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Patty is the Food Editor at The Kitchn, where she develops all of your favorite recipes and writes about her most beloved grocery finds. Previously, she worked as Alton Brown’s Research Coordinator and podcast producer and in the Oxmoor House test kitchen. She loves maple syrup, coffee and board games. Patty lives in Atlanta with her husband and two children.
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Patty Catalano
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On a trip abroad a few weeks ago, I was tasked with explaining Trader Joe’s to a Danish person (not an easy feat). “Some have said it sells everything and nothing,” is how I started my description (a high compliment, honestly), before describing my favorite out-of-the-box products, the music, and the idiosyncratic interactions I’ve had in stores. Well, it seems that Trader Joe’s not only picked up on my description, but also doubled down on the “everything and nothing” with its new items this month.
Whether you’ve noticed it or not, I love spotting a theme in my shopping choices, and the theme of this month’s haul is something I call “We Didn’t Need This.” Did I need any of these items? Absolutely not. Am I glad they exist? Absolutely. We live in peak “little treat culture,” and there’s certainly a little treat for everyone this month — even if it’s just a tiny smile-inducing sweet to stash in your pocket. Okay, so maybe one does need all of these things? I digress! On to the goods …
Breakfast, to me, is typically a meal marked by how well it goes with coffee. (In a pinch, I’ll go for one of these shockingly good instant coffees.) This is crucial because I’ll often make it to 11 a.m. without ingesting anything but coffee, and need to make sure that the caffeine alone doesn’t start to make me feel like I’m on the moon. So this is where something easy and coffee-compatible like a swirly-twirly danish really helps bring me back to earth.
Unlike other danishes I tend to see at the grocery store, these Salted Caramel Swirl Danishes aren’t one-note — far from it! This buttery danish pastry (baked by actual Danish bakers, like from Denmark) is piped with an almond custard that has that cherry-adjacent marzipan-y finish I love and goes super well with the salted caramel that swirls around and around. These danishes aren’t just a match for coffee in the morning, either; pair it with your next afternoon London Fog for a day-brightener like no other.
Let me get to the point: I love these silly little swirls. I just popped a single one in my toaster oven to test and the smell from one (ONE!) buttery croissant swirl made me go, “Since when did I move into a French patisserie?” It makes total sense, as a French bakery supplier is who I have to thank for these are-they-breakfast-or-are-they-dessert creations.
No component of these Mini Chocolate Chip Croissant Swirls is lacking. The flaky layers? Light and airy, allowing the supremely rich semi-sweet mini chocolate chips to really shine. They’re buttery and subtly crunchy, yet they have doughy, melty innards — and they’re ready for a dip into some espresso. They’re also maybe one of my favorite sizes ever (the size of a silver dollar pancake). So cute! I have no notes.
I’m not sure what’s physically going on with me at the moment (trying not to Google it!), but my craving for sour, acidic, bright, tangy foods has been next-level (see: my emergency pack of Sour Patch Kids in my car cup holder). Even when I cook at home, my usual vinegary, citrusy friends could stand to be a bit bolder, so I was so excited to see that Trader Joe’s is now carrying Organic 100% Sicilian Lemon Juice.
I couldn’t help myself once I left the store — I took a swig. And whoa, this lemon juice was strikingly different from the lemons I slice up at home. The juice is still quite sour, yet not packed with too much acid or bite. It’s also incredibly aromatic, almost bergamot-adjacent. It also just tastes very fresh, and sure to be liquid gold in whatever you choose to use it for — maybe a French 75, some lemon bars, or the best lemon granita ever?
One of the first few things I did after a Trader Joe’s shop was rip into these mochi, pull out my phone, and text a friend a photo of the bag along with the caption, “Oh these are trouble.” My lifelong quest of ranking all the “not-too-sweet” treats of the world has led me to maybe my favorite Trader Joe’s treat of all time.
How did TJ’s do it? Well, imagine a brown sugar boba tea that was shrunken down into a bite-size mochi. That whole experience is basically what the grocer did with these chewy little mochi bites. The texture is unreal: They’re pillowy soft, with a powdery exterior that makes me feel like I’m eating a lightly sweetened mini cake donut. My only gripe is that they are individually wrapped once you break into the main bag, which will definitely slow my roll when it comes to devouring these.
Trader Joe’s is clearly going all in on salted-caramelizing as many things as possible (ice cream! Bread pudding! Baking chips!), and this time it’s the newest seasonal mini biscotti. It’s been a real neck-and-neck competition at the Not Too Sweet Awards 2024, but these Brown Butter Salted Caramel Mini Biscotti just might clinch the second-place spot after the Brown Sugar Boba Mochi.
The brown butter taste, I find, is often lost if it’s not in a freshly homemade dish, but these biscotti manage to encapsulate the buttery-toasty notes really nicely. I honestly got more of a brown butter, maple syrup, and pancake flavor combo here (rather than caramel), which I was not mad about. There’s really nothing to criticize about these biscotti — especially after you dunk one in some steamed milk.
Which new Trader Joe’s items are you adding to your cart? Tell us in the comments below.
