Tag: Frozen Food

REVIEW: Marie Callender’s Confetti Birthday Cake Cream Pie and Chocolate Brownie Cream Pie

Julie 7 Comments

Marie Callender s Confetti Birthday Cake and Chocolate Brownie Cream Pies Boxes

What are Marie Callender’s Confetti Birthday Cake and Chocolate Brownie Cream Pies?

Birthday cake and brownies take new forms in these thaw-and-eat frozen cream pies from Marie Callender’s.  

How are they?

For someone who writes for a junk food blog, I have tendencies toward dessert snobbery. I recoil at the sight of canned pie filling. If grocery store sheet cake is my only option, I’d rather have none. While watching cooking shows, I cry out to the contestants “The rose water essence will overwhelm your pate e choux filling!” as my microwave dings to announce my Lean Cuisine is ready.

There are two wolves inside of me: one that yearns for authentic French patisserie, and one that can’t resist an oatmeal cream pie peddled by a certain curly-haired lass. I am at peace with the contradiction, but when presented with the opportunity to try Marie Callender’s two newest products, I wondered how my snobbish preferences would influence my opinion. As it turns out, my two inner wolves, bonded by their love of sugar, have more in common than I thought. I was pleasantly surprised by both desserts, although each possessed imperfect features.

Confetti Birthday Cake

Marie Callender s Confetti Birthday Cake Cream Pie Full

The star of the Confetti Birthday Cake Cream Pie is its crust, a soft sugar cookie base that tastes homemade. The pie’s exterior is inviting — topped with confetti cake pieces, rainbow chips, and a halo of piped whipped topping. The cake pieces are cookie-crispy, and, along with the chips, provide nice taste and a textural contrast, even if it is not particularly cake-like.

Marie Callender s Confetti Birthday Cake Cream Pie Slice

The sticky whipped topping is a bit too heavy and coats the mouth with the slickness of hydrogenated oils. It tastes like the coating often found on ice cream cakes – that not-quite-frosting, but not-quite-whipped cream decorative sugar fluff – and ultimately doesn’t add much to the pie.

This leaves the thick, smooth filling to tie the pieces together. A pleasant (although very sweet) vanilla flavor, the filling would have benefitted from more vanilla or butter notes and less sweetness. In a bite, all elements evoke the concentrated sweetness of a sugar cookie more so than a sprinkle cake.

Chocolate Brownie

Marie Callender s Chocolate Brownie Cream Pie Full

The Chocolate Brownie Cream Pie filling has the same thickness, texture, and sweetness as the Confetti Birthday Cake’s, but its flavor – this time, a rich chocolate – is much stronger. Sprinkled with chocolate chips and sizable chewy brownie cubes, this pie delivers an extra chocolate burst that’s clearly inspired by a brownie. Only a small slice will satisfy even the most ravenous sweet tooth.

Marie Callender s Chocolate Brownie Cream Pie Full Slice

While a little oily, the whipped topping here is light and smooth, effectively complementing the rich chocolate components of the pie. Again, the pie’s crust – a dark chocolate cookie crust – is impressive.

Anything else you need to know?

The package directions recommend thawing the pies for at least 1.5 hours before eating. My descriptions above reflect the results of the minimum thaw time, because the apocalypse could occur at any second and I don’t want to experience it on an empty stomach.

Within a day or two, the pies’ textures evolved slightly: the toppings softened, and the filling had a looser texture, similar to oil-based whipped topping. While the softer filling was more characteristic of a cream pie, I overall preferred the first-day textures. The package also recommends that consumers eat the products within three days of thawing and do not refreeze them.

Conclusion:

Both varieties are intense sugar bombs with enough components to find satisfaction among the highs and lows. The Chocolate Brownie Cream Pie is a more successful homage to its inspiration dessert.

