According to the package of Trader Joe’s Vegetable Pad Thai, “You don’t need to travel to Thailand to indulge in authentic Vegetable Pad Thai.” That’s quite a display of confidence in this frozen meal, so we thought we’d put that claim to the test.
Cooking this meal is pretty simple; just stick it in the microwave and heat it for four to six minutes. We actually found five to be just about perfect. We did have a little trouble removing the plastic film from the top of the tray because there was way too much glue applied to it when it was being sealed. It’s not the biggest flaw in the world, but we thought we’d point it out anyway.
Now, if you’re hoping for a frozen alternative to your favorite takeout dish, this meal is probably going to disappoint you. It’s missing some essential ingredients, like peanuts and egg. That said, both the vegetables and noodles here are pretty tasty. We really enjoy the bean sprouts and radishes, and the chilis bring some heat to the meal. The chunks of cashew helped to make up for the missing peanuts.
The tofu, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. It’s not bad, but it is extremely bland. The chili and tomato sauce doesn’t really do anything to liven it up; it’s basically flavorless. It’s not a winner in the texture department either — it’s slightly rubbery and doesn’t blend well with the noodles and all. While this dish might have been low on protein without the tofu, it probably would have been tastier too.
This is not a low-calorie meal by any means. At 520 calories (190 from fat), dieters are going to want to avoid this. It’s also got a whopping 830 mg of sodium. Yikes!
Trader Joe’s Vegetable Pad Thai is a perfectly enjoyable meal, but it doesn’t have enough flavor to justify its high calorie content. If you want to indulge in vegan Pad Thai, and a trip to Thailand is out of the question, we recommend Amy’s Pad Thai instead.
To learn more about the nutrition content or ingredients in this frozen food, check out our package scan below.
Why does my package and the trader Joe’s website say it’s only 360 calories per tray?
Time to update, my package is also 360 calories.
Bean Sprouts invasion! Like many of TJ’s other items, they’ve filled package space with the cheapest, worst ingredient leaving no room for the original real flavor of noodles and tofu from 3 years ago.
This was actually pretty bad, pretty bland and an overall soggy disappointment. Mine contained 2 pieces of tofu, and no chillies or cashews.
I thought the noodles and tofu were fine for a frozen meal tbh. The bean sprouts, on the other hand, were soggy and tasted disgusting. There was also waaaaay too many bean sprouts. Get rid of those and the dishes is solid. Definitely won’t be buying again.
I liked this meal. It had a good flavor to it for a heathy choice of a thia dinner. I love sprouts, so didn’t bother me it had a lot of them in the dinner. If it had cashews in it, I didn’t get any? Two pieces of tofu. Mine had a lot of noodles and sauce in it.
Overall, I liked it for the calories and fat intake. Of course it’s high in sodium, but for a choice every once in awhile, I would get again.