Chef Boyardee's Best Canned Pasta, According To Our Taste Test
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As far as canned pastas go, Chef Boyardee's are among the best. The brand — which has ties to President Woodrow Wilson — is a nostalgic comfort food staple, thanks to its slew of microwave- or stovetop-ready pastas that range from lasagna to all sizes of spaghetti and meatballs. Not all of the company's pastas are equal, however, and one particular variation fared best in Tasting Table's ranking of pasta options. That victorious pasta? Beefaroni, which had both the most comforting combination of flavors and best balance of textures.
At its simplest form, Beefaroni is essentially a macaroni that's bathed in tomato sauce, then combined with chopped beef. The variation thrives in the Chef Boyardee format; it combats the overly soft texture common in the brand's cans by using beef. The beef adds a variety of textures not typically found in the brand's other offerings, and therefore create a more robust consistency. That beef component, likewise, introduces an ideal ratio of ingredients that makes the sauce feel full rather than runny.
Of course, that's not to say Chef Boyardee's other pastas don't deserve a taste. Similar cans fared nearly as well — and all continued with the theme of the meat's texture success.
Chef Boyardee's meat-based pastas fared best in Tasting Table's brand round-up
Beefaroni may be the best Chef Boyardee option, but a few of the brand's other offerings maintain a similar texture and taste — all thanks to their use of meat. In particular, Chef Boyardee's miniature beef ravioli and meatballs trailed just behind Beefaroni in the rankings. In this particular variation on ravioli and meatballs, the meat — once again — brings an additional texture, adding density to the otherwise too-soft pasta. The dish, therefore, doesn't taste homogenous but keeps things interesting. For a similar reason, Chef Boyardee's lasagna landed in third place, relying on little chunks of meat to break up the mushy noodles.
If you'd rather rank Chef Boyardee's products for yourself, you can order a variety pack on Amazon, or pick and choose your favorite options. Other pasta renditions include Italian sausage ravioli, cheese ravioli, spaghetti and meatballs, and even macaroni and cheese. Sure, the textures and flavors of a canned pasta won't be nearly as good as what you could make from scratch. However, Chef Boyardee is a childhood favorite — and an easy source for pasta whenever you're in a pinch.