14 Walmart's Great Value Frozen Meals, Ranked Worst To Best

Picture this: You pull a lasagna out of the oven on dinner party night, only to be greeted with "oohs" and "ahhs" over how yummy it smells and, more importantly, how delicious it looks. You receive the compliments with grace and humility — and a little guilt. After all, you're harboring a secret. A little white lie, perhaps, but one you don't dare let out. What harm could it possibly do to let everyone believe you painstakingly crafted tonight's meal? None, hopefully. In either case, you'll never let your guests know they're indulging in lasagna courtesy of Walmart.

Okay, the above is maybe an exaggerated scenario, but there's always a time when even the most diehard home cooks will fall back on a frozen meal, whether it be at the end of a 12-hour day or as a fallback when you've neglected to buy groceries. When you're in the market for some cheap convenience, Walmart might be your first port of call, and we all know by now that the store-brand is nearly always cheaper than the name-brand — but is it as good? Today's taste test is a roundup of every single Great Value meal I could find in the freezer section at my local Walmart. I tried and ranked them based on taste and texture, how each compares to comparable versions I've had, and if each is worth the convenience it offers. There was a pretty wide gap in quality between my top and bottom picks; for more info on how I compiled this ranking, refer to the "methodology" slide at the end of the piece. 

Last up in my ranking was Walmart's honey mustard chicken sheet pan meal. A few sheet pan meals make an appearance on this list, and this was by far my least favorite — I was bummed, as I typically like a good honey mustard chicken dish. The bag had chicken breast, green beans, and potatoes, and came with a honey mustard satchel. I suppose the biggest convenience here is not needing to chop your own veggies or source a dressing, but the payoff was not at all worth it.

For starters, there was a horrendous amount of dressing for the amount of food provided. I expect that may have been to cover up what was just a lackluster combo of chicken, green beans, and potatoes. It certainly did mask the "blah" meal, but not in a good way. The sauce was egregiously salty and I found myself wishing I had only added half. There also wasn't much textural diversity among the other elements of the dish. When paired with an overwhelming sauce, the whole thing felt unbalanced and would be way better (and still pretty easy) when made at home.

Don't get me wrong — I love a good takeout-style beef and broccoli, and my fondness for the dish plays a big role in why Great Value's beef and broccoli got such a low ranking. Even though I didn't expect the brand's offering to surpass that from my favorite takeout spot, I did expect more than what it ended up offering. Instead, what I got was a heaping soy-flavored bowl of disappointment.

This dish only made one glaring error, but it was insidious enough to earn it the second-lowest spot here. Simply put: The texture of the beef made me gag. I don't know what it was "seasoned" with, but whatever it was created a sort of mealy, crumbly coating on the outside that completely ruined the rest of the dish for me. Moreover, the sauce was way too salty, and there was yet again far too much of it for the amount of beef and broccoli in the bag.

If you're a fan of pouring Greek dressing over some chopped, roasted veggies and chicken and calling it a day, maybe you'll like this meal more than I did. But Great Value's Mediterranean-style chicken didn't impress me in the slightest, and it only ranks as high as number 12 because I was able to stomach more bites of it than either of the previous two dishes. 

My first complaint? I sound like a broken record at this point, but there was way too much dressing for the amount of food in the bag. Seriously, nobody needs (or wants) that much dressing on anything. At least it was plenty flavorful, if a bit salty. Nothing got very crispy, and the dish also suffered from a lack of textural diversity. As long as you can get your hands on chicken, zucchini, red pepper, and feta, you can make this at home and yield way better results with a simple oil-based dressing with lemon and herbs. 

I suppose the pepperoni-and-cheese-filled sandwiches are Great Value's version of a Hot Pocket, which is already a mediocre meal. If I hadn't already done this tasting, I likely would have left these off the list altogether — Great Value's version of the "sandwich" is way more snack than meal and should be treated as such. Nevertheless, they do look to be a whole meal on the box, and I was disappointed when what I unwrapped was anything but.

The sandwiches only got as high as 11th place because I finished a whole one (before promptly thrusting the leftovers on my landlord's family). Each sandwich is pretty salty and very heavy on the pepperoni, both of which could have been overlooked if the sandwich had more redeeming qualities. But when I also took into account the lackluster, soft exterior that resulted from microwave preparation, these just couldn't be redeemed. You're better off sticking with Hot Pockets. 