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Mackenzie Filson
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Some weeks (ahem, most weeks), I just don’t want to decide what to eat at every meal. Researchers at Cornell University have estimated we make about 225 food-related decisions a day. That’s simply way too many, I think! If I could off-sell just some of these tasks to someone, anyone, trust me — the job would go to the lowest bidder.
Thankfully, this is somewhat a reality I can test out, with all the different exciting meal kits that can be delivered to my front door. Don’t you love the future?
In an effort to cut down on at least a few dozen of those daily food decisions, I decided to test out meal kits from both Blue Apron and HelloFresh. It was a real duel for the ages, with many questions to consider: Would they be as delicious (or more) than my own kitchen creations? Could they save me money, time, and dishwashing elbow grease? Here’s how this showdown shook out.
For each meal kit, I opted to try three different recipes (two servings each). The total price of both shook out as follows:
Blue Apron Meal Kit: $76.93 ($10.99 per serving plus $10.99 for shipping)
HelloFresh Meal Kit: $70.93 ($9.99 per serving plus $10.99 for shipping)
From these base offerings, you can opt in for more upgraded options, such as Blue Apron’s “Craft” or “Premium”-marked recipes, which add between $6.99 to $14.99 per serving, or HelloFresh’s “Premium Picks,” which add between $1.99 to $9.99 per serving.
HelloFresh boasts 100+ recipes per week (reality check: I clocked 44 for the week of April 1), while Blue Apron offers about 80+ recipes to choose from (reality check: I clocked 16 for the same week), with a wide variety of proteins and sides. Both services also offer recipes with options to switch out the protein or side.
For my kits, I went with the following recipes:
One thing to note for the gluten-averse out there (waving my hand here): Both Blue Apron and HelloFresh have limited gluten-free options, which is a bummer for those of us with gluten sensitivities. Some recipes had no gluten-containing ingredients, although they weren’t labeled gluten-free. You can also swap in your own gluten-free ingredients — breadcrumbs, bread rolls, and flour — in some of the meal options I tried. Note: It’s very possible some meal ingredients and components were made in a gluten-containing facility. Similarly, there aren’t any noted vegan recipes on Blue Apron (only vegetarian), but there are often a few vegan recipes on HelloFresh in addition to vegetarian options.
Each service allows you to add on extra meals, but also a fun assortment of other fridge-fillers. HelloFresh, for one, has more add-ons than I was expecting, like GoodChop meat and seafood boxes, dog food from Pet’s Table, prepared meals, charcuterie boards, and breakfast and lunch kits.
Blue Apron offers slightly fewer add-ons, more so things to fill out your original weekly meals, like appetizer and side kits, extra proteins, and desserts, as well as prepared meals.
The very first thing I ask myself is would I make this again? Meal kits really earn their space in my fridge when the recipes are easy enough that I am excited to make them again. I’ve got binders full of recipes I’ve tried and loved, recreating and riffing on them over and over again. I also pay attention to recipe pacing, noticing if I’d wished a step came earlier or later (depending on what other process is going on), and how warm the resulting meal is at dinner time.
I also give major props to a meal kit if it teaches me something, like a new technique or way to prepare an ingredient. My last marker of quality? I call it the Tiny Bowl Test. Did this recipe force me to use too many tiny bowls to separate/mix/marinate various ingredients? Yeah? Well, that’s cause for some points off. I even kept a checklist of tiny bowls per recipe to see how each meal kit stacked up in my sink. (I don’t have a dishwasher!)
With all that in mind, let’s talk taste: If it’s easy, teaches us something, uses minimal tiny bowls, but doesn’t taste good, then what’s the point, right? In terms of flavor, both kits delivered medal-worthy meals: Blue Apron’s Pesto Farro Bowls and HelloFresh’s Apricot, Almond & Chickpea Tagine. They were simple, tasty, and more complex than I anticipated. I’d gladly make them over and over again!
Both HelloFresh and Blue Apron have a similar level of ease, which I call “can do it while holding a conversation.” I actually made a few of these recipes while carrying full-on conversations with the friends I was cooking for. So if you’ve got many distractions (kids, a barking dog, a buzzing phone), are short on time and multitasking, or simply a sociable cook, both would be great options. Each kit was also accommodating to those nights you’re making dinner and don’t want to (or can’t) babysit your dish.
Each kit had its pros and cons. When it came to recipe pacing, Blue Apron’s meals were much easier to complete — each component stayed the same temperature at serving time, while HelloFresh’s pacing often meant one component of the meal was not as warm as desired (like the mashed potatoes for the Crispy Buffalo-Spiced Chicken). Blue Apron also won out majorly with the variety of produce each recipe included — it’s a literal garden variety of options. Conversely, I found the sides for my HelloFresh meals to be a bit “same-y” and wished there was slightly more variety outside of carrots and potatoes.
For being a “Premium” option, Blue Apron’s Seared Scallops in Creamy Tomato Sauce was my least favorite recipe of the kits. I was expecting a much more complex dish based on the ingredients (Verjus Blanc, marinated Cipollini onions, a mirepoix), but much of those got lost in the heavy cream. Blue Apron also did not win the Tiny Bowl Test, with many recipes needing between three to seven tiny bowls each (HelloFresh only needed one to two tiny bowls).
