Frozen meals have come a long way from the bland, sodium-heavy “TV dinners” many of us remember from our youth. Considering how convenient it is to have some emergency meals on hand — so we can avoid splurging on takeout — that’s excellent news for all of us.
However, as Food & Wine reports, that doesn’t mean every offering in the crowded freezer aisle is worth buying.
To help separate the standouts from the duds, Consumer Reports (CR) analyzed more than 250 frozen meals — narrowing them down by nutritional quality — before evaluating the 30 best options in a taste test. The results revealed a few brands that are consistently worth reaching for and the ones that you should avoid.
Consumer Reports rated each of its 30 finalists on nutrition and taste, and the best meals you can buy deliver on both. Here are the frozen meals that came out on top — plus, what to look for when deciding which ones to buy.
What makes a Frozen Meal more Nutritious?
According to Amy Keating, RD, a Consumer Reports nutritionist and test program leader, experts prioritized the following factors when assessing the nutritional value of the frozen meals they tested.
- Whole-food ingredients: You should be able to recognize most of the ingredients listed on the back of a meal’s packaging. Examples of whole foods include whole grains, beans, vegetables, nuts, and proteins like chicken, to name just a few.
- High fiber: Data show that most Americans don’t consume enough fiber. Consequently, Consumer Reports recommends choosing a frozen meal with at least 6 grams of fiber or 20% or more of your recommended daily fiber intake.
- Lower saturated fat: Per the American Heart Association, saturated fat is associated with higher cholesterol and an increased risk of heart disease. Look for frozen meals with less than 6 grams of saturated fat per serving.
- Less sodium: Sodium and other sodium-containing ingredients often boost flavor, but too much can raise blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. The recommended daily sodium intake is less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. Consumer Reports suggests seeking out frozen meals with 700 milligrams or less of sodium per serving.
- Low or no added sugar: Added sugar might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of frozen meals, but it’s often used to make glazed proteins and sweet condiments like barbecue, hot honey, and teriyaki sauces. The American Heart Association recommends limiting added sugar to no more than 25 grams a day for women and 36 grams for men. In a frozen meal, look for options with 2 grams of sugar or less.
- Fewer additives: Freezing preserves food, which means frozen entrées generally don’t need large amounts of preservatives to stay fresh. Still, some frozen meals do contain additives to improve their texture, appearance, flavor, or shelf life. Consumer Reports recommends that shoppers avoid products with ingredients like sodium phosphate, caramel color, xanthan gum, and the catch-all term “natural flavors.”
So which Frozen Meals did Consumer Reports rank as “Best?”
For its taste test, Consumer Reports selected 30 frozen entrées from 10 brands — three from each company — for an anonymous taste test that spanned everything from vegetarian mains to chicken burrito bowls. The organization recommended every frozen meal it tasted from two brands: Blue Zones Kitchen and Amy’s Organics.
“There’s no need to scrutinize the nutrition labels of Blue Zones Kitchen meals because anything under that line is going to be great,” says Keating. Blue Zones’ meals were among the highest in fiber, with 7 to 10 grams per serving in each one, and none contained more than 600 milligrams of sodium. Every offering from the brand is vegan. Testers particularly loved the Korean Mixed Rice Bowl, Spicy Sweet Hawaiian Bowl, and Basil Pesto Veggie Bowl from Blue Zones Kitchen.
Amy’s frozen dinners also earned rave reviews, but their nutritional content varied a little bit more than that of Blue Zones’. Consumer Reports recommends checking the fiber and sodium content before selecting an Amy’s frozen dinner. Every Amy’s meal is either vegetarian or vegan, and it was the only brand to feature at least 70% organic ingredients. If you need a go-to option, testers loved the Brown Rice, Black-Eyed Peas, & Veggie Bowl.
Two other brands came in close behind Blue Zones Kitchen and Amy’s in the taste test results. Tattooed Chef’s Chipotle Sweet Potato Bowl and Buddha Bowl, and Trader Joe’s Chicken Burrito Bowl and Riced Cauliflower Bowl earned praise for their taste and nutritional content. All four options include at least a cup of nutritious whole-food ingredients, along with plenty of fiber and few or no additives. However, if you’re shopping for other meals from these brands, Keating recommends that you “keep an eye on sodium and fiber because they vary widely from meal to meal.”
For shoppers who frequently buy frozen meals, Healthy Choice may be a familiar name. The three Healthy Choice meals Consumer Reports tested earned top marks for nutrition, and two earned excellent reviews for flavor. If you’re looking for the most nutritious options, Keating recommends the Healthy Choice Simply Steamers, Power Bowls, and Protein Bowls, three meal lines that tend to have fewer additives.
Consumer Reports also tested several brands that received mixed results. Meals from Evol and Kevin’s Natural Foods are packed with protein, but testers found that some products either lacked enough vegetables or were a little too high in saturated fat. Saffron Road, on the other hand, sometimes produced meals with great nutritional content but less-than-stellar flavor.
Based on the taste test, two brands you can definitely skip when strolling through the freezer aisle are Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones. None of the meals tested from either company stood out. Lean Cuisine’s Butternut Squash Ravioli scored well nutritionally but tasted bland, and the three Smart Ones entrées missed the mark on both taste and nutrition.
Just because you opt for a frozen dinner doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice having a nutritious, delicious meal — and Consumer Reports made it easier to pick convenient dinners that actually taste good.
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