Disclosure: I received free samples of this product. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 25 oz.
Purchased at: Received from Marie Callender’s
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Confetti Birthday Cake), 7 out of 10 (Chocolate Brownie)
Nutrition Facts: (per 1/6 pie) Confetti Birthday Cake – 530 calories, 34 grams of fat, 19 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 350 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 36 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein. Chocolate Brownie – 530 calories, 34 grams of fat, 19 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 270 milligrams of sodium, 49 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 35 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Mermaid, Unicorn, and Birthday Cake Waffles

Holly 6 Comments

Kellogg s Mermaid Unicorn and Birthday Cake Waffles Boxes

Frozen waffles are one of those items I buy randomly, enjoy immensely, and then immediately forget about until the next time I see them on sale. While I could easily get sucked into a long winded diatribe about the simple joys of Eggo Mini Waffles, that’s not why we’re here. Nope, we’re here to look at three new frozen waffle varieties from Kellogg’s — Birthday Cake, Mermaid, and Unicorn.

For some reason I assumed it was an expansion to the already popular Eggo line, but they are stand alone Kellogg’s branded items. My theory is that they did this to try and appeal to the tween crowd who are like so totally over Eggo.

The pastel boxes help set them apart and announce that these aren’t your little sibling’s waffles. There is also the possibility they are trying to appeal to the lazy Instagramers who want the aesthetics of cute food with the flick of a toaster lever. Either way, I am neither of those and was cautiously optimistic as I walked with my arms full of frozen waffles to the self-checkout.

Mermaid

Kellogg s Mermaid Waffles Box

The Mermaid is a blue raspberry-flavored waffle.

The first thing that struck me was the strong blue raspberry smell. This worried me because if the smell was this intense, how overpowering is the taste going to be?

Blue raspberry as a flavor is always extremely hit or miss. Either it’s an overly sweet sugar assault or tastes more like raspberry with a hint of blue sugar. I also noticed it was a thicker waffle, more of the Belgium variety versus your standard frozen waffle.

Kellogg s Mermaid Waffles Closeup

After toasting, I went in for the first bite and found myself pleasantly surprised! Despite the strong smell, the blue raspberry wasn’t overpowering. A few more bites in and it reminded me of when you’d get those sno-cones with the chunky ice. All the flavor syrup would sink to the bottom, leaving just a hint of it at the top. That’s how subtle the blue raspberry came through.

It was a nice break from the expected and I could see it being a hit with kids.

Fun Mermaid Fact: Throughout history sailors often mistook manatees for mermaids.

Kellogg s Mermaid Waffles Fun Fact

Purchased Price: $2.96
Size: 11.6 oz/6 waffles
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutritional Facts: (1 Waffle) 130 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 260 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

Unicorn

Kellogg s Unicorn Waffles Box

The Unicorn is a cotton candy flavored waffle.

While I’m not a HUGE pink person, the pink hue of this waffle was incredibly appealing. Like, take down to the paint shop to have it matched for a bathroom trim cute.

Kellogg s Unicorn Waffles Closeup

Then I noticed what appeared to be blueberries embedded in. This immediately confused me. I looked the box over to see if blueberries were even an ingredient (they weren’t) and eventually concluded they must be “pieces” of cotton candy.

Much like the Mermaid, the smell out the box was strong. Also like the Mermaid, eating it resulted in a much more subtle flavor. However, where they diverge from one another is the little pockets of not-blueberries. With the Mermaid, I got an even flavor in every bite, but with the Unicorn it was incredibly inconsistent. The pieces with little to no sugar pockets tasted like generic waffles, but then I’d hit a vein of the blue-colored sugar pockets and get that cotton candy flavor.

Personally, I prefer when I get a more even distribution of flavor so this wasn’t a hit for me.

Fun Unicorn Fact: The Unicorn is the national animal of Scotland.

Kellogg s Unicorn Waffles Fun Fact

Purchased Price: $2.96
Size: 11.6 oz/6 waffles
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutritional Facts: (1 Waffle) 130 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 260 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

Birthday Cake

Kellogg s Birthday Cake Waffles Box

The Birthday Cake is a yellow cake flavored waffle with sprinkles

Just like the other two, the smell opening the box was very strong. However, as a big believer that there is no such thing as too much birthday cake, I was happy to inhale a deep breath of it.