All in all, I’d call HelloFresh the winner, but it’s a close one. HelloFresh has more dishes I’d be likely to recreate, with a mix of comfort food (Cheddar-Stuffed Meatloaves) and more complex options (Apricot, Almond & Chickpea Tagine). For what I like to make throughout the week, this mix felt like it matched my current needs.
That being said, both kits taught me something new, which inevitably brought them to the close tie. Blue Apron actually got me to like mushrooms (thanks, Seared Steak with Mushroom Agrodolce!), while HelloFresh changed how I’ll make my rice (with onion and stock), plus it taught me how to make the frizzled crispy shallots I want to put on everything.
Blue Apron is “date-night”-capable, while HelloFresh is more family- and picky eater-friendly. They’re both great, but likely fulfill a different niche based on your household, style, and the people you’re eating with. I could see myself alternating between the two, depending on what I’ve got going on throughout the month.
Have you tried Blue Apron or HelloFresh? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Mackenzie Filson
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I love everything about food — the smells, the sizzle, and even the shopping — so it’s a major bummer that tightening the household expenses often means limiting my “fun food funds.” Even when my budget is tight, Costco is my first stop for groceries each month. As a loyal Costco member for over 12 years, I know how to stretch those bulk buys.
Knowing that I can stock up on quality, staple ingredients at affordable prices is what keeps me a warehouse regular. This month, I’m keeping a close eye on my grocery budget so I’m picking up Kirkland Signature Rolled Oats, and here’s why I think you should too.
Kirkland Signature’s Rolled Oats, like others of its kind, contain just a single ingredient: whole grain rolled oats. (If you’ve ever wondered about the difference between rolled, instant, and steel-cut oats, we break it down for you.) What makes this a brilliant bulk buy comes down to the bottom line. At Costco, a 10-pound bag costs just under $8, or a mere five cents per ounce. At other grocery stores in my area in Georgia, rolled oats can cost from 22 cents per ounce for the store brand to 32 cents per ounce for national brands. That makes this Costco buy an unbelievable deal.
The oats come in a resealable bag, but decanting them into an airtight container keeps them fresh for longer. Rolled oats can last from one to two years if stored properly, but you’ll be surprised how quickly you can cook through a bag of this breakfast staple.
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Patty Catalano
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There’s a new delicious treat on Costco shelves. If you’re a fan of chocolate and peanut butter and cookies, then trust us, you aren’t going to want to miss this one. Rolling Pin Snacks just announced a new flavor of its chocolate-covered cookie bites, now available on Costco shelves in select warehouses across the United States. And it looks good.
The Chocolatey & Peanut Butter Fudge Cookie Bites are round graham cracker sandwich peanut butter crème cookies dipped in chocolate and topped with a peanut butter drizzle. They come in a 20-ounce sealable bag, making it easy to snack and store your new favorite sweet treat. Early reviews are already raving about these cookies, and some even say they are “the best peanut butter chocolate cookies I’ve ever had.”
The news of Rolling Pin Snacks’ latest cookie bite flavor comes weeks after the successful launch of their first flavor, the Cookies & Cream Fudge-Dipped Cookie Bites featuring a chocolate graham cracker sandwich dipped cookie. You’ll also find other tasty treats from this company on Costco shelves, like Sea Salt Caramel Pretzel Bark, which shoppers think is so good, it’s “unreal.”
Although these cookie bites are delicious to eat by themselves, they have also sparked some creative snacking creations for chocolate peanut butter lovers, like a peanut butter rocky road, or a topping on your cup of vanilla ice cream from the Costco food court.
Unfortunately for Costco treat lovers, these cookie bites aren’t available at all warehouses nationwide. Only the Southeast Costco locations will have them on shelves, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Costco locations in the Bay Area also carry the Cookies & Cream flavor as well.
But don’t worry — if you’re craving a bag of these cookie bites, Rolling Pin Snacks does offer them on the brand’s website for you to buy online and ship right to your home!
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Kiersten Hickman
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If there’s a chance that I don’t have to go to a grocery store (but still have a fridge miraculously filled with food), I’m going to take that option SO fast. Lightning fast, in fact! It’s not just because online grocery shopping has saved me quite a bit of money (I make way fewer impulsive or hangry buys); it also allows me more time in my one precious life for the important things, like taking up pickleball or catching up on Love Island UK.
So when I saw that Walmart had rolled out a Walmart+ membership program, I knew I’d have to try it out to see if it could save me a bit of money and a bit of time (the ultimate BOGO, TBH). Not all online grocers are made equal, and with some you’re paying a lot for convenience. I decided to suss out if Walmart+ is worth it or not. Here’s what I found.
Simply put, Walmart+ acts similarly to having an Amazon Prime account: the monthly membership fee gets you free shipping on all sorts of things (like online orders and grocery deliveries from a nearby store), plus early access to deals, a subscription to Paramount+, as well as cashback opportunities. You can also either pay for a yearly subscription or monthly.
