The Best Lean Cuisine Meals to Have in the Freezer

The best Lean Cuisine meals are flavorful, ready in a jiff, and nostalgic, too. I grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, when microwaved meatloaf was a totally legit health food—what a time to be alive! Perceptions have changed and health food has taken on less delicious forms, but Lean Cuisine lives on for people who want to cut calories, not cook, and still eat things like pasta in meat sauce and French bread pizza.

As of 2017, there were more than 85 varieties of Lean Cuisine on the market. Did we try them all? Hell no. But over the course of two taste tests, we tried a lot, including Lean Cuisine Protein Kick meals, Lean Cuisine Comfort Classics, and the new-ish Lean Cuisine Balance Bowls. We made some big updates to this list, but a few of our faves remained faves. Here are the best tasting Lean Cuisine meals at the grocery store.

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lean cuisine tortilla crusted fish review

Lean Cuisine!

Lean Cuisine Protein Kick Tortilla Crusted Fish

Who woulda thunk that a piece of fish would be one of the best tasting Lean Cuisine meals? The fish in question is tilapia that’s coated in a breading that tastes like corn. It isn’t crunchy by a mile, but the tortilla flavor is a really nice complement to the mild fish. The rice is mush, but it has a nice poblano pepper flavor and a little kick of heat we really liked. Still, a few dashes of a good hot sauce would go a long way here—this dish desperately needs more salt and the tang of vinegar would punch things up, too.  

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

lean cuisine shrimp alfredo review

Lean Cuisine!

Lean Cuisine Protein Kick Shrimp Alfredo

I know that chicken seems like a reliably inoffensive option when it comes to frozen meals, but the seafood in Lean Cuisine meals is surprisingly good, while the chicken dishes were all pretty bad. The shrimp in this meal are small and very cooked, but they don’t taste fishy. They’re a little chewy, sure, but they’re also firm rather than mushy from being frozen. The broccoli is nice and crunchy and the florets do a good job of soaking up the alfredo sauce. That sauce, which has a slightly unpleasant aftertaste (like too much garlic powder) reminded us of a Knorr side dish, for better or worse. It’s one of the best Lean Cuisine meals (my personal favorite), and with a little zhuzhing up—some red pepper flakes, some grated parm, maybe a handful of capers—it’ll be even better.

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

lean cuisine comfort classics lasagna with meat sauce

Lean Cuisine!

Lean Cuisine Comfort Classics Lasagna with Meat Sauce

Lean Cuisine has a handful of Italian-inspired, red sauce-drenched dishes, but this Lasagna with Meat Sauce is especially tasty. The meat in the lasagna doesn’t contribute a ton of flavor, but it does add some good texture. The sauce tastes way better than it looks, and there’s a decent amount of cheese on the dish, too. It’s giving airline lasagna, but it isn’t total mush. If you’re craving red sauce, this is one of the best Lean Cuisine meals.

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

lean cuisine turkey breast review

Lean Cuisine!

Lean Cuisine Protein Kick Roasted Turkey Breast

A frozen meal that mimics Thanksgiving dinner might sound even more depressing than your typical sad little desk lunch, but I’m telling you, this is tasty enough to make you feel festive. The turkey medallions have a surprisingly pleasant taste and texture (much better than any of the chicken we tried), the gravy is savory, and the stuffing is clumpy and herby in that delicious Stove Top kind of way. My favorite part of this meal, though, are the cinnamon apples. Seriously, even with 15-plus frozen dinners to taste, I polished off every bite of those sweet, syrupy, spiced apples. A majorly nostalgic and extremely delicious dessert right there in the tray. Brilliant.

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

lean cuisine shrimp scampi reivew

Best of the Best

Lean Cuisine Protein Kick Shrimp Scampi

We loved this during our first taste test, and this time around we decided it was the best of the Lean Cuisine meals we tasted. The sauce is light and lovely and there’s a good amount of it. The shrimp are firm. The pasta is good. I wish this had a vegetable like broccoli–I like the shrimp alfredo because it has broccoli, but this is still better overall. The sauce is what really makes this great—it’s bright and citrusy and tastes like cooking wine in a good way. My favorite part of this taste test was discovering that microwavable seafood actually works.

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Other Lean Cuisine meals we tried: Sesame Chicken, Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes, Swedish Meatballs with Pasta, Cheese Ravioli, Macaroni and Beef, Alfredo Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli, Lean Cuisine Balance Bowls Lemon Garlic Shrimp Stir Fry, Lean Cuisine Protein Kick Oven Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes, Lean Cuisine Protein Kick Salisbury Steak with Macaroni and Cheese, Lean Cuisine Comfort Classics Enchiladas Suizas, Lean Cuisine Sante Fe Rice and Beans, Lean Cuisine Steak Portabella, Lean Cuisine Protein Kick Baked Chicken


About the Author

Gwynedd Stuart

Gwynedd Stuart, Sporked’s managing editor, is an L.A.-based writer and editor who spends way, way too much time at the grocery store. She’s never met an Old El Paso taco or mozzarella stick she didn’t like.