A Flavorful Thai-Inspired Dinner Takes Way Less Effort With This Heat-And-Eat Addition

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One of those lesser-known pains of adulthood is deciding what to make for dinner every night. Rather than order takeout from your favorite Thai place for the third straight Friday night, try making a semi-homemade version. It costs less, and takes much less effort, if you go with a heat-and-eat dinner — such as Kevin's Natural Foods Thai-Style Coconut Chicken.

I've been a Kevin's Natural Foods fan for years because of the clean ingredients it uses, and the ease of preparing the meals. This Thai-inspired dish is gluten-free and paleo, and the coconut curry sauce is nothing short of indulgent. It's creamy and zesty in a way that tastes homemade, but you don't have to put in the effort. The easiest way to eat this is to get one of those microwaveable heat-and-serve rice cups that somehow cooks in one minute, add it to a bowl, and pour the prepared Kevin's Natural Foods chicken on top. You can also serve the chicken curry over noodles. This dish is made with sous vide-style chicken, so it's not dry at all, plus coconut milk and spices such as basil, lemongrass, and ginger.

If you don't want to listen to my love for Kevin's Natural Foods, trust the reviews. This packaged meal is available at Target for $11.19 (depending on location) and has 4.5 stars out of 5 with around 400 reviews. The general consensus among reviewers is that it's fragrant, flavorful, and easy to prepare, and that it closely resembles a homemade version of Thai-style coconut chicken.

There are a couple of caveats. Based on reviews, some people suggest the serving size is more closely aligned with two people, not three as listed on the package. Also, if you're a sauce lover, some say it could use a little more. However, you can buy separate sauce packets for many Kevin's Natural Foods dishes, including this one. You can always buy extra sauce, or just buy the sauce itself and prepare the chicken any way you want. For a cozy, cold-weather dinner, you can also pair the sauce with some broth, then shred the chicken and add rice and green onions for an easy, comforting Thai-style soup. Kevin's Natural Foods makes a few other Asian-inspired meals, too, including orange chicken and teriyaki-style chicken.