16 Marie Callender's Frozen Meals, Ranked Worst To Best

There's certainly no shortage of frozen meals out there, with seemingly endless options ranging from comfort classics to low-calorie fare. More and more brands seem to be cropping up, churning out their own lines of frozen meals, though other brands that you might come across in the frozen aisle are long-time staples. One such brand is Marie Callender's, which is as ubiquitous to a frozen foods aisle as Stouffer's and Banquet. Though Marie Callender's frozen entrees encompass a wide spectrum of flavors, proteins, and dish types, you can expect to find mostly comfort classics in the lineup — those reminiscent of nostalgic home-cooked meals. 

I'm certainly no stranger to sampling and ranking frozen meals. I've ranked Stouffer's frozen entrees, Gordon Ramsay's line of frozen meals, and both Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice frozen meals. Needless to say, I know my way around a frozen entree, so I was more than up for the challenge of tasting and ranking Marie Callender's offerings. When ranking these dishes, I paid close attention to those that tasted the best, those that perhaps had a particularly delicious or standout component, and those that felt balanced, cohesive, and of the most value.

Classic pot roast is one of my absolute favorite meals, though admittedly, it's not exactly the easiest thing to whip up. More specifically, pot roast essentially takes the whole day to make, so I understand the desire to be able to enjoy the hearty meal in a pinch. That's where frozen pot roast entrees come into play, like this one from Marie Callender's. Though I can get behind the motivation for such a meal, the execution is something I simply cannot defend.

There was pretty much nothing right about this beef pot roast meal, so it made for a pretty easy last-place choice. The meal itself was incredibly watery, from the gravy all the way to the potato chunks, yet it was still laden with this overbearingly rich and fatty flavor profile. The beef chunks were the best part of the meal, but they still weren't good, often leaning more into a rubbery texture than anything else. This meal is a complete skip all-around.

I really wanted to like Marie Callender's chicken Parmigiana bowl — after all, how could you not like a bowlful of crispy chicken, rigatoni, marinara sauce, and cheese? I will say that there was nothing downright awful about this bowl — meaning that it's significantly better than the beef pot roast bowl. But something has to come in second-to-last place, and a bowl so lackluster and lacking in cohesion surely makes for a fitting option.

Before heating up the chicken Parmigiana bowl, it just looked like a bowl of rigatoni with chicken nuggets thrown into the mix. And hey, I could almost get behind that, because I'm not expecting a gourmet presentation from a frozen meal. The chicken nuggets just really didn't work here, and they didn't come across in their seemingly intended way, mimicking breaded chicken à la classic chicken Parmesan. Also, to make matters worse, there was very little sauce in this bowl, which made the whole thing very dry and pretty bland. 

Velveeta cheese lovers, you just might find something redeeming in Marie Callender's cheesy chicken and rice bowl. I was not able to even get halfway through this bowl, however, because the cheese was just so incredibly overbearing. I do have to give credit where it's due: This bowl is not lying about being cheesy. That cheese sauce coats every last grain of rice that the bowl has to offer, but the intensely artificial flavor of the cheese was just a little too much for me to handle.

Another big issue with this meal, aside from the overwhelming artificial cheese, was that any and all attempts at actually adding flavor to the components of the dish — like the chicken or broccoli — was completely overlooked in favor of more cheese. There's someone out there who might love this entree, but I was not that someone.

I appreciate those frozen meals that are set up like well-balanced dinners, featuring a main (often chicken), a starch (often rice or pasta), and a vegetable. Marie Callender's lemon and herb chicken entree follows this formula to a T, and for what it's worth, there were some bright spots here. The orzo was really tasty, boasting a nice texture and mostly taking on the flavor of the garlic butter sauce. 

The other components of the dish were less successful. The whole chicken breast was super, super bland, and this is coming from someone who has tried a lot of chicken in a lot of frozen meals. Even the tasty sauce couldn't really save the chicken, though, for what it's worth, the texture of the chicken breast could have been worse. The green beans were also entirely forgettable, which isn't necessarily surprising, but still — when two out of three main components of a dish are so incredibly bland, it's hard to consider the dish a winner as a whole.

I tend to enjoy spaghetti and meatballs across most frozen meal brands, but I'm sad to say that Marie Callender's may be the exception. I should clarify that there was nothing outrageously wrong with this bowl. The main issue here was the flavor of the sauce and meatballs, which was difficult to overlook, considering how ubiquitous both ingredients were in the bowl.

