Frozen Friday: Trader Joe's - Pizza Al Pollo Asado

Trader Joe's Pizza Al Pollo Asado is their take on a Mexican pizza. It features a corn masa crust topped with grilled chicken breast, refried beans, jack cheese, and tomatillo salsa.

It weighs in at 10 ounces and cost me $1.99.

I heated this halfway in the microwave and finished it in a pan to give the crust a little charring and crispiness.

The crust was very similar to the corn meal from a tamale. It had the same loosely-formed, crumbly texture and flavor, but was slightly chewy and a little dry.

The beans takes the place of the pizza sauce and delivered a more muted earthy flavor, which blended with the melted jack cheese. It also had a paste-like texture that didn't help much with the dryness of the crust.

The chicken was a little dry but well-seasoned, plentiful and tasty. However, it didn't contrast enough with the bean and cheese. It had a slight tanginess but would have served if they kicked it up a notch (or two or three...).

My hope was for the tomatillo salsa, but unfortunately, it was the least plentiful component and struggled mightily to give the occasional mutter of what could have been.

Overall, Trader Joe's Pizza Al Pollo Asado was a miss for me. The combination of ingredients lacked intensity and came off banally. I ended up using some taco sauce to help me get through it. My wishlist to improve the pizza would be an actual sauce and a sharper or bolder cheese.

Nutritional Info - Trader Joe's Pizza Al Pollo Asado

Serving Size - 1 pizza (284g / 10 oz)

Calories - 410 (from Fat - 110)
Fat - 12g (Saturated Fat - 6g)
Sodium - 730mg
Carbs - 57g (Sugar - 2g)
Protein - 18g