The Worst Caesar Salad Kit You Can Buy, According To Our Taste Test

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A salad kit is super handy when you haven't got the time to prep your own veggies, or simply want to add a fiber-filled side to a main meal you've slaved over. The best Caesar salad kits contain a creamy dressing, crispy croutons, and salty Parmesan that combine to create the perfect crunchy balance in minutes. However, there's one kit we wouldn't recommend buying after taste-testing and comparing several options: The Good & Gather chicken Caesar salad bowl.

The losing contender in Tasting Table's list of 18 store-bought Caesar salad kits, ranked, features grilled chicken with a strangely unpleasant texture. It had a processed taste and the chunks were cut into uniform cubes, which looked (and tasted) unnatural. The lettuce was also beginning to brown, despite the salad being well within its expiration date, which put us off immediately. It may sound picky, but a Romaine-based salad should have a fresh, crunchy texture at the bare minimum. 

While the croutons and shredded Parmesan passed muster, the dressing itself was too sweet, likely due to the sugar in the Worcestershire sauce that was used in the creamy vinaigrette since there's no mention of a sweetener elsewhere in the ingredients list. The dressing also contained red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and anchovy extract, which should have lent it a deeper, more savory quality rather than a sweetness unsuited to this kind of classic salad.

Disappointingly, Good & Gather's chicken Caesar salad had all the right elements in play, like the Parmesan and crispy croutons, but it didn't tantalize our taste buds. The entire bowl counts as one serving and contains 18g of protein but this just isn't enough of a plus point to make us buy it again, given the limpness of the sad lettuce and the displeasing texture of the chicken. Notably, these were both issues for Target reviewers too, with one complaining, "The lettuce was 90% rusty and not edible" while another described the chicken as "over processed," again echoing Tasting Table's feelings about it. 

As with all salad kits, the dressing comes in a separate little sachet tucked under the film covering the top of the bowl and a fork is included, which means you can incorporate as much dressing as you like (in our case, the less the better) and eat on the go. Even so, Good & Gather didn't come close to comparing to the best salad in our taste test, which was Taylor Farms bacon Caesar chopped kit. 

There was a richness to this huge salad (there are three servings per bag with 5g of protein) thanks to the bacon crumbles and sharp shredded Parmesan, while the garlic croutons had a herby quality. Every element, from the dressing to the Romaine lettuce, was unmatched when combined, creating a salad with a deep umami character and satisfying texture. It was so good it could even compete with the flavor of a restaurant-made Caesar salad.