Trying to cook at home can feel like a tug of war between craving something homemade and having almost no time to pull it off. With busy schedules, a lot of people lean on shortcuts that keep dinner moving without turning the kitchen into an all night project. TikTok has become a surprisingly practical place to find those little tricks that shave minutes off routine tasks. Food and Wine has highlighted a handful of these ideas that are simple enough to actually use on a regular weeknight.
One of the fastest time savers starts with an already cooked grocery store rotisserie chicken. Instead of standing there carving it neatly, the trick is to put the whole chicken into a large zip top bag. Push out the air, seal it, and roll and press the bag on the counter so the meat separates quickly from the bones. Once it is broken up, you can dump it into a bowl and pull out the bones with much less mess and fuss. It also helps you get more usable meat off the bird because you are not leaving bits behind while slicing.
That shredded chicken shortcut is especially handy if you cook once and repurpose leftovers for multiple meals. You can fold it into tacos, stir it into soups, pile it onto salads, or mix it with barbecue sauce for sandwiches without starting from scratch each time. For anyone who meal preps, it turns a single purchase into several fast proteins you can rotate through the week. It also reduces cleanup since you are not scrubbing a cutting board covered in sticky juices. If you are feeding a family, those saved minutes add up quickly.
Another trick tackles egg salad, which is filling and budget friendly but annoying when you have to peel a pile of hard boiled eggs. The workaround is to bake the eggs without shells in a greased baking dish, like a cake pan. That dish sits inside a larger pan filled with water so the eggs cook gently and stay tender. When the egg sheet sets, you lift it out and chop it up, and you never touch a stubborn shell. It is a clever way to get the same flavors and texture with far less peeling frustration.
Once you have that baked egg base, the rest of egg salad is as customizable as ever. You can chop it finer for sandwiches, keep it chunkier for a bowl, or mix in add ins like diced celery, mustard, or herbs. It also works well for making a larger batch at once, which is usually where peeling becomes the biggest time sink. If you are packing lunches, having a big container ready to scoop from can make mornings calmer. As always, it is smart to chill egg salad promptly and keep it cold for food safety.
Not every trick is about big batches, because sometimes you just want one small step to go faster. Iceberg lettuce is a good example because removing the core usually means grabbing a knife and getting bits everywhere. The viral method is to hold the head firmly and smack it on a hard surface with the stem side down. After that, the core loosens enough that you can pull it out by hand. It only saves a few seconds, but it is oddly satisfying and can make salad prep feel less tedious.
@thedailynelly We tried it! #chicken #rotisseriechicken #foodhack #hack #food ♬ Murder On The Dancefloor – Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Garlic is another daily cooking staple that can slow you down when you are tired and hungry. The TikTok approach is to peel a larger amount once, blitz it in a food processor, and spread the garlic paste flat in a zip top bag. Then you press lines into the bag to form a grid, so it freezes in easy snap off portions. When you need garlic, you break off a square and toss it straight into the pan. It is a simple way to keep fresh flavor on hand without reaching for a jar of pre chopped cloves.
If you want a broader “work smarter” upgrade, the rice cooker tip might be the most useful of all. TikTok creators have been using rice cookers for complete meals, not just plain rice, by cooking proteins and vegetables together in one pot. The appeal is the “set it and forget it” style of cooking, which frees you to do other things while dinner handles itself. Many recipes are flexible enough to use frozen vegetables when fresh produce is not prepped. Serving right from the cooker also means fewer dishes in the sink afterward.
These ideas fit into a larger approach that cooks have relied on for years, which is reducing repeated effort through smarter prep. Cooking a protein once and stretching it across multiple meals is a classic meal planning strategy because it lowers both time and stress. Freezing pre portioned ingredients like garlic is another common technique in professional kitchens, where speed and consistency matter. Even the lettuce core trick reflects a kitchen mindset of removing friction from small tasks so you are more likely to make fresh food. None of these hacks require fancy gadgets, just a willingness to try a slightly different method.
If you decide to test any of them, a few general kitchen basics can make the results better. Keeping a clean cutting area and washing hands often helps prevent cross contamination, especially with chicken and eggs. Labeling freezer bags with a simple date can help you rotate what you prepped first, and it keeps flavors fresher. A rice cooker is safest when used as intended and kept clean, particularly around the heating plate and lid seals. With a little organization, these small changes can turn weeknight cooking into something that feels manageable instead of exhausting.
Which of these time saving TikTok kitchen tricks would you actually try at home, and what shortcut has made the biggest difference in your own cooking routine, share your thoughts in the comments.
