Prior to this taste test, I was pretty unfamiliar with the world of frozen breakfast bowls. I don’t spend a lot of time in the breakfast section of the frozen aisle—I’m a Greek yogurt in the morning guy and I don’t own a microwave—so the secrets it holds are largely a mystery to me. But what a world! I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on pancakes and sausage on a stick and whatever the hell this is. But now, for better or worse, I’m an expert on frozen breakfast bowls.
If you’re looking for eggs, potatoes, and other breakfast accoutrements in a convenient bowl you can both microwave and eat out of, we know what you should buy. Here’s what I was looking for in this taste test: eggs that are fluffy rather than grainy, cubed potatoes that are nice and creamy inside, and a good ratio of ingredients. I’m sorry, but if these things are 80% meat, they are a little bit gross. We tried a lot of varieties and brands—including several Walmart breakfast bowls and way too many Jimmy Dean breakfast bowls—and found the three best frozen breakfast bowls you can buy.
- Jimmy Dean Meat Lovers Breakfast Bowl
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iIf you absolutely insist on eating a frozen breakfast bowl that is predominantly meat, this Jimmy Dean breakfast bowl is the one you should buy. It’s seriously lacking in scrambled eggs, but it has its virtues. The breakfast sausage is very savory and flavorful, which is good because there’s a lot of it (it also contains bacon). I also thought the potatoes in this bowl were quite good—nice and creamy on the inside rather than grainy like other frozen potatoes can be. If you self identify as a meat lover, this is the best frozen breakfast bowl.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Great Value Meat Lovers Breakfast Bowl
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Yes, this is a Meat Lovers breakfast bowl, but they could get away with calling it an Egg Lovers breakfast bowl. Unlike Jimmy Dean’s version, this Walmart frozen breakfast bowl has a reasonable egg-to-potato-to-meat ratio. The sausage doesn’t taste as good, but I was just glad to have some more egg in the mix. For being microwaved, the eggs are nice! They’re firm and they aren’t grainy like the eggs you’ll find in other brands’ breakfast bowls. They’re like decent scrambled eggs from a good hotel’s continental breakfast rather than eggs from a cut-rate summer camp.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Great Value Sausage & Gravy Breakfast Bowl
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Pretty much everything is better with gravy, and frozen breakfast bowls are no exception. In general, I preferred the bowls that came topped with white gravy. It adds moisture and makes the whole thing feel like a more cohesive meal. Unfortunately, the gravy in a lot of breakfast bowls is totally flavorless—it provides moisture and nothing else. Great Value’s gravy actually tastes like gravy. It’s salty and peppery and brings out the flavor in the bowl’s other elements (potatoes, eggs, sausage, and cheese). And, again, Walmart breakfast bowls have much better eggs than other brands. I probably won’t be buying frozen breakfast bowls again any time soon—I did not feel good after this taste test—but if I ever do, this is the one I’ll grab.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
Best Meat Lovers
Best Eggs
Best of the Best
Other products we tried: Signature Select Meat Lovers, Jimmy Dean Loaded Potato, Jimmy Dean Sausage and Gravy, Jimmy Dean Delights Turkey, Aldi Breakfast Best Sausage & Gravy, Aldi Breakfast Best Meat Lovers, Kroger Farmhouse Style
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