10 Food-Editor-Approved Store-Bought Meal Shortcuts

Few pantry staples pack as much of a nutritional punch or flavor as beans. When we have the time, we prefer dried beans — they're more cost-effective, and the texture is superlative — but many a meal has been saved by cracking open a can of pintos or chickpeas.

Will a jar of store-bought tomato sauce ever trump Marcella's Hazan's three-ingredient recipe? No, but a good jar, like Rao's, can come pretty close. We always keep a jar in our pantry for dinner emergencies.

Homemade is definitely the way to go in delicately-flavored brothy soups, but in dishes where the stock is not the star, we're fans of Kitchen Basics chicken stock.

While frozen brown rice is not quite as good as freshly steamed, it takes about a 10th of the time to cook and is worlds better than parboiled/minute rice and those ready-to-eat shelf-stable bowls.

Canned puréed pumpkin might not be the first pantry staple to come to mind when talking about mealtime shortcuts, but in addition to it's use in pies, cakes, and other desserts, it's great in soup, chili, and casseroles.

For dishes that use only a portion of a roasted red pepper, like a scramble or an omelet, jarred peppers are the way to go.

Cooked lentils, especially these from Trader Joe's, are nearly as tasty as those made from scratch and can shave 20 minutes off of dinner prep. We like them in stews, salads, and even as part of an easy-prep party dip.