13 Frozen Foods To Buy At Target And 9 To Skip, According To Reviews

If you're perusing the freezer section at Target, it's good to know what's worth a try and what's not, especially if you find a good deal. While there are plenty of excellent items in the Target freezer section, there are also some that you may find disappointing.

Not everything you'll find on our list is exclusive to Target. In fact, none of Target's own Good & Gather brand of frozen items made the top of our list since they're mainly all just okay in comparison to other available options. However, items from both Good & Gather and Target's Favorite Day brand are included among items you should skip.

We've gone through reviews on Target's website in various frozen food categories to find which are the best and which are the worst bets. Armed with our list, you can hopefully make a better decision about which frozen foods to buy at Target and which to skip.

We might as well get one of the highest-rated frozen foods at Target out of the way from the beginning: TrüFrü. These frozen, chocolate-covered fruits get almost nothing but high ratings from Target customers, no matter which flavor. However, TrüFrü Nature's Strawberries seem to rank highest. The ingredient list is simple, with just freeze-dried fruit and a chocolate coating made of ingredients you'd expect. Customers say that they're so good that they often find it difficult to stop at eating just one. It's both the texture and flavor that make them so great, with sweet yet tart frozen fruit contrasting perfectly with smooth and delicious chocolate.

Another Target frozen food that's worth buying is sweet potato fries from Alexia. When we ranked sweet potato fries, these were among the top ones that weren't a specific grocery store brand. They have a coating containing a few flours and starches to give them the right texture, as well as a bit of sugar and spices like mustard seed, turmeric, and paprika. They get crisp outside and stay soft and moist inside, working especially well in the air fryer. Customers like that they're non-GMO and have a nice flavor and crunch. They're especially nice if you prefer thinly-sliced fries to thick ones.

The Banquet Salisbury Steak Meal is among the freezer items you should skip. Banquet frozen dinners have been around since 1954, which means this meal might be nostalgic for some. However, if you're thinking of trying something new to you, there are certainly better options. First of all, the ingredient list for this highly processed meal is a whole paragraph. The steak is passable but seems to have declined in quality over the years. Customers who've eaten this meal for decades even write reviews to complain. Reviews comment on the low quality of the watery mashed potatoes and dislike having all the dishes bleed into each other.

Pepperoni pizza still stands supreme in its simplicity, but the 6-pack of Red Baron French bread pepperoni pizza singles is highly rated. Every component of this pizza receives praise. Reviewers like that the French bread is fresh and soft on the inside while being crunchy on the outside. The sauce is in good proportion to the bread and tastes homemade. Plus, the company doesn't skimp on the pepperonis. While the preferred cooking method is in an oven, customers like that there are also microwave instructions to make them in just three minutes. Plus, the single aspect means it's convenient to cook an individual portion.

We were surprised to see a Ben & Jerry's flavor with such low ratings, but it seems that Ben & Jerry's Core Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream misses the mark with a lot of customers. The idea of this one sounds quite genius, with the inner core of the package filled with chocolate chip cookie dough and the outer edges being comprised of cookie and chocolate chip ice cream. While there are certainly people who love it, there are far more who dislike it. The cookie dough is the main issue, with customers finding that it doesn't taste like cookie dough and has an off-putting texture that they describe as being chalky, dry, sandy, and grainy (like crystallized sugar).

If you're looking for a frozen treat at Target that's more likely to please your taste buds, try Blue Bunny's strawberry shortcake-flavored Mini Swirls. There are eight mini cones in a package, providing multiple servings. Each bite-sized shortbread cone is filled with strawberry ice cream, a strawberry fruit core, and a hard white shell topped with crunchy strawberry cake crumble pieces. The tip of the cone gives you a bonus strawberry candy bite. Both the flavor and texture are a hit with reviewers. They're like turning strawberry shortcake bars into an ice cream cone treat. 

While the Breyers brand generally makes some really great ice cream, you might want to skip its Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Dairy Dessert and try a different flavor. This has ratings that swing wildly between love and hate. Those who love it consider it a classic and have often been buying it for years. However, there are a lot of reviews over multiple years lamenting the scarcity of actual cookie dough in the ice cream, leaving them with nothing but vanilla and chocolate chips. And the cookie dough itself has a flavor that not everyone likes, with customers often mentioning a bad aftertaste. Additionally, this frozen dessert doesn't even qualify as ice cream by content, as evidenced by its name.

