Gwynedd Stuart
The best frozen meatloaf dinner isn’t going to live up to a fresh slab of the homemade stuff, but it should exist in that same universe. It pretty quickly became apparent we were going to have to set the bar pret-ty low for this taste test. Most frozen meatloaf looks and tastes like Salisbury steak with a slightly different flavored gravy. That ain’t right!
Read our ranking of the best frozen lunches
Meatloaf isn’t a glorified hamburger steak—ideally, it looks like it was sliced from a loaf. It tastes like beef and bread crumbs seasoned with parm and parsley, and it’s covered in a ketchuppy glaze. Too many brands are phoning it in, and that’s why you’ll only find two frozen meatloaf dinners on this list, one if you want a low cal meal and one if you want the best tasting frozen meatloaf dinner at the grocery store. Choose wisely!
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- Lean Cuisine Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes
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Lean Cuisine meatloaf isn’t the best frozen meatloaf in the world, but it definitely scratches an itch. It’s tender and comes in a brown, tomatoey gravy. It tastes like microwave beef but in a good way. At least it tastes like meat, which is more than I can say for some of the other frozen meatloaf dinners we tasted. It smells like an office break room, but also in a good way. I really like the mashed potatoes, which are very creamy (in an instant mashed potato kind of way) and are absolutely loaded with chives so they actually taste like something. This meatloaf frozen dinner has 21 grams of protein and only 250 calories and 7 grams of fat (we don’t usually harp on fat and cals, but I mention since it’s a Lean Cuisine). If you want a filling, low cal, comforting lunch, this is pretty good.
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Stouffer’s Classic Meatloaf
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Eating Stouffer’s meatloaf alongside the other frozen meatloaf dinners we taste tested made me reflect on what makes meatloaf taste like meatloaf rather than Salisbury steak. In Stouffer’s case? It’s green pepper. This tastes like there are veggies in the mix, not just ground beef. And that’s part of what makes this the best frozen meatloaf we tried (note: This is a review of the individual dinner, not the family sized dinner). The mashed potatoes are creamy (if a little gummy) and buttery. The meatloaf comes in an ample pool of brown gravy, which I like—you won’t run out of gravy as you eat; each bite gets a good dunk. The gravy is savory but not too salty. I don’t think you could mistake Stouffer’s meatloaf for homemade meatloaf, but you could mistake it for a dish from a nostalgic cafeteria. It’s the best frozen meatloaf by a longshot.
Credit: Merc / Target
Best Low Cal
Best of the Best
Other products we tried: Banquet Meatloaf, Boston Market Meatloaf, Atkins Meatloaf
Justine Sterling
Ariana Losch
Jessica Block