Much like how Walmart isn’t just a grocery store, Walmart+ is more than a handy grocery delivery service. A Walmart+ membership will also get you:
What’s most exciting about Walmart+ is that the prices are the same in store and online — there’s no surcharge for online orders, which I’ve noticed at other retailers. Walmart even has a handy quiz at sign-up that helps you map out how much the service can save you in a year (you can fill in how often you expect to get grocery deliveries, do online orders, and stop for gas). Per the quiz, it’s estimated I could — in theory — save $540 a year by using the service.
You bet! Like other grocery services (think: Amazon Fresh or Instacart), Walmart is still shoppable without a membership, whether you opt to shop online or in-store. You will pay additional fees for shipping, delivery, or any additional shopper-related fees (like tips) when shopping online.
Look, the Walmart+ membership gets you a lot of benefits. That being said, there are some snags I think are cause for consideration:
As for me, a solo shopper who punctuates Trader Joe’s runs with a few Instacart orders a month, I love the selection of Walmart+. It’s a lot of what I need all at one store, with the handiness of being able to order a wide variety of things — guitar picks, mascara, and a fresh pack of socks — all with free shipping.
Like I said before, us single household city-dwellers (I live in Los Angeles) might not be able to reap all the benefits of Walmart+, so for me it’s not 100% worth it as of now, but I’d definitely consider it if I lived within delivery distance, had a larger household, or just really needed a large box of Fruity Pebbles on the regular.
Are you a Walmart+ member? Tell us about your experience below!
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Mackenzie Filson
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Mornings usually start with a quick and easy breakfast and a very large cup of coffee. Then I’m dropping kids off at school and starting my own work day. I’d prefer to wake up to savory breakfast casseroles or creamy scrambled eggs served with crispy hash browns and linger longer at the table, because breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Luckily, there’s no season like spring to clean up the morning routine. And I’ve found just the thing to help me do that — at Aldi.
The discount grocer is my first stop for breakfast staples, like these fab freezer pork sausage patties and plush, frosted cinnamon rolls. Potatoes are at the heart of my favorite breakfast and brunch dishes, which is part of the reason why I’ve started adding Aldi’s Season’s Choice Hash Browns Shredded Potatoes to my grocery list — and I recommend you do the same.
You can buy hash brown-style shredded potatoes at most retailers, but at just $3.89 per bag why would you shop anywhere but Aldi? These bags are big. Clocking in at 30 ounces, each one contains enough of the starchy shreds to serve a crowd or to dish out over several breakfasts. (I just tuck the open bag into a gallon-sized freezer bag once it’s been opened to maintain freshness and keep the potatoes contained.)
When buying bags of Aldi’s Season’s Choice Hash Browns Shredded Potatoes, make sure to gently shake the bag. You should be able to feel the potatoes moving around freely inside. While a few clumps of shredded potatoes are to be expected, leave any that are frozen in a solid block on the shelf — this is a sign that the food may have thawed and refrozen, which can impact the taste and texture of the potatoes.
Springtime is also filled with brunch-y celebrations (is your Easter spread set and your Mother’s Day menu planned?) and patio picnic tables adorned with in-season asparagus, sweet strawberry desserts, and, my favorite, potatoes. Aldi’s Season’s Choice Hash Brown Shredded Potatoes are the star of the brunch table. My go-to hash brown casserole is creamy, cheesy, and ridiculously easy to make.
I also recommend stirring them into potato-leek soup in lieu of fresh potatoes. Frozen shredded hash browns can add texture and heft to herby, cheesy frittatas. And don’t forget to add them to the top of a hotdish instead of tater tots or over shepherd’s pie in place of mashed potatoes.
Buy it in stores: Season’s Choice Hash Browns Shredded Potatoes, $3.89 for 30 ounces
What freezer finds are you buying from Aldi this spring? Share your favorites in the comments below.
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Patty Catalano
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Is there a food deal this power couple isn’t behind?
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Justine Lee
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Plus nine more seasonal items you’ll want to add to cart, STAT.
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Alexandra Frost
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Perhaps it’s the texture — tender to the bite, but determined to hold its shape, thanks to its heavy kneading. Maybe it’s the visual — a caramel crust, slightly shiny from a wash, encasing an egg-y blonde interior. More than likely it’s both, and we Americans willingly pay a premium for brands’ French-style brioche buns, rolls, and sliced bread.
What I love about this style of brioche starts with the texture. The wide slices are even thicker, denser, and more pillowy than the best potato breads. It takes what feels like sharp teeth and determination to break into it, offering such a deep sense of satisfaction when its pliancy bows down to the primal supremacy of my mandible. Take that! I think as the squishiness inevitably gives to the pressure of my jaws.
That thought’s quickly replaced by a joyful, Mmm! as the aroma rises up to my nose and flavor hits my tongue. As I chew, there’s a toastiness, from the malted barley in the crust, and a mild sweetness that reappears at the finish (thanks to the well-incorporated sugars, no doubt). The butter adds a richness and a stark contrast to the kind of greasy feel and sour aftertaste other breads made with oil can leave behind.
