5 Best Frozen Foods I’ve Tasted So Far This Year

I bet you’re busy. Like, even though you’re stealing a little time to read an article on the internet, you’re probably already bracing for the avalanche of tasks that awaits you. BUT DON’T STRESS. Frozen foods make life easier, so basically what we have here are five ways for you to be just a little less busy. From frozen pad thai that doesn’t taste like junk to breakfast potatoes that don’t involve peeling or chopping, here are some of the best tasting frozen foods I’ve taste tested so far this year.

Videos by Sporked

Tem Toa Chicken Pad Thai

We liked the entire line of new Thai-inspired frozen dinners from Tem Toa (a spinoff of Deep Indian Kitchen), but the chicken pad thai really wowed us. It has just the right amount of tamarind tang, some lemongrass for brightness, and crunchy little peanut bits in the mix for texture. Most frozen pad thai is a letdown, so FINALLY having a suitable option at our fingertips is huge.

Read the full review of Tem Toa’s new line of frozen meals

Trader Joe’s Spicy Spuds

These are restaurant-quality breakfast potatoes. They’re extremely well seasoned with parmesan cheese, lime, onion, paprika, and cayenne, plus they cook up crispy on the outside and super creamy inside. Use these as a base for an at-home breakfast skillet and you’ll never blow 50 bucks on brunch again.

Read the full review of Trader Joe’s Spicy Spuds

Dr. Praeger’s Mac & Cheese Stars

In general, frozen mac and cheese bites kinda blow. Believe me, we’ve tried a lot of them. These new star-shaped, deep-fried mac and cheese bites from Dr. Praegers are better than the average mac and cheese bites—they’re gooey and cheesy inside, and they even have squash hidden in the mix so, hey, they’re practically health food. These are worth trying even if you’ve sworn off frozen mac and cheese bites.

Read the full review of Dr. Praeger’s Mac & Cheese Stars

Red Baron + Bibigo Korean BBQ-Style Classic Crust Pizza

We love it when icons team up, and this Red Baron-Bibigo collab didn’t disappoint. Yep, one of our favorite dumpling brands released a frozen pizza inspired by the flavors of KBBQ and bulgogi beef might just be our new favorite pizza topping. Sure, the carrots are a little strange, but this is worth trying if you want to nurture your sense of adventure. It was originally only available at Kroger-owned grocery stores, but now you can find it at Walmart and Target, too.

Read the full review of Red Baron + Bibigo Korean BBQ-Style Pizza

Trader Joe’s Potato Cheese Sticks

Okay, to be perfectly honest, these corn dog-adjacent, deep-fried snack sticks weren’t really for me, but other folks on the Sporked team were pretty into them. They consist of stretchy cheese encased in a sweet batter that has a bunch of little french fry stubs embedded in it—confused? Well, you get four in a box and a box only costs $4.99, so they’re worth trying for yourself.

Read the full review of Trader Joe’s Potato Cheese Sticks

About the Author

Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks. Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown. What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction. Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home. Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.