My go-to is the Coconut Curry Chickpeas, a Malaysian-inspired curry with ginger, galangal, lemongrass, and Makrut lime. I warm it up with frozen cauliflower and peas, then spoon it over rice or garlic naan if I have some in the freezer. I also find myself constantly buying tortillas and shredded cheese so I can make quesadillas with Heyday’s Enchilada Black Beans or use them as a shortcut base for a weeknight chili. —Olivia Tarantino, senior commerce editor
Red Boat Vietnamese Lemongrass Curry
A recent visit to the grocery store confirmed my fears: hot sauce has taken over the condiment and meal-starter aisle, leaving me wondering if our collective solution to underwhelming meals is simply to make them really frigging spicy. I couldn’t find ANY Thai curry pastes. No oyster sauce, or fermented black bean sauce either. Gone were my Saucy Lips red enchilada sauce, as well as my Rick Bayless Red Enchilada Sauce. I recalled stashing a jar of Red Boat’s newish curry simmer sauce. While I know the quality of their fish sauces is impeccable, I wasn’t sure what to expect from a base sauce. But wow—cracking open the lid released a riptide of lemongrass, ginger, and Makrut lime. I added a can of coconut milk just to bulk it up, but it still provided plenty of warm aromatics and savory-sweet balance. —Chris Morocco, food director
Goodles Mac and Cheese
I have a confession: I eat boxed mac and cheese for dinner at least once every two weeks. It’s not just any mac and cheese, though—it’s Goodles, which features noodles made from a mix of wheat flour, chickpea protein, and wheat protein, plus a whole bunch of vitamins extracted from various veggies. There are several different varieties, but the Shella Good is probably my favorite. It reminds me of the white cheddar mac from Annie’s I ate growing up, but with some added nutrients so I can feel a little bit better about eating toddler food for dinner. I like to add frozen broccoli or peas into the boiling water during the last few minutes of cooking to help round out my meal, and I always finish my bowl with some Calabrian chili olive oil and freshly ground black pepper to take it up a notch.
Epic Foods Chicken Bone Broth
Epic Foods Chicken Bone Broth
Epic Foods Chicken Bone Broth stands alone. While most broths are perfectly serviceable for rounding out the flavors of a soup or giving a brothy head start to a braise, Epic provides the kind of gelatine-rich base that is worthy of spinning up into a ramen broth for weeknight noodle duty. The flavor is a clean, straight pile-driver of savory chicken, good enough to drink on its own. —C.M.
Fly By Jing Chili Crisp Noodles
Fly By Jing Chili Crisp Noodles
Fly By Jing’s Chili Crisp Noodles are my ultimate weeknight lifesaver. When I’m too tired to think about dinner and just staring at my pantry, wondering how to get food in me as fast as possible, I will always reach for these bouncy, chewy Sichuan noodles. They come with a spicy, crunchy sauce and cook in just six minutes. To make the meal a bit heartier, I sauté half a pound of ground pork, some shallots, and a handful of snap peas while the noodles boil. It’s the perfect lazy dinner: quick, easy, and addictively flavorful. —O.T.
Fishwife Smoked Salmon with Fly By Jing Chili Crisp
Fishwife Smoked Salmon with Fly By Jing Chili Crisp
To be totally honest, I’m not really a tinned fish person. Canned tuna has never been my thing, nor have tinned sardines or even most anchovies. I just can’t stomach anything overtly fishy-tasting. A tinned smoked salmon or trout, however, I can get behind—and Fishwife’s smoked salmon with Fly By Jing chili crisp is my current favorite. Each can contains a few large pieces of Atlantic salmon, brined in garlic salt and brown sugar, and swimming in Fly By Jing’s signature Sichuan chili crisp. It’s smoky, savory, spicy, and balanced, the ideal thing to spoon over a steaming bowl of rice when you can’t be bothered to cook. If I have nori on hand, I like to make little hand rolls—bonus points if I’ve got some cucumber or scallion floating around, too.
