4/19/05 | Banquet Pepperoni Pizza Meal
[ Currently Eating: Turkey Sandwich ]
Part 4 : Banquet Pepperoni Pizza Meal
Yep, it’s back. The Banquet Frozen Meal review parade rolls on, this time with an interesting looking Pepperoni Pizza Meal. It’s been about an even number of standouts and duds so far with reviewing the Banquet line, but remember that these are all only ONE dollar so beggars can’t be gourmet eaters .
Anyhow, this Pepperoni Pizza was a bit of a bummer. I couldn’t get the cheese to “stretch” like on the box picture and the actual pizza rectangle certainly seemed a bit smaller, maybe the size of one of those squares. More disappointing was the taste. I made this in the oven so I was expecting the crust to be excellent but it had only minor crunch and the pizza sauce was pretty much ketchup. The cheese was OK, but the pepperoni “crumbs” might have been left off in favor of just more pizza.
At this point, I’m getting a bit tired of corn as the side dish. But I expect it’s the cheapest most reliable vegetable to put in, and they certainly can’t call it a meal without vegetables according to the food pyramid. So, I don’t begrudge them the overuse of corn. I do begrudge them the glue-like chocolate sludge that they call a brownie. First of all, it’s way to sweet. I don’t like sweets anyhow, but this thing was REALLY sugary. I don’t know how they got their brownie out of the pan and onto the plate because I couldn’t get it to lift out. I had to spoon it out like baby food. Yuck.
This was thoroughly disappointing on nearly all counts. The pizza, even if it tasted better, was less than satisfying; I finished it in 3 bites. If you really want a pepperoni pizza meal, you can probably make a fitter, happier one out of just bread, ketchup or tomato sauce, some dried herbs and some cheese on top. Or, they probably have standalone mini pizzas that probably taste better, though I can’t vouch for low prices on those since I’ve never bought them.
Cheap Eats Score: 4/10
(You might also want to read Part I: Banquet Chicken Nugget Meal, Part II: Banquet Salisbury Steak Meal and Part III: Banquet Fried Chicken Meal)
April 21st, 2005 at 1:03 am
Just wanted to say that your reviews are really interesting and I added a link to your website on mine. I try Banquet every now again when I’m totally broke and don’t care about the extra time shaved off my life with all the saturated fat and cholesterol trying to clog up my arteries.
April 21st, 2005 at 4:35 pm
Tanya - hey thanks, I linked you too. I’ve seen your site before and I like the product reviews. hehe, I hear what you’re saying about the fat and cholesterol. It’s definitely not a good idea to live on Banquet meals every day!
April 22nd, 2005 at 7:12 am
Hey just found your site via my referrer log. Thanks for the link. I’ve added your site to my list as well. Nice to have found someone else with an eye on the budget!
April 22nd, 2005 at 8:12 am
Ellen - Hi, yeah when I was looking around for sites that were doing something similar, yours was one of the first I found! Some great ideas. I’m going to have to try out a bunch of the recipes you have sometime soon…
December 22nd, 2005 at 8:10 pm
Hey,
Of the four years of my college life, the only thing I miss the most is getting drunk on the cheapest booze and feeding on Banquet meals. My favorite is Fried Chicken & Spagetti Meals. They taste great even if they are cheap. So, I would like to thank the good people at Banquet for making my college education little less expensive and lot more tasty that it had to be.
January 7th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Try the frozen pizza at Alde’s food store.Mama Cassinnis.Fantastic and only $1.99. Taste great!