2 Water + 1 Fruit = 2 Juice.
Water + Seeds + Bugs = 2 Pizza.

2 Water + 2 Algae + Oil + Seeds = 2 Fine Soup
Water + 2 Seeds + 4 Fruit + Algae = 2 Vegan Feast
2 Water + 2 Nitrogen = 2 Orion Soda
2 Water + 2 Algae + 2 Nitrogen = 2 Tonic X

Water + Seeds + 3 Spores + 3 Meat = 2 Exquisite Roll
2 Water + 2 Fruit + 2 Algae + 5 Meat = 2 Luxury Dinner

Water is also used in producing most Soaps, and in Fuel Cells. You probably want to avoid making Fuel Cells until you have a large water surplus, since Humans are just as happy buying Repair Parts and Souvenirs which don't require water.

Water + Oil = 2 Soap
Water + Oil + Nitrogen = 2 Advanced Soap
Water + Fiber + 3 Nitrogen = 2 Antimatter Cleaner

2 Water + 2 Oil = 2 Fuel Cells

Seeds, Fruits, and Slime appear in your first system. They're used to make most food, and are almost never in short supply.

Water + Seeds + Fruit = 2 Rations
Water + Seeds + Bugs = 2 Pizza
2 Water + 2 Slime = 2 Dessert
2 Water + Fruit = 2 Juice

2 Water + 2 Algae + Oil + Seeds = 2 Fine Soup
Water + 2 Seeds + 4 Fruit + Algae = 2 Vegan Feast

Water + Seeds + 3 Spores + 3 Meat = Exquisite Roll
2 Water + 2 Fruit + 2 Algae + 5 Meat = Luxury Dinner

3 Slime + Bugs + Algae = 2 Pills

Aluminum appears in your first system. It's a critical component in consumer goods, needed for repair parts, souvenirs, and miniservo robots. Fuel cells are the only early-game consumer good that doesn't use aluminum, but since those use water, which is in shorter supply, you generally don't want to make any until the mid-game.

Aluminum can also be a bottleneck in the late game when it's used in things like books.

3 Aluminum + Oils = 2 Repair Parts
Aluminum + 2 Bugs = 2 Souvenirs

6 Aluminum = 2 Miniservo robots
Aluminum + 2 Fiber + Titanium = 2 Star Maps

Oils + Aluminum + 2 Fibers = 2 Books

Aluminum + 4 Helium = 2 Holo Training Programs

Oils appear in your first system. "Oil" in this case means vegetable oils. Oils are never in short supply.

Oils make a variety of mechanical products and soaps.

3 Aluminum + Oil = 2 Repair Parts
2 Water + 2 Oils = 2 Fuel Cells

Water + Oil = 2 Soap
Water + Oil + Nitrogen = 2 Advanced Soap

Oil + Aluminum + 2 Fiber = 2 Books

Bugs appear around system 3.

Bugs are notable mainly because they're required for making Pizza, a very early game food that has some slight advantages over Rations. They're used only a few things, and they're very plentiful so it's easy to ignore them.

Water + Seeds + Bugs = 2 Pizza

3 Slime + Bugs + Algae = 2 Pills

3 Bugs + 2 Spores + 2 Microbiota = 2 Bon Bons

Algae doesn't appear until system 10. Since it's primarily used for alien foods, and only Humans appear until system 11, you generally have at least some when you need it. Like Water, it's in somewhat short supply for a while, though the demand isn't as high as the early game demand for Water.

Water + 2 Seeds + 4 Fruit + Algae = 2 Vegan Feast, eaten by Lemurians
2 Water + 2 Algae + Oils + Seeds = 2 Fine Soup, eaten by Crusantians

2 Water + 2 Algae + 2 Nitrogen = 2 Tonic X, drunk by Nogi

2 Water + 2 Fruit + 2 Algae + 5 Meat = 2 Luxury Dinner, eaten by Blorgs

Algae's the hardest to obtain ingredient for pills, needed by Crusantians.

3 Slime + Bugs + Algae = 2 Pills

Nitrogen first appears in system 10.