Bowlcut Classic Stir Fry Sauce
Bowlcut Classic Stir Fry Sauce
Stir-fries are a classic weeknight move: chop up whatever vegetables are hanging around in your fridge, grab a block of tofu or some chicken, and dinner is ready in minutes. The part that always slows me down is making the sauce. Sure, I can splash in some soy sauce, sesame oil, and Sriracha, but a really good stir-fry needs more balance and depth. That’s where Bowlcut comes in. Their Classic Stir Fry Sauce rests on a salty (but not too salty) backbone of tamari, warmth from garlic and ginger, nuttiness from sesame oil, a touch of sweetness from agave, plus mushroom powder for umami. It tastes like a sauce I wish I had the patience to make from scratch every time (but luckily now I don’t have to). —O.T.
Masala Mama Cooking Sauces & Maya Kaimal Everyday Dal
When I’m out of inspiration and low on time, my favorite quick meal starts with Masala Mama’s pre-made sauces. I just crisp up a block of tofu and sauté whatever vegetable I have languishing in my crisper drawer, dump the sauce over the whole mixture, and simmer. It’s an extra-good day if I have some leftover basmati rice in my freezer and a pouch of Maya Kaimal Everyday Dal to microwave, too! —Michele O’Brien, senior audio producer
Sauz Creamy Calabrian Vodka Pasta Sauce
Sauz Creamy Calabrian Vodka Pasta Sauce
I know, I know, there are so many jarred pasta sauces out there, and, yet, I urge you to try this one. Sauz has fully replaced Rao’s in my pantry thanks to its creative flavors. This vodka sauce gets a punch of heat from the addition of Calabrian chiles and tastes richer and creamier than most store-bought versions, thanks to real cream, butter, and Parmesan. My move is to brown some Italian sausage, add some Sauz, toss in frozen peas, then stir in al dente pasta. It’s basically trattoria-level dinner with almost no effort. —O.T.
Spicewalla Billy D’s Fried Chicken Spice
Spicewalla Billy D’s Fried Chicken Spice
I’ve long been a staunch advocate for making my own seasoning blends for no good reason except to force myself to use up all the individual spice jars I’ve accumulated. Plus, most pre-made blends contain garlic powder, which I’ve noticed tends to make me feel a bit bloated. That’s why I was surprised by how much I like Spicewalla’s Billy D’s Fried Chicken Spice. There’s no garlic powder here—just salt, pepper, cayenne, thyme, and paprika. It’s a simple blend, yes, and technically meant for fried chicken (which I’m sure it’s excellent on), but I use it as my go-to for classic roast chicken. It hits that perfect balance of salty, spicy, herby, and smoky, making weeknight chicken reliably delicious. —O.T.
¡Ya Oaxaca! Oaxacan Mole Sauce, Mole Negro
Ya Oaxaca, Oaxacan Mole Sauce, Mole Negro
If mole is on a menu, I’m ordering it. Without fail. Every time. I love it. When I found Ya Oaxaca’s jarred Oaxacan Mole Negro Sauce, I thought: “There’s no way this will satisfy my intense craving for mole.” And, reader, boy was I wrong. This sauce is ridiculously complex: it has a deep chile flavor from five different peppers (ancho, guajillo, Chilhuacle, pasilla, smoked morita), nuttiness from peanuts and almonds, brightness from tomatillos, and that signature Oaxacan chocolate bitterness rounded out with sweet plantains and raisins. It’s balanced, bold, and absolutely crave-worthy. I poured it over rotisserie chicken enchiladas wrapped in Vista Hermosa tortillas, blanketed everything with pepper jack, and baked until bubbling. But for a faster fix, just toss it with shredded chicken and serve alongside rice and beans. —O.T.
For more Preptember content, check out these containers that are total game-changers for food storage and meal prep.