Dr. Praeger's Pizza Stars live up to the brand's reputation for being both veggie-centric and tasty, making them worth trying. While they have a flavorful tomato-based pizza sauce and stringy mozzarella cheese inside, they also include cauliflower, navy beans, zucchini, and onions. As a bonus, these stars are made with grains like oats, rice flour, and corn flour, making them gluten-free. Children love them just as much as adults since they taste like pizza rather than veggies. It's an easy way to get kids to eat their veggies without realizing it, making them a healthier alternative to pizza rolls. Customers report making them both in the microwave and air fryer, making them easy to make quickly. They also like to dip them in marinara and ranch.

We're surprised that Benihana The Japanese Steakhouse Hibachi Chicken Rice frozen meals are still available at Target since they have a reputation for being one of the worst restaurant chain frozen meals. Those who have been to Benihana are disappointed that it's nowhere near the restaurant's food quality. The reviews for this dish are fairly low, with very few people seeming to really like it. The rice is often scarce and hard. They report the flavor as being bland or tasting like fake smoke or melted plastic. Some reviewers question whether the chicken is even real or mention that it tastes rotten. A large number of reviewers ended up throwing the meal away rather than continuing to eat it.

Classics are often classics for a reason, which is why we have Eggo's Thick & Fluffy Original Waffles with Madagascar vanilla on our list of frozen foods to buy from Target. This Eggo ranked best in our taste test, and they're highly reviewed, like most other Eggo waffle flavors at Target. They're certainly convenient since you can just pop them into the toaster and have breakfast or a snack in no time. While some reviewers have lamented changes to this flavor in the past few years, most still seem to enjoy the perfectly-sweetened vanilla flavor as well as the light and fluffy inside and crisp exterior texture. Plus, their extra thickness makes them especially filling.

Most of the Good & Gather frozen products are decent choices, but you might want to avoid the Good & Gather Crab Rangoon when perusing the appetizers. These wontons have a cream cheese and crab filling that's meant to be baked and dipped in the enclosed sweet chili dipping sauce. Customers don't like how dry they are and aren't a fan of the crab meat. Some customers were expecting imitation crab meat, not real crab meat, and also said that it's unappetizingly fishy and not the slightly sweet appetizer they were expecting.

Fruit Riot's Vintage Cola cherries are a sweet treat you'll want to try from Target. While we ranked the spicy mango chili lime flavor highest, that one is difficult to find. This one ranks second-highest on our list of Fruit Riot! frozen candy fruit, but highest among the flavors Target carries. So, we think you'll be enamored with them. They contain real cherries with a crunchy vintage-cola-flavored candy coating inspired by Olipop. Reviewers like their realistic classic cherry cola flavor and the fact that they're not sour like some of the other flavors, just slightly tangy.

We might not have to tell you it's a good idea to avoid the Good & Gather pickle pie wood-fired crust pizza; it's not even highly rated by pickle lovers who thought they'd enjoy it. Surprisingly, for a pizza covered in pickles, reviewers often find it flavorless with sauce that's not all that great. Several people mention it being a soggy mess that sometimes collapses in the middle from the wetness. One person even thought it tasted like fish sticks. The crust appears to be different from other Good & Gather pizzas, too. Unless it gets reformulated, this one is a definite skip, with more people disliking than liking it.

If you've loved Häagen-Dazs ice cream in their mini cartons, you're probably not surprised to learn the brand makes amazing ice cream pops. If you happen to see Häagen-Dazs Mini Vanilla Milk Chocolate Frozen Desserts on the shelf, be sure to grab a box. They come with six bars and are an absolute delight, with nearly all its reviews in the 4- and 5-star range. The vanilla ice cream interior is perfectly creamy and rich, while the milk chocolate exterior shell is crunchy and delicious. Customers like that they come in a mini size to satisfy their sweet tooth or chocolate craving with only 150 calories.

When we tried Dolly Parton's frozen meals, the country fried steak was the most disappointing, which is the same experience Target reviewers seem to have with it. Over half of the people who reviewed it dislike it, with the majority of reviews falling in the 1- to 2-star range. First of all, the meat is tough, doesn't taste good, and has mushy breading that tends to fall off the meat. There are reports of the beans having a bad texture and the bean juice making the meat soggy. Some reviewers also say they got very little mashed potatoes, green beans, or gravy in their meal. While there are plenty of great food items with Dolly Parton's name on them, this isn't one of them.

