7 Frozen Pastas That Shoppers Say Taste Better Than Fresh

Pasta is the ultimate go-to comfort food. There’s literally not one thing to love about the classic dish. It’s versatile, tasty, filling and is a great meal for family get-togethers, potlucks, date nights and anytime you just feel like an incredible dinner. Plus, it’s usually cost-effective without compromising on flavor or quality.

While homemade anything is the best, many don’t have the time or energy to prepare pasta from scratch. But that’s where the frozen section at your local grocer comes in. There are aisles full of frozen pastas, but with so many options it’s hard to know which one to take home. To help navigate the plethora of choices, we scoured through hundreds of shopper’s reviews and ranked them in order of good to must-have based on customer’s comments.

Here are seven frozen pastas that taste better than fresh, according to real consumers.

Birds Eye Steamfresh Zesty Marinara Rigatoni & Vegetable Pasta

The  Birds Eye Steamfresh Zesty Marinara Rigatoni & Vegetable Pasta is a a quick and nutritious option featuring rigatoni pasta, vegetables, and a zesty marinara sauce. While customers love the pasta, many complain it’s unavailable leaving customers unhappy.

A Birds Eye shopper wrote, “product is great and delicious but why can i not find it anywhere now !!”

Another echoed the sentiment and shared, “Found and purchased this once locally and loved it! Was excited to find a quick meal that could easily be made at the office for lunch. Unfortunately they are not available anywhere near me.”

The pasta does seem to be available currently at Kroger for pickup only, no delivery.

Michael Angelo’s Eggplant Parmigiana

Michael Angelo’s Eggplant Parmigiana is a savory treat of layered breaded eggplant, marinara sauce, and melted mozzarella creating a flavorful, vegetarian-friendly meal. Walmart shoppers have rated the pasta 4.2 and Redditors also rave about it.

One Walmart customer wrote, “This is the best eggplant parm I have had in a long time. Easy to make and delicious. I read someone thought it made them sick but I can assure you that must have been a one time reaction for that individual. I am so disappointed that it is not available. When it comes back in stock I plan on buying extra.

Meanwhile on Reddit, the original poster of the thread Michael Angelo’s Eggplant Parmigiana shared, “Honestly I would rate this higher than 10 if I could. There are some good frozen lasagnas but none of them are as good as my pretty basic homemade version – I realize this is a subreddit for frozen meals for convenience but I am trying to make a point about how truly excellent this eggplant parmigiana is because it compares favorably to the ones I have made from scratch.”

Amy’s Vegan GF Vegetable Lasagna

Amy’s Vegetable Lasagna is made with organic ingredients, appealing to health-conscious shoppers and features layers of pasta, vegetables and delicious cheese that taste like it’s from a gourmet restaurant, according to shoppers. It’s vegan and gluten-free so those with restricted diets can still enjoy a great tasting lasagna without worry.

It’s rated 4.5 on Amazon and the latest reviewer wrote “This is a tasty vegan lasagna! I have a few more in my freezer and keep them in there for quick meals when needed. The sauce is tangy and noodles are firm.”

Another confirmed the tastiness and shared, “This has an ample amount of tomato sauce taste, and the herbs are nice. The texture is good — the lasagna is kind of springy, just what I like. The zucchini must have been all dissolved as I didn’t see any pieces, but that’s fine as the filling was soft and good. There was some green in it that tasted good, don’t know what it is. Maybe basil? The only problem is that it is not always available and sells out fast. And the salt amount in all of Amy’s meals, so it’s hard for elderly people on low sodium diets to enjoy Amy’s all natural salty meals. That’s the only problem.”

Marie Callender’s Chicken Marinara

Marie Callender’s Chicken Marinara Frozen Meal includes grilled white meat and broccoli over pasta noodles and the right amount of melted cheese covered in marinara sauce. It’s rated 4.6 at Walmart and shoppers are raving about the quality and taste.

One customer wrote, “The best chicken marinara in a dish. I love how quick this cooks but how good it tastes. Even better than a restaurant. It doesn’t taste plain either with just cheese. It tastes like it was cooked homemade.”

Another commented, “I always love Italian food, especially pasta, so this chicken marinara dish is a new favorite of mine! Marie Callender’s is always a brand I can rely on, and this meal will definitely be added to my cart frequently as a lunch or dinner option.”

 Stouffer’s Family Size Lasagna with Meat & Sauce

Stouffer’s Family Size Lasagna with Meat & Sauce is a hearty frozen lasagna with layers of pasta, rich meat sauce, loaded with creamy cheese and well-seasoned. It’s ideal for quick and easy meals and shoppers love the value and convenience. Amazon shoppers have rated it 4.6 and say it’s “delicious.”

One customer wrote, “Stouffer’s Classic Lasagna with Meat and Sauce, Family Size, Easy Frozen Dinners, Family Lasagna is delicious. Good value for your money perfectly blend of sauce cheese and pasta. Have it any time. Easy baking or microwavable instructions.”

Another agreed and stated, “Listen, take it from someone who has a sophisticated palate… this frozen lasagna is delicious. Forget those other reviews that are not good. I’m serious. I don’t know what’s wrong with those people. They are actually the reason why I purchased the small one first.

I bought the very small one first, just to give it a try and I was so impressed by the flavor, the sauciness, and the chunks of meat, that I immediately ordered 3 more in the larger size.”

Stouffer’s Broccoli Cheddar Pasta Bake Frozen Side Dish

Stouffer’s Broccoli Cheddar Pasta Bake Frozen Side Dish is an easy solution for dinner that’s great for the whole family. It features a nice amount of broccoli and rotini pasta smothered in a real cheddar cheese sauce and topped off with breadcrumbs. It will complement any main dish and shoppers love it.

The pasta is rated 4.7 at Kroger and one shopper wrote, “Raising a family of six children, we have used your frozen entrees numerous times over the years. This one we recently tried and it was the best overall!! The stores always seem to be out of stock and the lasagna seems to have changed but we will definitely purchasing more of this one. Wish it came in a bigger container as the family size is not even 4 servings.”6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Another shared, “The chunks of chicken you see in the picture on the box is the size it really is. It taste good too. Even kids like it even if they take the broccoli out, they love it.”

Beecher’s Mac and Cheese

A good mac and cheese is hard to resist and Beecher’s World’s Best Mac and Cheese has earned its name. It’s rated

According to Redditors it truly is the best.

One user wrote, “It’s hands down the best frozen mac n’ cheese I’ve found. Delicious, flavorful sauce.”

Another Reddit user agreed and commented, “I have tried a lot of frozen mac and cheese, and this one is the best by a mile. Flavor and texture are both fantastic. It is crazy expensive, but the box is huge. Two people could share if they didn’t have big appetites, or it could be a side for three or four people.”

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