The Juicy Trader Joe's Heat-And-Eat Find That Makes Meal Prep 10x Easier

There are times when the hardest part of the day is figuring out what to make for dinner after you've spent the bulk of your energy on work, commute, and errands. Thankfully, Trader Joe's always has good options for quick meals where the hard work's already been done for you, like its Sous Vide Chicken Thighs. The package consists of 1 pound of pre-cooked chicken using the French sous vide method, a lengthy process in which the chicken is vacuum-sealed and cooked slowly in water at a low temperature.

Chicken breasts get all the attention as the bigger piece of chicken. When cooked right, they can be juicy and tasty, but they can easily dry out in part due to how lean they are. Chicken thighs may be smaller but have more natural fat to hold in moisture. When prepared using the sous vide method, that moisture remains locked in for flavorful, juicy, and tender meat that you can shred with just your hands. Achieving that yourself would require some technique, but Trader Joe's chicken thighs do all the work for you. All you have to do is heat up the chicken in a pan or a microwave before eating. Either way, your meal will be ten times easier than cooking from scratch, all without compromising on taste.

Lunch meal prep is a great time to use these sous vide chicken thighs. You can prepare salads for each work day in Mason jars where they all have uniform layers of greens, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and whatever else is available, before putting them in the fridge. Then just warm up the chicken thighs and add them to each jar when you're ready to eat. On those weekends when you're making lunch for the whole family and need to do it fast, warm up flour tortillas and add chicken plus some bagged salad or green mix (also available at your local TJ's). Some premade salads come with a packet of dressing that you can use before rolling the tortillas. However, Trader Joe's also stocks a Chunky Garlic & Jalapeño Hot Sauce that comes from the garlic capital of the world (Gilroy, California), which will give your wrap a kick.

Dinner calls for something warm and comforting, like a pizza with chunks of shredded chicken or a classic arroz con pollo. You can also heat the chicken thighs in a cast-iron skillet with fresh vegetables for a fajitas meal, or combine them with instant ramen to serve as quick Asian bowls. Unfortunately, perhaps due to the popularity of the product, these sous vide chicken thighs are not always available, so if you spot them on your next Trader Joe's run, be sure to pick up a few bags. Having these handy means you can make meals that come together quickly whenever you're short on either time or energy to spend hours in the kitchen.