Review of Bowl Appetit! Garlic Parmesan Pasta

The new Bowl Appetit! Garlic Parmesan Pasta from Betty Crocker is advertised to be a quick, great for lunch meal with no artificial flavors. Sounds perfect for working individuals or other adults that have little time but want more than chips or a drive-thru hamburger. But does the quality and taste of Betty Crocker's Bowl Appetit! Garlic Parmesan Pasta stand up to what they advertise?

The front of the package promises 5 minute preparation time- just add water and microwave. The directions on the back is slightly different though, calling for the use of hot, but not boiling, water and up to five and one half minutes of microwave time and another two minutes of cooling down time. Following directions to the letter, I made my Bowl Appetit! Garlic Parmesan Pasta for lunch.

The Bowl Appetit! is a black plastic bowl sealed with a plastic film that holds the noodles and powder sauce. The worst part about this setup is that powder is dusted everywhere and it makes it difficult to tell exactly where to stop pouring in the water.

The smell was enticing. My mouth watered before the microwave even beeped. The pasta and cream sauce looked divine. It appeared to be just as Betty Crocker described- Penne pasta simmered in a robust garlic-Parmesan sauce. The two minute wait period seemed cruel at the time.

When I took my first bite, I was a little knocked over by the taste of the garlic parmesan sauce because it was so pungent. The parmesan and the garlic tended to be battling each other over which was going to be the most tasted, with neither one being declared the winner. The parmesan was strong, but maybe it would have been agreeable if it wasn't for the powerful garlic.

The pasta was firm, far from the soft mushy noodles I had come to expect from microwave meals. With my microwave time being set at the longest recommended time, I imagine that it would be hard to get the noodles any softer without ruining the sauce, or at least adding extra water. The instructions do say that water can be added at the end to make the sauce thinner, but it doesn't say for the reason of cooking the noodles.

So the Bowl Appetit! Garlic Parmesan Pasta might be a good meal for those that like an extreme robust garlic flavor, although most will probably not enjoy eating the entire bowl.

The three other advertised Bowl Appetit! flavors are Pasta Alfredo, Three Cheese Rotini, Herb Chicken Flavored Vegetable Rice.