Kellogg s Birthday Cake Waffles Closeup

Kellogg s Birthday Cake Waffles Split

Of the three, I found it to be the most visually pleasing. The rainbow sprinkles embedded in that unnaturally yellow color takes me back to homemade cupcakes in elementary school. Also, like the other two, the flavor is fairly subtle. I guess I was expecting it to be more like cake batter turned into waffles, but instead it was a waffle flavored to taste like cake.

To its credit, it had that unmistakable cake flavor. The rainbow sprinkles added a little sweetness, but overall just seemed pretty. Of the three, it was the most enjoyable. Unlike the other two flavors, I feel there is a lot more that these can be used for outside simply heating and eating.

Maybe if they get put into the deep freeze, I can add a little whipped cream and turn them into a panic birthday cake next time I forget someone’s birthday.

Fun Birthday Fact: About 15 million people are celebrating their birthday today!

Kellogg s Birthday Cake Waffles Fun Fact

Purchased Price: $2.96
Size: 11.6 oz/6 waffles
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutritional Facts: (1 Waffle) 130 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 240 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

A few final thoughts on these products. If you always put butter and/or syrup on their waffles, I’d tread very carefully.

While I’d personally recommend them plain and toasted, I realize that makes me probably sound like a sociopath. Trying all three with just butter it didn’t necessarily take away from the flavors, but it certainly didn’t enhance them. If you’re the kind of person that needs some moisture on their waffles, this is the way to go.

Kellogg s Mermaid Unicorn and Birthday Cake Waffles Closeup Syrup

However, adding syrup was a disaster. It immediately overpowered all of them and made for a very bizarre flavor profile with the Mermaid and Unicorn. The Birthday Cake was the only slightly passable one with the syrup, but even then it still was weird. Otherwise, they are more than enjoyable enough plain and toasted. I’d love to see some other unique flavors.

Maybe a Kraken-flavored one? Green and just salty?

REVIEW: Cinnabon Frozen Breakfast Creations

Leonard 7 Comments

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations All

Cinnabon has been dabbling outside of its mall kiosks for quite some time now. Some Pillsbury Grands Cinnamon Rolls over here, an International Delight creamer over there, and even some K-Cup pods in the room temperature aisles.

Maybe after testing the waters of the Cinnabon brand, it decided enough is enough; it’s time to make a splash! A splash the size of a Mack truck it seems. I like your style Cinnabon. It debuted not just one, not even two, not three, four? (Nope!), not five (Dang!), but six glorious new breakfast creations for America to satisfy their Cinnabon craving between mall visits.

They are all frozen food delicacies but encompassing both the sweet and savory side of things. Please brace yourself as the list includes Caramel Pecan Ooey-Gooey Rolls, Frosting Filled CinnaPastries, Frosted CinnaSweet Swirls, a CinnaBiscuit Chicken Sandwich, Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage Bites, and a CheddarRoll Sausage & Egg Sandwich.

Caramel Pecan Ooey-Gooey Rolls

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations Caramel Pecan Ooey Gooey Rolls Box

These are sweet cinnamon rolls filled with Cinnabon ooey-gooey brown sugar cinnamon, covered in caramel sauce with pecan pieces, and baked to golden perfection.

Upon my first tasting, I didn’t flip them out of the tray and came away underwhelmed. So, make sure you do as the package describes to release them as you do get a pretty spot-on product from the image on the packaging.

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations Caramel Pecan Ooey Gooey Rolls Closeup

They definitely live up to their name in regards to the caramel and their ooey-gooeyness. The pecans take a bit of a back seat, but still offer a slight nutty flavor with some good, albeit softened crunch. However, the cinnamon also gets pushed aside by the overwhelming sticky and sweet caramel. These are good, but make sure you are a fan of caramel before taking the plunge.

Purchased Price: $4.83
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Roll) 510 calories, 20 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 580 milligrams of sodium, 75 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 39 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein.