If you're a fan of Kind breakfast and protein bars, you owe yourself the chance to try Kind Frozen Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Nut bars. At the time of writing, 98% of its reviews on the Target website are in the 4- to 5-star range, making it the best product on our list when it comes to both ratings and customer satisfaction. Although you've got to love peanuts to enjoy this dessert, since it's the top ingredient. Reviewers liken them to a healthier and better version of Snickers ice cream bars. Customers like that they don't have dairy or corn syrup, and the sugar amount is low. Plus, they have protein and fiber. Based on how enamored reviewers are of these, it will be a sad day if they're ever discontinued.

While Marie Callender's meatloaf with gravy ranked third on our list of frozen meatloaf dinners, it's definitely not a favorite among Target reviewers. With nearly half of its reviews in the 1- to 2-star range, it seems like you're more likely to dislike than like this one. A few liked it previously but find that the quality seems to have changed. While the meat flavor is often mentioned as being favorable, many reviewers report very little or a lack of mashed potatoes. Part of the problem seems to be that the gravy mixes with the mashed potatoes to turn them into soup. Reviewers also complain about the small meatloaf and corn portions.

No matter which flavor of Outshine frozen fruit bar you get, you'll find that most rate highly. The Outshine Mini Fruit Pops Pineapple Watermelon Mango has particularly high customer satisfaction from Target shoppers. While there are 8 grams of added sugars, it also has real fruit and real fruit juice. However, since they're small, they only have 40 calories each, which reviewers like when they want something sweet without too many calories. Reviewers comment that the pops have a fresh, naturally fruity flavor without dyes or being too sugary. They also like the clear packaging that allows them to know exactly which flavor they're getting.

Target reviewers rank the tub of Yasso Mint Chocolate Chip Frozen Greek Yogurt quite high, with 97% 4- and 5-star ratings. Customers like that it's a healthier frozen treat option since it is only 150 calories and 3 grams of fat per serving, while having 7 grams of protein. Plus, it uses natural ingredients for coloring and flavoring. However, it tastes great, too. Reportedly, even people who normally dislike frozen yogurt tend to like this brand because it tastes a lot like ice cream with only a slight yogurt-y tartness. The texture is creamy, not overly minty, and there are plenty of chocolate chips to make chocolate lovers happy.

The Target-owned Favorite Day Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream is worth skipping not only for its low ranking with customers but also for its low ingredient quality. For something that holds itself out to be homemade, it certainly has a long ingredient list that includes several preservatives. There are mixed reviews for this product, but that seems to be related to a product change. At one point, it was rich, creamy, and tasted like real homemade ice cream. Unfortunately, people say that the recipe has changed: It is boring and no longer tastes homemade, with a consistency that's more like whipped cream. So, unless the recipe changes back to the way it was, it's probably best to avoid it.

When we ranked frozen dumplings, the MiLa brand came out ahead of all the other brands we tried. They're extremely highly rated at Target, with the MiLa Pork & Shrimp Soup Dumplings being a favorite flavor. Each bag contains 10 soup dumplings with well-seasoned meat and tasty broth inside. People comment about liking the consistency of the wrapper, the fact that they're bite-sized, as well as their authentic Chinese taste. While some people report that they sometimes leak when steaming, they come with steamer liner sheets, which should help collect any leaked liquids in case that happens.

Smucker's Uncrustables Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam Sandwich is the final frozen food we want to mention that's a good bet for buying at Target. These are a great option for putting together a school or work lunch with minimal work involved, since they'll thaw by lunchtime. The whole line ranks highly, but after thousands of reviews, the strawberry jam one comes out on top (even above grape). Even though they start out frozen, they always thaw out with fresh and soft bread that's not soggy, with a good ratio of peanut butter to jelly. Granted, the texture suffers if you leave them thawing for too long (days rather than hours).

To determine which items to include on our list, we went straight to the Target website to see how frozen foods from various categories ranked according to customer reviews. We only included items with a significant number of reviews to ensure there was a good sampling of opinions. Plus, our writers have ranked and reviewed several of these personally.

At the time of writing, all the items we suggest buying have a 4.7-star rating or higher, with 92% or more (usually more) 4- and 5-star reviews. Meanwhile, all the frozen items we think you'd be better off skipping have a rating of 3.1 or below, with 41% or more of their reviews falling in the 1- to 2-star category.