The pros: Trader Joe's Breaded Chicken is a quick, flavorful, ready made chicken that could be turned into a tasty dish quickly.
The cons: There is a slight premium to this pre-made product, but is not much more expensive than their uncooked chicken tenderloins in the refrigerated section.
The verdict: I'd like to amend the famous phrase that there are two certainties: death and taxes. I'd like to change this phrase to say that there are in fact three certainties: death, taxes, and not enough time. Let's face it, most of us wish that we had more time. Time with friends, family, doing the things we truly enjoy. So, in our society if we are confronted with the simple fact is, if we can afford it, we can actually buy back our time.
What do I mean by this? Well, certain things that make our life easier can be purchased or paid for to give us more time back in our days. Be it buying a dishwasher to not spend time washing and drying or taking your car to the car wash instead of doing it yourself. Or buying food that is pre-cooked, so you can save time on prepping and cleaning up after cooking. Well, that is the story which why these chicken cutlets are pretty good if you are looking to save time and kitchen mess.
Now, the cool thing about these is not only can they be enjoyed baked straight from the bag, you could very easily turn this into a number of other dishes. Chicken parm is the first thing that comes to my mind. But other ideas can include: cutting these into strips and enjoying with a salad, quesadilla, in a wrap, pita, with some alfredo, an improvised chicken cordon bleu, or top with a mushroom sauce for a quick schnitzel or marsala. The only limits here are your creativity.
Best of all, each chicken tenderloin is just 110 calories. So if you are looking to keep your calorie count in check, this might be a quick and easy way to get breaded chicken to fit into your diet.
For $7.99 for just under two pound of pre-cooked chicken tenderloins, this isn't a bad deal considering my local TJs sells chicken tenderloins somewhere in the $3 per pound range. I've already repurchased this item, and would keep a bag in my freezer for those nights where I need to "buy back" my time.
Here is the visual run down of what you get if you buy this product:
The bag of Trader Joe's Breaded Chicken:
The nutritional information:
The ingredients:
How to prepare:
After being cooked you get:
Would I buy this again? Yes, I would buy Trader Joe's Breaded Chicken again. They made for a quick and tasty dinner on their own, but could easily be transformed into another dish like Chicken Parm for a quick dinner.
Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe’s for a searchable list.
Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!
judilyn says
Not the same as just buying them, of course, but when time permits, I make a batch of these to keep in the freezer to trot out for the reasons that you say. Very handy to have for traveling, too.
Virtual hugs,
Judie
becomebetty says
Great point, you are absolutely right Judie. That would save time and money in the long run. Thanks as always for stopping by and sharing your insight!
Andrew S says
For some reason, Trader Joe's changed their cooking instructions. It's now 425 degrees at 20-25 minutes. I still follow the old instructions since the new way chars the tenders!
becomebetty says
Hey Andrew! Thanks for sharing this. Glad the old directions work. Thanks for stopping by and sharing this.