Recipe Roundup

Our Favorite Savory Back-of-the-Box Recipes, Ranked

Some of the best recipes aren't in cookbooks, magazines, or a chef's notebook—they're right in the aisles of the supermarket. We hit the grocery store and picked up a cart of old-faithful products to test the famous recipes on the backs of the boxes. (Or cans. Or bags.) Then we cooked (and tasted) them all. Were they all great? Nope. But these eight, presented here in ascending order of greatness, were winners.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle
  • Garlic cheddar drop biscuits on an oval plate.
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    1/8

    Davis Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

    With a cheesy, garlicky kick in every bite, these biscuits eliminate the need for a Red Lobster run. The original recipe suggests brushing each biscuit with garlic powder-infused melted butter. That garlic powder got a little too singed for our tastes, so we recommend brushing them with plain melted butter instead.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    2/8

    Indian Head Golden Yellow Corn Bread

    This cornbread was simply the corniest of recipes we tried. It's a touch sweet—please don't come for us, we know sweet cornbread is a hot button topic—and perfectly crumbly.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    3/8

    Ocean Spray Fresh Cranberry Sauce

    Epi Test Kitchen assistant Kat Boytsova said this recipe was "just as easy as opening the can, but better." It's true: three ingredients and a simple prep means that you'll have one less thing to worry about when Thanksgiving rolls around.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    4/8

    French's Green Bean Casserole

    This classic hit more heartstrings than all the other recipes on this list combined. We chose to blanch our own green beans (the recipe offers the option to used canned) by cooking them in salted, boiling water until just crisp-tender and then shocking them in an ice bath. It's an easy step you can do ahead and makes the finished dish that much better.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    5/8

    Gold Medal® Classic Biscuits

    White Lily may be the Southern Biscuit Queen, but one Epi editor's Alabama-born mother grew up on Gold Medal. These flaky, buttery, cute-as-a-button biscuits prove that there's more than one flour brand for biscuits, no matter where you're from.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    6/8

    NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Macaroni & Cheese for a Crowd

    Scared of homemade mac & cheese? This no-roux-required recipe might be for you. It starts with evaporated milk (not to be confused with sweetened condensed milk), making it supremely creamy and beyond easy. To finish, it's tossed in the oven until it develops just enough of a crust to provide some crunch.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    7/8

    Mueller's Classic Lasagna

    Leave it to a pasta brand to write a great lasagna recipe. This one has an optimal meat-to-cheese-to-noodle ratio, and starts with a homemade meat-and-tomato sauce that tastes 100% classic.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
    8/8

    Hellmann's Parmesan-Crusted Chicken

    It seems so easy: stir some Parmesan into mayonnaise, spread it over boneless, skinless chicken, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and bake until done. And it is easy—and also exceptionally delicious.

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Following stints at StarChefs and Saveur, Joe joined Epicurious in 2016 where he’s written about how to make the very best biscuits, the singularity of third-culture cooking, and the ultimate cream cheese frosting. Currently, he works across both BA and Epi as the senior SEO editor for cooking stories, which ... Read More
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