Even better is its ability to hold its own. It does not collapse under the weight of hefty ingredients or hungry chompers. Every bite feels like the first one, staying thick and fat, retaining its volume even as I work my way through whatever sandwiches — both closed and open-faced — I make with it.
This is, in part, because of the extra wheat gluten, a nontraditional addition that gives the dough stretch without all the kneading (it’s also what helps this bread avoid an otherwise common problem with sliced brioche bread: dryness).
Little beats a butter sandwich — especially with complex, high-quality butters. What’s better than French-style soft bread with high-end French butter like Rodolphe Le Meunier, or high-tang cultured butter like Vermont Creamery’s to counter the bread’s sweetness? The other right answer is extra-rich, 85% fat (vs. the 80% often found in American butters) Danish Creamery butter. Either way, butter sandwiches are my litmus, and these pass no matter the spread.
Then there are the breakfast dishes: French toast, toad in the hole, ham and egg sandwiches, and more. This dense bread stands up well in them all. I particularly love ham and egg whites with mayo and Aldi’s extra onion-y everything seasoning, so that the salty and savory notes accentuate the sweetness of the bread.
For lunch, it’s a no-brainer for grilled cheese — especially when you add sweet elements, like caramelized onions or apple jam, that bring out the sweetness of the bread. They’re also fantastic for classic PBJs. Skippy’s Natural Super Chunk peanut butter and Crofter’s Harvest Berry provide a perfect textural contrast against the smoothness of the brioche bread. Sandwiched around a stack of turkey slices, a lesser bread would disintegrate into sogginess from enough tomatoes and mayo, but not this bread. The slices are thick and robust enough to stand in for burger or hot dog buns, which Nature’s Own also makes, but if you’re in a pinch this is a perfectly acceptable hack.
And finally, for dessert, it makes an excellent bread pudding. How could it not? The recipe requires a wee bit more custard than your standard breads, but the low porousness helps this brioche maintain its natural texture, which is, as advertised, “perfectly crafted.”
What sliced bread do you buy at the grocery store? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Su-Jit Lin
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Recently I was asked this age-old hypothetical: If you could have dinner with three people, living or dead, who would they be and why? Elizabeth Banks is absolutely at the top of my shortlist — and she should probably (definitely!) be on yours too.
The actor, filmmaker, long-time advocate for reproductive rights, and self-described Amateur Goofball “actually love[s] to cook.” She keeps a “Food Inspo” Instagram folder (and another one that’s just called “Shit I Like”) and can just as easily throw together a big rotisserie chicken couscous salad with Meyer lemon dressing — made with lemons freshly picked her own Meyer lemon tree, no doubt — as she can a creamy bowl of gnocchi. (Oh yeah, in this dream scenario, Elizabeth is also hosting this dinner.)
She’s also totally down to clown. When I called the most recent commercial for Archer Roose “silly, stupid, fun” she simply laughed and responded, “That’s me.” Elizabeth also shared a few of her favorite of-the-moment recipes, the three items you’ll always find in her freezer, and the food trend she can’t get enough of.
First of all, I have coffee. I used to be a tea person, and I’ve moved to the more efficient Americano Nespresso. I have the machine. I make the thing. Sometimes I put oat milk in it, but usually I’m just drinking it black. And then I need a little protein — I really tend to shy away from breads in the morning, but I will often make a really quick egg (with greens from my garden, like spinach, kale, or chard in “the literal same pan”). I also do parfaits — I literally just had one this morning and it’s still sitting here. I had Vanilla Chobani with some berries and granola. (Her favorite brand: Paleonola Grain Free Vanilla Bean Granola.)
The other thing that happens in my house, often, is my bananas are getting brown, and then I’m making a smoothie with banana and any frozen fruit or juice that’s in the fridge. Honestly I’ll just blend a banana and orange juice to get rid of the banana.
My lunches are almost exclusively salads. I don’t really eat a big lunch, especially if I have breakfast. If I intermittent fast and I’m just eating lunch, then I’m making salads [with] greens from our garden, grains (typically couscous or quinoa), and avocado. For protein, I alternate between salmon and chicken. Otherwise I’m having leftovers or whatever is kind of in the fridge, or I order a salad.
I love a one-pot thing. I just started making this cozy gnocchi recipe that I saw on an Instagram Story and I thought it didn’t look very hard. It starts with you browning some hot Italian sausage (but you don’t have to make it with meat) and then it’s really simple; anything that you can throw in with it is good.
I find sausage to be a really easy thing, and I like hot Italian sausage, kielbasa, chicken sausage, turkey sausage — you can’t mess it up. It’s already kind of made, you know.
I make an amazing fig dip from a recipe shared with me by a friend 15 years ago. Everyone asks, “Are you bringing the fig dip?” I’m going on a girls’ weekend this weekend and I’ll definitely be making the fig dip. It’s dried figs and olives. Kind of like a tapenade, but instead of being very olivey and savory, it’s much more sweet. You put it in a balsamic reduction. The main fresh thing is rosemary. So add fresh rosemary in there, garlic, and then put it in the fridge for four hours or overnight and serve it with chèvre or goat cheese or cream cheese. It is like to die for.
