Barilla’s New Microwaveable Meals

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If you’ve been reading my blog for a while then you know that I’m all about easy. Cutting corners when preparing meals is right up my alley — it doesn’t mean that I don’t make anything from scratch, it just means that for me sometimes packaged items trump spending extra time in the kitchen. With our home up for sale, lately unless I throw something in the crockpot first thing in the morning, we’re eating a lot of quick fix meals because we may have to leave (or clean up!) due to a showing at a moments notice.

Pasta is a staple in our home, so it was a no-brainer for me to agree to review Barilla’s new Microwaveable Meals. Even better that right now, meals like this totally fit into our lifestyle.

And in just three minutes (well because we had to heat up three packages, they only take a minute each!) we had dinner. And it’s actually quite a lot of pasta (the package size is 9 oz.).

Barilla Microwaveable Meals come in five varieties:

We really thought the packaging was innovative – the noodles and the sauce are separate and you just toss the sauce over the noodles after the quick minute in the microwave. We thought the pasta had a great texture (even the whole grain pasta, which I’m generally not a fan of) and the sauce had a good flavor (although my husband said he could do without the “chunks” of tomatoes in it…sigh).

Now here’s the great thing for those of you that are concerned about additives in your food. Barilla Microwaveable Meals are 100% Natural with No Preservatives.  Yet even with that because of the revolutionary packaging, the product stays fresh and has a shelf life of 12 months at room temperature.

All of the varieties are 320 calories or less, and provide between 9g and 11g of protein. The whole grain varieties are a good source of iron and all five choices provide an excellent source of fiber in the pasta and an excellent source of vitamin A in the sauce.

The suggested retail price is $3.29 per package but you may find them quite a bit more affordable.  I snapped a picture at our local Walmart the other day when I was shopping and they were just $2.50 there.

We really liked these, except for the one with Spicy Marinara Sauce, but that’s just because we have bland taste buds and it was just too spicy for our palates.

For additional information on Barilla Microwaveable Meals, visit BarillaUS.com.

Have you tried these Barilla Microwaveable Meals? If so what is your favorite flavor?

I was sent samples to review. All opinions are my own.