Alexia Grilled Chicken Pesto Panini

August 26, 2009 | Reviewer: Guest Reviewers

Alexia Grilled Chicken Microwavable Pesto Panini Price: $3.67
Serving: 6 oz.
Calories: 400 per serving
Fat: 28%, 18g
Cholesterol: 12%, 35mg
Sodium: 27%, 650mg
Protein: 23g
Carbohydrates: 12%, 37g
Fiber: 20%, 5g
Sugar: 2g
Weight Watchers: 9 POINTS

Alexia says: All natural Gourmet Quality Tuscan Style Panini, Grilled Chicken Pesto with Mozzarella on Italian Style Herb Bread made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Erin says: I love it when things are crispy out of the microwave, each time it happens I feel like a little miracle is occurring in my kitchen. With that preference in mind, I like to try all of the new panini on the market, and couldn’t resist this Alexia pesto one even at the high price of nearly $4.00. Sure, the Lean Cuisine versions are passable but this twice-as-expensive panino should be really good.

The instructions are standard: flip the box inside out and put the sandwich halves on the crisping tray. Be careful not to open up the sides because than you’ll have to do some fancy folding and hope nothing collapses in the cooking process.

The look of the panino is less standard: I don’t often eat things that are grayish green and purple, as those colors usually indicate something that is passed its prime, but I suppose those colors are normal when you’re looking at the results of freezing herbs and vegetables.

Dangerous instructions on the Alexia pesto panini And then there’s the steep learning curve required by this meal: following the assembly instructions of making a taco with the crisping tray is a good way to burn your hands (even after the prescribed cooling time). I’m using a spatula next time (even if I have to wash it) because I’d rather save my fingers than endure panini-based pain. And then when I did put together the panino I was depressed because it was so puny! I didn’t pay $4.00 for something about the size of half a sandwich you’d make out of a loaf of regular old bread.

But maybe I’d be saved by the actual ingredients. That’s where high prices come into play, right? Wrong. For all of that green and purple, this sandwich is monotonously bland. In particular, the vaunted herbed bread might as well have been white because the little flecks added zero flavor. Other than the bread the two overwhelming flavors are of sweet onions and microwaved chicken. Delish. Considering the small size of the sandwich, there were too many slimy, overly sweet onions. And the chicken! I’ve had chopped and formed chicken patties that had to be cooked in a little pool of water and had plenty of additives like caramel color that tasted just like this chicken. I focus on the onions and chicken so much because the pesto was visually present, but remained a too-subtle background note. I could taste it a little but wanted a lot more. Alexia could also save me a few calories (this sandwich comes in at 400) by foregoing the cheese: it tasted like air.

Alexia, I do appreciate a sandwich without red peppers (they are few and far between in the frozen food world), but you should include a decent amount of pesto on your pesto sandwich… because now it should be called a grilled microwaved chicken sweet and slimy onion sandwich.

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

6 Responses to “Alexia Grilled Chicken Pesto Panini”

Jody on August 27th, 2009

I had this exact same panini not long ago and I agree with everything on this review EXCEPT for the three-star rating. What warrants three whole stars? This sandwich is awful, bland and unsatisfying. I also followed the instructions to a tee and yet some of the bread still turned out rock hard (I even have the exact same microwave wattage recommended.) I stuck it out anyway and finished the entire suprisingly UNFILLING thing, and at that I still prepared a Hot Pockets quesadilla at the last minute just to help make up for it. It is an extremely rare occasion that I microwave a entire second different dish because the first was so disappointing, so when it happens I KNOW something was very wrong!
christine on August 27th, 2009

Not worth the money, I’ll go with the LC.
Jeri on August 27th, 2009

I tried two varieties of Alexia panini…the Grilled Chicken Pesto and the Grilled Steak. I knew I was in trouble when I had to dig the box out of the recycling to remind me which one I was eating. I repeat, I couldn’t tell whether I was eating chicken with pesto or steak with mushrooms and onions. Even in the frozen food universe, that’s pretty bad.
I’m sassy y’all « This must be… on August 27th, 2009

[...] 28, 2009 Catch me over at Heat Eat Review taking down a Pesto Panini. It’d been a while since I wrote this so I surprised myself on [...]
Erin KT on August 27th, 2009

Agreed! Don’t know what I was thinking with the 3 stars.
Molly on August 30th, 2009

That looks really unappetizing; the chicken doesn’t look like chicken at all. I see regurgitated beef bits (original composition unknown) before me.