Unlock the Secret to Perfect Lasagna: A Comprehensive Frozen Lasagna Review
Whether you’re looking to satisfy your family or just your own hunger, few frozen meals offer the same level of comfort and filling satisfaction as lasagna. With options that can be quickly microwaved for a meal in under 10 minutes or baked to golden perfection in the oven, lasagna is a versatile dish that caters to different preferences.
To determine the top frozen lasagna options currently available, we purchased and taste-tested 10 varieties from a grocery store in Austin, Texas. Here are our findings:
1. Michael Angelo’s Lasagna with Meat Sauce
Price: $16 at Target
This Austin-based brand stood out as the closest to homemade lasagna among the options we tried. With well-distributed grated cheese, toothsome noodles, and a rich tomato sauce reminiscent of classic Italian flavors, this lasagna was a favorite for its quality, despite a slightly salty sauce and chewy ricotta layer. It was the only one we went back for seconds.
2. Great Value Italian-Style Lasagna with Meat Sauce
Price: $14 at Walmart
While this lasagna had a rich appearance and decent meat quality, the overpowering taste of dried herbs like oregano and garlic salt in the sauce left something to be desired. However, it provided a decent alternative to our top pick.
3. Stouffer’s Lasagna with Meat & Sauce
Price: $10 at Walmart
This lasagna stood out for its sauciness, with a thick, creamy meat sauce that almost obscured the noodles. While lacking in cheese and ricotta, the sauce had a flavorful oregano kick that appealed to some palates.
4. HEB Vegetable Lasagna with Vodka Sauce
Price: $4 at HEB
Featuring a unique orange sauce and a blend of vegetables, this vegetarian option from HEB offered a flavorful twist on traditional lasagna. However, the ricotta layer was too thick, and the noodles had a slightly grainy texture.
5. Rao’s Made for Home Meat Lasagna
Price: $13.99 at Target
Known for its pasta sauces, Rao’s frozen lasagna featured finely minced meat in a thick, creamy sauce. While some panelists appreciated the texture, others found it too salty, with a rubbery cheese topping.
6. HEB Homestyle Meat Lasagna
Price: $4 at HEB
Despite its loyal following, this lasagna from HEB disappointed with an overpowering ricotta layer and underwhelming sauce flavor. The noodles also had a grainy quality that detracted from the overall experience.
7. Amy’s Organic Vegetable Lasagna
Price: $6 at Target
Featuring organic ingredients, Amy’s vegetable lasagna delivered a unique flavor profile. However, the thick ricotta layer and grainy noodles left room for improvement.
In conclusion, the top frozen lasagna option from our review was Michael Angelo’s Lasagna
A vegetarian lasagna was sampled, and from the very first bite to the very last, the flavors of pasta and sauce were entirely overshadowed by a strong, overpowering vegetal taste of spinach and onion. The cheese topping was disappointingly sparse, as was the ricotta layer, while the noodles themselves were sadly rubbery.
Marie Callender’s Italian Lasagna with Ricotta Cheese was priced at $7 at Walmart. This particular lasagna boasted a thick herb-studded cheese topping and a deep red sauce, making it appear quite appetizing. However, upon digging into it, our expectations were met with disappointment. The thin sauce was entirely dominated by basil, the ricotta layer was pasty, and the meat resembled small beans rather than actual sausage, leading one taster to exclaim, “This looks awful!”
Birds Eye Lasagna with Meat Sauce, a frozen lasagna, raised skepticism as it was the only one to utilize noodles made from vegetables, primarily lentil flour and zucchini, instead of wheat flour. Our doubts were proven justified as the pasta turned out mushy and bland, while the sauce contained undercooked bits of onion and carrot, along with peculiar nugget-like meat pieces that tasted like a peculiar mix of ground beef and sausage.
Atkins Low-Carb Meat Lasagna, available from Instacart, was the only lasagna in our selection that lacked oven cooking instructions, leading us to microwave it as per the package directions. Unfortunately, the frozen meal was visually unappealing, looking flat and forlorn in its container. The taste was no better, with tough noodles, gritty ricotta, and a meat sauce that resembled old hamburger.
Trader Joe’s offers other frozen lasagna options worth exploring. Some to consider include Stouffer’s Meat Lovers Lasagna, Udi’s Gluten-Free Frozen Lasagna with Meat Sauce (a highly-rated gluten-free option), Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Italian Lasagna, and Kirkland Signature Italian Sausage and Beef Lasagna.
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