The Best Rao's Frozen Entree Features A Delicious Sweet And Spicy Sauce
Apart from painting grocery shelves red with their new ketchup line, Rao's reigns supreme among supermarket island freezers with their frozen entrees. Their freezer meals offer various pasta offerings of convenience, and despite being ready in mere minutes, they retain the essence of classic Italian homemade food. We ranked all of Rao's frozen entrees and their penne arrabbiata meal earned the praise of our Tasting Table taste tester and, not surprisingly, the number one spot.
The first thing that stands out is the spicy element you pick up in Rao's frozen penne arrabbiata. This expected but welcome touch of heat rivals Rao's other, more mild frozen entrees, and if you're a fan of heat in your pasta sauce, you'll be instantly drawn to this meal. Yet there's also a sweet dynamic that makes the sauce even more appetizing. While it's common to encounter a spicy penne arrabbiata recipe, this sweet play gives any homemade version a run for its money.
Furthermore, semi-spicy sausage bits make this penne arrabbiata a cut above the rest. The meaty addition creates a more fulfilling meal, but note that the sausage may come across as too spicy for some. So while you can expect a bit of kick in your forkfuls, perhaps the sweet element in the sauce can offer some sort of relief, if that's of any consolation.
Rao's frozen penne arrabbiata is quick and convenient
To drive the theme of convenience home, Rao's penne arrabbiata takes little time to reheat. It requires at most six minutes of microwaving (and so do the others) or 35 minutes in the oven before it's ready, but our taste tester Judy Moreno found that she needn't abide strictly by these timing guidelines. In doing so, she discovered that the frozen penne arrabbiata was ready pretty quickly compared to the rest of the entrees she cooked liberally regarding time.
The real beauty of Rao's frozen penne arrabbiata entree is how it ties together convenience and taste. If not for the addition of sausage, you might have to cook some protein from scratch to make this meal more fulfilling. With it, you can get away with adding a slice of baguette or some garlic bread to complete the meal.
In terms of taste, this frozen meal promises delicious tang and satiety with mozzarella cheese and sausage in the mix. The pasta alone receives five stars, and so does the sauce, the meat, and the cheese. You'll be happy to discover that each element has been cooked to perfection by Rao's and then combined expertly to deliver a gratifying meal that tastes like it was made in a restaurant yet made for home.