If you’re looking for a low-calorie frozen pasta, you certainly aren’t limited in your options. However, the Chicken with Spinach Fettuccine by Smart Made has one of the lowest calorie counts we’ve seen on a pasta dish, at only 220. So we asked, “Can a pasta this lightweight be satisfying to eat?” Then we set out to answer that question.
One of the secrets to its surprisingly low calorie count is that it actually uses spinach in the noodles themselves. This isn’t something mixed into the sauce — no, the spinach is built right into the pasta. It’s a neat idea, and it works pretty well. The noodles are a bit soft, and they have a subtle spinach flavor to them. Since this dish uses spinach elsewhere, these noodles are a perfect match.
Of course, if you’re not super into spinach, you might want to steer clear of this dish; it’s a spinach overload. This is the sort of meal that would have Popeye punching battleships.
There’s another, dirtier secret involved too. The sauce reduces the cream content and replaces it with a white bean puree. Truly discerning taste buds might recognize the difference in flavor, but it’s not an obvious switcharoo. It has a little bit of a grainy texture, however, which is more noticeable than the flavor.
The chargrilled chicken breast is incredible. It maintains its consistency really well, instead of falling apart in your mouth as you’re trying to eat it. It’s not too dry, like some of the frozen chicken we’ve tried, and it has a great fresh-off-the-grill flavor. If all frozen chicken was this good, our jobs would be much easier.
Simply put, Smart Made’s Chicken with Spinach Fettuccine is one of the best super-low calorie frozen meals we’ve had. Even if you’re on the strictest of diets, this should be okay to eat.
To learn more about the nutrition and ingredients in this frozen food, check out our package scans below.