Frosting Filled CinnaPastry

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations Frosting Filled CinnaPastry Box

This one is described as a light and fluffy cinnamon streusel pastry that is filled with the ooey-gooey goodness of Cinnabon brown sugar cinnamon and irresistible cream cheese frosting.

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations Frosting Filled CinnaPastry Closeup 1

This one has many components as it is kind of a cross between a Cinnabon, a piece of coffee cake, and a croissant. I have to be honest, I’m digging it. It has a great cinnamon flavor, and I love that the streusel topping comes in and cuts through a little bit of the straight sugar sweetness at times. It could be a little flakier and have more frosting inside, but otherwise, it’s delicious and a neat combo of well-known things.

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations Frosting Filled CinnaPastry Closeup 2

Purchased Price: $6.68
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Pastry) 450 calories, 23 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 430 milligrams of sodium, 55 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 26 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein.

Frosted CinnaSweet Swirls

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations Frosted CinnaSweet Swirls Box

These are two mini cinnamon rolls baked together, swirled with Cinnabon ooey-gooey brown sugar cinnamon, and topped with the chain’s signature cream cheese frosting. But I have a better name for them, Baby Cinnabons. Because that is precisely what they are, smaller versions of its famous mall offerings.

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations Frosted CinnaSweet Swirls Closeup

While it has been awhile since I have had an authentic one, I’m pretty sure the flavors and execution here are spot-on. They are incredible, and I couldn’t believe how much they reminded me of a fresh one even though I had just nuked it right after pulling it straight out of my freezer. The dough, frosting, and cinnamon all coalesce into something magical. These are exactly why Cinnabon is a well-known brand to this day.

Purchased Price: $9.24
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Roll) 280 calories, 12 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 240 milligrams of sodium, 38 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 18 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

CinnaBiscuit Chicken Sandwich

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations CinnaBiscuit Chicken Sandwich Box

Now this is where the true fun begins as we get into the wilder offerings. This is a tender fried chicken sandwiched between a sweet, buttery biscuit filled with Cinnabon cinnamon and cream cheese frosting chips.

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations CinnaBiscuit Chicken Sandwich Closeup

I think I had the highest hopes for this one, and unfortunately, they were not really met. The chicken was a little chewy, and I am not sure what happened to the biscuit. It was a tough and kind of dry. Not sure where the frosting chips were or even the cinnamon pockets.

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations CinnaBiscuit Chicken Sandwich Closeup 2

The cinnamon sauce was a nice touch adding some signature gooeyness. But it certainly didn’t have the flavor that I experienced in the Frosted CinnaSweet Swirls. And there’s definitely not enough cinnamon sauce to save this tragedy.

I prepared it in the microwave (damp paper towel wrapped around as instructed), so maybe the toaster oven is how to go on this one. It was disappointing on many levels.

Purchased Price: $4.47
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Sandwich & 1 Sauce Packet) 320 calories, 12 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 700 milligrams of sodium, 41 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.

Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage Bites

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage Bites Box

Ok, now we’re getting weird in Cinnabon land with Cinnabon-flavored cinnamon chip dough wrapped around a jalapeno and cheddar pork sausage link. So this incorporates spicy, cheesy, and smokiness flavors into a Cinnabon?

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations Jalapeno Cheddar Sausage Bites Closeup

Hmm. Now this one couldn’t be more different than the chicken sandwich as the dough is so incredibly soft. It’s divine. The sausage is gloriously cheese-filled, and there is a slight spice kick from the jalapenos at the end of the chew. It’s more like a hot dog though than a breakfast sausage. Is there any cinnamon flavor? Absolutely not. I mean I see the specks on the dough but can’t taste a lick of it. It doesn’t suffer too much as this is a pretty tasty jalapeno cheese pig in a blanket for breakfast.

Purchased Price: $6.28
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Sausage Bite) 170 calories, 8 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 370 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein.

CheddarRoll Sausage & Egg Sandwich

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations CheddarRoll Sausage Egg Sandwich Box

So this one completely baffles me. There is no cinnamon element. I repeat, THERE IS NO CINNAMON ELEMENT. It is a light and flaky croissant rolled with cheddar cheese baked to golden perfection and served with savory sausage and fluffy eggs.

