Justine Sterling
Is the secret to living longer hiding in plain sight in the freezer aisle of your local grocery store? Probably not. But you can find a selection of Blue Zones meals there, which are inspired by the places in the world where people live the longest (aka blue zones).
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What are Blue Zones Kitchen frozen meals?
Let’s start with the philosophy behind these frozen meals. Blue Zones Kitchen was co-founded by Dan Buettner, a “longevity expert” who has researched the places in the world where people live the longest aka “blue zones.” In fact, he is why the phrase “blue zones” exists in the first place, and has written multiple books on the subject. And his findings have inspired the recipes used to make these frozen meals.
What are blue zone foods?
A blue zone diet is primarily plant-based (all of the Blue Zones Kitchen frozen meals are vegan), focuses on whole foods that are not highly unprocessed, includes a lot of beans, and goes easy on the fish, eggs, sugar, and dairy. Blue Zones Kitchen frozen meals all fall into the “bowl” category of meals and follow the blue zone guidelines. But are they actually tasty?
You may have seen these frozen meals at the store and been curious—but not curious enough to shell out $8 to buy one. We’re here to help by tasting each of the Blue Zones frozen meals and reporting our findings. Here’s all the Blue Zones meals, ranked.
Blue Zones Kitchen Frozen Meals, Ranked
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- Blue Zones Kitchen Heirloom Rice Bowl
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This rice bowl was inspired by the red rice dish of the Gullah Geechee, descendants of enslaved West and Central Africans who live in the coastal regions and islands of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. You get Carolina Gold rice, red beans, sweet potato, kale, and stewed tomatoes. While it looks saucy and claims to be seasoned with smoked paprika, it’s severely lacking in flavor. It is bland, bland, bland.
Credit: Liv Averett / Thrive Market
- Blue Zones Kitchen Adobo Mushroom Bowl
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Blue Zones Kitchen claims this bowl is inspired by birria, which is typically made with slow-braised goat or beef. Instead, this bowl features portobello mushrooms, black beans, brown rice, and kale in a sauce flavored with cumin and oregano along with a guajillo and ancho chili paste. It tastes nothing like any birria I’ve ever had. It’s earthy (in an almost barnyardy kind of way) and the sauce is thick rather than brothy. That said, it’s not bad. There’s good heat and so much rich, rich flavor. I would cut this with some plain Greek yogurt or even a squirt of lime juice to balance out the richness.
Credit: Liv Averett / Thrive Market
- Blue Zones Kitchen Minestrone Pasta Bowl
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Purportedly channeling Sardinia’s minestrone, this brothy bowl is the soupiest of the bunch. You’re going to need a spoon. While the mix of tomato, carrots, red beans, garbanzo beans, and durum wheat pasta is totally good enough, the tough bean skins are distracting and the carrots get a bit squidgy. Add a dollop of pesto, though, and I think you’ll be pretty pleased.
Credit: Liv Averett / Blue Zones Kitchen
- Blue Zones Kitchen Burrito Bowl
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This isn’t just any burrito bowl. It’s a burrito bowl inspired by Casado plate, a staple in Nicoya, Costa Rica. I’ve never had a Casado, but a quick search shows that it typically consists of black beans, quinoa, and fried plantains, along with some salad and the occasional meat. Blue Zones’ burrito bowl includes corn, tomato, jalapeno, black beans, and sweet potato. Where’s the plantains, guys? Taken at face value, this is a good, “healthy” version of a burrito bowl. It’s spicy, beany, and filling. If you dressed it up with some avocado and sour cream, I think you’d have yourself a tasty bowl. But if Blue Zones really wants to make something special, they’ll figure out how to add plantains.
Credit: Liv Averett / Thrive Market
- Blue Zones Kitchen Sesame Ginger Bowl
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Okinawa, one of the original blue zones, is the inspiration behind this bowl. It includes carrots, edamame, broccoli, brown rice, and garbanzo beans in a sesame-miso ginger dressing. It tastes like a better version of most of the “Asian” microwaved meals out there—fresher, with better textures. Perhaps if they increased the ginger flavor a bit it might rise higher above the rest. But the sesame really does most of the work. Still, out of all the Blue Zones Kitchen frozen meals I tried, this would be the one I’d grab for lunch most often. You can just eat it and get on with your day.
Credit: Liv Averett / Thrive Market
- Blue Zones Kitchen Korean Mixed Rice Bowl
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This is Blue Zones’ take on bibimbap. It’s made with carrot, spinach, zucchini, adzuki beans (aka red beans or mung beans), a mix of brown, red, and wild rice, and gochujang sauce. It’s a bit of a mush fest and it definitely needs more gochujang, but it’s at least different from most of the frozen meals out there. It tastes more like the inside of Trader Joe’s kimbap than real bibimbap. But that’s not a bad thing.
Credit: Liv Averett / Thrive Market
- Blue Zones Kitchen Spicy Sweet Hawaiian Bowl
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I’m sure Blue Zones Kitchen started by trying to make this a poke bowl. But they wound up with this sweet-and-savory mix that is surprisingly one of the best Blue Zones Kitchen frozen meals I tried. It’s an edamame-heavy bowl that also includes black beans, brown rice, and pineapple, along with coconut and gochugaru pepper. (The brand also claims there’s seaweed in the mix but I didn’t see any.) It is a sloppy bowl of vegetable mush—but I love it. The coconut flavor reminds me of Thai curry, and the occasional pops of pineapple keep things interesting. I’ve never had a frozen meal like this!
Credit: Liv Averett / Thrive Market
- Blue Zones Kitchen Basil Pesto Veggie Bowl
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The best of all the Blue Zones meals is this saucy bowl inspired broadly by Italy as a whole. You get quinoa, tomato, cauliflower, great northern beans, and garlicky pesto. It’s like a very thick stew with a good, crunchy texture from the quinoa. The beans are tender and creamy. And the pesto tastes like actual pesto—not generic herb paste. It’s a real pesto-lover’s meal. And I am a pesto lover. I will eat that stuff straight off a spoon like peanut butter. If you’re like me, then this Blue Zones Kitchen meal is definitely worth the price.
Credit: Liv Averett / Thrive Market
Heirloom Rice Bowl
Adobo Mushroom Bowl
Minestrone Pasta Bowl
Burrito Bowl
Sesame Ginger Bowl
Korean Mixed Rice Bowl
Spicy Sweet Hawaiian Bowl
Matt Crowley
Jordan Myrick
Will Morgan
