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When it comes to feeding yourself, you might feel like there are only two options available: cook every breakfast, lunch, and dinner from scratch, or pay for takeout a dozen times a week. But if you have the right staples on hand, you can throw together tasty, nutritious dishes that take less effort than narrowing down your Grubhub search results.
Enter “no recipe” recipes: quick combos of ingredients you can copy or riff on for simple meals that are tasty, approachable, and seriously low effort. As a registered dietitian, I’m a huge fan of these, so I combed through SELF’s 2024 Pantry Awards to create breakfasts, lunches, and dinners that incorporate some of the winners. Stocking up on things like flavor-packed chili crisp, next-level instant noodles, and nutrient-dense pancake mix can take some of the stress out of figuring out what to eat when you’re hungry, but just don’t have the energy to make something elaborate. So take a look at the cheat sheet below, and get cooking (sort of).
1. Spicy Tuna and Quinoa Bowl
(Wild Planet Wild Tuna Quinoa Salad Ready-To-Eat Meal + SOMOS Salsa Macha Mexican Chili Crisp + Gimme Roasted Seaweed Snacks)
Chelsea Kyle. Prop styling by Amy Elise Wilson at Laird and Good Company.
Although this ready-to-eat tuna and quinoa salad will give you a quick protein-rich lunch or dinner without any fuss, adding a few unique condiments can totally change the flavor profile—which keeps things interesting if it’s something you eat on the regular. I love the combination of salsa-style chili crisp (so crunchy!) and a few sheets of roasted seaweed snacks crumbled on top. No instructions necessary—just unwrap the ready-to-eat salad and add your toppings.
Gimme Seaweed
Sea Salt Seaweed Snacks
SOMOS
Salsa Macha, Mexican Chili Crisp (6.5 oz.)
Wild Planet
Wild Tuna Quinoa Salad Ready-To-Eat Meal (5.6 oz.)
2. Dan Dan Noodles With Tuna Belly
(A-Sha Spicy Dan Dan Hot and Sour Sauce Noodles + Siesta Co. Tuna Belly in Koshō + Fly By Jing’s Chengdu Crunch)
Chelsea Kyle. Prop styling by Amy Elise Wilson at Laird and Good Company.
Old-school noodle cups will always have a spot in the convenience food hall of fame, but there’s also plenty of room in the pantry for different types. This variety cooks in five minutes on the stove and comes with super potent hot-and-sour sauce. You can eat it with just that dressing, but to crank it up a notch and make it more filling, add extra texture with some tinned fish—the tuna belly provides protein and a dose of omega-3s, a type of unsaturated fat that’s linked to good heart health. Cook your noodles according to the package directions, then drain them, put them back in the pot, add the sauce, and heat on low until everything is warm. Open your tuna belly, drain any excess liquid, and add the fish to the pot. Stir everything over the heat for about 30 seconds, just until the tuna is warm. For crunch, add a couple spoonfuls of chili crisp.
Fly By Jing
Chengdu Crunch (6 oz.)
Siesta Co.
Tuna Belly in Yuzu Koshō (4 oz.)
A-Sha Noodles
Meteor Noodle Pantry Pack (Zha Jiang, Spicy Dan Dan, and Braised Beef Sauce )
3. Spicy Beans With Crackers
(Primary Beans Alubia Beans + Blank Slate Kitchen Zhug + Firehook Organic Baked Crackers in Sea Salt)
Chelsea Kyle. Prop styling by Amy Elise Wilson at Laird and Good Company.
Making sauces and dressings from scratch can be fun, but with all the fresh-tasting, store-bought options available, it’s not always necessary. For a snacky meal that’s basically a riff off pita chips and hummus (but so much more interesting!), try combining ⅔ cup of white beans (a super versatile option to meal prep in a big batch if you’re using dried, like above, though you can certainly go the canned route too) with a couple spoonfuls of zhug. The zhug—a bright green, herby, spiced chili sauce—adds so many different flavors in a single tablespoon, including plenty of heat. The spicy bean mixture pairs well with a handful of crispy crackers, but also works as a salad topper or alongside some rice. Plus, each serving of beans gives you nine grams of plant-based protein and 10 grams of fiber, which can help keep you full and your digestive system moving.
Firehook
Organic Baked Crackers – Sea Salt (8 oz.)
Primary Beans
Organic Alubia Beans (1 lb.)
Blank Slate Kitchen
Zhug (6 fl. oz.)
4. Coconut Granola Bowl With Pineapple
(Stellar Granola — The OG + Dole Good Crunch Original Pineapple Bites + NOW Cinnamon Honey Almonds + RISE Brewing Co. Original Oat Milk)
Chelsea Kyle. Prop styling by Amy Elise Wilson at Laird and Good Company.
You probably don’t need me to tell you that granola, fruit, nuts, and milk make for a great easy breakfast: The combination is filled with all kinds of textures, plus a variety of nutrients like fiber, vitamins, and unsaturated fats. But if you’ll indulge the obvious for a second, let me tell you that this particular mix is off-the-charts good. Coconutty granola with crunchy, sweet-tart pineapple bites make it feel a little tropical, almonds add extra flavor and staying power, and the oat milk base is creamy and sweet. Throw the ingredients together in whatever quantities you feel like that day and you’ll be good until lunch.
Stellar Granola
The OG Granola (8 oz.)
RISE Brewing Co.
Original Oat Milk (32 fl. oz.)
NOW®
Cinnamon Honey Almonds (12 oz.)
Dole
Dole Good Crunch Pineapple Bites and Banana Bites
5. Sweet Potato Pancakes With Dark Chocolate Tahini
(Ghetto Gastro Pancake & Waffle Mix + Rubirosa Extra Virgin Olive Oil + Soom Dark Chocolate Tahini With Sea Salt + Nature’s Garden Probiotic Strawberry Yoggies)
Chelsea Kyle. Prop styling by Amy Elise Wilson at Laird and Good Company.
Pancake and waffle mix has been a versatile staple in my pantry for years. This one from Ghetto Gastro is just as convenient as anything you’ve tried before—plus the comforting flavor of sweet potato adds a little something extra, and the waffles give you the energizing carbs you need to power your day. All you need to add to the mix is oil and water. Using a high-quality, super flavorful olive oil like this Rubirosa one can add richness and flavor (plus monounsaturated fat, which can help lower cholesterol levels) but regular old vegetable oil works fine too. Adding chocolate tahini and little strawberry yogurt bites on top of your pancakes keeps things interesting.
Rubirosa
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (16.9 oz.)
Ghetto Gastro
Pancake & Waffle Mix (14 oz.)
Soom Foods
Dark Chocolate Tahini With Sea Salt (12 oz.)
Bush’s Beans
Chili Magic Chili Starter Classic Homestyle (15.5 oz.)
Royal
White Basmati Rice (8.5 oz.)
Related:
Store-Bought Sauce Is the Secret to Not-Boring, Healthy Weeknight Meals28 Pantry Staples That Make Feeding Yourself Feel Less Like a ChoreIt’s Time to Overcome Your Fear of Tinned Fish
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