9 Amy's Frozen Meals, Ranked Worst To Best

The frozen entree aisle of most grocery stores typically comes pretty stocked with a plethora of brands, ranging from classic Stouffer's to Healthy Choice. If you do a little digging, you'll be able to find a vegetarian option in just about any frozen meal lineup — or you could opt for a brand like Amy's, which has an all-vegetarian lineup (with lots of vegan options and plenty of gluten-free options to boot). Indeed, Amy's is a popular choice for those who follow plant-based or gluten-free diets, offering that frozen meal convenience that we all know and love. 

As someone who knows their way around a frozen meal aisle, I was more than up for the task of trying and ranking several of Amy's frozen meals, in search of the very best one. I've ranked Stouffer's frozen meals, Healthy Choice frozen meals, Lean Cuisine frozen meals, and I've even reviewed Dolly Parton's line of frozen meals, so it's safe to say that I know what to look out for when pinpointing a good (or bad) frozen meal. When it came to ranking these Amy's meals specifically, however, I paid close attention to factors such as exceptional flavor, cohesiveness of a given dish, and whether or not certain meals had a special ingredient or something to make them really stand out. 

Risotto is one of those foods that manages to transform a simple and cheap ingredient (rice) into something quite exquisite. Add in another relatively low-cost produce item, mushrooms, and you've got the absolute delicacy that is mushroom risotto — at least, if you take a homemade approach. As it turns out, as evidenced by Amy's mushroom risotto frozen meal, risotto doesn't translate very well into frozen format. In fact, I'm sorry to say, but this is one of the worst frozen meals I've ever had the displeasure of tasting.

I do have to point out that this mushroom risotto meal is definitely a distinct outlier among a lineup of meals that were otherwise quite good, or at the very least decent. But there was absolutely nothing redeeming about this frozen risotto. The rice was absolute mush, the mushrooms were incredibly watery, and the overall flavor was strangely sweet and just straight-up unpleasant. This tasted nothing like risotto, and all of that extra water content in the mushrooms did the texture of the dish no favors whatsoever. There was no savoriness, no richness, no Parmesan-ness — just terrible textures, flavors, and wateriness all-around. There's absolutely no reason to waste your time or money on this one, so in terms of Amy's frozen meal lineup, the mushroom risotto is an undeniable skip.

Sometimes the simplest frozen meals are the most successful ones, and I had high hopes that this would be the case with Amy's pesto tortellini bowl. There really is nothing more to this frozen meal than the name implies — tortellini in a pesto sauce, a promising enough premise, but one that was a big letdown due to a less-than-appetizing pesto sauce.

I almost feel like I can't entirely fault Amy's for having such an unsavory pesto sauce because I'm not sure that I've ever tasted a from-frozen pesto that was truly exceptional. But this sauce was quite bitter, to the point that the more bites I took of the pasta, the more I really didn't want to be eating it anymore. Instead of tasting bright and herbaceous, the sauce was just too bitter and even a bit sour, with a very chunky sort of texture. The tortellini itself was fine, a bit chewy perhaps, and certainly nothing special. For such a pricy frozen meal, this one was just too much of a letdown to seem even remotely worth it.

Based on my general knowledge of Amy's meals, the tortilla casserole & black beans bowl is one of the more popular options in Amy's repertoire. So, it may come as a bit of a controversial surprise that the tortilla casserole is ranking as low as it is, but really, it just goes to show how good the meals are from here on out. Unlike the previous two meals, which had little to no redeeming qualities, I definitely saw the potential in Amy's tortilla casserole. It just missed the mark a little too much in a few key areas.

Right off the bat, I could tell that the tortilla casserole would have a very cilantro-forward flavor. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in my experience, frozen cilantro doesn't translate nearly as well as the fresh stuff does. And, indeed, the casserole portion of the bowl was very, very cilantro-forward, but that came with a certain bitterness that I wasn't a fan of. The beans also tasted very cilantro-y, making for a bowlful that tasted way more one-note than it needed to. 

