Our 24 favorite recipes featuring store-bought shortcuts

Bread pudding is one of the best recipes because fresh bread isn’t required — in fact, it’s actually discouraged. Whether your loaf came from the bakery or a bag, it should be stale. Once you have that key ingredient, all you need to make this classic bread pudding from Life, Love & Sugar is milk, eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and heavy whipping cream.

Berry patch brownie pizza sounds like it’s complicated, but this dessert from Pampered Chef is basically just brownie mix baked into the shape of a circle with a quick cream cheese frosting and some berries on top. But when people inevitably compliment you on it, there’s no need to spill the secret of its simplicity.

Turnovers are a tasty breakfast, but if you turned over to hit the snooze button one (or a few!) too many times, you’ll want this quick and easy recipe from Like Mother, Like Daughter. By using puff pastry dough, you can take these blueberry turnovers from prep to palate in fewer than 40 minutes.

Who knew a tube of biscuit dough possessed so much potential? Instead of plain old biscuits (which we still love), go nuts and turn the dough into donuts! This recipe from Lil’ Luna isn’t just ingenious. It’s also super simple, requiring only a handful of ingredients…which you should feel free to adjust to your liking!

If turning biscuits into biscuit-sized donuts isn’t your speed, you also have the option to make bite-sized donut holes. As Sugar and Soul will tell you, it’s as easy as flattening, cutting, and rolling the dough before dropping the newly formed spheres into hot oil…and covering them with glaze, of course!

Homemade dumplings drain your time, so save yourself the effort and make chicken and dumpling soup using refrigerated biscuit dough. This recipe from Eating on a Dime also employs your slow cooker, making the preparation of this classic comfort food even simpler. 

This easy chicken pot pie from Spicy Southern Kitchen contains not one, but two shortcuts. In addition to starting with refrigerated pie crusts, the recipe also calls for using a fully cooked rotisserie chicken. If you’re in a rush, you could consider using pre-cut frozen carrots — just be sure to give them a little extra cooking time in your saucepan. 

We absolutely adore surprising our visiting guests with homemade cherry cobbler. We also enjoy keeping the secret that it’s one of the easiest desserts we could possibly make. All you need to do is dump two cans of cherry pie filling into your slow cooker, pour in an entire box of cake mix (this recipe from Growing Up Gabel suggests cherry chip cake mix, but yellow works just as well, so pick your favorite), slice up a stick of butter, and heat on high for 2 hours. No beating, no mixing, and no oven necessary.

This cinnamon monkey bread from Self Proclaimed Foodie is so dangerously decadent that we’re hesitant to share it. And it doesn’t help that it’s super simple, thanks to the inclusion of refrigerated biscuit dough. Proceed with caution when making “Granny’s Monkey Bread,” as this sweet, sticky, and satisfying dish also only requires five ingredients and 15 minutes of prep time!

Whether it’s for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or just a normal dinner, we use the same green bean casserole recipe almost every time. It’s not because we’re lazy (okay, maybe we’re a little lazy) but instead because this recipe from Unsophisticook is so quick and easy that it allows us to put more time and effort into the main course, other sides, or dessert. All you need is a can of soup, a can of beans, and a bag of fried onions.

Tortellini soup is a convenient meal because the star of the show — the tortellini — comes straight out of a package. This recipe from Pinch of Yum puts these cheese-filled pasta pieces in a tomato-based broth with carrots, celery, onion, garlic, spinach, a whole bunch of spices, and some half-and-half to make it creamy. 

We started adding ingredients to store-bought potato salad years ago — not because we wanted to deceive our family or guests into thinking we made it from scratch (that’s just a bonus), but because deli potato salad almost always contains too much or too little of some ingredients. Whether your problem is an abundance of mayo, a shortage of seasonings, or you’re craving more crunch, this article from Shaken Together Life will help you enhance your store-bought salad.