The tomato sauce in this spaghetti and meatballs bowl was a little too sharp for my taste, and whatever herbs were cooked into it didn't provide any meaningful flavor. The meatballs were also somewhat odd, with a pretty intense aftertaste that sort of reminded me of the flavor of ground turkey. The noodles were fine, but paired with the sauce and meatballs, I just wasn't a huge fan of this meal overall — though I can acknowledge that it's not the worst one on this list.

Swedish meatballs is another staple meal in the frozen foods section, and most of the popular brands are going to have their own iteration of it. Marie Callender's is one such brand that offers it, and though it's not the worst meal you could get, it's definitely far from the best.

My biggest issue with this meal was less so the flavor and more so the way it turned to mush after being heated up. I followed the instructions as written when it came to microwaving the meal, yet those egg noodles didn't stand a chance. Mushy texture aside, I also wasn't blown away by the flavor of the meatballs or sauce. I was looking for an intensely creamy, decadent sauce, and instead, I got something that was more like a bland gravy, making for an all-around lackluster plate.

When sampling a large amount of meals in a relatively short amount of time, certain ones tend to stick out, while others tend to fade into the background almost by default. Marie Callender's sesame chicken bowl definitely falls into the latter category, becoming almost immediately forgettable after I tried it. The thing is, this meal wasn't horrible, and it's definitely better than a large handful of others on the list. But it also didn't have any qualities to really make it stick out, so it's a middle-to-low ground meal at best.

The chicken in this bowl was fine, the noodles were fine, and the carrots were fine. The sauce could have been a real saving grace here, but it leaned way too far into sweet territory and not far enough into sesame territory. I get it — it's supposed to be a sweet sauce, but I wanted that sesame flavor to shine through more and help make this meal something a little more interesting.

It's funny when frozen meals advertise a "four cheese" pasta, because you can absolutely never tell that there are four cheeses involved. This is especially true with something like ravioli, and in the case of this meal, there's supposedly ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and romano cheese all stuffed into each little ravioli. Could I distinctly taste the four cheeses? Of course not, and in all honesty, it just tasted like ricotta. Was it still tasty? Somewhat to my surprise, yes.

Frozen ravioli meals typically aren't bad, and I suppose this one does ultimately fall into that "not bad" category more so than it does a downright "good" category. Nonetheless, I thought the sauce was pretty tasty in this one — a pleasantly acidic and slightly sweet marinara sauce that paired nicely with the ravioli. This was a very simple meal, but one that did taste pretty good and may be a good option for those picky eaters, thanks to its sheer simplicity.

Following that classic frozen meal formula of protein, starch, and vegetable, Marie Callender's beef and broccoli bowl was pretty tasty. I appreciated the sauce on this one, which was a little more savory than I was expecting, but in a good way. So often, these sauces are sweeter than they ever need to be, and this one definitely had some sweetness as well. But the savoriness shined through nicely, and it coated the beef, broccoli, and rice perfectly. 

The beef was a little bit more of a letdown, though it didn't downright ruin the meal. Obviously, I wasn't expecting steak-quality beef in this frozen meal, but the thin, lifeless strips that I ate were just kind of sad. I do think the sauce worked overtime to make this meal ultimately work, and hey, I did enjoy this meal in spite of lackluster beef. Still, there are better options out there.

While there's no denying that chicken reigns supreme in the world of pot pies, beef is a close second. Whereas chicken pot pies tend to lean toward a creamy flavor profile, beef pot pies often have a more gravy-like sauce, resulting in a dish that's ultra-savory. Marie Callender's beef pot pie definitely followed this gravy-forward formula, and for the most part, successfully.

My biggest issue with the beef pot pie is that I wish there was a little bit more — more vegetables, more flavor complexity, and more beef in general. I did appreciate how sheerly savory the dish was, and that gravy did pair nicely with the crust. Speaking of the crust, it was nothing amazing, but from a microwaved pot pie, I don't think you could reasonably expect much more. Was this beef pot pie better than a chicken pot pie? No, but it was still pretty tasty, and if you tend to prefer beef over chicken anyway, then you really can't go wrong with this option.

Admittedly, frozen meatloaf isn't the most appealing-looking thing in the world. Though it may look like a blob of mystery meat, it's one blob that does taste pretty good, at least in the case of Marie Callender's meatloaf and gravy meal. Paired with mashed potatoes and corn, this is a classic frozen entree that's hearty, comforting, and hard to mess up.

Though this meatloaf plate wasn't my absolute favorite meal on the list, I still found it to be a very solid option and a good go-to for those who just can't decide what to have for dinner. I like that you can scoop up a little bite of meat, a little bit of the mashed potatoes, and some of the corn, and have a really cohesive yet texturally interesting bite. Also, I have to shout out the corn here, as it provided just the right sweet pop to balance the savory meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy perfectly. 

