These 10 Trader Joe's Finds Are Lifesavers For Weeknight Cooking

Life seems more hectic than ever. Whether you're battling long hours at work, constantly tidying after your toddler, or trying to schedule basic self-care activities like exercise, it can be daunting to add daily home-cooked meals into the mix. Grocery stores like Trader Joe's can offer a bit of relief with a wide selection of prepared foods and frozen options. There are loads of items to pick from, but it can be intimidating to narrow them down. Never fear. If you need a little help in the kitchen (who doesn't these days?), then think about piling some of the following Trader Joe's items into your cart. 

We'd consider these finds lifesavers for weeknight cooking, when a full-on pot roast is out of the question. These are all starters or meal elements, not complete dishes. That means you have flexibility on what to pair with them, whether that's a protein, carbohydrate, vegetables, or something else you prefer. But we will give you some ideas, too — all from Trader Joe's. Consider TJ's as one-stop shop for all your food needs. 

Making homemade lentils isn't difficult, but it's not like it comes together in a few minutes either. If you're pressed for time, we are pretty impressed with steamed lentils from Trader Joe's. You'll get a smidge over 17 ounces of legumes to use as you please. This can last for multiple meals if you're making dinner for one, but you'll likely use the whole pack when whipping up dinner for a family. It consists of lentils, salt, and essential oils of clove, laurel, thyme, pepper, and garlic to give it a pop of flavor, but it's still highly approachable and customizable if you want to build on it. 

One serving has 10 grams of protein, so you could leave it as is or add another protein source into the mix. Try sprinkling some lentils on the Chicken Lettuce Wraps or making a quick soup using broth and some veggies. To save the most time, eat them cold in something like a lentil salad with ingredients like feta, cucumber, or herbs, and season everything with a salad dressing, all of which you can get at TJ's. 

Skip picking up a meal at Panda Express and opt for the Mandarin Orange Chicken from the freezer aisle of Trader Joe's. These nuggets are the perfect combination of sweet and tangy. The sauce contains ingredients like soy sauce, garlic, green onion, ginger, red chili pepper, and Mandarin orange peel to offer a burst of flavor in every bite. You'll get 22 ounces of flavorful poultry to use as you wish.

We love keeping this in the freezer for busy nights, and it has a suggested four servings per bag. Simply pop these in the oven and let them bake while you prep any other meal elements, such as rice or vegetables. Try cooking the rice in broth for a super flavorful dish that everyone will want second helpings of. If you want to incorporate more veggies, you could include riced cauliflower, which is also available in the freezer aisle. Once the chicken is cooked, pop it into the wok with any other add-ins and mix in the sauce to complete the dish. Don't worry, there's plenty of sauce to cover everything — we've never had a problem when we beef up the dish with added elements.

If you're getting home late after overtime at work or you're in a hurry to catch your favorite team's home game, skip any additional cooking and simply heat up a bowl of soup in the microwave. The Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup is one such option to store in the fridge, ideal for a meal when you truly only want to heat something and call it a night. This soup contains Trader Joe's signature Unexpected Cheddar Cheese, which is a fun blend of flavors and textures — a semi-hard cheese that's something like aged cheddar and parmesan mixed together. The soup has bits of broccoli and carrot to offer a hint of veggies, heavy cream to give it that creamy consistency and rich profile, and then, of course, the cheese. 

People love this stuff, so make sure to grab a tub or two the next time you're in the store. It is supposed to have 2.5 servings per container, so keep that in mind if you're buying it for a larger family — you may need to purchase two or more depending on the size of your family (and how many servings you expect someone may want). Serve it with a side of toasted focaccia bread with roasted tomato and parmesan or a slice of rustic seedy multigrain bread.

Salad can instantly elevate a meal, especially if you're doing something quick like pasta or pizza, and salad kits are a terrific way to get some veggies and added nutrients without doing a lot of extra work — washing lettuce, drying, chopping veggies, making salad dressing, etc. Trader Joe's has several options you can pick from, whether you want a staple that goes with any meal, or you prefer a specific pairing. 

The Pizza Ranch Salad Kit has essentials like romaine lettuce and red cabbage, but it brings a pop of unique flavor because of the herb-coated flat bread strips and pizza-seasoned ranch dressing with a burst of umami from the tomato powder. We often reach for a staple like Caesar Salad made with mixed greens, parmesan shreds, delightful crunchy croutons, and the pepper-forward Caesar dressing. Top with grilled chicken or shrimp for added protein or just serve on the side of your dinner. Try serving salad kits with one of the frozen TJ's pizzas, such as the Roasted Garlic & Pesto Pizza with Deep Fried Crust, which offers a flavorful olive oil taste with a chewy yet crunchy crust.

Keep a package or two of the BBQ Pulled Chicken in your fridge for hectic days. The barbecue sauce is amazingly complex with spices, a bit of molasses, tangy vinegar, hickory smoke, and other ingredients. You spare yourself from having to cook raw chicken, season it, and shred it, which we can appreciate on any day (not just busy weeknights). In fact, the package is fully cooked, so you could eat it cold straight out of the container if you desire.