I’m sort of Pavlov’s dog: If I see something that looks delicious, then I want it. When I’m making the cozy gnocchi, it’s for sure a red wine night. You know? I also will pour the red wine — sippy, sip — one for me, one for the recipe. Because along with tomato paste, you’re never going to go wrong adding a little red wine to browning meat in your skillet — especially a hot Italian sausage. Just like a little boop. One and one.
I kind of just discovered avocado oil. I was a big EVOO person, and I’ve sort of become obsessed with cooking with avocado oil. So I feel like that got trendy really recently and I’m very into that.
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Mara Weinraub
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Good taste in frozen pizza is so important to me that one time I thought I found “the one” when the guy I was dating started picking apart why a particularly well-known brand of frozen pizza he had made for us just wasn’t as good as it used to be. Unfortunately the relationship ended, but the love of picking apart frozen pizzas did not. In the years since, I have eaten and critiqued my way through plenty of frozen pizzas.
So it should come as no surprise that it really makes my heart soar when chefs — three, in fact! — espouse equally strong feelings about my favorite frozen ‘za. It’s almost as incredible (and rare!) as seeing an actual bald eagle, a double-rainbow, or the phenomenon in which I renew my car registration on time. So even if Frozen Pizza Guy and I didn’t work out, knowing that the chef of a Michelin-starred restaurant agrees with my pizza taste makes it all worth it in the end.
The instant favorite amongst the chefs I interviewed is none other than “Stouffer’s French Bread Pizza, 100%” says Chef Jeff Strauss of OyBar in Los Angeles. “As a child, as a stoned teenager, in college [I’d eat it] frozen, like not even cooked, eating it like pizza ice cream.”
Chef Wylie Dufresne of Stretch Pizza in New York (and the now-closed Michelin-starred wd~50) says he’s been a forever fan of Stouffer’s French bread pizza, long before he got into the game himself. “There’s a lot of work that goes into crafting great frozen food,” says Dufresne. “It’s just so impressive how crispy and crunchy the pizza is when it comes out of the oven.”
The distinct crunch of the French bread crust that gives way to an airy center is also what sticks out to America’s Test Kitchen cast member, food stylist, and author of the forthcoming cookbook Food Gifts, Elle Simone Scott. “This is the OG pizza in my life,” says Scott. “My uncle Pierre used to make them for me and my cousins as an after-school snack. We would scour the pantry for other fun items we could add as toppings. The flaky airiness of French bread is one of my favorite food sensations, even now.”
Each of the chefs say that, even though they more than have the capability to make a great pizza from scratch, they still will pick up a box of Stouffer’s French bread pizza from time to time. Some add a few flourishes, naturally.
“I didn’t do this when I was a kid,” says Dufresne. “But if I made one these days, I’d church it up with some lightly dressed arugula and red onion. [And] well, everything is better with fried egg on top.”
Buy: Stouffer’s French Bread Pepperoni Pizza, $9.94 for 34.25 ounces (6 pizzas) at Walmart
Are you #TeamStouffer’s too? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Mackenzie Filson
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All of my favorite grocery stores (Costco, Aldi, and Target) have one thing in common: Food isn’t the only thing for sale. While it’s part of my job to grocery shop, checking off all of my errands in one stop really is a nice perk.
After picking up a new waffle maker, a birthday gift for an 8-year-old, and shampoo, I made room in my cart for the week’s groceries. At Target, I always check out the Good & Gather items (one of Target’s private labels and a brand that I’ve loved for years). The quality is top-notch for staples like these frozen stir-fry vegetables, frozen appetizers to serve at parties, and other fun foods that spark my culinary creativity.
Here are three new (or new-to-me) dinner finds from Target. Bonus: They’re all less than $5 each.
I’d blame my kids for the fact that we eat pasta and cheese once a week, but the truth is, I love it too. Target’s Good & Gather Four Cheese Gnocchi is everything we love about cheesy pasta — upgraded. Tender pillows of gnocchi and a cheese sauce made from Asiago, mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, and Grana Padano cook in 10 minutes or less. Serve this imported Italian side dish with pan-seared salmon, quick-cooking shrimp, or simple baked chicken thighs.
Buy: Good & Gather Four Cheese Gnocchi, $4.99 for 22 ounces
This bulgur and roasted vegetable side dish is a lifesaver on nights when I have mere minutes to prep dinner. The bulgur is light and tender with generously sized bites of roasted zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers, and onion studded throughout. The dish relies on the flavors of the grain and veggies, so it’s versatile to pair with a variety of proteins. The 12-ounce bag feeds the two adults and two young kids of my family just fine, but if there are bigger appetites at your table, pick up a second bag. At less than $3 a bag, it’s still a great deal!