Also, the texture of the casserole wasn't amazing, with some parts being chewy and almost soggy, and others being sort of hard and crusty. Had there been less cilantro flavor, I think the cheesy, Tex-Mex-inspired flavors of the casserole (and the beans for that matter) could have really shined. As-is, however, this one wasn't my favorite — but if you're an absolute cilantro die-hard, then you might be a little more forgiving.

In my years of steadfast frozen meal research, I've found that frozen stir-fries are (typically) a safe bet, and Amy's Asian stir-fry definitely seemed promising from the packaging. Boasting the promise of noodles, mushrooms, a medley of veggies such as broccoli and edamame, and an Indonesian-inspired, soy sauce-like kecap sauce, I had high hopes for this stir-fry. And, mostly, I did enjoy the flavors that this meal had to offer. But there were a few shortcomings that made this one a little less successful than it could be.

For starters, the noodles got rather clumpy after being heated up, which is definitely a common issue with frozen meals. So, sure, the texture of the noodles wasn't amazing, as they were a little clumpy and mushy in spots, but it was something I could mostly look past. The sauce was a little sweeter than I would have liked, and it was incredibly ginger-forward, to the point where I was even fishing out stringy clumps of straight-up ginger root from certain bites. A redeeming factor for this stir-fry was the veggies, which were quite tasty and ones that you might not guess were from-frozen if you didn't know any better. Ultimately, Amy's Asian stir-fry had some redeeming qualities, but it also had a few textural and flavor snags that made this one just a middle-ground option for me.

Another popular option in Amy's frozen lineup is none other than the chili mac, a very simple and straightforward bowl that had a surprising amount of flavor to offer. I can't say that I've had a whole lot of frozen chili in my life, despite the amount of frozen meals that I've sampled, and I certainly can't say that I've had a lot of frozen chili macs. So, truthfully, I had no clue what to expect going into this one, but the spot-on chili flavor and hearty, comforting nature of the bowl definitely won me over.

The first thing I noticed about the bowl, once it was heated up, was actually the weakest aspect of the whole thing, which is that it was very, very runny. The consistency of this chili mac was almost more like chili mac soup, which may have made this one rank lower had the flavor not been so delicious. This bowlful really did taste like chili, with all of that savory depth and plenty of cheesiness on top of that. The beans were strong players here, contributing that distinct chili-like quality in lieu of meat (sorry to all of the no-bean chili enthusiasts out there). The reason I'm only ranking this one at No. 5 is because it was a little more liquid than I would have liked, and it was quite plain and simple compared to some more interesting options out there.

There's no shortage of vegetarian options in Indian cuisine, so it only makes sense that a vegetarian-friendly brand like Amy's might highlight such options. In Amy's Indian mattar paneer frozen meal, you sort of get a two-for-one special with both mattar paneer, a pea and paneer cheese-based curry, and chana masala, a chickpea-based curry. Combined with a side of basmati rice, this frozen dish made for a very tasty and well-rounded meal.

Something I appreciated about this frozen meal, despite featuring two types of curry, was that it felt still very cohesive, and all of the flavors worked well together. In terms of the actual curry itself, both the mattar paneer and the chana masala had the same flavors going, which is to say that they both tasted strongly of curry powder and garam masala, with general warm, spiced notes. The texture of all the elements, from the chickpeas to the paneer to the rice, was quite good considering that the meal had been frozen. My only complaint is that I wish there was more paneer cheese in the mix, but ultimately, I don't have any complaints about this Indian meal past that.

Considering that meatloaf is a bit of a polarizing dish in itself, I can only imagine that veggie loaf is even more so. For someone like me, however, I'm a sucker for that classic main, mashed potato, and veggie side dish combo in a frozen meal. They're not always good, but there's something very cozy and comforting about it. So, needless to say, I went into Amy's veggie loaf frozen meal with some high hopes, and I'm pleased to say that my hopes were not shattered once I actually tasted the meal.

