10 Time-Saving Ingredients You Should Add to Your Grocery List
Store-bought to the rescue!
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While there are times in your life that you may want to spend hours in the kitchen toiling away on something special, it's okay to admit that life isn't always like that. You've got a job and responsibilities and sometimes you just need to get food on the table now. A busy modern life calls for modern conveniences, whether it be kitchen appliances like air fryers or kitchen hacks like frozen vegetables and cans of sweetened condensed milk.
Take it from Ree Drummond, who admits: "I love a good shortcut." The Pioneer Woman has spent years feeding hungry cowboys and kids, so she knows a thing or two about getting food on the table with time-saving kitchen products. In fact, her handy-dandy printable for stocking up lists several of them that at first glance seem straight forward until you realize just how versatile they are. Take pre-made pizza dough. Obviously, you can make endless pizza recipes but you can also make calzones, flatbreads, and other easy snacks.
If you want more examples just like that, keep reading! You'll find ten of the best store-bought ingredients that save time along with creative ways to use them. They're also great ways to help clean out that pantry, fridge, and freezer, too, so nothing goes to waste. And just because they save time doesn't mean you'll scrimp on flavor, either. Each bite will have you thanking yourself for working smarter, not harder.
Pie Crust
If you're so inclined, you can make pie dough and freeze it so you always have it on hand. Otherwise, buy some for your fridge or freezer! It will not only make baking homemade pies so much faster, but you can bake off a quiche or a savory pot pie in half the time.
Get Ree's Turkey Pot Pie recipe.
Canned Biscuits or Crescent Rolls
Canned biscuit recipes to the rescue! You can make a quick biscuits and gravy like the Drummond family did for Easter to a tasty treat like monkey bread. The same can be said for crescent roll recipes which are the start of dishes like casseroles and apple dumplings.
Get Ree's Monkey Bread recipe.
Dumplings
Every cuisine has their own type of dumpling that can be made so much faster when using a packaged kind. Prefer Italian? Make tortellini recipes like this easy soup in under 30 minutes. Go Polish with sheet pan pierogi or Asian-style dumpling soup that takes a mere 15 minutes.
Get the Chicken Tortellini Soup recipe.
Pizza Dough
Yes, you can learn how to make pizza dough and freeze some for a future use. But if you're in a rush or don't really feel like learning that skill, buy some in the store in the refrigerated or freezer section. Make easy calzones for dinner, get fancy with some flatbreads or prep a pizza!
Cake Mix
If you're a beginning baker or you just don't want to stock up on every single ingredient for a from-scratch cake, boxed cake mix is the way to go for consistency. You can make so many cake mix desserts like cookies, cupcakes, and cake pops!
Get the Cake Mix Cookies recipe.
Refrigerated Gnocchi
Pillowy gnocchi feels so fancy! But if you buy it pre-made in the refrigerated section at your grocery story, it's incredibly easy to whip up. Gnocchi recipes include flavorful soups, an easy sheet pan dinner, and quick 20-minute pasta dishes like primavera.
Get Ree's Gnocchi Primavera recipe.
Frozen Hash Browns
So many breakfast casseroles start with frozen hash browns. They're just so much faster to use than shredding a load of potatoes on your own (though if you have time, you can make and freeze your own easily). They can also make savory waffles and a crustless quiche in a flash.
Get Ree's Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole recipe.
Jell-O
Jell-O has been around since 1897, which explains why so there are just so many recipes that call for it in old cookbooks and at church potlucks. Jell-O is quite useful as a stabilizer in no-bake desserts like cheesecake, plus it amps any added flavors.
Get the No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake recipe.
Soda Pop
Call it soda or call it pop. Either way, call it your secret weapon for flavor. It might seem strange, but it's really not! You can make pulled pork or ribs with Dr Pepper. You can also make chocolate cake with a can of Coke, pound cake with Sprite, or apple dumplings with Mountain Dew.
Puff Pastry
Did you know that even professional pastry chefs will use store-bought puff pastry? It's true! It's very time consuming and complicated to make, so why not grab a box and save time? Puff pastry recipes can range from sweet to savory and they'll turn any ordinary day into an elegant occasion.
Get Ree's Ham and Cheese Croissants recipe.
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