5 Best Frozen Meals for Kids

Kid Cuisine meals were a real treat for me back in the day. Usually I’d get one if I was left with a babysitter for dinner time. I loved the cartoon penguin. I loved the corn. I loved that everything was separated into little compartments. I thought Kid Cuisine meals were the best. 

But I didn’t have much to compare them to—Kid Cuisine meals were the only frozen kids’ meals I ever had when I was an actual kid. But now I’ve had a bunch of other frozen meals for kids (11 to be precise). And I can tell you confidently that there are better frozen kids’ meals out there. Apologies to my younger self. 

How we prepared the frozen kids’ meals

I followed the microwave instructions on the boxes of these frozen meals to the letter. Even when the box told me to remove the frozen nuggets, microwave for a minute, put the nuggets back in, and then microwave again for three minutes. (That’s too complicated for frozen kids’ meals, in my opinion.) 

What we looked for in the best frozen kids’ meals

The best frozen kids’ meals should taste good—just like the best frozen meals for grown-ups. Of course, ideally, the best tasting frozen meals for kids should also be healthy frozen kids’ meals. They shouldn’t be laden with fat and sodium. But they also shouldn’t be bland mush. We certainly awarded bonus points for veggies—hidden or otherwise—but above all, we looked for meals that tasted good. We wanted complete (or, at least, somewhat complete) meals that would satisfy a kid without requiring half a cup of powdered parmesan or a flood of ketchup. 

Here are the best frozen meals for kids, according to grown-up taste testers who once were kids. 

Best frozen kids’ meals, ranked

Best Non-Nugget Chicken

Kid Cuisine Popcorn Chicken

Walmart

If you’re buying Kids Cuisine meals it’s because you want your children to have fun. There’s a cool cartoon penguin on the box. There’s usually some sort of game you can access by way of a QR code. And, importantly, Kid Cuisine meals come with dessert. But most Kid Cuisine meals are pretty disappointing. Still, we enjoyed eating this one. It had the best corn of the lot—it wasn’t totally waterlogged and it actually tasted like corn—though I realize that’s just luck of the draw. Mostly this is on the list because the chicken actually has flavor. The little popcorn chicken balls could certainly be crunchier, but they taste a lot like McNuggets. They’re savory with a nice hit of black pepper. The fries aren’t crispy at all, they’re just fry-shaped steamed potatoes. But they taste ok. And the brownie, which comes with a separate pack of sprinkles, is technically a brownie. And sometimes that’s enough when you’re a kid.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

6/10

Sporks

Best Hot Dogs

Kid Cuisine Mini Corn Dogs

Walmart

If popcorn chicken isn’t your thing but you’re still in the market for a Kid Cuisine frozen meal complete with corn and strange, brownie-like thing, then the mini corn dogs meal is the way to go. The corn dogs themselves look atrocious. The batter is loose and pale. But the flavor is right on. The chicken hot dog is meaty and savory, and the coating is pleasantly sweet. All things considered, it’s the best frozen meal of the Kid Cuisine meals we tried.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Mac & Cheese

Kidfresh Wagon Wheels Mac & Cheese

Instacart

Okay, now that we’ve gotten the aesthetically pleasing but culinarily middling Kid Cuisine meals out of the way, it’s time to get into the frozen kids’ meals that were genuinely enjoyable to eat. These cheesy wagon wheels are creamy and cozy and comforting. And, while they don’t come with a side or dessert, there are some hidden pureed carrots in the mix and 12g of protein in a serving. So sneaky parents can feel better about giving their kid a bowl of previously frozen pasta and calling it a day.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Pasta with Red Sauce

Kidfresh Chicken Meatballs & Pasta Marinara

Instacart

Kidfresh meals are new to me but I am a convert. They don’t have the fun factor of a Kid Cuisine, but they do really taste good—and you get a good amount of food. In this one, you get a decent serving on rigatoni tossed with a healthy amount of marinara sauce (laced with sneaky beets) and a side of chicken meatballs (with some hidden carrot). Yes, the pasta could use a bit of grated parmesan cheese for added salt. But if you pair a bite of pasta with a bite of savory meatball, it balances out quite nicely.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Kidfresh White Meat Chicken Nuggets & Buttered Pasta

Instacart

Out of all the Kidfresh frozen meals we prepped, this one sounded the blandest and the least exciting. But, though simple, all of the components are really well executed. The ditalini pasta—such a fun pasta shape—are coated in a creamy butter sauce that tastes like real, actual butter. You’d never know there were pureed sweet potatoes and carrots in the mix. And the nuggets taste like real chicken, even though they contain cauliflower. They’re even a bit crunchy! Seriously, these frozen nuggets are almost as good as the ones on our best frozen nuggets ranking.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Other frozen kids’ meals we tried:

Comfort Cravers Mini Corn Dogs Toy Story, Good & Gather Stuffed Mini Rigatoni in a Marinara Sauce, Kid Cuisine All Star Nuggets, Good & Gather Pasta Shells in Cheddar Cheese Sauce, Kidfresh Spaghetti Loops Meat Sauce, Kraft Mac & Cheese with Chicken Nuggets and Broccoli

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