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Spice up your cupboard!
We selected 11 updated basics in the PEOPLE Food Awards that will help you cook dinnertime magic. Stock your cabinet with a “faster than takeout” microwaveable meal, a tangy boxed macaroni and cheese and bake sale-championing brownie mix.
Best Spice Blend
Lawry’s Seasoned Cajun Seasoning
Turn up the volume on everything from meat and seafood to vegetables and tofu with this bold, Southern-inspired blend of paprika, red pepper, garlic and onion.
Buy it! $6, mccormick.com
Best Stew
Patak’s Madras Yellow Dal
The Indian comfort dish of “luxuriously silky” lentils cooked in curry-spiced coconut milk is a “weeknight dinner dream,” said one staffer. Ladle it over hot basmati rice or with naan for scooping.
Buy it! $4, amazon.com
Best Baking Mix
Bob’s Red Mill Fudgy Brownie Baking Mix
Just add eggs, butter and water to this pre-measured, “can’t mess up” kit. “The top was perfectly crinkly and the inside was so rich and decadent,” one tester said.
Buy it! $4.50, shoprite.com
Best Flavored Macaroni & Cheese
Kraft Ranch Flavored Mac & Cheese
Testers raved about the “true buttermilk flavor” with garlic, onion and herbs that “added a grown-up twist” without “losing the comforting taste” of the classic.
Buy it! $2, target.com
Best Vegetarian Meal
Tasty Bite Butter Chickpea & Vegetables
Pop the pouch of garbanzo beans, corn and spiced tomato sauce in the microwave for 60 seconds. “Faster than ordering Indian take-out!” said a tester.
Buy it! $3.50, walmart.com
Best Pasta
Barilla Al Bronzo Orecchiette
The slightly bumpy, ridged texture of these bowl-shaped noodles helps absorb and hold on to even the chunkiest sauces and ingredients.
Buy it! $3.50, shoprite.com
Best Soup
Swanson Spicy Chicken Broth
For a kick of heat, add the chipotle pepper-spiced broth to your soups and stews and when simmering rice—or simply sip on it hot from a mug. Yes, it’s tasty enough to drink it straight.
Buy it! $3 for 32 oz., stopandshop.com
Best Noodle Kit
Fly By Jing Chili Crisp Noodles
Striking the right balance of spicy and tongue-numbing tingliness, the sun-dried (not fried) noodles cook up springy and ready to be tossed in the Chinese Sichuan pepper sauce.
Buy it! $30 for 6, flybyjing.com
Best Nut Butter
Bonne Maman Peanut Chocolate Spread
Lightly roasted peanuts and cocoa powder come together in this “impossibly creamy” spread. “We dollopped it on ice cream and smothered it on toast—but, most often, I ate it right out of the jar with a spoon,” said a tester.
Buy it! $6.50, acmemarkets.com
Best Pie Crust
Diamond of California Pecan Pie Crust
Nutty and gluten-free, it was a hit for both savory and sweet bakes—like quiches, cheesecakes and tarts. “It made my pecan pie recipe taste even pecan-ier,” one staffer said.
Buy it! $5, walmart.com
Best Macaroni & Cheese
Stouffer’s Supreme Shells & Cheese Three Cheese
The brand’s first boxed kit “doesn’t skimp on the cheesiness” with a creamy gouda, white cheddar and Parmesan sauce and “plump” pasta that “traps the sauce inside.”
Buy it! $4, target.com
