The best store cupboard ingredients
Senior Food Editor
Heather Taylor
Your top 10 midweek ingredient heroes
On busy weeknights, getting dinner on the table can feel like a daily battle. But a cupboard kept stocked with ingredients designed to add instant flavour, without the fuss, is one way of winning the war against mundane midweek meals.
From punchy pastes to expertly balanced spice blends, discover our pick of must-have store cupboard ingredients, and how to use them to add maximum flavour to your weeknight cooking with minimum fuss.

1. The Everything Seasoning
This savoury, crunchy seasoning blend, made with black and white sesame seeds, will make just about anything taste better. Find it in the Foodhall and try these ideas.
How to use:
Sprinkle over scrambled or poached eggs
Use to top your avocado on toast
Add savoury crunch to your salads – try tossing bagels in everything seasoning and using to make epic bagel croutons for this breakfast-inspired salad.

2. The Everything Greek Seasoning
A heady blend of oregano, mint, lemon, basil, thyme, marjoram, cinnamon, dill and parsley, this fragrant seasoning means you can add a taste of Greek sunshine to just about anything.
How to use:
Pile ripe Pink Oishi tomatoes and Cantabrian anchovies onto toasted sourdough, then sprinkle with Greek Seasoning to make these easy tomato toasts.
Add to chicken-filled pittas for a speedy lunch or dinner in this Greek salad chicken pittas recipe.
Sprinkle over Greek salad to take it to the next level.

3. Green Goddess Dressing
This light, creamy dressing is inspired by our viral Green Goddess dip. A blend of garden herbs like chives, basil, mint and dill, it’s a brilliant storecupboard dressing to keep on hand when your salads need a boost.
How to use
Serve as a dip with crunchy crudités and toasted flatbreads.
Toss through a chopped salad with pan-fried halloumi and crispy chickpeas.
Use to dress pre-cooked grains and stir through fresh tomatoes and spinach for a quick packed lunch idea.

4. Coffee BBQ Rub Kit
This handy kit includes both a spice rub and a marinade, allowing you to build up layers of flavour for meat and veggies. Arabica coffee in the rub adds intensity of flavour, while the sticky, sweet-and-sour drizzle adds punchy flavour and helps to tenderise the meat.
How to use:
Rub over a whole chicken before roasting – try our beer can chicken recipe.
Spread over halloumi then pan-fry until sticky and golden.
Marinade steak then cook on the barbecue and serve with a zingy salad.
Use to marinade cauliflower florets before roasting, then pile into tacos.

5. Peach and Jalapeño Relish
Embrace the trend for ‘swicy’ (sweet and spicy) foods with this moreish relish. It’s a must-have for barbecues, summer picnic sandwiches and salads.
How to use:
Pair with salty ibérico ham, broad beans and burrata to create an easy bruschetta.
Serve as a dip – it’s heaven with these crab fritters.
Add to cheese toasties for a layer of sweetness and spice.

6. Rose Harissa
This little jar packs a proper flavour punch. With mint, red chillies and rose petals, the Middle Eastern spice paste will bring instant flavour to marinades, soups and sauces.
How to use
Add to to your spag bol for a fiery twist.
Swirl through yogurt to make a quick dip.
Shake in a jar with olive oil, lemon juice and honey to create an intensely flavoured dressing to drizzle over grilled veg or fish.
Combine with mince in these easy beef koftes.

7. Pickled Red Onions
Adding a punch of acidity will massively elevate your dish, so keep a jar of these pickled red onions on hand.
How to use
Scatter over tacos, salads or gazpacho.
Use at your next barbecue to top hot dogs or burgers.
Make like Tom Kerridge and add some to an epic cheese and ham toastie.

8. Fajita Seasoning
Are you guilty of stock-piling loads of spices which gather dust in the cupboard? A seasoning blend is a great alternative. The balance will be spot on, and they reduce waste (spices go out of date pretty quickly – within a month or two. The sweet, spicy and smoky M&S Fajita Seasoning is a midweek saviour.
How to use
Whip us some sizzling chicken fajitas.
Add to marinades or chilli con carne for extra depth.
Try rubbing it over a whole chicken before roasting, as in this lip-smacking recipe.

9. Thai Green Curry Paste
Stocking up on flavour-packed curry pastes means your midweek meals will never be dull, and Thai Green Curry Paste is the most versatile.
How to use
Simmer with veg, chicken and coconut milk for a fragrant Thai green curry in an instant.
Combine with a splash of oil and use to roast vegetables, fish or chicken.
Turn the end of the jar into a flavour-packed marinade by combining with olive oil and lime juice.
Simmer into an easy salmon and veg Thai-inspired traybake.

10. Classic Tomato Everything Sauce
You should never be without a jar of this sauce in the cupboard – a classic tomato sauce, made just like Nonna would, with a slow-cooked soffritto base and rich Italian tomatoes.
How to use
Simmer into sauces for speedy baked eggs, chilli con carne or spaghetti bolognese.
Use to top our Woodfired Pizza Base for a delicious homemade pizza in a flash.
Bake with penne and oozy mozzarella for a simple and speedy pasta bake.
Published 6.4.2024
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