Weeknight Dinners Using Supermarket Shortcuts

Buffalo Chicken Chili This recipe is a fresh spin on chili, pairing the familiar chili spices with buffalo flavor and all the things that go well with it: celery, blue cheese, and chicken.

Chicken and Rice Soup with Ginger and Scallions This quick, simple soup that starts with store-bought chicken broth packs flavor with the addition of freshly grated ginger, scallions, and fragrant cilantro. Some shiitake mushrooms and long-grain white rice bulk it up.

Lemon Chicken and Orzo Soup When you’re seeking something bright and fresh but still ultracomforting, this Lemon Chicken and Orzo Soup is the way to go. The egg yolk–thickened broth provides the comfort while the lemon, chives, and thyme add the freshness.

Spicy Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup A rotisserie chicken, a few pantry ingredients, and some fresh vegetables combine for a fragrant, delicious soup that’s ready in just 30 minutes.

Apricot-Basil Chicken Salad Apricots, basil, and lemon juice add bright notes to this colorful chicken salad. Stirring them together with some mayonnaise and Dijon mustard creates a dressing that clings to the chicken. A bed of Bibb lettuce is the perfect way to serve it all up.

Whole-Grain Mustard Chicken Salad Yes, you can absolutely grab a bag of salad mix and a rotisserie chicken and toss them together with some dressing, but if you pick up a few other things and spend just a few extra minutes, you can have a truly excellent salad. This one features tender-crisp sugar snap peas and juicy red grapes tossed with the chicken, lettuce, and a quick whisk-together mustard dressing.

Chicken Parmesan Pasta Bake Chicken Parmesan is undeniably a great dinner choice, but pounding and breading chicken and then frying it is time-consuming. This casserole takes the components of the dish—the chicken, the crumbs, the sauce, and the cheese, plus the side of pasta—and turns it all into a no-fuss one-pan meal.

Skillet Chicken, Zucchini, and Cheesy Rice A weeknight meal that’s packed with chicken, vegetables, rice, and cheese? Sign me up. This casserole gets its creamy consistency from shredded zucchini, which cooks down a bit before the chicken and broth get added. A few minutes later, in go cooked rice and cheddar. Everything gets topped with a snowstorm of grated Parmesan and popped under the broiler to brown. Yum.

Buffalo Chicken Calzones Store-bought pizza dough plus rotisserie chicken is a perfect match in these Buffalo Chicken Calzones. Just be sure to have some Franks’ Redhot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce and plenty of mozzarella cheese on hand to make the filling.

Easy Chicken and Salsa Tacos Whenever I’m thinking of a quick dinner, tacos come to mind. They can be as simple or as elaborate as you want. These easy Chicken and Salsa Tacos trend toward simple, using store-bought salsa plus some seasonings to flavor the chicken. A topping of lettuce, cheese, and a quick sour cream–based sauce is all they need.

White Bean and Tuna Salad If you have some dried cannellini beans hanging around, this dish looks incredibly elegant and relies on pantry staples such as olive oil, sherry vinegar, and red pepper flakes. Shallot and parsley add a little freshness.

Tuna Melt Sometimes you’re just really in the mood for a sandwich, so try taking it up a notch and making it for a hot, toasty, supremely satisfying meal.

Spaghetti al Tonno is another pantry-friendly tuna pasta dish that incorporates some canned tomatoes and anchovies. This really satisfies when you’re in the mood for a red sauce dish.

Spaghetti with Tuna and Capers If you’re looking for something a little more refined but incredibly pantry-friendly, look no further. Oil-packed tuna plus some briny capers, spicy red pepper flakes, and savory Parmesan cheese come together with a little pasta cooking water to make a velvety, rich sauce for spaghetti.

Vacuum-Packed Gnocchi: A note about this lesser-known product. Making gnocchi from scratch is actually surprisingly simple, but it does take quite a bit of time, ruling it out for the average weeknight dinner (though when you do have time, we highly recommend you try this recipe). Luckily, multiple types of premade gnocchi, from refrigerated to frozen to shelf-stable, are readily available at most supermarkets. We opt for the vacuum-packed shelf-stable version in many weeknight recipes because its slightly drier texture helps the exterior get extra crispy when browned in a skillet.

Creamy Gnocchi with Mushrooms, comes together with a few key ingredients guaranteeing a satisfying (vegetarian) meal in less than 20 minutes.

If mushrooms aren’t your thing, you can put store bought gnocchi to use in this Gnocchi with Creamy Tomato Sauce that is just as rich and satisfying.