The Best Frozen Enchiladas Are Totally Restaurant-Worthy

Homemade enchiladas stuffed with beef, chicken, or veggies are great for family-style dinners. However, when you're busy with said family, making a homespun recipe every night of the week can be taxing. That's where frozen enchiladas come to the rescue! To save you the trouble of deciding which enchilada brand to select from the many options available at the grocery store, we did a thorough taste test to find out which one is totally restaurant worthy. The winner of the acclaimed title? Trader Joe's salsa verde chicken enchiladas.

Taking the top spot in our list of 15 frozen enchiladas, ranked worst to best, each element of Trader Joe's chicken enchiladas was tasty and satisfying. The corn tortillas were abundant with plump chicken, there was just enough sauce with the right viscosity, and the entire dish was well spiced with warming cumin. While some of the enchiladas we tasted were either muted or overwhelmed with spice, this mighty contender hit the sweet spot, and was both robust and filling. The green onions and red peppers scattered over the surface also looked inviting on top of the green salsa verde (made with tomatillos, poblano peppers, and jalapeño peppers) and while these veggies provided visual appeal they were packed with flavor to boot. We're guessing it's the fact that enchiladas are made with fattier dark chicken meat instead of white chicken breast, which is known for drying out as it cooks, that gave these enchiladas such a juicy texture and flavor.

According to the packet instructions, Trader Joe's enchiladas can be baked for 40-45 minutes in the oven. However, they are also suitable for microwaving, which makes them super-convenient for those moments when you need to get dinner on the table fast. Each packet includes two enchiladas (one is a serving size) and we'd recommend adding in some beans or rice to turn it into a balanced meal. However, if you have a big appetite, you could gobble up the whole lot, which would provide you with a satisfying 49g of protein.

The loser in our taste test was Kroger cheese enchiladas in red sauce. We found it to be extremely salty; so salty that our jaws clenched on taking a second bite. Perhaps this is because the ingredients list includes tomato puree — that contains sea salt – on top of the salt used in the recipe as a whole. Plus, it was particularly skimpy on the red enchilada sauce, which we reckon is a key element to a classic serving of this Mexican dish that provides moisture, flavor, and vibrant color. They also took 20 minutes longer in the oven than the other options we baked.