The pros: Trader Joe's Chicken Burrito Bowl is a healthy portion of food ready in about 5 minutes from freezer to microwave. It's very filling and I couldn't finish it all. Good source of fiber.
The cons: Flavor of Trader Joe's Chicken Burrito Bowl. While the veggies came out well and had texture out of the microwave I was wishing for a packet of hot sauce or anything to brighten this up. Looks prettier than it tastes.
The verdict: For $3.49 this is a new item in the freezer aisle. It tastes fresh but it's still not their best. When I purchased this, the Trader Joe's employee told me to bring my own hot sauce for this one.
I made this item in my microwave over lunch. It was ready in about 5 minutes. The veggies came out perfect and had texture, the rice and quinoa seemed flat in terms of flavor, the chicken was tender but not overly flavorful. If I were at home eating this I would have added some sour cream and hot sauce to the bowl to improve the flavor.
If this would have had a packet of sauce or some type of flavoring like many other freezer items, I would consider buying this again. Without it, it is disappointingly bland.
So you might want to keep some of Trader Joe's Sriracha or Reduced Guilt Guacamole on hand to make this more interesting. It's not the worst thing I've had from Trader Joe's. But it still needs your attention.
Here is the quick visual rundown
The box in the freezer aisle:
The nutritional information:
The ingredients:
How to prepare:
Out of the package you get:
After spending 5 minutes in the microwave you get:
A closer look at this fully cooked:
Would I buy this again? I'll pass on this again. If you enjoy a plain dish that is very fresh tasting out of the microwave or are willing to add your own items to make it more to your taste, you might like this. As is, it needs work. For something that bears the Trader Jose's name, I expected to be wowed by the flavor, or have something included to wow me.
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!
Marc says
Agree. Just had today and was disappointed. Maybe not enough Mexican influence makes its way up to canada.
becomebetty says
Glad I'm not the only one. Thanks for letting me know what you thought!
Susan Thompson-Gaines says
Agreed. I ate it and reviewed it tonight and I, too, thought it was missing SPICE! My review is here: http://traderjoes365.blogspot.com/2017/02/chicken-burrito-bowl.html
Brandt Wysocki says
It seemed like a thin layer of goodies over a pile of building materials.. ate the top layer off and threw the rest away..
It was barely a snack
Buy the quesadillas
There delicious!!
miles says
I put yogurt, avocado, TJs habanero hot sauce, diced tomatoes and bell peppers over the top and THEN it's awesome. I would never eat it plain though. With a little effort its delicious.
becomebetty says
Hey Miles! Great suggestion. Thanks for sharing!
Kyla says
This is a good base for a burrito bowl! But I feel that this definitely needs some toppings (guac, sour cream, jalapenso...) to spice it up.
becomebetty says
Hey Kyla! I totally agree with you on this one. Thanks for sharing!