When frozen dinners first debuted in the 1950s, they were sold as a modern fix for getting food on the table with as little effort as possible. TV trays, compartmentalized meals and the promise of skipping real cooking were the angle they marketed. That convenience-first mindset stuck for decades and shaped how many people still think about the freezer aisle. But today’s frozen dinners have come a long way. Now, you can find options now that actually taste like something you’d make yourself.
I’ve turned to Rao’s Homemade® for their jarred sauce for years. Growing up in an Italian family where homemade sauce was a weekly event at my grandparents’ house, I have some strong opinions on pasta sauce. It’s hard for a jarred one to impress me. When I saw Rao’s Homemade® frozen dinner options, I was eager to give them a try and see if they lived up to the quality of their beloved sauce.
Spoiler: they do.
The meatballs and sauce are my favorite and one of the few frozen meal options I keep on hand. Like everyone else, there are some nights I need convenience, but I’m unwilling to sacrifice quality and flavor for it. That’s why I’m so partial to these meals. They taste downright delicious and I could easily throw out the box, plate it up with a salad or an easy side dish and no one would be the wiser that they came from the freezer aisle. That’s exactly how I think about them now — as a starting point for a full dinner.
My Formula for a Complete Dinner
Protein is always the hardest and most time-consuming part of the meal, so when you have that covered with a frozen meal, you really just need to think about the supporting actors like some vegetables or maybe carbs, depending on the meal.
This is how I approach a frozen dinner night:
The Anchor
This is your entrée and it should be something you’d happily eat on its own. Rao’s meatballs fall into that category for me. The sauce is mouthwateringly delicious and needs absolutely no tweaking to taste good.
The Base (if you want one)
This just depends on what you’re in the mood for. Pasta is an obvious choice with a meal like meatballs and an easy one we almost all have on hand, but even something as simple as bread can do the trick. This garlic pizza bread is a great option for a meal like this. I leave off the pepperoni and just make the base bread. It’s perfect for sopping up all the extra sauce on your plate. Something like creamy polenta which is just as simple as pasta works too. You can spoon the meatballs and sauce over it in a bowl and it’ll look and taste like a restaurant quality meal.
Something Green
This is what will make your dinner feel balanced and whole. A quick salad, sautéed greens or a simple vegetable on the side is usually enough.
I love this mizuna lettuce salad or a baby kale salad paired with the meatballs. A simple arugula salad is also great and never disappoints. Sometimes, I think it’s even easier to throw some greens in a pan with olive oil and garlic instead of chopping things for a salad. Sauteed greens can be made with beet greens, Swiss chard, spinach, kale or collard greens.
If you have an air fryer on your countertop already, it’s the perfect option for making quick vegetable sides. Air fryer frozen broccoli is a solid choice that goes with almost any meal.
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A Finishing Touch
A little grated parmesan, some freshly chopped herbs, a drizzle of olive oil or a squeeze of lemon on top of the meal pulls everything together and gives it a homemade feel that can really differentiate the meal from feeling like it came from a box.
Choosing Sides That Complement, Not Compete
Once you have a few go-to options in mind, the difference comes down to how you pair them. It’s easy to overdo it and end up with a plate that feels like a bunch of separate things instead of one cohesive meal.
The biggest thing I keep in mind is balance. If the entrée is rich and saucy like meatballs, the sides should go in the opposite direction. That’s why something fresh or slightly bitter like greens works so well. It cuts through the heaviness and keeps the meal from feeling like too much halfway through.
Texture matters just as much. A soft, saucy main paired with something that has a little bite or crunch makes everything more interesting to eat. That could be a crisp salad, roasted vegetables or even just good bread with a crust that holds up to the sauce.
I also try not to overcomplicate it. When the main part of dinner already tastes this good, piling on complicated sides usually just takes away from it. A couple of simple additions that make sense together will always feel more put together than a plate with too many competing elements.
Rethinking Frozen Dinner
Frozen dinners earned their reputation for a reason. For a long time, they were built around convenience first and everything else came second. That’s what most people still expect when they walk down that aisle in the grocery store.
But so many of the options now don’t fit that mold. Rao’s Homemade® is a good example of how much things have changed. The flavor is on point, the ingredients are high quality and it actually feels like something you’d cook yourself if you had the time.
When you start with something like that, dinner won’t end up feeling like a shortcut. You’re using the freezer to do most of the work and simply just rounding out the meal to feel complete.
That’s the real shift. You don’t need to cook every single component from scratch to put a solid meal on the table anymore with today’s quality choices. Start with something that tastes great, keep the rest simple and it will all come together in a way that you’ll feel great about serving your family and no one will know it started from a box.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