Buy: Good & Gather Steam-in-Bag Grain & Roasted Vegetable Blend, $2.89 for 12 ounces
A spoonful from this little jar makes even the simplest bowl of pasta taste magical. How they pack so much flavor into this spread is a mystery, but one I’m happy to keep tasting until it’s solved. The basil, garlic, and tomato paste give the spread a familiar Italian vibe, but it’s unlike any other sauce I’ve tried, thanks to the addition of Calabrian chiles. Don’t worry — the sauce isn’t too spicy. The chiles add just the right amount of balanced heat for stirring into pastas and soups, or adding as a spread for sandwiches, spooning over eggs, and seasoning salmon.
Buy: Good & Gather Signature Tomato, Garlic & Calabrian Chile Spread, $4.99 for 6.35 ounces
What are your favorite new dinner staples to buy at Target? Tell us in the comments below!
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Patty Catalano
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Number 13 is “pure sunshine to the square inch.”
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Mackenzie Filson
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In the depths of winter, few things are better than a massive, comforting bowl of soup for dinner. The huge variety of canned soups gives me so many options, but I always feel like there’s a certain amount of stretching or embellishing I need to do to make even the heartiest of soups feel like a full meal.
I’ll often add some leftover rice, a stray carrot, a wilting zucchini, random beans, frozen corn, or that last handful of baby spinach to give the bowl a little more oomph. The one ingredient that always does the trick, though — pushing a can from cozy starter to satisfying entrée — is Tyson Grilled & Ready Oven-Roasted Diced Chicken Breast.
True to the bag’s promise, Tyson’s Grilled & Ready Oven-Roasted Diced Chicken Breast is skinless, boneless chicken breasts that come fully cooked and trimmed. Basically, they’re all prepped and ready for you to reheat. The white meat chicken, while tender, is less silky, and more firm than dark meat, so it stands up particularly well to being warmed up in soup (more on that below).
The chicken is also neutral tasting, which makes it go well with nearly everything. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s flavorless — far from it. The meat is very lightly seasoned, with an unmistakable chicken-y flavor from being cooked in its own stock, broth, and fat. It doesn’t ever overshadow other ingredients; it simply registers as, “Oh, there’s chicken. Nice.”
The quality is also pretty consistent. No woody chicken breasts or spongy bites, which is not something I can say for other products and certain store-bought rotisserie chickens. While there are sometimes veins or errant bits of fat in the coarsely chopped cubes, the pieces are big enough for you to pick them out if you want (as I do).
I keep the diced chicken as is for heftier bites, or thaw them in the microwave just enough to cut into smaller pieces, which I’ll do from time to time depending on the soup. You can microwave the pieces all the way or, as I do, throw them directly in the pot with the soup, bringing it all to boil at the same time. Because they’re already fully cooked, I don’t worry about them toughening up like I would with poaching chicken or undercooking as I would if they were raw.
As the chicken warms directly in the pot, it’ll absorb the flavor of the soup (I recommend using a slow simmer to bring the soup to full heat). You can also bring it all to a rolling boil quickly if you want the roastiness of the chicken to stand out more.
I love adding this pre-cooked chicken to creamy soups, like chunky chipotle chicken corn chowder, because it turns the canned soup into something in between a sauce and a stew. This also works for creamy chicken and rice soup, which I can pour on a bed of steamed broccoli for a casserole shortcut.
It works great in medium-bodied soups, too. Supplemented Thai-style chicken and rice soup and hearty gumbo go on leftover rice to transform the two cheap, easy items into a big-bowl meal. It also complements vegetable-based soups, like garden vegetable, and adds protein to broccoli cheese soup. It breaks up the soft monotony of processed meatballs in Italian wedding soup or contrasts against the gentle give of beans in minestrone.
Finally, and most obviously, it adds nutrition and satisfaction to classic chicken noodle, chicken rice, and chicken and stars. Try adding some diced chicken to wonton, matzo ball, ramen, and egg drop soup, or whatever canned soup you like best. The opportunities are as bottomless as I can only wish my bowls were.
Buy: Tyson’s Grilled & Ready Oven-Roasted Diced Chicken Breast, $8.97 for 22 ounces at Walmart
What frozen shortcut are you loving right now? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Su-Jit Lin
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It “feels fancy and festive with minimal effort.”
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Lizzy Briskin
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The competition for America’s favorite condiment remains contentious. For a lot of people — say, roughly 145 million Americans (or nearly half of the country!) — store-bought ranch dressing is way up at the top of that list. A few of them even work at The Kitchn. “I think ranch is the ultimate condiment,” says Cullen, our home associate editor. “It’s my desert island sauce.”
For those days we’d just rather not whisk together a quick ranch dressing, but still want some of that creamy, tangy, herby stuff for our salads, homemade pizza, wings, a veggie spread, you name it, store-bought is fine! But which store-bought bottle should you reach for on your next grocery run? The shelves are practically overflowing with options in both the fridge and pantry sections, after all.
Cullen and seven other absolute ranch stans were stoked to find the answer (although they were slightly less thrilled after discovering the sheer volume of entrants.)
For the purposes of this taste we focused on classic ranch dressing across three categories — refrigerated, shelf-stable, and vegan — and skipped the specialty flavors or variations. We sourced mostly name-brand dressings and from select store brands that are widely available throughout the country. Each one was priced between $3 and $8 per bottle (the bottles did vary in size slightly). To round out the list of contenders, we looked at old taste tests, recent sales data, and new launches.
