12 Store-Bought Frozen Meals To Keep Out Of Your Cart

Marie Callender's Meatloaf and Gravy

Marie Callender's is a well-known name in the frozen food aisle, but its origins are quite different. The iconic Marie Callender began her journey in the 1940s by selling freshly baked pies from her home. By the 1970s, this small endeavor had blossomed into a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1994, ConAgra Foods obtained the rights to market Marie Callender's frozen meals and desserts in retail stores. While some of the brand's frozen dinners, such as the pot pies, have become classics, there are also some less successful offerings.

One such example is the meatloaf and gravy frozen dinner, which is typically considered a comfort food but falls short of that promise. This meal includes a slice of meatloaf, a serving of mashed potatoes with gravy, and a side of corn. Unfortunately, the portion sizes are unbalanced; the meatloaf is quite small in comparison to the generous servings of corn and mashed potatoes.

If portion size were the only issue, this dinner might not have made the list. The real problems lie in the taste and texture of the components. The meat is so saturated with gravy that it resembles a liquid, while the mashed potatoes are thin and watery. The gravy manages to be both bland and excessively salty at the same time. The corn, while not terrible in flavor, has a rubbery texture, and some kernels are even hard. As of now, reviewers on the Target website rate the meal an average of 2.9 stars, while the average rating on Walmart's site is slightly lower at 2.8 stars.

Banquet Chicken Fried Chicken

Another food brand under the ownership of ConAgra Brands is Banquet Foods. ConAgra acquired the brand in 1980, roughly 25 years after Banquet began offering frozen dinners in retail stores. Currently, the brand specializes exclusively in frozen foods, featuring a range of basic, single-serve meals, as well as extra-large Mega meals, family-sized options, breakfasts, sides, and snacks. Banquet meals are recognized for being an economical dinner choice, largely due to the use of inexpensive, subsidized ingredients.

The Chicken Fried Chicken meal aims to be straightforward and traditional. It consists of a breaded, fried chicken breast patty, country-style gravy, mashed potatoes, and corn. Unfortunately, the patty and gravy are housed in the same compartment, which results in the patty becoming soggy after heating. While it's understood that microwaving doesn't yield crispiness, many find mushy, slimy chicken unappetizing.

The mashed potatoes fare slightly better, but only marginally, tasting like typical, bland instant potatoes. Even adding some gravy doesn't enhance the flavor, as the only noticeable taste in the gravy is salt; this is to be expected given that the dish contains a staggering 1100mg of sodium. However, the meal does have one positive aspect: the corn is quite decent.

Lean Cuisine Fried Chicken and Mashed Potatoes

In the 1980s and 1990s, diet culture was pervasive, leading Stouffer to launch Lean Cuisine. These meals featured low-calorie, low-fat alternatives to popular Stouffer's dishes and quickly gained popularity, particularly among the brand's primary audience: women. Recently, Nestlé, Stouffer's parent company, has revamped the Lean Cuisine line to prioritize health trends over calorie counting. While much of the rebranding has been well-received, some products, like the Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes, have fallen short.

It seems we need to acknowledge that microwaved fried chicken simply doesn't deliver. The texture fails to achieve the crispiness that fried chicken should have. In this particular dish, the chicken ends up being both soggy and rubbery, with one reviewer on Target's website likening it to the "texture of dumplings." Additionally, the chicken lacks flavor, barely resembling actual chicken.

The rest of the meal is equally underwhelming. It consists of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn all mixed together in one bowl, topped with gravy. This combination does nothing to enhance the taste; instead, it results in a bland experience. To make matters worse, the mashed potatoes are watery, and the corn is tough, making this dish a disappointment overall.

Stouffer's Macaroni and Cheese

Stouffer's is one of the most recognized frozen meal brands in the United States, but, similar to Marie Callender's, it originally began as a restaurant. The inaugural Stouffer's restaurant opened its doors in 1924, and it wasn't until three decades later that the company ventured into frozen meals. In 1990, Nestlé, which had acquired the brand in 1973, opted to divest the Stouffer's restaurants, resorts, and hotels to concentrate exclusively on frozen meals. Many of these offerings are comfort foods, with Stouffer's lasagna being arguably the brand's most famous product.

Given the lasagna's undeniable popularity, one would expect the brand's macaroni and cheese to be equally well-received — and it was, until the recipe was altered. Although the brand has not officially acknowledged any changes, customers have certainly observed a decline in quality. One reviewer on the Walmart website expressed, "I grew up enjoying Stouffer's Mac 'N Cheese since childhood, and I am utterly heartbroken and embarrassed that they changed the original recipe." Another comment on the GoodNes website stated, "I've been purchasing the single-serving Mac n Cheese for decades. I've noticed a shift in the last few years, but it seems worse than ever now."

Common complaints include that the dish is watery, contains too few noodles, and lacks flavor. Others contend that it isn't flavorless, but rather excessively salty. This is not surprising when you examine the ingredient list and find that a single serving contains 1200mg of sodium.

