Stouffer’s Fish Filet

March 23, 2007 | Reviewer: Nicole

Stouffer's Fish Filet

SRP: $3.19
Serving: 1 meal, 9 oz.
Calories: 420
Fat: 28%, 18g
Cholesterol: 18%, 55mg
Sodium: 43%, 1030mg
Protein: 20g
Carbohydrates: 15%, 45g
Fiber: 8%, 2g

Stouffer’s says: Breaded Alaskan Pollock filet annd macaroni and cheese

Nicole says: After another offering from Stouffer’s “Classic Meals” line, I’m wondering where my parents went wrong. They never, ever served fish with macaroni and cheese. Frozen fish sticks were usually accompanied by a frozen veggie. Maybe some cream corn (cream corn rocks!) I can’t recall off the top of my head what they served with fresh fish, but I know it wasn’t mac and cheese. All these years, I’ve been missing out on this classic pairing.

So my Alaskan Pollock turned into a fried blow fish while nuking. I sort of freaked, didn’t want fish innards exploding all over the work microwave (and I didn’t want to buy another lunch,) so I removed the meal a minute before I was instructed on the second half of cooking (3 minutes, stir mac, 2-3 more minutes.) Bad move, it was not yet HOT in the middle, just warm. Re-cooked for 45 seconds, all the while fearing the worst for my puffy fish. It ended alright - no explosions of hot-air filled fried skin.

And the taste? Not bad at all. Ya know, for frozen fish heated in a microwave. I’d go so far as to say it cooks up just about as well as it would in the oven. The top and sides of the breading are actually crisp, though the bottom has suffered the standard fate of nuked breading. I wish I had some ketchup. Or tartar sauce. I thought I hated tartar sauce when I was young, but I really simply refused to try it. So I’ve only discovered in my mid-twenties that it’s yummy with fried fish. But this is still A-OK without. The size of the filet is quite generous considering this is only a nine ounce meal - it is approximately the size my fist, just flattened out just a bit.

Now to the mac and cheese, the real reason for this purchase (I wouldn’t buy the fried fish if it were with peas, or green beans, or mashed potatoes). It is cheesy and it bubbled and crusted just the tiniest bit around the edges - I LOVE that. The meal didn’t involve any actual burning, but portions were a bit harder than they “should” be. The noodles are mushy, but the noodle to sauce ratio probably perfect - this is not a cheese lake with a school of soft noodles swimming about, nor a pile of noodles with a bit of cheese melted over them.

I had very low expectations for this meal, but am so pleasantly surprised that it is tasty and satisfying. Nutritionally, the sodium content is a bit high, but otherwise it’s a low dose of fat, calories and carbs for the tasty fried fish and mac side. The extra half-star is for crispiness.

Welcome to the dance, Cinderella.

comments

10 Responses to “Stouffer’s Fish Filet”

Kathy on March 23rd, 2007

There is nothing better than those crispy edges around the mac and cheese, whether it is nuked or baked in the oven…and Stouffer’s seems to always get the mac and cheese right.
Angie on March 24th, 2007

Stouffer’s makes the BEST Mac & Cheese. And I’m something of an expert on Mac & Cheese.
tifffany on March 24th, 2007

I love that meal! And I don’t stir the mac & cheese cause I like it to burn
Abi Jones on March 24th, 2007

Kathy - I hope that you’re finding HeatEatReview.com helpful.

Angie - Our one-time reviewer Colleen agrees with you, here’s her review of Stouffer’s Macaroni and Cheese. Bale seems to prefer Marie Callender’s Macaroni and Cheese, though he’s a fan of Stouffer’s products too.

Tiffany - Wow, you and I have shockingly different tastes. I prefer my mac and cheese ingredients (sausage, onion, peppers) to be a bit crisp (ok, slighly blackened for the sausage), but I definitely am not a fan of burnt or near-burnt macaroni and cheese.
Jack on March 26th, 2007

I just ate this yesterday. I love this frozen meal its so damn tastey.
Ace N. on March 26th, 2007

Hooray for sales, I picked up 3 of these at $1.50 a piece and thoroughly enjoyed the first one. Fish sticks and macaroni is a classic pairing, like clams and white wine. Just on a…uh…less sophisticated level.
Sue on March 29th, 2007

It is NOT CREAM corn …. it IS CREAMED corn.
Abi Jones on March 29th, 2007

Sue - It is a Nicole-ism. I considered editing it to say ‘creamed’ instead of ‘cream’ but she actually says ‘cream corn.’ And you understood what she meant, right?
Jonathan on March 10th, 2008

Never had the fish but I have had their mac and cheese and we now buy that instead of the boxed mac and cheese that you have to cook and stir etc.

It’s a little more expensive than the normal but it is well worth the price. Really creamy and full of taste. I would buy the fish dinner just to get the mac and cheese.

Jonathan
blush on April 7th, 2008

This is one of my favorite Stouffer meals (although the fish is smaller than a year ago). I always wait for it to go on sale.

One tip - at the halfway point, I cut the fish in half, then move the cut ends out to the edge of the tray, THEN finishing cooking. It better assures fully cooked fish.