The pros: Trader Joe's Fusilli with Vegetables and Basil Pesto is a quick meal. The veggies here are the highlight.
The cons: Not much in the way of pesto.
The verdict: If there is one good thing about these single serve meal its that they are cheap: $1.99. Go to any other grocery store and some freezer meals are approaching $4 each. Well, this is a decent and edible option. It just doesn't rank in the world of best things I've ever eaten.
I've watched so many meal prep pictures and videos on my facebook & instagram feed. I'm always amazed by the fact that so many of them take up so much space in the refrigerator. Well, that and I'm shocked at how many people don't mind eating the exact same thing three and four times in a row. Me, I'm good for about twice. I think at home freezer meal prep needs to be a thing.
Meal musings aside, in this little box you are getting pasta with pesto. That is probably the low point in this dish. The highlight here is the veggies. They froze and microwaved quite well. Which is a good thing as it makes up for this little dishes short comings. The pasta is overcooked for my liking. The pesto is almost non existent. I've made pesto. This isn't what it should look like. In fact, if you want a comparison point please check out my photos using Trader Joe's Gigli.
Overall, it's a meal, but nothing special. For almost $2 you could easily make a few of these at home using some simple ingredients. I'd eat it, but only as a last resort. It's edible, but nothing special.
Here is the visual run down of what you get if you buy this product:
The box of Trader Joe's Fusilli with Vegetables and Basil Pesto:
The nutritional information:
The ingredients:
How to prepare:
Once out of the microwave you get:
After giving this a good stir I got:
Would I buy this again? No, for the price of Trader Joe's Fusilli with Vegetables and Basil Pesto, I'd rather make it and portion it out myself.
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!
Dag says
I have tried this entree in the past & agree with your assessment. I have been somewhat disappointed with alot of the frozen single serve pasta entrees. They either seem to be lacking something and/or are really high in calories/fat content (but at the same time don't taste good enough to warrant the caloric/fat content). There are only a couple of frozen single serve pasta entrees that I have purchased more once.