Today was one of those weeks where you only make it to Thursday and already you are utterly, totally exhausted. I had so many projects piling up at work that all I could do was keep my head down and power through. Oddly enough, these tend to be the weeks where I like a long cooking project the most. Mindless chopping and stirring make me feel a million miles away from work and provide me with concrete proof of my labor. The more time I spend doing business-oriented tasks the stronger my need to do something with my hands, which cooking satisfies.
This week though I took a different route. Through Foodbuzz I had the chance to sample one of Buitoni’s new frozen meals. I don’t often review frozen meals on the blog and that’s because with the exception of Trader Joe’s Mandarian Orange Chicken, which I keep on hand for dire food emergencies, I really don’t eat them. I usually have leftovers of some sort in the freezer or some ingredients on hand that lend themselves to a speedy meal like a sandwich or quesadilla, so honestly frozen meals rarely come to mind. Because of this I found myself intrigued because I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. When I was first cooking I used to use Buitoni’s refrigerated pastas as a base for my dinners, but it had been awhile since I picked up a box.
However, it didn’t take me long at all to decide which dinner in the line I wanted to sample. I’ve been missing lobster terribly since moving away from Boston so Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli it was, even though I had to visit two stores to track it down. The preparation couldn’t be simpler. A sauce packet went in a pot of water while it was coming to a boil and then was joined by the ravioli. Once cooked, I simply tossed the pasta and sauce together gently. To make my entree more of a full meal I also stirred in some leftover corn (a perfect pairing with lobster), some pre-cooked lobster meat, and some chopped chives. Pre-cooked lobster meat is by no means cheap, but given the strength of my craving I figured it was a worthwhile little splurge.
My verdict on the meal? Mixed. I was pleasantly impressed by the ravioli itself. The pasta was a tad thicker than I would normally make at home, but had a good texure and flavor. The filling was the real star. I dissected a couple of ravioli to get a better look at what was inside and found generously sized chunks of shrimp and lobster. Lots of lobster ravioli, including some I have had at restaurants, suffer from hardly tasting like lobster at all and this was definitely not the case here. I also appreciated the portion size. Portion sizes with frozen meals can be pretty skimpy and end up eating more than the suggested serving size, but my serving left me very full (and probably still would have even without my add-ins).
I did not, however, care for the Garlic Butter Sauce at all. It wasn’t light as it was described in the website copy and was instead more gelatinous. It really masked the flavor of the ravioli and I liked them better on their own. I would have much preferred to purchase just the ravioli and prepare the sauce myself, although admittedly this would have made the recipe more time consuming. It’s a shame too because I thought the value of this product was pretty good. It retailed for $9.99 at my local supermarket which isn’ t bad as shelled lobster meat is pretty pricey so I definitely don’t think I’d be able to make homemade shrimp & lobster ravioli at home for this price.
After trying this I still stand by my belief that Trader Joe’s makes the best frozen meals, but given the quality of the pasta in this dish I’d be curious to try others in the line to keep on hand in case of hunger emergencies.
**Edited to add: Readers who have tried the product as well have been kind enough to weigh in down in the comments section about their own experiences. I highly recommend scrolling down to view their comments as well.**
What about you, what is your favorite frozen meal?
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I’ve had buitoni’s mushroom ravioli and also the quatro formaggio and really enjoyed it. My favorite frozen meal that I almost always have on hand is TJ’s mushroom truffled flatbread. SO GOOD!
I was tempted to pick this up the other day at the store! We generally have one or two of these frozen meals in the fridge for “dire food emergencies”, but like you we always have to add something else to it.
Elina – That flatbread is really good. I’ve always had good luck with TJ’s meals in general. They tend to be very high quality, especially for the money. If I didn’t enjoy cooking I would probably survive off of those.
Rae – They had some other varieties that sounded tempting as well. I’m still curious enough to give them a try, and actually it’s reminded me that I should buy their refrigerated pastas more often. The pastas are really high quality, but I think getting a good sauce to freeze is difficult.
Gelatinous sauce does not sound good. Wonder if they went crazy on the cornstarch in it, perhaps? But good that the shrimp and lobster were present in good amounts.
