Favorite Take-Out Meals You Can Make Better At Home ~ with a well stocked fridge and some smart grocery shopping you can have better-than-take-out meals any night of the week!
Nothing against take-out, I love it and we get it a lot. Buuuuuut, it’s a luxury and a curse, because unless you’ve lucked into a really great place, the quality of ingredients can be hit or miss. By nature it’s not super fresh, and it’s often high in sugars and fats. Not to mention all that packaging.
It can be so much more rewarding and friendly on the wallet to make your own take-out classics at home! Home-made means ultra-customizable, too–you can add (or leave out) exactly what you want. Whether you’re partial to Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Mexican, or pizza, I’ve got a little something for everyone here…
Japanese Pork Dumplings with Ginger
These dumplings are a cinch to make with a few basic ingredients that any large grocery store carries, and nothing beats the taste of super fresh ginger.
Steak Pad Thai Salad
Depending on how liberally you use the greens in this recipe, you can easily tip it more to the “salad” side or more to the “noodle bowl” side of things. Turn leftovers into the perfect packable lunch for the next day.
Firecracker Chicken
A few special ingredients like plum sauce, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil make it super easy to achieve take-out-level deliciousness at home. Once you’ve got them in your fridge, you can make this often.
Steak Fajita Bowls with Chimichurri Sauce
You’ll never get a bowl this fresh and colorful from Chipotle.
Lamb and Eggplant Tikka Masala
A few key spices, some good quality lamb, eggplant, coconut milk, plenty of fresh cilantro, and you’ve got this!
Chinese Chicken Salad
A smorgasbord of textures, this crunchy salad is a classic for a reason. It’s easy to throw together, healthy, and makes great packed lunches.
Beef and Broccoli Noodle Bowls
A quick stir fry with authentic flavor. This is another one of those dishes that comes out so much fresher at home.
Homemade Pizza in Less than an Hour
It will probably take longer for the delivery to arrive than it will to make this speedy, 1-hour pizza! Plus, there’s pretty much nothing better than personalizing your own pizza.
Vietnamese Summer Rolls
These are just a blast to make at home. Once you’ve mastered the easy burrito style folding technique you’ll never look back!
Kung Pao Tofu
Kung Pao is a standing take-out order for me, so I was thrilled when I mastered it at home. Not complicated, and you can ‘king pao’ everything from shrimp and chicken to beef and pork.
Chicken Pakora with Plum Chutney
This is one of my earlier recipes and it’s been a favorite of mine. Pakora is made with a simple spiced chickpea batter that is insanely delicious.
Thanks for pinning!
Found this in December, 2020. By now, we are more than ready for take out style at home while the pandemic rages around us.
Sounds like a great list! To be honest I don’t even have take out places that have food like that around me! And the take out that is is awful! Great list Sue!
Where is Great Island?
My wife starts working tomorrow NZ.?
close or not
I work in my lake behind the house.
Great Island is the historic name for New Castle, which is a tiny island off the coast of New Hampshire!
Homemade is always so much better—especially when YOU provide the recipes! Pinning so I remember to try them all 🙂
Thanks Liz, happy cooking!