If I could put the previous four products in a category of their own, I would — the quality gap between the aforementioned product and Great Value's chicken fried rice is pretty large. Now, that's not to say that the fried rice pictured above is stellar. It still only got the 10th spot here, but it was good enough that I had a whole portion for lunch, and it didn't have any major flaws.

In the bag is a relatively simple combination of chicken, rice, edamame, carrots, scrambled eggs, red peppers, and onions. It isn't super flavorful, and I ended up adding teriyaki sauce for some extra oomph. Then again, I usually add at least soy sauce to chicken fried rice. The vegetables retained some bite, and while this dish doesn't offer anything to write home about, it does provide a good base if you don't feel like making your own.

My expectations for Great Value's egg, sausage, cheese, and potato burritos were decidedly low, and I was surprised that they actually made for a decent breakfast. Now, each burrito definitely doesn't look like the picture on the front of the package, but I didn't expect them to. Each still carried an ample amount of flavor (which is why I scored them higher than the fried rice), and even though you can get better breakfast burritos at a café, I'd call Great Value's product a nice, budget-friendly version.

My biggest complaint is that I think these would benefit from some crisping in a skillet or air fryer. Then again, nothing's stopping you from doing so. While each burrito veers on the salty side, that's well balanced out by subtle spice from the sausage and creaminess from the cheese. The burritos aren't dry in the slightest — they're actually fairly saucy, and I'd recommend eating with a napkin on hand. 

The above isn't the best visual representation of stuffed shells, but as far as flavor goes, I can't call Great Value's stuffed shells that bad. They certainly delivered on the desired components (namely cheese and meat sauce), and it was difficult to decide whether these would rank above or below the aforementioned burritos. I ended up placing them one spot higher because they make for a heartier meal.

Could you make better stuffed shells at home? Sure, but the process can be labor-intensive, and sometimes you crave a comfort meal without putting all that effort in. In those instances, you won't be disappointed by Great Value's version of the dish. It's very saucy, and while I wish the ricotta inside the shells had been more herby, I liked the texture it gave the overall dish. Each shell had a generous amount of cheese in it and all the flavors blended well with one another. It's a good meal, but nothing mind-blowing.

The square middle spot goes to Great Value's hot honey sausage and vegetables, a decidedly middling meal when compared to the others on this list (which is to say it was very palatable but I wasn't wowed). It was miles better than the other sheet pan meals on this list, which I appreciated. Andouille sausage, roasted potatoes, carrots, and peppers are all in the bag alongside a separate bag of hot honey sauce. 

This meal got some big points from its ample spice. Even though I don't love spicy flavor profiles, it was a welcome diversion from some of the more bland dishes on this list. Plus, as a huge fan of Andouille sausage in various recipes, I welcomed that element of the meal. The vegetables and potatoes held enough bite to be interesting, and they took a nice backseat to the sausage. The hot honey tied everything together very well. I had the whole plate and then some. 

As I'm not the biggest fan of cooked spinach (I don't have many food quirks, but that's one of them), I didn't expect to enjoy this lasagna as much as I did. It's made up of layers of ricotta, spinach, broccoli, carrots, onions, Alfredo sauce, and the requisite lasagna noodles, all topped with breadcrumbs. Had the breadcrumbs brought a better textural element to the top of the lasagna, I may have been able to score this even higher. 

Okay, I'll admit it — perhaps my affection for this lasagna came from its abundance of ricotta. It certainly wasn't as spinach-laden as the image on the box suggests, and I found no fault in that. The ricotta gave the whole lasagna a full-bodied creaminess. Still, the spinach and broccoli came through well, and the carrots a little less so. My biggest complaint was that, again, it was slightly too salty. If you're vegetarian or just want something a little more vegetable-forward, this wouldn't be a bad buy. 

My eternal affinity for cheese and potatoes (and tater tot casserole in general) is what earned Great Value's cheesy potato bake a coveted top-five spot in this ranking. I just had to pop it in the oven for an hour, and what I got was a pile of cheesy, potato-y goodness. It's not much to look at, but it's pretty darn delicious, though not as stacked with ham as some consumers may hope. 

