Your New Essential Weeknight Recipes

Frozen shrimp thaw and cook in minutes, a worthy weeknight staple. Our Lemon-Garlic Shrimp with Radish and Green Bean Quinoa adds lemon garlic butter to the sautéed shrimp. Blushing pink sautéed radishes are a lovely addition to the quinoa side. A play on a Korean classic, Quinoa Bibimbop Bowls, uses many of the same ingredients for a completely different sweet and spicy one-dish meal.

The New Essentials:

Haricots Verts - The snap bean’s slender French cousin cooks in a couple of minutes for an easy side or crisp-tender stir-in for many dishes.

Radishes - Raw is fine, but pickled, sautéed, or roasted is divine. You’ll wonder how you ever did without them.

Quinoa - Move over, spuds and rice. This quick-cooking, protein-packed grain is the new everyday starch in your pantry.

Red Onion - Pungent enough to hold its own, sturdy enough to add great crunch, and pretty enough to showcase.

Go old-school comfort with Burger Steaks with Mushroom Gravy, Sweet Potato Wedges, and Haricots Verts. The rich, rosemary-flecked mushroom gravy builds in the same pan used to sear the beef patties for more flavor and less clean up. Sweet potatoes go from side to main as Sweet Potato and White Bean Soup, a wonderful welcome to fall.

The New Essentials:

Poultry Herbs - One package includes just enough fresh sage, rosemary, and thyme, while packages of single herbs tend to spoil before they’re used.

Sweet Potatoes - Nutrition abounds in these versatile spuds; plain potatoes need much more dressing up.

Individual Kale, Mushroom, and Bacon Pita Pizzas couldn’t be easier or more delicious, especially with a creamy rosemary-garlic white bean spread as the base. If you think pitas are destined only for topping or dipping, think again: once toasted and blended, they add depth to the classic Spanish red pepper sauce in Kale and Mushroom Quinoa with Romesco.

The New Essentials:

Whole-Wheat Pitas - Not just for stuffing, pitas are an instant pizza base and your all-purpose bread for breadcrumbs.

Sliced Cremini Mushrooms - Meaty, no-prep mushrooms add richness and earthiness to gravies, sautés, and stir-fries.

You may say it’s sacrilege to limit you chili to just one bean; we say it’s efficient. Beef and White Bean Chili gets plenty of smoke and heat from charred red onion, jalapeños, and smoked paprika, and body from tortillas, beans, and tomatoes. Stacked Chicken Enchiladas are lasagna’s answer to a Mexican favorite with many of the same ingredients as the chili and yes, just one bean.

The New Essentials:

Canned Unsalted Cannellini Beans - Buttery, starchy, and tender, this been succeeds as a creamy mash, chili base, or filling.

Jalapeños - So much more than a garnish. Char in the pan, pickle, or chop for relishes and marinades.

Canned Unsalted Crushed Tomatoes - The only tomato base you really need, no straining or blending required.

Corn Tortillas - Many Mexican dishes apply. Use for tacos, layer like lasagna, or blend into soup.

If you haven’t joined the long-standing kale craze, we’ll give you a couple more reasons to get on board. Baby kale is the sturdy base for a Kale, Apple, and Almond Chicken Salad. Herb, lemon, and garlic vinaigrette doubles as the marinade for the chicken. Kale appears again as pesto in Kale Pesto Pasta with Shrimp. Crisp apples become tender and juicy with in the one-dish Skillet Apple Chicken Thighs.

The New Essentials:

Baby Kale - Your all-purpose green. It’s tender enough for salad and sturdy enough for wilting and blending, with zero prep.

Apples - Crisp, sweet-tart varieties (Fuji, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady) add freshness and crunch—or a juicy, sweet contrast to seared or roasted meats.

Skinless, Boneless Chicken Thighs - Vastly underrated thighs are rich and moist, perfect for stewing, grilling, or searing.

Overstuffed spuds are fun and fast. Make extra of these Mexican-inspired Beef and Broccoli Stuffed Sweet Potatoes and take for lunch the next day. Besides a stuffer, frozen broccoli florets make a second appearance as part of the sauce in creamy Broccoli and Cheddar Chicken Pasta.

The New Essentials:

Frozen Steam-In-Bag Broccoli Florets - These store much longer than fresh, adding green veggie heft to any main dish or acting as a simple, ready-to-go side.

Preshredded 2% Reduced-Fat Mexican-Blend Cheese - No need to overstock your dairy drawer-this mild, slightly salty four-cheese blend is all you need.

Pasta is likely already in your cabinet, but what about gnocchi? These potato dumplings can be boiled, seared, or simmered in minutes. Try them in a classic, comforting Chicken and Gnocchi Dumpling Soup, then use again in a Pea, Tomato, and Bacon Gnocchi, a skillet supper everyone will love.

The New Essentials:

Whole-Wheat Gnocchi - A faster alternative to pasta, gnocchi sear beautifully, meld well in a skillet sauté, and plump into tender pillows when added to soup.

Frozen Green Peas - They cook instantly, keep well, and add a fresh, springy note to any dish any time of the year.