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations CheddarRoll Sausage Egg Sandwich Closeup

Now, even though I just partially ate five different breakfast items in one sitting when I got to this one, I couldn’t put it down. It’s not amazing, but I do love breakfast sandwiches, and this item is probably the most well rounded of the bunch.

Cinnabon Breakfast Creations CheddarRoll Sausage Egg Sandwich Closeup 2

There are some misgivings as the bread is more of a soft bun than a croissant with only a touch of cheese flavor. While the eggs are a preformed patty and kind of on the thinner side, but still slightly on the fluffy side. However, the sausage is the star here, as it is outstanding. It’s your typical breakfast sausage, but I mean that in the absolute best way possible. The flavor is just phenomenal without being too salty as most breakfast sausages can be. While it’s under the Cinnabon brand and there isn’t any sweet about it, it’s a wonderful savory indulgence.

Purchased Price: $6.28
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Sandwich) 360 calories, 21 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 90 milligrams of cholesterol, 590 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein.

Cinnabon has certainly made a splash in the freezer aisle. With the six items, some are in the running for the Olympic team (Swirls and CheddarRoll), some maybe deserve a ribbon at your local swim meet (Sausage Bite and CinnaPastry), one that bellyflopped (Caramel Roll), and one that should be just completely banned from the local lap pool for all eternity (Chicken Sandwich).

If you are looking for the perfect one-two punch in the morning, go for the CheddarRoll and CinnaSweet Swirls for an epic and convenient Cinnabon-branded breakfast.

REVIEW: Totino’s Takis Fuego Mini Snack Bites

Marvo 7 Comments

Totino s Takis Fuego Mini Snack Bites Bag

Totino’s Takis Fuego Mini Snack Bites’ ingredients list is CVS receipt-long. While coupons can make the drugstore’s receipts reach outstanding lengths, it’s ingredients that end with -ate that help the list take up more than one-fourth of the bag’s real estate on the back.

Totino s Takis Fuego Mini Snack Bites Ingredients

While I won’t type out verbatim the ingredients list, I will do so with the product’s description on the front of the bag. These mini snacks are hot chili pepper & lime seasoned bites with a cheezy imitation mozzarella filling.

If you’re familiar with Takis Fuego Rolled Tortilla Chips, you’d know they are entirely red, giving them a striking look. Unfortunately, these bites are partially coated in a red seasoning, making them look tame.

Totino s Takis Fuego Mini Snack Bites Frozen

Their preparation can be done in the microwave or oven.

Depending on your microwave’s power, it takes between 1 minute 10 seconds to 1 minute 40 seconds to heat up a serving. The oven instructions involve preheating to 375 degrees, placing a layer on a baking sheet, and baking for 9 to 11 minutes for a half bag or 11 to 14 minutes for the whole bag.

Like most frozen foods with conventional and microwave oven instructions, doing it the long way creates an optimal product. However, there’s not a significant difference between the two preparations.

When microwaved, they’re kind of, well, squishy, which is the opposite of what Takis are. That’s sort of expected when microwaving without some sort of special crisping sleeve. From a conventional oven, they’re still squishy, but there’s some crispiness at the seams.

Totino s Takis Fuego Mini Snack Bites Frozen Microwaved

A lot of that squishiness comes from the cheezy imitation mozzarella filling. Thanks to every pizza commercial made, mozzarella is thought of as a stretchy cheese when a slice is pulled from a pizza. But what’s in these snack bites have a creamy not-quite-ready gelatin texture that I’ve never experienced before with any kind of mozzarella product.

Takis Fuego’s hot chili pepper and lime seasoning stands out on my taste buds and in the aroma that fills my nostrils as they come out of whatever oven I decide. A mild spiciness accompanies the peppery flavor, and the citrus enhances both.

The white filling, which has a slight cheesy tang, tempers the Fuego flavor. It’s also a tad sweet, which is a little weird. Somewhere in the ingredients list, there’s “dried cream cheese,” which might be the cause of everything odd about the filling. I also want to say its taste brings Laughing Cow cheese to mind.

