The Best Easy Dinners at Hy-Vee

Easy dinners are must-haves in the Midwest. Locals spend half the year babysitting their driveways with a shovel so they’re not late to work the next day, and the other half of the year, it’s too hot and humid to heat up the house by cooking the day away in the kitchen. And visitors to the Midwest are too busy checking out all the prime destinations (like a mall with a theme park inside it, wow!) to make anything from scratch in the kitchen of their Airbnb. So here are some stupidly simple, quintessentially Midwestern dinners that you can grab from Hy-Vee so you can get back to enjoying all the Midwest has to offer—yes, snow and humidity, included.

Heggies Pepperoni Pizza

One thing that the Midwest has figured out that the rest of the world seems to be lagging on is that a frozen pizza can be a full dinner. Most of them are even big enough that you can share it with your spouse or have leftovers for work the next day! Heggies Pizza is your typical tavern-style pizza with a thin crust and mound of mozzarella cheese on top. You can find a few slices of pepperoni underneath all that cheese if you really go searching. The downside to Heggies is that they are a Minnesota company, so they might not make it to Hy-Vee stores out of state, but it’s worth looking if you’re in the market for an easy dinner at Hy-Vee.

Read our ranking of the best pepperoni pizza

Old El Paso Original Taco Seasoning Mix

Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz wasn’t lying when he talked about “white guy tacos.” That’s a real Midwestern staple and you’re getting the keys to the kingdom from a certified white guy. Old El Paso is the key to a gringo taco night. You’ll need their taco seasoning mix and a box of their hard and soft taco shells from Hy-Vee. Then you’ll need a bag of Crystal Farms cheddar jack shredded cheese. Not the nacho blend—that’s too spicy for the Midwestern palate. And there are your tacos! You’re probably used to a little bit more on your tacos, so if you want to level up your taco night I suppose you can grab a tomato and head of iceberg lettuce to cut up. Oh you want to bring hot sauce? Not to this party, bub. That’s an illegal substance in the Midwest.

Read our ranking of the best taco dinner kits

Hormel Square Table Sliced Roast Turkey Breast and Gravy

Tim Walz has been a walking Midwest billboard since he was announced as Kamala’s pick for VP. In one clip that’s been going around, he claimed “turkey’s special” to the Midwest. And he’s right! Minnesota is the leading turkey producing state, so of course Walz is going to push it, but I’ll push it for the whole Midwest. There’s something simple, classic, and fulfilling about a turkey dinner. It’s good to have once in a while to remind you how simple things can be. Just like life in the Midwest! Not to mention, Hormel is a Midwestern company so we better grab their mashed potatoes as a side to really lean into the theme of a true Midwestern easy dinner from Hy-Vee.

Read our ranking of the best deli turkey

Oscar Mayer Cheese Stuffed Hot Dogs

The Midwest is home to Oscar Mayer, so it’s time to give thanks to all they’ve given the world. Mainly the Wienermobile, but they also put out catchy commercials like “My Bologna Has a First Name,” too! That’s pretty neat. This is the Midwest we’re talking about, so of course the Oscar Mayer hot dogs that we’re grabbing for our easy dinner have to be stuffed with cheese. Because you can never have enough dairy in your diet when you’re surrounded by so many cows!

Read our ranking of the best hot dogs

Velveeta Broccoli Shells & Cheese

There’s still not enough dairy in this lineup of easy dinners from Hy-Vee, so let’s add some creamy goodness to the list! A good serving of mac and cheese will stick to your bones and warm them up from even the coldest sub-zero temperatures. which are aplenty in the Midwest! I don’t personally go for it, but Velveeta with broccoli in it seems peak Midwestern to me. It’s so on the nose to sneak veggies into your diet under all that gooey cheese.

Read our ranking of the best boxed mac and cheese

Take Home Chicken Enchilada Bake

Tater Tot Hotdish is the pinnacle of Midwestern dinners. It’s perfect for any occasion, from a baby shower to a dang funeral. Unfortunately, Hy-Vee doesn’t have any tater tot hotdish in sight, so we have to improvise. “Bakes” of any form are just one rung below “hotdishes” on the Midwestern dinner hierarchy. This chicken enchilada bake will do the job nicely! It’s still simple to make (just toss it in the oven and forget about it until your timer goes off) and it’ll still fill that hotdish void if you’re bringing it to an event.

Read our ranking of the best enchilada sauce at the grocery store

Hamburger Helper Ranch & Bacon

In general, Hamburger Helper seems so Midwestern to me. There’s nothing that explicitly says it’s a Midwestern meal, but it feels so much more at home on my plate back in Minnesota than it would in Los Angeles. But that’s probably because my plate is already full of quinoa and diet air. A true Midwestern chef tries to insert ranch into any possible dish, so of course there’s a ranch and bacon Hamburger Helper meal. It just makes sense! Get this on your next trip to Hy-Vee if you want to test the limits of ranch dressing‘s power over Midwestern palates!

Read our ranking of the best ranch dressing

Famous Dave’s Corn Bread Mix

This obviously an easy dinner side rather than a true easy dinner, but it’s here for a reason, trust me. Famous Dave’s cornbread is the best cornbread you’ll ever find, at least according to this Midwesterner. I need to gush about it for a second. My colleague Jordan Myrick talked about it fitting in with those from the South, but don’t get it twisted—this comes straight from Minnesota, baby! It’s delightfully sweet, deliciously moist, and you can buy it fresh if you find an actual Famous Dave’s restaurant around. But this is Hy-Vee we’re talking about, so just get a box and bake it up to go alongside any of these meals. Trust me, it works anywhere you want it to be. Because it’s just that damn good.