We’ve tried no shortage of frozen enchiladas here at Freezer Meal Frenzy, so we can say with confidence that they tend to range in quality from pretty bad to incredible. So we wondered where on that spectrum the Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Chicken Enchiladas would land.
This is a pretty fast dish to make, since it takes an even four minutes in the microwave. No stirring or flipping or anything in the middle of the process — just toss this into the microwave and let it go for four minutes. It comes out a bit steamy, so you’ll want to let it cool for a few minutes before you dig in.
The corn tortilla shell feels a bit generic. Often, enchilada shells are textured and rich in flavor — this one lacks both texture and flavor. Plus, the ends get dry and stale when you cook them, which makes them a bit unpleasant to eat. We suggest cutting off the ends of the tortillas and tossing them before you start eating this.
The enchiladas come covered in a spicy tomato paste, which, despite the spice level, actually tastes more like a pasta sauce than a Mexican-style sauce. It’s much spicier than we expected it to be — this is one of those meals that will clear out your sinuses — so that’s definitely a positive for some people. There’s also some monterey jack cheese sprinkled on top, but the portion size is small enough that it barely matters.
So what’s inside? Well, we’re told there’s chicken in there somewhere, but we couldn’t really find much of it. We tasted it for a brief moment when we were eating the very center of the enchiladas, but it was a taste that came on quickly and faded even faster. For the brief moment the flavor was there, it was decent enough. We also located some green chilis in the middle of all this.
But there’s just a strange, sort of burnt taste that lingers with each bite. We don’t think it comes from the marinara-like topping, but we can’t really identify its source. There are two different sauces on this, so we think it might be the flavor of the other enchilada sauce in this meal. It’s a pity, because this would be far better without that second sauce.
These are pretty lean for a pair of enchiladas. A serving size is a full pack, and one pack has about 300 calories. That breaks down to 150 calories per enchilada, which really isn’t bad. Of course, it’s also not that filling.
The 365 Everyday Value Chicken Enchiladas are pretty generic tasting. There are parts that are salvageable, but as a whole we found ourselves disappointed. We can’t really justify eating these a second time when there are far better frozen enchiladas on the market. As an alternative to this meal, we suggest Amy’s Spinach and Cheese Enchilada Verde Whole Meal or the Good Food Made Simple Chipotle and Poblano Breakfast Enchiladas (which, despite the name, make for better lunch enchiladas than breakfast enchiladas).
To learn more about the nutrition content or ingredients in these frozen enchiladas, check out our package scan below.