Overall, I love the seasoning on Totino’s Takis Fuego Mini Snack Bites. However, I was expecting it to be a little spicier. I’m less sold on the cheezy filling. It tastes fine and sort of works with the peppery and citrus coating, but I don’t know if others will be as forgiving.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. (Thanks, Totino’s!) Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 13.9 oz bag
Purchased at: Received from Totino’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (13 bites) 230 calories, 9 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 640 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Stouffer’s Classic Lasagna Bites and Chicken Pot Pie Bites

Marvo

Stouffer s Classic Lasagna Bites Right

SALISBURY STEAK BITES!!!

And that was the first thing that popped into my head after learning Stouffer’s was taking some of its classic dishes and turning them into snacks. Sadly, Salisbury steak and mac & cheese didn’t get snackified, but the popular frozen food brand is now offering Classic Lasagna Bites and Chicken Pot Pie Bites.

The Classic Lasagna Bites feature crispy breading stuffed with meat sauce and Italian style herbs, mozzarella cheese, and noodles. The chicken pot pie version has a flaky golden crust stuffed with white meat chicken, peas, carrots, and a creamy gravy.

Stouffer s Chicken Pot Pie Bites Right

There are multiple ways to prepare them — conventional oven, convection oven, air fryer, or an unconventional air fryer that involves a dragon breathing on them. Since I lack an air fryer, the patience to wait for a conventional oven, or a dragon, I went with the convection oven instructions that involves baking them at five minutes at 450 degrees, flipping them, and then having them sit in the oven for another four minutes (five minutes for the lasagna ones).

Stouffer s Chicken Pot Pie Bites Closeup

After my first bite of the Chicken Pot Pie Bites, my mind instantly thought, “This needs more gravy.” It’s not dry or anything, and it’s impressive that Stouffer’s was able to fit everything it did into a nugget that’s smaller than a Tamagotchi. Heck, there are whole frickin’ peas in them, plus everything else. Still, when I think of a chicken pot pie, I imagine a gravy pool with all the other ingredients wading in it.

But beyond that slightly nitpicky detail, these do remind me of the comfort food. Although with each bite I’ve had so far, I taste the peas, but not so much the carrots, and the crust doesn’t seem to be buttery or flaky to me. It’s similar in texture to what’s on the lasagna one.

Stouffer s Classic Lasagna Bites Closeup

As for the Classic Lasagna Bites, if it weren’t for the noodles, I’d mistake these for pizza rolls. The combination of herbs and meat reminds me of Italian sausage, but the cheese and sauce complete the pizza image in my mouth. They taste as if they have more sauce in them than the amount of gravy in the chicken pot pie ones. Look, I’m not going to complain about these tasting like pizza rolls, because I found myself enjoying these more than the other variety.

But I am going to grumble about the crust on both. They’re not what I’d consider crunchity crispy, but they’re definitely not soft. Although my choice of preparation might be the reason for their texture. I should really invest in a dragon oven. The crusts are also thick, which is understandable since what they hold could ooze out during the heating process (which surprisingly didn’t happen). But they also seem to tone down the flavors of the ingredients within them.

If you regularly heat up Stouffer’s Classic Lasagna or Chicken Pot Pie, these Bites are a unique way of experiencing those classic entrees, although they’re not as flavorful or filling.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free samples of the products. Thanks Stouffer’s! Doing so did not influence my review in any way. But I hope by doing this review, I’ve encouraged Stouffer’s to create Salisbury Steak Bites. Also, the box images used are from Stouffer’s.

Purchased Price: FREE (MSRP of $4.99 – $5.99)
Size: 12 oz. boxes
Purchased at: Received from Stouffer’s
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Chicken Pot Pie), 7 out of 10 (Classic Lasagna)
Nutrition Facts: Chicken Pot Pie Bites (4 pieces) 190 calories, 10 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 500 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 6 grams of protein. Classic Lasagna Bites (5 pieces) 230 calories, 10 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 630 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein.