There’s a common misconception that frozen meals only exist so you don’t have to cook, which, to be fair, is kind of the whole deal. Still, some frozen dinner brands get surprisingly close to tasting homemade, deliver solid value for the money, and even look respectable on a clean-eating day. But no one brand nails all of that, so we broke them down by what each one actually does best.
Here are the best frozen dinner brands for different dietary preferences and budgets.
Best Frozen Comfort Food: Stouffer’s
Stouffer’s has been around since 1924, and according to Statista, it’s still the top-selling frozen dinner brand in the U.S. as of early 2025, which honestly makes sense because everyone’s eaten one at some point, and most people still have one in the freezer right now. It succeeds because it gives America exactly what it loves — convenience and comfort food in one box. The mac and cheese is still the standout. It’s thick, salty, and heavy in the way you want on a lazy night. The lasagna is solid, the Swedish Meatballs are better than expected, and the Salisbury Steak hits the nostalgia spot. The rest fall somewhere between fine and forgettable, but that’s never really been the point.
Stouffer’s has lasted a century because it never stopped making the same kind of food people actually eat.
Best Value For The Money: Marie Callender
Marie Callender started out baking pies in a small California shop in the 1940s, which has turned into a national brand that’s been feeding people for decades. Even though it’s now owned by Conagra and mass-produced, the meals feel like they’re meant for people who like things the way they used to taste and it has that old American comfort baked right into its name. Although it built itself on pies, and they’re still the best reason to buy the brand (hello turkey pot pie), there are a few other standouts too — the meatloaf is solid, and tastes homemade, and the Salisbury steak hits the same note with a side of decent mac and cheese.
Best Flavor: Zatarain’s
Zatarain’s brings New Orleans flavor to the frozen aisle, with offerings ranging from jambalaya, blackened chicken Alfredo, shrimp étouffée, and sausage gumbo. The meals are spicy, smoky, and bold, most priced around $4.99 and run a single serving
The Blackened Chicken Alfredo gets the best reviews for strong seasoning and creamy sauce. The Jambalaya with Sausage and Chicken is heavy but full of flavor and works as a filling one-tray dinner.
Best Diet-Friendly: Lean Cuisine
Lean Cuisine is “work week lunch food:” cheap, low-calorie, and boring as spreadsheets and Mondays. But it works, as it is. It has been around since the early 1980s and hasn’t changed much. It still markets itself as the lighter option in the freezer aisle, and it’s fine if you don’t expect much. Most boxes sit around four dollars and stay under 400 calories, and that’s the brand’s entire identity.
Tasting Table says the orange chicken, chicken enchilada suiza, and roasted turkey breast are your best bets, but you should skip the rest.
Best Variety of Frozen Meals: Trader Joe’s
As a grocery store, Trader Joe’s has built its reputation on the frozen aisle. Everything there is a private-label product, which makes sense because Joe likes to keep up with trends and probably builds half its menu from Pinterest boards
Everything in the section is a private-label product, usually priced between $3.99 and $5.99, depending on size. Most are single servings, though the rice bowls and dumplings can stretch to two lighter meals.
The Mandarin Orange Chicken is the standout, along with the Chicken Tikka Masala and Beef Bulgogi bowls. The clear misses are the Cauliflower Gnocchi, which never cooks right, no matter how you try, and the Penne Arrabbiata, which tastes like cheap sauce poured over soggy pasta.
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Best Vegetarian: Amy’s Kitchen
If your priorities are ingredient quality, vegetarian/vegan support, and decent taste, then Amy’s is among the best frozen dinner brands. The brand started in 1987 in Petaluma, California, when Andy and Rachel Berliner wanted better vegetarian frozen meals for their daughter Amy. From the beginning, the brand leaned hard into organic, non-GMO, vegetarian ingredients.
