Trader Joe's Penne Pepperonata

November 24, 2007 | Reviewer: Abi

Trader Joe Price: $3.50
Serving: 1/4 bag, 4oz.*
Calories: 200 per serving
Fat: 7%, 4.5g
Cholesterol: 3%, 10mg
Sodium: 12%, 270mg
Protein: 7g
Carbohydrates: 12%, 35g
Fiber: 8%, 3g
Sugar: 3g
Weight Watchers Points: 16 per bag

Trader Joe says: Here’s a quick dinner entree that’ll have people singing your praises! For Trader Joe’s Penne Pepperonata we’ve combined penne pasta imported from Italy with a flavorful sauce made from roasted red peppers, parmesan cheese and a special blend of herbs and spices. The flavors of Provence mingle beautifully with tastes from the Italian countryside – in less than ten minutes in your own kitchen.

Abi says: Trader Joe’s pre-combined pastas and sauces are perfect for those evenings when you can’t be bothered to boil water. Mostly, I eat these because

I get tired of tomato sauce
I imagine that this is how the Jetsons would make pasta
They are cheap
Have you seen Adina’s Gnocchi review? I want that sort of transcendent pasta-eating experience

This pasta is a pleasant alternative to a frozen pizza, but nothing special. The best thing about this meal isn’t even how it tastes but that I don’t have to use a colander. I am a super-fan of herbs de provence. I put them in everything, even places where they might not belong (Mexican food, not the greatest idea ever). I know the flavors of Provence. They didn’t exactly make a showing in this pasta sauce. You’d have to have a heck of a lot of herbs to overcome the nearly overwhelming use of peppers in the dish. And the lack of cream. It is not a cream sauce and I don’t know where they got the idea to call it that. Don’t go into this pasta expecting any actual dairy components.

I recommend this pasta if you’re a chronic pasta over-boilerer or if you’d like to branch out from traditional tomato sauces. Paired with some sauteed garlic and artichoke chicken sausage, this makes a delicious (if vegetable-deficient) dinner.

*This bag of pasta plus two sliced and sauteed chicken sausages made two large, filling servings with a bit left over.

Yeah, our kitchen counters are made of tile. This leads me to believe that the folks at Stanford aren’t quite the geniuses everyone makes them out to be. Have you every tried doing normal kitchen stuff (chopping, rolling out pastry, wiping up spilled flour) on a tile counter? It is ridiculous!

Every month, Heat Eat Review provides 3,660 meals
to hungry people in San Francisco via the SF Food Bank. Click here to find the Food Bank nearest you.

comments

7 Responses to “Trader Joe's Penne Pepperonata”

Crow on November 28th, 2007

You’re not only at Stanford, but they give you a kitchen that is at least high-end enough to have tile. Stop complaining.

As the note quite the geniuses part, I can believe it. I’ve met functionally illiterate morons that go to MIT. Thank you, government schools…hell of a job you’re doing…
Abi Jones on November 28th, 2007

Your lack of sympathy leads me to believe that you’ve never attempted to make a pie in a tiny kitchen with a tile counter.

So, what do you mean by ‘government schools’? Do you mean public K-12 schools in America?

The funny thing about Stanford (and granted, this generalization is based on the graduate students) is that the folks I’ve met really are incredibly smart and for the most part they are nice, personable people.
Jool on December 4th, 2007

The previous owners upgraded my house to have a marble counter…. and the marble is in tiles. Nasty crap gets stuck in between those lines of grout. Not recommended. But I do love the Trader Joe’s Penne dishes. Good idea to add some sausage – the servings of just the pasta doesn’t make for a very large serving for 2 people.
Eating Right Chicken Poblano : Heat Eat Review : We Review TV Dinners, Frozen Meals, and Microwavable Foods on June 4th, 2008

[...] Right concoction made me realize that penne is the most awesome frozen pasta variation. Be it the Trader Joe’s Penne Pepperonata or the Kashi Penne, the pasta stands up well to the freeze/thaw process, adheres nicely to sauces [...]
Maestro Pepperoni Dolce on April 6th, 2009

This is one of my favorite TJ pasta dishes. Has a true sweet red pepper flavor, has good quality penne, and takes well to enhancements added at home. I often make a little more pasta because there’s so much sauce. Agree with the 4 stars.
Lisa on May 22nd, 2009

I’ve had this before. It’s good.
MissCottin on October 17th, 2009

meh.