Air Fryer Burrito

I’ve searched for this several times and never really found anything helpful: what to buy at Trader Joe’s to cook a week’s worth of gluten-free dinners with minimal effort. I’m still following my mix ‘n’ match meal prep strategy, which means dinners are built of components: protein, vegetables, starch, and sauce. I look for TJ’s products that give me new combinations of those components, plus short-cuts to get them ready faster.

Shopping list (feeds two)

Please make sure to check the ingredients and for gluten-free labels, based on your level of gluten sensitivity and any other allergies you’re cooking for.

• Produce:
  • pint of grape/cherry tomatoes
  • a variety of cut or ready-to-eat vegetables like sweet potatoes or butternut squash, broccoli, green beans, mushrooms, baby corn, cauliflower, etc.
  • red onion
• Sauce / prepared stuff:
  • Gluten-free sous-vide chicken thighs
  • Gluten-free chicken meatballs (I like the pineapple flavor.)
  • Tsatziki sauce (Not labeled gluten-free, but you can choose an alternate sauce or make your own.)
  • Gluten-free egg fettuccine
  • Gluten-free ravioli
• Frozen:
  • Fish or fish burgers (The burgers don’t say gluten-free but don’t list any gluten ingredients. Stick with the regular fish if needed.)
  • Rice packets
  • Plantains (optional)
  • Roasted potatoes (usually available in a mix)
• Other:
  • Dippers
  • Pineapple salsa
  • Shredded cheese
  • Pesto or tomato sauce
• Kitchen staples you may already have:
  • Seasoning blend
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Olive oil

Sunday: Fettuccine and chicken meatballs

• Prep: Roast half or all of your vegetables with some cherry tomatoes and half a red onion. Line a pan with parchment paper, add the cut vegetables, mix in some oil, seasoning, salt and pepper. Roast at 425 F for 25 minutes. If roasting in a toaster oven, swap the parchment paper for tin foil.
• Cook: the fettuccine and chicken meatballs according to the package directions (I air fry the meatballs).
• Assemble: fettuccine, pesto or tomato sauce, meatballs, vegetables, shredded cheese.

Monday: Fish burger rice bowl

• Cook: air fry the fish in a lined air fryer basket for easier cleanup. Air fry the plantains at the same time, if using. Microwave a packet of rice.
• Assemble: rice, fish, leftover vegetables, plantains, tzatziki. I like it all mashed together.

Tuesday: Ravioli and chicken meatballs

• Cook: ravioli according to directions.
• Assemble: ravioli, sauce/pesto, leftover meatballs, leftover vegetables.

Wednesday: Chicken and potatoes

• Cook: sous-vide chicken and frozen potatoes according to directions. Also roast more vegetables if needed.
• Assemble: potatoes, chicken, tzatziki, vegetables.

Thursday: Leftovers chicken rice bowl

• Assemble: leftover rice, leftover chicken, leftover vegetables, leftover sauce.

Friday: Leftovers chicken nachos

• Assemble: layer leftover chicken with any leftover starches and vegetables. Add dippers. Cover it all in shredded cheese. Microwave until melted. Top with salsa.

Bonus: best TJ’s gluten-free desserts

In my completely biased opinion, these are the best gluten-free desserts to pick up at Trader Joe’s:

• Double chocolate muffins
• Chocolate chunk cookies
• Chocolate chunk cookie dough
• Blood orange mochi (the other flavors are pretty good too)