Eating fast food can be a quick and delicious dining option, but it can also get expensive these days.
With just a small amount of preparation, many of your favorite fast food meals can be replicated at home.
"Good Morning America" teamed up with Caroline Chambers, author of the New York Times bestselling cookbook "What To Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking," to create at-home recipes for some of the most popular fast food meals ordered from the top chain restaurants on Uber Eats and Grubhub.
Scroll below for Chambers' recipes and tips that will make eating at home feel like a treat.
"I'm from North Carolina so I know Chick-fil-A nuggets well. And I actually borrowed Chick-fil-A's trick of marinating their nuggets in pickle brine and my pickle chicken sandwiches are one of the most popular recipes in my book! Chick-fil-A marinates their chicken in pickle brine, then breads it and fries it in peanut oil for their traditional nuggets, but they also have a grilled nugget on the menu that is really tender and juicy and delicious. So that's what we're copying here because it's a much more approachable at-home option.
We cut the chicken into small cubes, marinate it for a few hours, then grill it, or you could throw these in the air fryer on 425 for 8 to 10 minutes. Grill pan or an outdoor grill would also work here. And if you DO want to fry them, marinate them the same way, then dunk the nuggets back and forth between a big bowl of flour, buttermilk, then back into the flour, then air fry or deep fry them!"
Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs per person (there are usually 4 to 5 thighs in a 1 1/2 pound package)
1 large jar of bread-and-butter pickles (I love Bubbie's brand if you can find them)
Directions
Cut the chicken into 2-inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Add enough pickle brine (aka just the liquid from the pickle jar) to cover the chicken.
Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours, or marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. I highly suggest a longer marinade on this one if you have time!
Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Drain the chicken and pat dry, then toss with oil to coat.
Grill on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until dark grill marks appear all over.
"When I first started taking apart this recipe and trying to figure out how to make this a home-cook friendly recipe I was so stumped. There are so many different elements in this burrito that we'd have to cook -- the rice, the vegetables, the meat, the nacho cheese sauce. These burritos would take a LOT of time and dishes to cook and I was really trying to find a way for cooking these recipes to be FASTER, or at least on par with how long it would take you to get in the car, go through the drive-through, and get home.
Then it dawned on me that we could cook the entire burrito filling in one pot! The filling for these burritos is so similar to the enchilada rice skillet from my book, so that's what we're doing. We're basically making a one-pot meal with rice, beans, peppers, scallions, beef, cheese, stuffing all of that into a tortilla, rolling it up, then adding crispy cheese to the outside by melting cheese in a skillet, then adding our rolled up burrito right on top of the melted cheese to get it to stick."
Ingredients
1 red bell pepper
4 scallions
1 tablespoon neutral oil
1 pound 90/10 ground beef
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
14.5-ounce can low-sodium beef stock
15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
8- to 10-ounce jar enchilada sauce
1 cup white rice
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
Toppings (optional): Thinly sliced avocado, pickled onions, pickled jalapeños, sour cream, thinly sliced radishes, hot sauce, cilantro
Swap in any veggie you have on hand: Broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, anything! Any ground meat works, or use an extra can of beans or a plant-based ground meat alternative and use veggie stock to make it a vegetarian meal.
Directions
Position a rack in the top of the oven and preheat to 375 F.
Dice the bell pepper and scallions. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the diced scallions.
Warm the oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over high heat. When it shimmers, add the ground beef, bell pepper, remaining scallions, the chili powder, salt, and garlic powder. Cook, using a wooden spoon to break up the beef into tiny crumbles, until almost cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.
Pour off any excess liquid that has collected in the pan.
Stir in the stock, beans, enchilada sauce, and rice. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover, transfer the skillet to the oven, and bake, covered, for 45 minutes, or until the rice is tender and all the liquid has been absorbed.
Turn the oven to broil. Carefully pull out the skillet and stir in 1 cup of the cheese and the sour cream. Use a spatula to smooth out the top, then sprinkle the remaining 1 cup cheese over the top.