Marie Callender's Tender Ginger Beef & Broccoli Bowl

Marie Callender's features a variety of frozen food options, ranging from its well-known pot pies and desserts to both single-serve and multi-serve meals. The single-serve offerings include straightforward meals, such as the meatloaf and gravy mentioned earlier, as well as bowls. These bowls typically consist of pasta or rice dishes, with the lowest-rated option on the website being the Tender Ginger Beef & Broccoli Bowl.

The Tender Ginger Beef & Broccoli Bowl is made with chunks of beef and broccoli florets served over rice, all coated in a ginger garlic sauce. While this combination sounds appealing, the execution falls short. The ingredient proportions are unbalanced, featuring an excess of rice and sauce, but insufficient beef and broccoli. Although the packaging claims the bowl contains 17 grams of protein, this seems questionable given the scant amount of thinly sliced beef.

Despite the overwhelming sauce, the dish lacks flavor. The ginger and garlic are barely detectable, and some reviewers noted that the sauce is overly sweet. One Walmart customer described it as "an unusually nasty sauce with a sickly sweet taste," likely due to the 13 grams of added sugar. The texture is also problematic, with the rice being hard and the beef tough and stringy. As one reviewer on Walmart put it, "It was so unappetizing that even my dog wouldn't go near it."

Hungry-Man Salisbury Steak

Swanson had been in the frozen meal business for around 20 years when they introduced the Hungry-Man line. Aimed primarily at men, these frozen dinners are known for their generous portion sizes and hearty meal selections. Currently owned by ConAgra Foods, the brand features several varieties of frozen meals, most of which are homestyle dishes rich in protein. However, a larger quantity doesn't necessarily mean better quality, and Hungry-Man is often not regarded as one of the top frozen dinner brands.

The Hungry-Man Salisbury steak meal exemplifies this issue. It includes mashed potatoes, green beans, a brownie, and, of course, Salisbury steak. For those unfamiliar, Salisbury steak is made from ground beef, akin to meatloaf, but is distinguished by being cooked in a skillet with a savory gravy.

Regrettably, the Hungry-Man Salisbury steak falls short of this classic dish, featuring tough, dry meat and overly salty gravy. The brownie lacks richness and has an odd, artificial taste, while the green beans are bland and chewy. The mashed potatoes are arguably the best component of the meal, but they still can't save it, especially considering it contains a staggering 52 grams of carbohydrates, 14 grams of added sugar, and 1,630 milligrams of sodium.

Banquet Salisbury Steak

Despite its seemingly straightforward nature, Salisbury steak proves to be a challenging dish for frozen food brands to master. While Banquet's version holds a higher overall rating than Hungry-Man's, customers remain largely unimpressed with this classic comfort food. Banquet's Salisbury steak meal includes the steak, mashed potatoes, and gravy all in one compartment, while sweet corn and a cinnamon apple dessert are placed in separate sections.

There are several issues with this frozen dinner, starting with the combination of steak, potatoes, and gravy in a single compartment. This arrangement results in a gooey mess that resembles a stew rather than a cohesive meal. Many reviewers noted that the previous packaging, which kept the steak and potatoes separate, offered a significantly better dining experience. Additionally, the meat is tough and chewy, with one Reddit user describing it as "fake and weird." The mashed potatoes taste artificial, featuring a gritty texture even when smothered in gravy.

Unfortunately, the situation doesn't improve from there. The corn is tough, and the cinnamon apple dessert resembles a sugary sludge. To make matters worse, the portion sizes are underwhelming, with one reviewer on Walmart's website commenting, "The amount in these now is almost comical," while another referred to it as "The saddest meal I've ever eaten."

Marie Callender's Honey Roasted Turkey Breast

Marie Callender's once again finds itself on the list for its disappointing honey-roasted chicken breast. This meal features mashed potatoes topped with thin slices of turkey breast and drenched in gravy on one side, accompanied by a mix of carrots and broccoli on the other. The problems arise even before you take a bite; the portion of turkey is tiny, and the amount of broccoli pales in comparison to the carrots. To make matters worse, the broccoli consists mostly of stems, with very few florets present.

This dish shares a common flaw with Banquet's Salisbury steak: combining the meat, potatoes, and gravy results in a lumpy, soupy mess. When you finally get a taste, the flavor only disappoints further. While the carrots and the scant broccoli are acceptable, the chicken, gravy, and potatoes lack any real taste. The turkey certainly doesn’t have a honey-roasted flavor and barely resembles turkey at all. The gravy is predominantly salty, and the potatoes are completely bland.

Devour Frozen Double Chicken Creamy Alfredo Ravioli

Devour is a brand under the Kraft Heinz umbrella, known for iconic kitchen essentials like Heinz ketchup, Kraft macaroni and cheese, and Kraft singles. Its target audience aligns closely with that of Hungry-Man, offering a similar concept: hearty, high-protein frozen meals designed for a "manly" appeal. However, unlike Hungry-Man, Devour elevates classic comfort foods, exemplified by their Double Chicken Creamy Alfredo Ravioli.

