Review: Stouffer's Chicken in Barbecue Sauce

Did you just finish a long, humdrum day of your work, tasks, and chores and now need a "pick-me-up"? Look no further than Stouffer's chicken in barbecue sauce dinner. This Stouffer's meal featuring several grilled white meat chicken strips soaked in barbecue sauce with a side of bacon and cheddar potato bake is calling for the hungry tummies of anyone wanting a zing for dinner.

About Stouffer's Chicken in Barbecue Sauce

At 10 ounces, Stouffer's chicken in barbecue sauce meal does not come in the biggest box on the frozen food aisle. But this Stouffer's meal satisfies most hungry stomachs thanks to its good portions of meat and potatoes. The chicken is tender, and the potatoes will please anyone seeking a nice, "comfort-food" style meal.

The quality of the white meat is terrific - my meal completely lacked any of the chewy areas of gristle and fat that plague the meat of many frozen dinners costing less than $3. The potatoes were not "too" cheesy, which is a problem I have discovered with many frozen meals containing foods smothered, covered, layered, or otherwise boasting cheese. Stouffer's must have had some flavor testers with taste buds like mine on board when determining where to draw the line on the amount of cheddar in these potatoes. The result is a flavor which, in my opinion, features a definite cheddar presence but does not sacrifice the lighter, plainer taste of the potatoes. The bacon was not overbearing, which in my judgment is a good thing.

My big curiosity before eating Stouffer's chicken in barbecue sauce had to do with what was included in the title of the meal: the barbecue sauce. Way too many frozen dinners contain barbecue sauce which tastes either somewhat sugary or syrupy. Not this barbecue sauce.

The barbecue sauce in this Stouffer's meal has bits of what taste like onion, and it has a mild, smoky flavor. Yes - a frozen dinner barbecue sauce that actually has substance and good flavor! Personally, I enjoyed saving some of the sauce for dipping a white roll that I had in my pantry; no bread comes along with this, but if you want to really replicate that backyard-barbecue flair, it won't hurt to find a good, soft white (or wheat!) roll to round out this dinner.

Stouffer's chicken in barbecue sauce dinner takes about 6 minutes at high in a microwave or 41 minutes in a conventional oven preheated to 350 degrees.

The Food Label

Here's the part of my review that may lose some of you: the food label. These are the nutrition numbers you can expect to confront when eating this 10-ounce, 1-serving package of Stouffer's chicken in barbecue sauce:

430 calories
170 calories from fat
19 grams of total fat
6 grams of saturated fat
0 grams of trans fat
70 mg of cholesterol
1120 mg of sodium
42 grams of total carbohydrates
3 grams of dietary fiber
17 grams of sugar
23 grams of protein

Despite relatively high counts in the fat, cholesterol, and sodium columns, Stouffer's chicken in barbecue sauce makes a hearty meal worth trying. Costing around $2.89 in Central Florida and taking less than 6 minutes in a microwave and under 45 minutes in a conventional oven, this Stouffer's meal has all the makings of a convenient, inexpensive dinner you will find yourself going back to the store for.

Resources:

Personal and first-hand knowledge
Stouffer's Chicken in Barbecue Sauce meal carton