Nitrogen is critical for producing mid-level drinks and soaps. It tends to be in very short supply for the entire game.

2 Water + 2 Nitrogen = 2 Orion Soda, drunk by Lemurians
2 Water + 2 Algae + 2 Nitrogen = 2 Tonic X, drunk by Nogi

Water + Oils + Nitrogen = Advanced Soap, used by Lemurians
Water + Fiber + 3 Nitrogen = Antimatter Cleaner, used by Crusantians

2 Nitrogen + 2 Spores + 3 Microbiota = 2 Vaccine, used by Nogi.

Fiber first appears in system 10.

Fiber is in relatively low demand when it first appears, but it becomes vital when it's used for books. Crew demands for Sleep, food, drink, hygiene, and fun are relatively easy to meet, but knowledge requires books or training programs, and training programs are much, much harder to make than books.

Fiber + Titanium = 2 Green Tokens for PInball Machines, played by Lemurians
Fiber + Titanium = 2 Red tokens for Arcade machines, played by Crusantians

Aluminum + 2 Fiber + Titanium = 2 Star Maps

2 Slime + 10 Fiber = 2 Clothes, purchased by Crusantians

Oil + Aluminum + 2 Fiber = 2 Books, read by Nogi

3 Fiber + 2 Platinum = 2 Comics, read by Blorg

Titanium is the 3rd resource introduced in system 10. It's rarely in short supply, since it's primarily used in small amounts for coin operated games.

You generally don't want to make Star Maps, because Lemurians are happy buying Miniservo robots that only require Aluminum to make, and not the less common Fiber.

FIber + Titanum = 2 Green tokens for Pinball machines
Fiber + Titanium = 2 Red tokens for Arcade machines

Aluminum + 2 Fiber + Titanium = 2 Star Maps, purchased by Lemurians

TItanium + 4 Helium = 2 Holo Fiction programs

Platinum and Gems first appear in system 20. Gems tend to be in shorter supply through most of the game, though both are plentiful by level 30.

5 Platinum + 5 Gems = 2 Jewelry, purchased by Nogi.
2 Platinum + 8 Gems = 2 Cut Gems, purchased by Blorgs

3 Fiber + 2 Platinum = 2 Comics, read by Blorgs

Making Cut Gems has some drawbacks. They sell for slightly more than Bon Bons, the other Consumer demand of Blorgs, but selling Cut Gems tends to draw Blorg into Jewelry stores in Nogi areas. Bon Bons are also much, much easier to make.

Helium first appears in system 20.

Helium is used for Purifier salts and holo programs, and it's in very short supply the entire game. Because holo programs are not vital to meet anything but Crew cravings, you probably won't make many of either.

2 Spores + 4 Helium + Microbiota = Purifier Salts, used by Blorgs

Aluminum + 4 Helium = Holo training program, used by Nogi.
Titanium + 4 Helium = Holo fiction program, used by Blorgs.

Microbiota first appear in system 20.

Microbiota are used in vaccines and Bon Bons. It's generally not in short supply.

2 Nitrogen + 2 Spores + 3 Microbiota = 2 Vaccines used by Nogi

3 Bugs + 2 Spores + 2 Microbiota = 2 Bon Bons, purchased by Blorgs

Spores first appear in system 20. It tends to be in short supply at first, because it's used in two items needed right away by Nogi, "Exquisite" sushi rolls and Vaccines.

Water + Seeds + 3 Spores + 3 Meat = 2 Exquisite Rolls

2 Nitrogen + 2 Spores + 3 Microbiota = 2 Vaccines

3 Bugs + 2 Spores + 2 Microbiota = 2 Bon Bons

Meat first appears in system 21. It's in very short supply in the early areas of Nogi territory.

It's the only resource needed by an alien species that does not unlock until you already have visitors of that species.

It's used only in the two highest end foods.

Water + Seeds + 3 Spores + 3 Meat = Exquisite Rolls, eaten by Nogi
2 Water + 2 Fruit + 2 Algae + 5 Meat = Luxury Dinner, eaten by Blorg