The Frontera line of frozen taco bowls and skillets — by the great chef Rick Bayless — has some very tasty low-calorie meals in it. We’ve been fortunate enough to try the Barbacoa Taco Bowl, the Chicken and Chorizo Taco Bowl, and the Veggie Taco Bowl. So far, every single item in this lineup has been great.
Well, our fortune hasn’t run out quite yet, as today we get to sample the Frontera Chicken Fajita Bowl. Obviously, this is something we’ve been excited about trying for a little while now.
First off, we need to rave about how good the sauce is. It’s a chipotle fajita sauce, and while there isn’t a ton of it in this meal, it has so much flavor that there really doesn’t need to be. This has a sweet, citrusy flavor that really goes well with the rest of the ingredients.
The chicken may look a little too pale before you stir it into the mix, but it still tastes great. It’s juicy and flavorful, and it’s a lovely complement for that wonderful chipotle fajita sauce.
This also contains giant chunks of yellow and red bell peppers. Normally, we would say that the cuts are too big, but their size actually works here. Yes, it’s mostly because they soak up the sauce and end up with a sweet zing to them, which really makes them stand out. These are not just space-fillers; they’re a great-tasting addition to this dish.
And speaking of space-fillers, many frozen foods on the market add a bit too much rice so they seem at first glance to be more filling than they actually are. Frontera doesn’t use this trick. Instead, their rice is a mix of brown rice, red rice, white rice, and amaranth. And in this dish, the rice and grain mix doesn’t overstay its welcome. There’s enough of it to add a nice texture, but you’re not going to end up with a layer of rice on the bottom of the bowl after you’ve finished eating “the good stuff.” This does seem like it has a little more of the stuff than the other Frontera bowls we’ve tried — maybe just a teeny bit too much for us — but it’s not a gratuitous amount.
So is this a spicy meal? Well, we’re not sure. Frontera’s bowls never seem spicy until you’re about halfway through and you realize your sinuses are clearing out. That’s true here too. We were pretty deep into the dish before we even noticed the spice level. It really creeps up on you.
Like its peers, the Chicken Fajita Bowl keeps the calories nice and low. This meal has only 260 calories When you consider how much flavor this has, that’s pretty impressive. The sodium level, however, is a bit high at 700 mg. This is pretty average for a frozen meal, but it’s still a lot of sodium. You should always practice moderation when eating frozen food so you don’t overdo the sodium.
The Frontera Chicken Fajita Bowl is a great-tasting, low-calorie meal. Ever since we first tried the Frontera line of frozen taco bowls, we’ve been sure to keep our fridge stocked with the stuff. This really is a great line of frozen food, and we hope to see it continue to expand.
To learn more about the nutrition content or ingredients in this Mexican-style frozen food, check out our package scan below.
