We’re very glad that world-famous chef Rick Bayless got involved in the world of frozen food. The Frontera brand of frozen food has been quite good to us. From the delicious Barbacoa Taco Bowl to the vegetarian-friendly Three Bean Taco Bowl, everything we’ve tried by Frontera has been amazing.
Needless to say, we had some pretty high expectations going into the Frontera Al Pastor Taco Bowl.
To start things off, we should point out that this is one juicy meal. We don’t want to call it soupy, because it really isn’t, but you won’t find any dryness here. This doesn’t seem like a soggy meal when you start cooking it, but as it heats up, the ingredients become very juicy. By the time you’re done cooking this, the whole thing will be drenched. We’re going to assume that is the intent here, as it’s not a bad choice.
As the box proclaims, this meal contains chunks of seared, braised pork. We’re delighted at how tender it is. We know that “melts in your mouth” is a cliche at this point, but it’s apt here. The pork also tastes incredible, and there’s a pretty fair amount of it in this dish. Frontera didn’t skimp out on the meat portion when they were perfecting this recipe.
This dish also contains pineapple. Yes, pineapple. That’s not something we’d expect in a Mexican-inspired taco bowl, yet here were are. This is perhaps the source of all those juices we were talking about earlier. The pineapple sort of bleeds into everything else, giving the whole meal a sweetness that’s reminiscent of a sweet BBQ sauce.
The rest of the meal is a bit more standard, with fire-roasted peppers and a blend of rices, but it all works together very well. Especially with all the pineapple juice — every bite of this meal is delicious.
This is one of Frontera’s items with a mild spice rating, reminding us that there’s a razor-thin line between Frontera’s mild items and their medium items. This one cleared our sinuses out.
One of the things that always delights us about Frontera’s frozen foods is that even with so much flavor, they always keep the calories low. We’re not sure how they do it; it seems like magic! That’s true here as well, since this meal only contains 300 calories. It does, of course, have 650 mg of sodium, which is on par with your average frozen food. Be careful eating frozen meals if you’re on a low-sodium diet.
The Frontera Al Pastor Taco Bowl is simply astounding. In a lineup filled with delicious frozen food, this might actually be the best Frontera meal yet. There are some delightful twists and turns in this one that lead to a surprisingly delicious flavor, and we love Frontera for taking those risks. We give this meal an A+.
To learn more about the ingredients or nutritional content of this Frontera taco bowl, check out our package scans below.