This enchilada soup from Taste of Home is so easy that it feels like cheating. The recipe mixes one can each of condensed nacho cheese soup, condensed cream of chicken soup, chunk white chicken, chopped green chiles, and enchilada sauce. The only other ingredient is milk!

Desserts don’t get much simpler than this one from Cincy Shopper, which is so easy that the only baking is for the crust. It’s so easy that the only filling is instant pudding. It’s so easy that the only topping is Cool Whip straight from the tub. And it’s so easy that the only other ingredient is a trio of bananas.

Crescent roll dough can be used to make a multitude of meals, including pigs in a blanket (just add cocktail weenies), pastries (just add your jam of choice), desserts (just add chocolate or hazelnut spread), or these melty ham and cheese crescents from Barefoot in the Pines. It’s as easy as cutting, rolling, and baking…but this recipe also includes brushing the finished products with melted garlic butter.

Yes, you can make Pop-Tarts at home, and yes, you can do it without using homemade dough. (And you should, too!) This recipe from Lemons + Zest calls for a package of rolled pie crust and a jar of jam as well as an egg, powdered sugar, vanilla, and either milk or cream.

Some chefs frown at using store-bought tomato sauce. We won’t judge, but as an alternative to relying entirely on jarred sauce, you can use it as a base and go from there. Lexi’s Clean Kitchen suggests adding ground beef, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and some bell peppers and/or zucchini — but feel free to tweak it to your liking!

The most time-consuming part of homemade pizza is the dough. Even with simple two- or three-ingredient doughs, you still need to mix it up, form it into a ball, and toss, roll, or otherwise flatten it out. This recipe from A Simple Palate skips all that by starting with pre-made, store-bought naan bread as your base, adding sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings, and baking for 8-10 minutes. It might be the easiest “homemade” pizza you’ll ever make.

We may have grown out of eating the pizza bagels that come in a box, but we haven’t outgrown pizza or bagels, so why not continue to treat ourselves to a homemade version of this childhood classic? As Two Peas & Their Pod will tell you, use store-bought bagels (whether they come from a bakery or a bag) as your crust and pile on the sauce, cheese, and toppings of your choice. If you’re feeling especially nostalgic, use mini bagels.

Using from-scratch phyllo dough can double the amount of time it takes to make spanakopita, so lessen your workload with premade phyllo sheets, which can be bought at nearly any grocery store. This recipe from Olive Tomato uses store-bought phyllo dough without compromising the Greek dish’s authenticity. 

Some days when we get home from work, making a meal is the last thing we want to do. Instead of dreading dinner, we break out the slow cooker, toss in some chicken breast, and pour in a jar of salsa. Two hours later, all we need to do is serve the crock pot’s contents over rice or in a tortilla. This recipe from Jo Cooks suggests topping the final product with cheese and slipping it into the oven, but to be honest, we usually just add the cheese directly to the slow cooker and serve as soon as it melts.

We do some variation of Taco Tuesday every week. Whether we’re serving tacos, taco bowls, burritos, quesadillas, or any other dish, we often employ a simple shortcut when prepping the protein. After browning your meat of choice and tossing in your favorite seasoning, add a bag of frozen southwestern mix. Numerous brands and stores make some variation of these bagged mixes, which can contain any combination of corn, black beans, various peppers, onions, and rice or quinoa. Once the meat and veggies are fully warmed, they’re ready to add to your meal!

Tater tot casserole (also known as tater tot hotdish in the Midwest) is a classic comfort food — and it’s especially comforting because the primary ingredient, tater tots, come pre-made. In addition to frozen tots, this convenient recipe from Mom on Timeout also calls for a can of green beans and a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup.

We used to avoid buying refrigerated tubes of cinnamon roll dough because the buns usually ended up too dry. But this viral TikTok recipe, brought to you by The Regular Folks, adds cream (or milk) to the pan; sugar, butter, and cinnamon to the top; and butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk to the icing — all of which ensures the final product stays moist.