Broil, uncovered, for 2 to 4 minutes, until the cheese is melted, watching it the entire time to make sure it doesn't burn.
Garnish with the reserved scallions and any other toppings you love before serving.
Shortcut option:
Use microwaveable rice to shortcut this recipe: Cook your meat and veggies.
Then, stir in 3 cups of microwaved rice, the enchilada sauce, the black beans, 1 cup of shredded cheese, and the sour cream. Omit the beef stock.
Add the remaining cheese on top and broil.
"OK, this one was easy! I have a 30-minute beef and broccoli recipe that people have literally said to me, 'This took less time and effort than ordering takeout would.'
You can buy thinly sliced beef and buy your broccoli already cut into florets to make this a zero-chopping meal, which is something my readers always really appreciate. I love adding a red bell pepper to bulk up the veggies, but you don't have to!
Oh, and when I'm trying to make dinner at home quicker, I love using FROZEN RICE! It comes in individual bags that are so easy to heat up in the microwave or just throw it in a skillet quickly."
Budget-friendly dinner recipe: Cheesy beef and sweet potato flautas, plus a zesty lemon cake
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups uncooked white or brown rice
1 pound beef sirloin, thinly sliced
Kosher salt and pepper
1/3 cup hot water (hottest your sink will go)
6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons honey (or brown sugar)
1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 large carrots, washed well and thinly sliced (no need to peel)
1 pound broccoli florets, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, grated (or 4 frozen cubes)
1-inch piece ginger, grated (or 2 frozen cubes)
Optional for garnish: Toasted sesame seeds
Directions
To cook the rice, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
Add 1 1/2 cups uncooked white or brown rice and cook for 12 to 15 minutes for white rice and 25 to 30 minutes for brown rice. Test a grain of rice starting at the lower minute mark, when it's tender with a slight chew, it's ready (it will continue cooking while it steams).
Drain, then return rice to the pot and cover for at least 10 minutes, or until dinner time.
Thinly slice 1 pound beef sirloin. It's a lot easier to slice if you freeze it for 30 minutes first, but I rarely have the patience to do this. Season the slices generously with salt and pepper.
In a large bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup hot water (just as hot as your sink will go), 6 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 2 tablespoons honey, 1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Set aside.
Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in your largest skillet over medium-high heat for several minutes. Add 1 thinly sliced bell pepper, 2 thinly sliced carrots, 1 pound of broccoli florets, 4 grated garlic cloves, and a grated 1-inch piece of ginger.
To grate the garlic and ginger, use a Microplane or the smallest hole on a box grater. You do not even need to peel the ginger, just wash it. But if you prefer to peel the skin off, use a spoon to scrape the thin skin away.
Stir the vegetables for 4 to 5 minutes, until crisp-tender. Transfer them to a large bowl.
Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Pat the steak slices dry with a paper towel, then add them to the skillet in a single layer. Cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the sauce and cooked vegetables.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
Serve over rice, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.
Caroline's swap: Caroline's Cajun fries
So we are trying to make things easier on ourselves here – so we’re grabbing a bag of frozen fries, and the trick to really good frozen fries is to cook them longer than the directions call for to get them nice and crispy!
Easy dinner and dessert recipe: 1-skillet chicken and pesto rice, caramelized peach snickerdoodle cobbler
Ingredients for Cajun seasoning:
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Ground Cayenne Pepper
1/4 - 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
Add more cayenne for spicier taste or more paprika for smokier taste.
Directions:
Cook the frozen fries for the amount of time listed on the bag, then take them out and toss them in a Cajun seasoning -- you can either buy a store bought Cajun seasoning or make one -- and throw them back in the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes to get them nice and crispy.
Another thing you can do if you don’t want to use frozen fries – grab fingerling potatoes, slice them in half, toss in oil and Cajun seasoning, and roast them for about 30 minutes on 425°F until crispy outside, fluffy and tender inside.
Recipes reprinted with permission from Caroline Chambers.
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