Because it's somewhat lacking in the ham department, I couldn't rank this bake any higher, no matter how fond I am of its mounds of cheese and potatoes. Other than that, I have no complaints. The cheese sauce was gooey and offered a nice contrast to the crispy tater tots. I don't have much more to say about it than that. The fact that I saved the leftovers and have had them for breakfast every morning since trying this bake says something.

I make Mexican casseroles (well, Americanized Mexican casseroles) pretty regularly. I've nailed my own formula for the dish, and didn't think Walmart could surpass it. And, well, I'll still call mine better, but one definitely wasn't half-bad. I'm ranking it higher than the cheesy potato bake because this casserole makes more of a whole meal — as much as I love cheese and potatoes (and will make a meal out of the duo any day of the week) — I appreciate meat and beans being introduced into the equation here.

I may have been a bit biased by the fact that this made my kitchen smell delightful as it cooked, but hey, everyone loves the tantalizing smell of a casserole in the oven. The biggest flaw with this bake was that it didn't hold together very well, and I had to scoop it out with a spoon rather than lifting a slice onto my plate. Other than that, the lasagna was very well-seasoned, and the beef, beans, and cheese were proportioned well. The tortilla crumb topping was also a nice touch. I ate a few pieces of it before passing along the leftovers. While I can't say I'll be foregoing my own recipe in favor of Great Value's frozen version anytime soon, I'll buy it again if I'm ever in a bind.

I adore a stuffed-crust pizza, so I was almost predestined to like Great Value's cheese-stuffed crust pepperoni pizza. While I've had better frozen pizzas, when comparing this to Walmart's other frozen meals, it was very deserving of number three. It absolutely hit the spot when I wanted a late-night pizza.

The crust got nice and crispy despite being rather thick, and the pizza was well-seasoned — you can even see the herbs. The cheese bubbled and browned well, and even though the crust was stuffed with cheese, the pizza as a whole didn't feel overwhelming. I'll make a daring proposition and say this pizza could rival one from Little Caesar's. Go ahead, call me heretical — but at least try it yourself first. 

Directly following Great Value's stuffed crust pizza is the brand's thin and crispy three-meat pizza. I oscillated between whether to rank this pie or the cheese-stuffed crust one higher. But at the end of the day, I had to give a slight leg up to the thin-crust version. Perhaps it's because I don't usually like thin crust, but I liked how light this one was. Moreover, the crust was sturdy enough to hold all the toppings without bending, and I always appreciate a well-structured slice.

As with the cheese-stuffed crust pizza, it seems Great Value sprinkled an herb seasoning on the top. It was a welcome finishing touch on a pretty good pizza. Everything was flavorful and the sausage brought some mild spice into the equation. I may or may not have eaten half of it in one go (and the other half for breakfast the next morning). While I prefer a slice from my neighborhood pizza parlor any day, this is a good substitute when I don't want to walk outside and face the Pacific Northwest's torrential seasonal downpours. 

Lastly, nobody could blame me for picking Great Value's Italian-style lasagna with meat sauce as my number one choice based on visuals alone. I mean, come on — that crispy cheese crust was enough to let me know I was in for a good time. Again, as with every dish on this list, you can make a better one at home, but when you're looking for a convenient option, you certainly won't be upset to find this in your freezer. 

Just make sure you give this bad boy enough time to cook — it takes around two hours to bake, and I went slightly beyond that to get a crispier top. The noodles in this lasagna were thicker than you'd typically find, but that was no major flaw. The ricotta inside the lasagna was generously herbed, bringing a lot of character to the dish and somewhat overshadowing the meat sauce. Still, everything melded together well, and the crispy topping was just the icing on the proverbial cake of my favorite Great Value dinner. 

The first step to doing this ranking was gathering all the frozen Great Value meals I could find at my local Walmart (anything that could veritably be called a "meal" when had on its own was fair game). Obviously, the flavor and texture of each dish was my primary criterion, but since convenience is the biggest selling point for most frozen foods, I also considered whether each item was worth buying frozen (as opposed to making it yourself at home). This was a big factor in why many of the "sheet pan" meals got low rankings. Most of them just added a sauce to chopped ingredients, and would taste way better (without much more effort) if they were DIYed.

Lastly, I took into account how good Great Value's version of a product was compared to others I've had before. This is a big reason why the lasagnas and frozen pizzas scored particularly high. I've certainly had bad versions of both, and Great Value's offerings weren't bad in the slightest, even though they weren't the best I've had.