Unfortunately, despite the enticing description, the dish falls short. Although marketed as double chicken, it appears that the chicken was merely halved, with only a few small pieces scattered throughout. The chicken present is breaded and, after being microwaved, turns out mushy and somewhat slimy.

The ravioli presents another problem. They are excessively doughy with minimal filling, resulting in a bland taste that lacks any distinct flavor and an awkwardly chewy texture. The accompanying sauce does little to enhance the dish; it’s thin and fails to adhere well to the ravioli, and surprisingly bland, especially considering the dish contains over 1,000 milligrams of sodium.

P.F. Chang's Chicken Teriyaki Bowl

P.F. Chang's is primarily recognized as a restaurant chain that offers Chinese cuisine with a lively twist. However, through its Home Menu line, the brand also provides single-serve meals, entrees, appetizers, snacks, and sides available for purchase at grocery stores. Despite the popularity of its restaurants, the frozen meal offerings, particularly the Chicken Teriyaki Bowl, fall short of expectations.

This dish features a bowl of white rice topped with chicken, pineapple, onions, bell peppers, and scallions, all coated in teriyaki sauce. Upon tasting it, one quickly realizes that it might be more accurately described as a pineapple bowl rather than a chicken bowl, as the pineapple significantly outnumbers the chicken. This imbalance results in an overwhelmingly sweet flavor, leaving it uncertain whether this sweetness overshadows other tastes or if there are simply no other flavors present.

The chicken itself has an unusual texture, resembling something sponge-like with a peculiar taste. Many reviewers have struggled to finish the meal, with one comment on Target's website stating, "I threw it away, couldn't get through it," while another on Kroger's site bluntly declared it "Not edible."

Lean Cuisine Glazed Chicken

Lean Cuisine makes a second appearance on this list with its glazed chicken meal, which is part of the Protein Kick line—a newer collection of high-protein options introduced during Nestle's recent rebranding efforts. The protein in this dish primarily comes from slices of white meat chicken, combined with brown rice, green beans, cashews, and what the brand describes as a savory sauce.

However, it’s questionable whether Lean Cuisine truly understands the meaning of "savory," as this glazed chicken falls short in flavor. One reviewer on the GoodNes website remarked, "It didn't taste like anything," while another noted, "I can't say it's the worst thing I've ever tasted because it has no taste whatsoever." Despite being labeled as glazed chicken, the dish contains very little chicken, and the pieces that are present have a chewy, rubbery consistency. The green beans, which simply taste like green beans, are arguably the highlight of the meal.

The glazed chicken wasn't always such a disappointment. The previous version was well-received by consumers, and many now consider the new iteration to be a significant letdown. Comments on the product page express a desire for the return of the old version, with one user summarizing the sentiment by stating, "This new version is so disappointing."

Real Good Stuffed Chicken Cordon Bleu

Real Good Foods is a brand dedicated to providing healthier frozen meal options, focusing on higher protein content, lower carbohydrates, and reduced added sugars. While this is a commendable objective, many frozen meals fall short in terms of healthiness, and Real Good's execution can be lacking, as seen with its Stuffed Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Chicken cordon bleu typically consists of ham and Swiss cheese wrapped inside a chicken breast, which is then breaded and fried. In theory, this dish should translate well to a frozen format, especially if baked rather than microwaved. Numerous brands, including Aldi's Kirkwood, have successfully achieved this. However, Real Good's attempt at the Stuffed Chicken Cordon Bleu misses the mark significantly.

The overall presentation of the dish is quite unappealing. The chicken is dry, but the real issue lies with the filling. It fails to resemble ham and melted cheese in both appearance and flavor, instead presenting as a peculiar, almost grayish goo with a rubbery texture reminiscent of children's slime. One reviewer on Target's website remarked that it "looks nothing like the picture... more like vomit," while another compared it to "the custard from Teletubbies." A third reviewer encapsulated the experience by stating, "I can confidently say that this is one of the worst things I've tasted. If you're trying to lose weight, buy this because after one bite you'll either toss it or give it to your dog."

Methodology

Let’s be honest: there are countless frozen meal options on the market today. To identify some of the least desirable choices, I employed a multi-faceted strategy. First, I relied on my own experiences; I enjoy cooking, but as a busy mom, I find myself in the kitchen constantly. When it’s just me, I usually have the energy for either a simple meal or heating up something from the freezer. Since my version of a quick meal often consists of a handful of pretzels and a Diet Coke, frozen meals are a convenient way for me to incorporate some protein into my diet.

This means I’ve tried my fair share of frozen meals, both good and bad. However, I didn’t want to rely solely on my own perspective. I also researched online to find some of the worst-reviewed frozen meals to complete the list.