Trader Joe’s Chicken Burrito Bowl

January 14, 2008 | Reviewer: Abi

Trader Joe’s Chicken Burrito Bowl Price: $3.99
Serving: 1 package, 12oz.
Calories: 470 per serving
Fat: 22%, 14g
Cholesterol: 17%, 50mg
Sodium: 35%, 840mg
Protein: 26g
Carbs: 20%, 61g
Fiber: 44%, 11g
Weight Watchers Points: 10 points

Trader Joe says: Chicken, rice, black beans, salsa, cheddar cheese, and monterey jack cheese.

Abi says: By now we’ve all heard the horror stories about fattening, calorie-laden burritos produced by a company that rhymes with Schmapotle. Their tortilla alone is 330 calories and has 8 grams of fat. Basically, you could have a burrito wrapper or an entire Lean Cuisine.

Wanting to avoid crazy-bad tortillas, I was lured in by Trader Joe’s tortilla-free chicken burrito bowl. Available in the fridge section at TJ’s, these bowls are purported to contain chicken, rice, black beans, salsa, cheddar cheese and monterey jack cheese. Plus, they aren’t frozen, which makes me think that perhaps they are freshly made. I am now aware that ‘freshly made’ does not equal ‘delicious’.

The chicken portion was minuscule and difficult to find, turning my lunch into a game of ‘Find the Chicken’. The cheese, which appears so abundantly in the ‘before’ image, managed to lose any semblance of flavor by the time it became the ‘after’ image, turning into a cheesy version of beans. Great, I had a brick of beans, weighing in at 12 ounces, with the occasional kernel of corn in there to remind me that I could find something better to eat if I tried. Sure, I would have been full if I’d consumed the entire thing, but I wouldn’t have been satisfied.

Newsflash to the world: Instead of paying four dollars for this meal, I could have purchased a can of refried beans for 79¢, opened it, and eaten beans straight from the can. That is just how exciting and delicious I found this overwhelmingly beany burrito bowl.

That blandness, combined with my complete lack of salsa (a crisis in and of itself) meant that I had to venture out into the world to get a sandwich. An $8.00 sandwich. Thanks a lot, Trader Joe’s. From now on, I’ll always have a backup meal on hand.

comments

7 Responses to “Trader Joe’s Chicken Burrito Bowl”

Colleen on January 15th, 2008

I really enjoy this site — thanks so much! Trader Joes’ refrigerated meals have let me down several times, which hurts since I LOVE so many of their products (Chimichurri Rice especially!). If nothing else, though, sometimes the spottiness of one of their convenience meals gives me an idea for a (much better) meal I could make at home.
Crow on January 15th, 2008

“The chicken portion was minuscule and difficult to find, turning my lunch into a game of ‘Find the Chicken’.”

Hey, I thought this was a family friendly review site!
sir jorge on January 15th, 2008

this sounds ok, 2 stars only? really? i’m not sure
Rocketgirl on January 16th, 2008

Maybe it just needed some sour cream, Abi. I mean, really, doesn’t everything require a dollop of Daisy?
Rose on January 20th, 2008

I’m disapointed this wasn’t good. I don’t like mexican food, but everything in this, I eat. maybe it needed some sour cream, hot sauce, and tortilla chips.
S on March 22nd, 2008

I’m in the NE and maybe our version is slightly different but everyone I know who’s had this, including the entire staff of my local NJ TJ’s, loves this.
It’s the marinated chicken that does it.
One of the better instant meals they have.
bonnjill on April 10th, 2008

I read this review when it first came out and promptly forgot all about it until I bought this item and ate it for lunch today. Yuck! I couldn’t finish it. I thought it was too salty and had some kind of weird taste to it that I couldn’t quite pinpoint. That will teach me for not listening to you, Abi. I could have had a Seven Layer Burrito from Taco Bell for the same amount of carbs as this mess and would have been much happier.