The cheese-enchilada is praised for mimicking a “bean-y, cheesy Mexican restaurant” feel. The broccoli-and-cheddar bake held up unexpectedly well, especially considering how tough frozen vegetables usually fare. You’ll often see Amy’s meals go around $5 to $7 (or equivalent) in the freezer aisle, which is higher than many mainstream frozen dinners, and for what you’re paying, the strength lies in the brand’s values and ingredient quality rather than “blow-your-mind deliciousness.”
Best Lean Option: Healthy Choice
Here is a brand that has evolved from a diet fad into one of the more reliable names in the freezer aisle. While the meals stay under 400 calories, the retro keywords “low-fat” are replaced with more era-fitting ones like “protein” and “wholegrain.”
They cost about $5, and people call them “filling without feeling heavy” and “the only healthy frozen meal that tastes real.” “This is my lunch literally every day I’m in the office. Can’t beat the protein ratio,” says one Redditor.
The chicken marinara, Greek-style, and sweet sesame bowls usually earn the best reviews for seasoning and texture. Some bowls still miss the mark — soggy grains, thin sauce — but the overall quality sits a step above most competitors.
Best Italian: Rao’s
Rao’s began as a popular New York Italian restaurant, and the frozen meal line aims to carry that spirit forward. The sauces taste richer than most frozen pasta meals, and dishes like Rigatoni Bolognese get high marks for meat-laden sauce and decent pasta texture, as does the Lasagna and Penne arrabiata. The price is steeper than your average freezer dinner (you’ll see family-size trays for $12–$15), making it a value pick only when you actually care about the brand and quality.
On the downside: some meals don’t wander far enough beyond “okay frozen pasta,” and you’ll pay more for the name. For example, the Penne Alla Vodka gets praise for the sauce, but the entire dish is still described as “simple” rather than outstanding.
Be sure to check out our taste test of Rao’s frozen pizzas to see which ones are worth picking up.
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Best International Cuisine: Saffron Road
Most frozen aisle names sell themselves on convenience. Saffron Road ups the ante by giving you something mildly cultured—and clean enough. The brand focuses on global dishes like Chicken Tikka Masala, Thai Basil Chicken, and Lamb Vindaloo, and most of them use recognizable ingredients and avoid artificial stuff, a rarity in the frozen section. It’s also antibiotic-free, gluten-free, non-GMO, and halal-certified. In the flavor department, the Lamb Saag and Madras Curry Meatballs stand out as the best options. The Chicken Tikka Masala is fine, but the chicken’s bland. They’re about six bucks, heat up in six minutes, and work as a charm for a weeknight dinner.
Best Gourmand Option: Gordon Ramsay’s Frozen Dinners
Chef Gordon Ramsay’s frozen meal line is sold exclusively at Walmart under the promise of “chef-crafted comfort.” The line covers the full spectrum of British-American comfort food, including chicken pot pie, lasagna, and mac and cheese. Each tray costs about six bucks and comes in sleek black packaging that looks like a Bentley compared to the usual freezer junk.
Value-wise, you’re paying for branding and the privilege of feeling classe while eating microwaved food. But according to those who’ve tried it, it’s not revolutionary. Sporked says Ramsay’s frozen meals are wildly uneven in quality. The chicken pot pie was “crispy, buttery, and very good,” and the lasagna was “rich and well-seasoned,” but everything else fell short — the shepherd’s pie was “incredibly greasy,” the mac and cheese bland, and the Fish & Chips dry. All in all, you won’t brag about eating it, but you also won’t hate yourself after.
More Frozen Dinner Stories From Cheapism
- Iconic TV Dinners That Once Ruled American Living Rooms — Take a trip down memory lane with some of America’s favorite mediocre meals from the ’50s through the ’90s.
- 21 Frozen Meals You Should Never Buy (Because They’re Bad For You) — Frozen dinners are certainly convenient (and cheaper than takeout) but there are some that are best left in the freezer section.
- 7 Best Frozen Chicken Pot Pies at the Grocery Store — Talk about comfort food. It’s hard to beat a good chicken pot pie and our taste test helps you navigate which ones are worth picking up.
