A HOTRO.ca ready meal is already built on a proper foundation — 48-hour bone broth, grass-fed BC proteins, whole vegetables. But sometimes you want to take it one step further. Maybe you have a few extra minutes. Maybe you want to stretch it into a bigger meal. Maybe you just want to feel like a chef on a Tuesday night.
Here are five quick upgrades that make a great meal even better.
1. Drizzle warm bone broth over the top
Heat a quarter cup of HOTRO.ca beef or chicken bone broth and pour it over your ready meal just before serving. It deepens the flavour, adds a silky richness, and turns a single-serve into something that feels restaurant-worthy. Works especially well with our stews, soups, and braised dishes.
Time: 2 minutes. Impact: significant.
2. Add a fried egg
A fried egg in beef tallow takes 90 seconds and transforms almost any savoury ready meal. The yolk breaks into the sauce and creates an instant richness that ties everything together. Try it on top of our beef stew, any of the grain-based bowls, or a sausage dish.
Time: 2 minutes. Impact: turns dinner into brunch.
3. Finish with fresh herbs
Flat-leaf parsley, fresh thyme, cilantro, or chives — whatever you have on hand. Chop a small handful and scatter it over the finished dish. Fresh herbs cut through richness, add brightness, and make the plate look like you actually tried. Which, technically, you did.
Time: 1 minute. Impact: looks and tastes noticeably better.
4. Stir in a spoonful of kimchi
Keep a jar of kimchi in your fridge (we make our own — ask us) and add a spoonful alongside any ready meal that has a savoury, umami-forward profile. The fermented tang and heat contrast beautifully with rich bone broth-based dishes. It also adds a probiotic hit to an already nutrient-dense meal.
Time: 30 seconds. Impact: flavour complexity + gut health bonus.
5. Serve over a fresh base
If you want to stretch a single-serve into a fuller meal, serve it over a quick base: steamed rice, a handful of arugula, or a scoop of mashed cauliflower. The ready meal becomes the sauce and protein component, and you've built a complete plate with almost no effort!
Time: 5 minutes (for the base). Impact: turns one serving into a proper dinner.
The point isn't to fix what's already good
These aren't workarounds for a mediocre meal — they're additions to something that's already built right. HOTRO.ca ready meals are designed to stand on their own. These upgrades are for the nights when you have a few extra minutes and want to make something memorable out of something convenient.
That's the whole idea.