Thanks for the review – it’s nice to have stuff like this around for the crazy weeks at work! I also like a lot of the options at TJs.
I bet you are missing the Boston seafood–when I go out there to visit, my family knows to stock the fridge with TONS of seafood, which is always completely gone before I leave
And I know what you mean with frozen meals, it seems the sauces never are the right consistency–but glad you enjoyed it for the most part!
The ravioli sound so good – too bad the sauce didn’t live up to it’s name. I like how you added corn and even more lobster! Delicious. I haven’t eaten frozen dinners in many years but my favorite one used to be the Santa Fe style Rice and Beans by W.W. I have since created my own homemade version.
I just saw an ad for this and have been dying to try it!! I’m also a Boston native, but I’m living in land-locked Pittsburgh! I’ll have to give them a try… and based on your review, I’ll make a backup sauce to go with them!
I agree Marguerite that a back up sauce is probably the best way to go as he pasta itself is very good and definitely in line with what I have come to expect from Buitoni. Another option might be to water down the sauce with some of the pasta water. I didn’t do this because I wanted to review the product according to how the directions suggested to prepare it, but I imagine this would definitely take care of the consistency issues.
I tried the Buitoni Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli mean and am sorry to admit that we absolutely COULDN”T stand it
. The sauce was not good at all. I finished my first meal of it reluctantly, but no one wanted seconds. It seemed to be way too overpowered with garlic sauce, and was just not tasty at all. We did however, like the Chicken and spinash entree they have out. I wish I could find a consumer review for them to let them know that thier shrimp and lobster entree is not very good. We were looking forward to it.
Hi Cree – Sorry to hear you didn’t have great experiences with the product. It sounds like you had the same issues I did with the sauce. I think the best thing to do could be to use the contact form on their website. If nothing else it documents how you feel about it and if enough people complain (and don’t go back and buy the product) they may chance the recipe. May be wishful thinking on my part, but I don’t think it hurts to share your opinion.
My husband and I did try the Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli and had the same reaction – great pasta, but the sauce was terrible. Just way too heavy and garlicy for the delicate nature of the pasta. I went on Buitoni’s website and left comments under the “contact us” link at the bottom of the page. They responded right away, letting me know that they were sorry that I didn’t like the product, but that they’ve tried their best to test the product before releasing to the public. Not sure who their taste-testers are, I haven’t heard of anyone that likes that sauce. They also sent me coupons to use, one was a free meal! They also mentioned that my comments would be forwarded on to another department, so they seem to take the feedback seriously. On another note, I absolutely adore the Wild Mushroom Agnolotti!
I tried this today and thought it was very good. It is a generous size and I liked the garlic butter sauce as well. I added some shrimp and mushrooms to mine and thought it was great. I did not use up all the sauce, I don’t know why people are complaining about the sauce.
I tried their mushroom ravioli a few months ago and did not like it. Way too salty for my taste. But this shrimp lobster is a keeper.
Lisa – thanks for sharing your opinion.
I think that’s the beauty of varying preferences and palates. What is not enjoyable to one person is tasty to others. Glad to hear your experience with the sauce is more positive than mine. I love the idea of adding mushrooms, I really enjoy them with lobster and found including a few add ins of my own made for a more filling meal. Shrimp is a great choice as well.
The Buitoni Shrimp and Lobster Ravioli with garlic sauce was in a word….HORRIBLE! The filling was unrecognizable and overwhelmed by the garlic butter sauce, so I do not know whether there was any lobster or shrimp in it. We waited a long time to try this…anxiously, and was very disappointed.
Patricia – I’m sorry you didn’t like this either. It sounds like your experience was worse than mine, I actually found the pasta to be pretty good and got lots of nice chunks of lobster and shrimp. I think this is a great idea though and love the idea of a frozen lobster pasta. I’m hopeful they will reformulate. If you’re looking for a suitable alternative, Healthy Choice has a Lobster Cheese Ravioli that seems to be getting pretty good reviews online. Granted it’s not a full calorie/fat product so the taste and expectations are obviously different, but seems like potentially a good option for someone who wants the frozen lobster and ravioli all in one package. That said, I haven’t tried it personally so I can’t confidently speak to what it tastes like.