Our food team’s favourite shop-bought cheat ingredients
From M&S chicken kyivs to McCain crispy french fries, these shop-bought ingredients have won their place in Good Food's hearts – and storecupboards
Sometimes, cooking from scratch feels like a daunting task, especially when you're pushed for time. In those moments, we all turn to our favourite shop-bought basics, whether that’s frozen food, tinned or dried goods, or meal kits and spices.
The Good Food team is no exception. Read on to find out the cheat ingredients we love the most, from shop-bought chicken kyivs to tikka masala meal kits.
For more simple kitchen hacks, read the 30 ingredients that will change the way you cook, or find out what our cookery team eats after a day of recipe testing.
What's your favourite cheat ingredient? Let us know in the comments.
1. M&S chicken kyivs
Available from Ocado (£3.50)
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Managing editor Lulu Grimes
I like to serve these sliced over cos lettuce with M&S caesar dressing and grated parmesan as a cheat caesar salad; the crumb coating saves making croutons and the garlic butter makes an excellent extra dressing.
2. Crosta & Mollica pasta
Available from Waitrose (£2.40)
Food copy editor Samuel Goldsmith
I love a shop-bought pesto for when I need a quick supper. Sacla have a great range of these. Then I’ll treat myself to some posh pasta shapes so it feels a little special – I really like the Crosta & Mollica range. Alternatively, a pack of spinach & ricotta ravioli with a simple sauce is a great option.
3. Spice Tailor Indian meal kits, from Anjum Anand
Available from Sainsburys (£3.75), Waitrose (£3.75) and Ocado (£2.50)
Magazines editor Keith Kendrick
I love to make curries from scratch: slow cooking a base from onions, ginger and garlic, then making it my own with tomatoes, whole spices and powdered spices. But it takes time and, like our audience, that isn’t something I often have a lot of. That’s when I turn to Spice Tailor Indian meal kits, from Anjum Anand. They come in loads of varieties, from classic Tikka Masala and Delicate Korma to Fiery Goan and Keralan Coconut.
Making them is simple: a four-step process involving frying whole spices, adding a sachet of base onion-ginger-garlic, then the sauce, and finally your fresh ingredient of choice, whether that's meat, fish or veggies. I can have a meal on the table in around 30 minutes, and best of all, they’re so good I ‘sometimes’ pass them off as my own creations. Yes, I know, that’s cheating!
4. McCain Crispy French Fries
Available from Sainsburys (£3.20) and Waitrose (£2.75)
Skills & shows editor Barney Desmazery
The trick to cooking oven fries is to ignore whatever is written in the packets, turn your oven up to 220 and then cook them like roast potatoes by scattering them into preheated oiled tray and drizzling them with more oil. I also sprinkle them with cajun seasoning, chipotle powder or garam masala depending on what I’m serving them with. If I have any leftover gravy from a weekend roast, I’ll scatter the fries with grated mozzarella (which I also keep in the freezer), then top with the warmed gravy for a cheat's poutine.
Also recommended by senior food editor Anna Glover
My favourite cheat’s ingredient definitely has to be McCains frozen French fries. I’ll throw them straight into the air-fryer and they’ll take just 10 mins for perfect fast-food-style fries. I use them on steak night so I can concentrate solely on the meat and not have to think about deep-frying, and I also serve them covered in a chilli salt with a spatchcock chicken slathered in peri peri sauce. I always have a bag in my freezer for lazy dinners.
5. Garlic powder
Available from Ocado (£2.15)
Food editor Ailsa Burt
Garlic powder gives so much umami flavour to anything it's added into. I add it along with fresh garlic to soups, stews and sauces. It's excellent sprinkled on pizza, and I love to use it in salad dressings instead of raw garlic sometimes so I don't have too much garlic breath the next day!
6. A bag of frozen mixed mediterranean veg
Available from Ocado (£2.80)
Food director Cassie Best
I always have a bag of frozen mixed med veg in the freezer. They're great when you have nothing fresh in or when summer veg isn't in season. I add them to risottos and pasta or grain salads with feta and fresh herbs.
7. Jarred roasted red peppers
Deputy editor Janine Ratcliffe
I always have a huge jar of roasted red peppers from my local Turkish supermarket in my storecupboard for the easiest summer meze. Just tear into pieces onto a platter then scatter with feta, pomegranate molasses, olive oil and toasted pine nuts. You can toss the same ingredients with hot pasta for a quick meal too.
8. Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli oil
Available from Amazon (£5.26)
Food content creator Helena Busiakiewicz
I love Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli oil – it's perfect on everything from egg mayo to spicing up a bloody mary.
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