Tyson's Worst Frozen Chicken Item: Which To Avoid In The Freezer Aisle

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Tyson Foods is one of the largest producers of chicken, beef, and pork in the United States. Chances are, you see Tyson products every time you visit the grocery store, and you may consider its frozen chicken items convenient as well as tastier and more high-quality than those of other brands. To put this theory to the test, Tasting Table ranked eight frozen Tyson chicken items from worst to best so that you know which one to avoid the next time you're shopping the freezer aisle.

We found Tyson's Oven Roasted Diced Chicken Breast to be the most disappointing of the eight products we sampled. The pieces were not uniform, with some being large and some incredibly tiny. The packaging suggests heating the chicken in the microwave, but unfortunately, this resulted in dry, rubbery chicken. Though our taste-tester did find the chicken to be savory and flavorful, the texture was off-putting enough to negatively affect whatever dish it would be used in.

The product has mixed reviews across retail sites like Target, Walmart, and Kroger. Target shoppers have rated it a 4.2 out of five stars, with customers complaining that it is "gross, rubbery and dry," that it "cooks uneven," and that it is either "spong[y] or rock hard" despite following cooking instructions. On the Kroger website, one customer complained, "will not be buying again... 'Diced' is a stretch." There are also concerns among customers that the quality of the product has significantly declined over the years. In one Kroger review, a shopper claimed, "I've been buying this product regularly for a couple years...My last two purchases have been inferior...Double to triple the size of typical "diced" pieces with a lot of grizzle and darker meat."

If you purchased Tyson's frozen diced chicken because you wanted a convenient, time-saving alternative to cooking chicken yourself or cutting up a rotisserie chicken, there are a few ways that you can improve its taste and texture. First, as recommended by our reviewer, you can try heating the chicken in a skillet rather than using the microwave. If you add oil, butter, or chicken broth to the skillet while heating the chicken, you can infuse it with some much-needed moisture and flavor.

This type of chicken is also best used in dishes like casseroles or pot pies, which allow the chicken to heat up slowly among rich, savory ingredients. You can make a chicken pot pie casserole using Tyson's frozen diced chicken rather than shredded rotisserie chicken. The chicken chunks will be heated through after 30 to 40 minutes in a 400-degree Fahrenheit oven. They will also soak up all of the flavors from the other pot pie ingredients.

Tyson's diced chicken is also a worthy substitute for fresh chicken when making a classic chicken casserole using creamy Campbell's soup. No need to boil raw chicken breasts; instead, cook your egg noodles and mix the chicken chunks into the canned soup and other ingredients, and pour it over the noodles. You'll save time, and because the soup is so creamy and the seasonings so flavorful, the chicken will get perfectly moist, tender, and tasty.