Although the image on the box shows it being used in a sandwich situation, it's more versatile than you'd think. Add the chicken to easy baked nachos as a way to give the cheesy chip dish a bit more protein. You could place some inside your grilled cheese or a Caesar wrap for a memorable and filling dish. But hey, nothing wrong with sandwiching it between one of the Trader Joe's ciabatta rolls with some pickles and coleslaw. If you prefer pork, there's a BBQ pulled pork (that's smoked on hardwood logs) option as well. 

Despite being a classic dish, making mashed potatoes still takes a bit of time to create — around 40 minutes or so, give or take. Trader Joe's offers a mashed potato option in the freezer that's perfect when you want to skip scrubbing, chopping, peeling, and boiling your spuds. It comes with 28 ounces of product, which is nothing to scoff at. This means you can make it for a larger family or portion it out for yourself over several different meals. It's nothing revolutionary, just use it like you would use any other mashed potato.

It's a simple recipe made with potatoes, pasteurized milk, butter, and salt. It's no frills, but it's filling and delectable. You could leave it untouched or opt to easily jazz it up to better match your meal. Common add-ins could include a sprinkle of garlic powder, chopped dill, a smidge more butter, or freshly chopped chives — you name it. Mashed potatoes work well with steak, turkey, ribs, and just about anything, really. Try it as the side dish to the Italian Style Turkey Meatloaf that you can find in the meat section.

Homemade fries may seem like an effortless thing to make, but it takes a lot longer than you think. It can take over an hour to whip up this supposedly simple dish, especially if you want them to be evenly cooked and attain that perfect crisp exterior. When you're looking for a weekend night lifesaver, premade fries are really the bee's knees. Our darling Trader Joe's has a host of frozen fry options for your freezer. If you are partial to sweet potatoes, you can certainly find those in a fry form packed in a 15-ounce bag. 

The 20-ounce Seasoned Waffle Cut Fries are our go-to just because we aren't too inclined to ever make these from scratch. The seasoning is flavorful, featuring chili powder, paprika, oregano, black pepper, rosemary, and more. Every bite is crisp and flavorful. If you want something more veg-forward, you can find a version with root vegetables that includes sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, and parsnips. Simply pop any of the above in the oven, prep the rest of your dinner, and you are ready to go.

When you're seeking a flavorful rice base to use for a range of dishes, then you can't go wrong with Vegetable Fried Rice from the freezer aisle. This one pound bag has everything you need for a rice dish that's packed with flavor, including carrots, edamame, green peas, corn, red bell pepper, and leeks. Every bite is laden with veggies to ensure you get something to dazzle your senses. We appreciate the variety of textures, but everything is similarly sized, so it doesn't feel overwhelming on the palate. Plus, the 16-ounce pack means you have several servings for the family.

It only takes around five minutes to cook, allowing you time to prepare any other dinner elements or simply relax. Pair the rice with fried and diced tofu for a fully vegan dish, or use the Mandarin orange chicken as your source of protein. If you have leftover beef and broccoli from last night's takeout, you can easily heat it and place it on top of the rice. There's no wrong way to go about it.

A premade veggie mix can make all the difference on a hectic evening, when you're usually debating if you should order fast food or if you can expeditiously whip something up. Trader Joe's has a 16-ounce package of stir-fry veggies, including broccoli, napa cabbage, bok choy, and snow peas. It's washed and ready for you to cook, which saves a lot of steps (buying, washing, chopping veggies, for example). Simply toss them in a pan or wok, and it's ready in minutes. 

We recommend mixing them along with the TJ's Kung Pao Chicken for a colorful meal that doesn't take much time to create; the chicken has some veggie elements, but we always add more to it, so the stir fry veggie blend is the perfect companion. Since it comes with a pound of veggies, you don't have to use the full bag in one go. Alternatively, try the veggies with vegetable fried rice and some shrimp. There are a few frozen shrimp options at Trader Joe's, but you could also opt for a shrimp-based dish like the lo mein with ginger shrimp. All options are huge time savers.

Meatballs don't necessarily take hours to make, but they're just one element of dinner. Italian meatballs take around 45 minutes, and then you still have to make the rest of the dinner components. If you're on the hunt for weeknight hacks, then grab a package or two of the Homestyle Angus Beef Meatballs located in the meat fridge at Trader Joe's. These come fully seasoned with parsley, garlic puree, Romano cheese, basil, oregano, and more. They don't require any hands-on steps, like mixing ingredients and shaping meatballs. Instead, you can conveniently pop them on a sheet pan to bake in the oven. 

They take about 20 minutes to bake, which gives you more time to boil the spaghetti, heat pasta sauce, or whatever else you want to incorporate into your dinner. For something ultra easy, make a sub of sorts. Pick up a loaf of the ciabatta baguette or ciabatta demi baguette, slice it, and then load it up with meatballs, sauce, and mozzarella. Weeknight meals can still be flavorful and wholesome without having to hand-make every element.