Udi’s makes a full line of gluten-free frozen foods. As is the case with any frozen food brand, their dishes range from tasty to not-so-tasty, but their pasta dishes tend to be where the company shines the brightest. While they make a mac and cheese dish for vegetarians, the Penne & Cheese with Uncured Bacon is strictly for eaters of meat.
While this dish pretty much takes Udi’s standard Penne & Cheese and adds bacon, there’s a lot to love about it. The sauce is rich and creamy, exactly as the box states. And there’s a lot of it. This isn’t the modest trickle of cheese sauce that some frozen macaroni dishes are comfortable offering; there’s enough sauce to submerse a vast majority of this meal once cooked. And it has a nice, cheesy flavor.
The bacon is crumbled, and it also has a pretty great taste — and a great smell as well; you’ll smell the bacon as soon as you pull this dish out of the microwave. Of course, we’d point out that this is closer to a cooked ham than bacon proper. Yes, we know they’re virtually the same thing, but bacon tends to be crispier and have a more gristled taste. This is much more like ham in that regard. That’s not a bad thing at all; it pairs quite well with the sauce.
The noodles are a bit too rubbery, but we understand that it’s tricky to make a good gluten-free noodle. Plus, with generous portions of both sauce and bacon, you’ll hardly notice it.
Udi’s Gluten Free Penne & Cheese with Uncured Bacon is a competent macaroni dish that’s safe for those avoiding gluten. In fact, you’ll likely be scraping the dish to get every last bite of that delicious cheese sauce.
If you want to learn more about the nutrition and ingredients in this frozen food, check out our package scan below.