After powering our way through a staggering 14 different ranch dressings, these are the bottles we’d recommend you *add to cart.*
The people at Marzetti are really onto something with this bottle. Out of the 14 ranch dressings we tasted, this one earned the highest score. (Five people also ranked it in their top three.) Tasters are drawn to the contrast between the “bright-white” dressing and the speckled spices and herbs. As Ola, our culinary assistant, says so brilliantly: “It’s giving ranch, baby!”
Buttermilk is second on the list of overwhelmingly simple ingredients (sandwiched right between soybean oil and distilled vinegar and egg yolk), and the likely reason why Marzetti Classic Ranch Dressing has a richness others lack and a noticeably creamy texture. “The flavors blend together nicely,” adds Ola. Other dressings in the group taste either too sweet, too tangy, or decidedly not ranch. Samantha, our social media manager and self-proclaimed ranch-lover, goes so far as to say, “This is the perfect ranch taste.”
In what many would deem a total upset, Kraft outperformed the OG ranch by one (!) point. On the whole, the shelf-stable ranch dressings are thicker and more “globby,” which is a very technical term from Brian, our director of people operations. Buttermilk appears a little later on Kraft’s list of ingredients, which also features more preservatives than its refrigerated friends (to protect freshness).
Still, it’s rich and creamy with a bright tang and the most classic ranch flavor. Brian also raves about the “well-balanced” herby flavor, as does Katie, our director of recruiting, who is also a fan of its “nice garlic flavor.” Although some found the tang a little too tangy, calling it “acidic.” While it doesn’t quite hit “queen” status for Samantha, she calls it a “good solid ranch,” which is still high praise. Two people even ranked Kraft Classic Ranch Salad Dressing as their overall fave.
As we mentioned, the competition in this category was tight. Like Kraft, two people ranked Hidden Valley Ranch Topping & Dressing as their number-one pick. Quinn, our lifestyle editor, even called it out by name, writing “Hidden Valley Vibes!” on her score sheet.
Many other tasters note the “quintessential ranch smell” and classic flavor, which is buttermilk-forward with lots of (pleasant) tang. Although some did find the “vinegary bite” a little overwhelming. It’s also super creamy. So creamy, in fact, Ola recommends using this in an equally iconic Cobb salad recipe.
This category was undeniably NOT close. Follow Your Heart runs away with the trophy, besting the other contenders by double digits. We mixed the vegan ranches amongst the two other categories, and this one outperformed nearly all the fridge and pantry options. (In our experience, that is not always the case!)
Follow Your Heart Vegan Ranch Dressing is made with Vegenaise, the brand’s egg-free mayo and a mix of apple cider vinegar, oils (olive, flaxseed, hemp seed), lemon juice, seasonings, and spices. It “smells really aromatic,” says Samantha and “the texture is quite nice,” adds Ola, although one found it a little gritty. While it’s not as thick as others in the taste test, it’s also “not too runny,” says Katie. Tasters like the balance between sweet and tangy, and a few even note a buttermilk-y flavor (although more herbs wouldn’t hurt). “It tastes like a more complex version of the standard stuff,” says Mara, our senior groceries editor
We held a blind taste test with 14 different bottles of ranch dressing across three categories — refrigerated, shelf-stable, and vegan — and recruited eight absolute ranch stans who work at The Kitchn (so you know they’re qualified) to participate in an epic afternoon of tasting.
Each ranch dressing was poured into small white or gray ceramic bowls by Maya, our studio assistant, and placed in larger ceramic bowls filled with ice to preserve freshness and obscure the refrigerated dressings from the shelf-stable and vegan ones. Each one was also assigned a letter to conceal the brands’ identities. Tasters were instructed to sample the dressings in random order, to avoid giving any one dressing preferential placement over the others. We also had baby carrots and water on hand for palate cleansing.
Tasters rated each of the ranch dressings on a scale of one to five (1 = No, thanks; 2 = Meh; 3 = Pretty good; 4 = Really like; 5 = Yes, Please!) across four criteria — look, smell, texture, and flavor — and included any specific observations, tasting notes, and general opinions worth mentioning. They were also asked to answer, arguably, the most important question of all: Would you buy this ranch dressing?
This was a blind taste test, which means tasters had no knowledge of the brands being evaluated ahead of or at the time of the tasting. It was held over one day and tasters were instructed to sample the ranch dressing in random order (to stave off palate fatigue and not give any one bar an unfair advantage). The group of tasters included a mix of food professionals and some very enthusiastic ranch dressing fans who work at The Kitchn. All participated in the taste test voluntarily, and we thank them for being so generous with their time and feedback.
Speaking of, each taster filled out a score sheet (without discussion or influence) ranking the ranch dressing across several criteria (listed above). The results were also tabulated without any visibility into the brands. Only after the numbers were finalized, did we reveal which brands corresponded to the winners.
Did your favorite ranch dressing make the list? Tell us about it in the comments below.
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Mara Weinraub
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“It has a great bouncy texture that doesn’t crumble.”
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Stephanie Ganz
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