I was pretty astounded when I removed this orange chicken bowl from the box and saw the comically small amount of vegetables that were in the mix. I get that peas and carrots aren't exactly supposed to be the star of an orange chicken bowl, but surely a little more effort could have been made for the veggies. Either way, I was still determined to base my ranking of this meal more so on the flavor than anything else, and as it turns out, the flavor was pretty darn good.

Aside from the chicken itself, orange sauce is a pretty crucial component to any orange chicken bowl, and the sauce really shined through nicely here. It was perfectly sweet and tangy, and it coated the chicken, rice, and (very few) veggies wonderfully. The chicken reminded me of the type you might get when ordering sweet and sour chicken from Chinese takeout, which was a good thing in my book. And paired with the orange sauce, I couldn't help but really enjoy the overall flavor of this bowl, even if the lack of veggies left me initially scorned.

After trying Marie Callender's vibrant orange cheesy chicken and rice bowl, I was a little nervous to see what the mac and cheese bowl might have in store for me. Fortunately, this one veered away from that Kraft Singles flavor profile and leaned more into a nice cheddar cheese flavor, something that ultimately worked well to the meal's advantage. 

Mac and cheese tends to be a safe bet with frozen meals, and this one really proved that sentiment true. Warm, comforting, and delightfully cheesy, it would be hard not to enjoy this meal — unless you simply don't like mac and cheese or perhaps don't like white cheddar. If I do have one grievance with the bowl, it's that the pasta did get a little soggy once heated up in all that cheese sauce. It still tasted good though, and I ultimately really appreciated the classic, comforting flavor profile that this bowl had to offer.

It's hard to beat the cozy goodness of chicken and dumplings, though frozen variations of the meal don't always get it right. Marie Callender's chicken and dumplings meal is proof of a brand getting it right, with this cozy and creamy bowl hitting all the right flavor notes. Aside from tasting good, there was also just a comforting familiarity about this meal that makes it seem like a good default option for those who don't really know what kind of meal they're after, but just want it to be satisfying.

My favorite part of this bowl was how balanced and cohesive it felt. There were the dumplings themselves, the chicken pieces, and the various vegetables, all perfectly coated in the creamy, rich sauce. Admittedly, I do think the dumplings were the weakest part of the bowl; they offered an okay texture, but ultimately ended up being pretty bland. The other elements tasted really good, and any blandness from the dumplings was easy to overlook thanks to that creamy sauce.

I'd argue that the chicken pot pie is perhaps the single item with the most brand association with Marie Callender's, and for good reason. This little pot pie packs big flavor, and though nothing can beat the comforting goodness of homemade chicken pot pie, this one comes pretty close (and with far less effort).

I think the key to success here is that all of the ingredients in this chicken pot pie just really work together. You've got the filling, which consists of chicken, veggies, and a creamy gravy. Then you've got the crust, which offers that perfect buttery, doughy, flaky contrast alongside the creamy filling. Plus, there's something about the creaminess of a chicken pot pie (as opposed to the beef pot pie) that is so classic and so timeless. Not all frozen chicken pot pie brands get it right, but Marie Callender's is definitely one that does.

Taking the top spot in this ranking, beating out all of the other Marie Callender's meals, is the roasted turkey breast with stuffing. There's something so comforting about this meal, from the tender pieces of turkey to the stuffing, gravy, and mashed potatoes. As someone who really isn't having homemade stuffing outside of Thanksgiving, I enjoy that this meal provides a chance to enjoy a holiday-like meal without the effort or having to see your extended family while doing so.

Everything on this plate also works really well together, and one big bite of stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey, and gravy is guaranteed to be a winning one. The stuffing is the real star, offering a nice bready texture with plenty of herbaceous flavor. When in doubt, this roasted turkey entree is a great go-to, and you really can't go wrong with the savory flavors that are abundant in this frozen meal.

Flavor was key when ranking Marie Callender's frozen meals, though naturally, there was quite a bit of subjectivity behind ranking based on flavor. I did try to consider and favor those meals that I thought would be universally enjoyable, like those that really got a simple premise right or highlighted flavors that nearly everyone enjoys. 

Another major criterion was texture, as some of the meals were really disappointing with lackluster pasta or chewy meat. More than anything, however, I looked out for cohesive meals that felt like well-thought-out entrees, worth your time to buy at the store, take home and microwave, and enjoy. And, since most Marie Callender's meals are meant to be comforting, I favored those that really hit the nail on the head in terms of comfort, getting it right by way of a particular sauce or star ingredient.