Great Value Chicken & Dumplings-Product Review

Walmart has several family size (32 ounce) thoroughly cooked frozen meals. I recently purchased the Great Value Brand Chicken & Dumplings for $6.00. This article will give you my opinion of the quality, taste, nutrition and cost of Walmart's Great Value Chicken & Dumplings.

The description on the box is "White meat chicken & vegetables in a creamy sauce, topped with tender raised dumplings". The creamy sauce has a good flavor, but is mild in seasoning as is the norm for chicken and dumplings. We did add salt and pepper. Unlike many convenience food products, there is enough white meat in this product to satisfy even a "meat every meal" person like my husband. I do not really enjoy meat and only eat it because of the protein/nutrition. I have a particular aversion to gristle. If there is any gristle in the product, it always seems to end up on my plate. The Great Value Brand Chicken & Dumplings that I purchased did have the infamous piece of gristle. I had hoped that the gristle in the Great Value Chicken & Dumplings I purchased was an exception and not common in the product, but I have seen one other review of this product and the reviewer also mentioned finding gristle. The dumplings in Great Value Chicken and Dumplings are like very light biscuits.

Great Value Chicken & Dumplings is very easy to prepare. It can be heated in the microwave, but I used the "preferred" way in my conventional oven at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes. The only preparation required is to cut a small slit in the film on the top of the container and place it on a baking sheet.

The suggested serving size is one cup. This size serving was more than enough for me, but not quite enough for my husband. If you have a man or teenage boy in your household, their serving may be more like 1 1/2-2 cups. On the other hand, young children would probably only require a half cup serving. There are 4 cups in the 32 ounce product. In my household of two, the left-overs are just the right size for my husband's lunch the next day.

A one cup portion is 320 calories and has 16 grams of fat. Only 4.5 grams of the fat is saturated fat and there is no trans fat. According to the box, a one cup serving has 19 grams of protein. As is the case with most convenience foods, the sodium is a little high (1100 mg), especially for people who have health concerns.

On a 1- five scale, I would rate Great Value Chicken & Dumplings like this:

Taste: 4
Quality: 3.5
Nutrition: 3.5
Convenience: 4
Cost: 4

The taste is better than most frozen meals.The only issue I had with the quality is that one gristle in the chicken. The quality of the rest of the meat was good. One gristle in 32 ounces of chicken & dumplings is not a deal-breaker for my husband. It won't be a deal-breaker for me if it's in his serving next time. Nutrition is par with most convenience foods. The only down side to convenience is the length of time to heat-but there is really no work involved. At first glance, the $6.00 cost may seem high. However, if the cost per person works out to be seventy-five cents for young children, a dollar for most women, and a dollar fifty to two dollars for teenage boys and men, the cost seems more reasonable. Great Value Chicken Dumplings is a product that I will buy again.

Source: Personal Experience
Information on the Product Packaging