Frozen Friday: Marie Callender's Braised Beef Pot Roast

Marie Callender's Braised Beef Pot Roast is part of their new line of Comfort Bakes, which promises oven-baked taste from a microwaved-cooked frozen meal.

The entree features braised beef pieces with roasted red potatoes, pearl onions, and carrots, in a brown gravy.

An 11-ounce box retails for $3.69 at my local supermarket.

The only thing that seems to differ with this compared to a normal frozen dinner is that the gravy has a really good consistency and thickness. Typically, I've noticed the gravies found in frozen dinners tend to be very watery or broth-like. Beyond the thickness, the gravy also has a really good flavor and depth to it; there's a beefy tang and a peppery bite. I find a lot of times for frozen pot roast dishes that the gravy is usually mostly just salty, so the added nuance was a really nice change up.

Beyond the tasty gravy, the beef retained a good amount of texture. The exposed pieces were a little tough, but the underlying pieces were tender, though not quite fork tender.

The carrots and potatoes were pretty standard and soft, and the onions added a nice pop of sweetness and flavor whenever I happened upon one.

All-in-all, Marie Callender's Braised Beef Pot Roast is the best frozen pot roast dish I've eaten to date. The gravy and the onions add extra dimensions to the meal that puts it ahead of competing products.

Nutritional Info - Marie Callender's Braised Beef Pot Roast (283g)
Calories - 210 (from Fat - 35)
Fat - 4g (Saturated Fat - 1.5g)
Sodium - 900mg
Carbs - 28g (Sugar - 0g)
Protein - 15g