12 prepared foods you can buy at the store that make weeknight dinners a snap
There is absolutely nothing wrong with store bought foods that make life easier.
Letting go of preparing weeknight dinners from scratch brings so much happiness (and freedom) to your day. There is absolutely nothing wrong with store bought food from the grocery store that helps you make easy weeknight family dinners. In fact, prepared food is everything that’s right with easy dinner recipes.
Because the weekdays are packed enough already, so when you need to take the pressure off of dinners that require a whole CVS receipt of ingredients, store bought food becomes your go-to. A jar of this, a can of that or a whole rotisserie chicken can be used in any number of easy dinner ideas. Inspired by Team Motherly’s personal hot take, check out this roundup that is sure to make weeknight family dinners a whole lot easier.
12 prepared foods you can use in easy dinner recipes
1. Cheese tortellinis with jarred pasta sauce
“The tortellinis take only 4 minutes to boil. Add in frozen peas or other veggies while it’s boiling then top with store-bought jarred red pasta sauce.”— Erin Lem, VP Content Strategy and Operations
2. Rotisserie chicken
“Simply eat as-is or you can shred and add to soups, risottos or chicken salad sandwiches.” — Erin Lem, VP Content Strategy and Operations
“I use it to make chicken nachos and greek Avgolemono soup!” — Shannon Vestal Robson, Editorial Director
3. Mac and cheese
“I try to add in frozen peas or veggies while the pasta is boiling.” — Erin Lem, VP Content Strategy and Operations
4. Naan pizza
“I buy the Whole Foods naan bread found in the bread aisle and make them into individual pizzas. We’ll top with red sauce (I usually just use up any red pasta sauce I have in the fridge), cheese and any toppings (usually leftovers). Then I pop in the oven for a few minutes.” — Erin Lem, VP Content Strategy and Operations
5. Frozen orange chicken
“Both my kids like the frozen Mandarin Orange Chicken from TJ’s. I usually cook a side of rice to go with it.” — Erin Lem, VP Content Strategy and Operations
6. Breaded fish tacos
“Trader Joe’s breaded cod becomes breaded fish tacos when you stick ‘em in a tortilla and top with cabbage and sriracha mayo.” — Shannon Vestal Robson, Editorial Director
7. Vegetarian tacos
“Trader Joe’s BBQ jackfruit comes in a bag that you heat up, and bam! Top with cheese and you have vegetarian tacos!” — Shannon Vestal Robson, Editorial Director
8. Pizza bagels
“I go old-school with pizza bagels! I buy mini-bagels from Wegmans, add plain tomato sauce or whatever jarred sauce I have open and top with pre-shredded cheese. It’s fun for them to make by themselves, too. I just put the toppings on the side and let them play ‘pizza chef.’” — Jamie Aderski, Email Editor and Strategist
9. Pierogies
“My kids love Mrs. T’s pierogies (and they love, like, so few actual foods). You can find them anywhere—we’re partial to the “mini” version. I boil them and bento-box it out with tomato or soy sauce for dipping, adding applesauce and whatever else vegetable-y that isn’t deemed “too green” for them—bagged, shredded carrots usually do the trick!” — Jamie Aderski, Email Editor and Strategist
10. Tuna and frozen peas with cappellini
“My go-to last-minute meal is adding a can of tuna and frozen peas to pasta sauce and serving over cappellini with plenty of parm. My kids loooove pasta and the tuna offers added protein to fill them up.” — Jess D’Argenio Waller, Health and Wellness Senior Editor
11. Japanese fried rice with egg
“I stock up on Trader Joe’s frozen Japanese Fried Rice (which microwaves up in 1 minute) for quick meals. If I’ve got more time, I’ll serve it with an egg on the side and some seaweed snacks (nori strips), or toss in some extra peas or edamame.” — Jess D’Argenio Waller, Health and Wellness Senior Editor
12. Wontons
“I keep Trader Joe’s frozen veggie or pork wontons on hand for quick meals: served with sliced raw pepper strips and some Trader Joe’s sweet chili sauce, it’s a five-minute meal that’s gobbled up just as fast.” — Jess D’Argenio Waller, Health and Wellness Senior Editor
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