While I did think that every element of this meal, including the mashed potatoes and veggies, tasted quite good, the veggie loaf was the true star here. The loaf had a really nice texture, honestly quite similar to meatloaf, but a little more tender and soft. The flavor of the veggie loaf reminded me of Thanksgiving stuffing, which I'm not even typically the biggest fan of, but it worked exceptionally well in this meal. The sauce was also a big highlight, somewhat reminiscent of that classic glazed ketchup coating that you'd get on regular meatloaf in terms of sweetness, but with a little more complexity. The mashed potatoes maintained a nice texture after heating up, and the peas and corn were tasty too (it's pretty hard to mess up frozen veg). Overall, I enjoyed the cohesive coziness that this veggie loaf meal had to offer, and it's definitely one that I'd return to in the future. 

Based on my experience with Amy's bowls as opposed to the full-fledged meals on this list, the meals themselves are (for the most part) better. However, there was one bowl outlier that stood out above the rest, and that was the broccoli & cheddar bake. I didn't expect much from this one, seeing as it doesn't have a whole lot to offer other than being a slightly elevated take on frozen mac and cheese. But the flavors don't lie, and even going in as a skeptic, I couldn't deny the sheer savory deliciousness that this bowl had to offer.

Cheese sauces in frozen mac and cheese can be hit or miss, but Amy's broccoli & cheddar bake hit the nail on the head. The sauce tasted like real cheddar cheese, absolutely rich, savory, and delicious with every bite. Then there was the pasta itself, a gluten-free pasta that managed to hold its shape remarkably well, remaining perfectly soft without teetering into mush territory. I also really enjoyed the gluten-free breadcrumbs on top, which surprisingly also retained their texture well, adding just the right amount of crunchy goodness to contrast an otherwise soft meal. Then there's the broccoli, which certainly wasn't the star of the show, but a much-needed ingredient nonetheless to add contrast and a little greenery to the mix. Overall, Amy's broccoli & cheddar bake was super comforting and one of the best takes on frozen mac and cheese that I've enjoyed in a long time.

Admittedly, when I first heated up Amy's cheese enchilada meal, I was worried that it would just be a repeat of the tortilla casserole and that a bitter cilantro flavor would overtake the entire dish. However, I only had that concern based on smell. Once I actually dove into this entree and tasted all of the components, it was abundantly clear that the cheese enchilada meal had a whole lot more to offer than that.

While the black bean portion of this entree did have that strong cilantro flavor, I didn't find it nearly as overbearing as it was with the tortilla casserole meal. The real star here was the enchilada itself, of course, which was absolutely delicious through and through. The texture of the enchilada was about as good as one might hope for coming from a frozen meal, and the red enchilada sauce was incredibly flavorful — acidic, tangy, and a little bit spicy. There was also lots of melty cheese mixed in with the sauce, which then spilled over into the corn and beans, ensuring that just about every bite of this meal had plenty of that liquid gold (aka enchilada sauce). As far as frozen meals go, it doesn't get much better than Amy's cheese enchilada, making it an easy first place choice.

When ranking Amy's frozen meals, the most important factor was how good — or how bad — a meal tasted. There was only one truly bad contender on this list, which was the mushroom risotto (one that aptly took the last-place slot). Otherwise, most of the meals on this list were exceptionally good, so to rank them, I paid attention to special qualities or any flavors that really stood out. A good example is the enchilada sauce from the cheese enchilada, which was very delicious and something that made the meal as a whole really stand out. Another example is the second-place meal, the broccoli & cheddar bake, which had a delicious cheese sauce and nice textures throughout the meal.

As such, I also considered those meals that had flavors stand out in a bad way. A good example is the pesto tortellini, which had a less-than-appealing, bitter pesto sauce. The tortilla casserole was also a little too cilantro-heavy, making it a meal that also stood out in a not-so-great way.

Since all of the meals cost the same amount (each was $7.49 from a grocery store in Chicago, but this price could vary depending on location), I didn't compare the meals based on price. I did, however, sometimes speculate that certain meals might not be worth that price tag, not in comparison to another meal but generally speaking. I also didn't rank the meals based on ease of cooking, because they're all microwavable meals that took about the same time to heat up.