I Ranked 9 Hungry-Man Frozen Dinners From Worst to Best—and the Winner Won by a Landslide

As adults, we often find ourselves stuck in an endless cycle of asking “What’s for dinner?” Whether you’re cooking for one or have a big family at home, figuring out what to put on the table each night can get tedious. On nights where you don’t feel like cooking but still want something hearty, frozen meals are a quick and easy alternative. But let’s be honest, they’re often hit or miss.

Over time, plenty of frozen meal brands have come and gone, but one has remained a mainstay in the grocery store freezer aisle: Hungry-Man. Parade was curious to know why the brand has such staying power, so we decided to put a few of their frozen meals to the test.

While growing up, my family occasionally ate different frozen meals from various brands, but it’s been decades since I popped a frozen meal into the microwave, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Since I cook a lot, I was also curious to see how Hungry-Man’s meals would taste to my adult palate and how they’d compare to a home cooked meal.

Before getting started, I grabbed my own resident hungry man (my hubby) and asked him to help me test nine different Hungry-Man meals and rank them. Here’s how it went.

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What Are Hungry-Man Frozen Dinners?

Hungry-Man is a Conagra brand (which also has brands like Duncan Hines, Slim Jim, Swiss Miss, etc.) that sells a variety of frozen meals.

The brand’s website offers the following description of its products: “Our flavor-packed freezer meals are conveniently ready in minutes, making them a go-to weeknight dinner solution or quick lunch option. With a variety of entrées and sides, there’s a Hungry-Man meal for every craving.”

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How I Chose the Hungry-Man Frozen Dinners

Hungry-Man’s website lists two variety of meals with the following descriptions:

• Hungry-Man Dinners: “Dig into one of our quick dinner options with easy and convenient prep in the microwave or conventional oven.”
• Hungry-Man Selects: “Take convenience meals up a notch. Our select line features choice ingredients, lots of protein, and classic homestyle flavor.”

There are 13 Hungry-Man Dinners and four Hungry-Man Selects meals listed on the brand’s website. One of the meals I tested isn’t listed on the website but was available at my local grocery store.

For this article, I selected one Hungry-Man Selects meal and eight Hungry-Man Dinners in a variety of flavors.

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Methodology: How I Tested Them

Hungry-Man meals can be cooked in one of two ways: in the microwave or in the oven.

Since it takes a lot longer to cook them in the oven and most people opt for the microwave option when they’re in a rush, I cooked each of them in the microwave. I followed the cooking instructions for each meal, making sure to peel back the plastic film and stir the ingredients when necessary.

In the photos below, you’ll notice that the brownies were removed from the meals. That’s because the instructions call for removing the brownie after the first round of cooking then putting the meal back in for more time.

All of the Hungry-Man meals I tested included mashed potatoes, some form of veggies and a sweet treat: either a brownie or an apple dessert. For ease of reading, I’ve described the mashed potatoes, veggies and desserts once below rather than repeating the description in each review.

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9 Hungry-Man Frozen Dinners, Ranked From Worst To Best

Here’s my honest ranking of these nine popular frozen meals from Hungry-Man.

9. Hungry-Man Select Spicy Classic Fried Chicken

How the brand describes it: “A spicy take on a comfort food favorite, this Hungry-Man Selects Spicy Classic Fried Chicken Dinner is sure to become a favorite. Featuring spicy dark meat chicken portions, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and an apple dessert, it makes a quick dinner solution when prepared in the microwave.”

My experience: This was the first meal I tested and it was my least favorite. The chicken has a mild spice to it, but it’s dry and difficult to cut. Honestly, you’re better off eating it with your hands.

The mashed potatoes are smooth and buttery, but the veggies are a bit rubbery. While trying the apple dessert, my husband said it has the same consistency of a caramel apple empanada from Taco Bell. We both preferred the brownies to this sweet treat, but the apple dessert does have a nice scent and it’s a good option if you’re a fan of fruit desserts.

Related: I Tried 14 Frozen Chicken Tenders and Ranked Them Worst to Best

8. Hungry-Man Beer Battered Chicken

How the brand describes it: “Featuring golden beer battered white meat chicken-strip-shaped patties, savory mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and a rich chocolate brownie dessert, this ready-to-cook meal is ready in minutes in your microwave.”

My experience: This chicken has a similar consistency to the popcorn chicken (later in the list), but the popcorn chicken’s breading has a nicer flavor. It’s also more bite-sized than this chicken.

The brownie was the best part of this meal. It has a nice chocolatey flavor and is soft. My husband described it as having the same consistency as a Cosmic Brownie from Little Debbie.

7. Hungry-Man Honey Bourbon Chicken

How the brand describes it: “Enjoy a complete frozen meal featuring fried white meat chicken-strip-shaped patties served with honey bourbon dipping sauce, mashed potatoes and corn side dishes. With 18 grams of protein per serving, this frozen food offers a classic homestyle flavor for satisfying frozen entrees that are ready to eat anytime hunger strikes.”

My experience: The breading on this chicken tasted overly moist. It might taste a bit different in the oven, but when heated up in the microwave, it was a bit water-logged. The sauce added a nice dose of flavor, though.

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6. Hungry-Man Boneless Pork Rib Shaped Patties

How the brand describes it: “Dig into an easy dinner featuring tender rib-shaped pork patties glazed with barbeque sauce, savory mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and a rich chocolate brownie dessert.”

My experience: The barbecue sauce makes this entire meal. It’s slightly sweet with a mild heat, and dresses up everything. The boneless pork is moist, hearty and filling.

5. Hungry-Man Country Fried Chicken

How the brand describes it: “This quick dinner solution features breaded white meat chicken patties with gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, and an apple dessert. Enjoy delicious microwave fried chicken in minutes.”

My experience: This meal’s gravy has a slight spice and is ultra creamy. The breaded chicken is a bit soggy since there’s a generous amount of gravy on top of it. It would be better if cooked on the side so it doesn’t absorb as much liquid.

4. Hungry-Man Southern Fried Popcorn Chicken

How the brand describes it: “Enjoy this deliciously easy dinner featuring zesty Southern fried popcorn-shaped breaded white meat chicken patties, home-style mashed potatoes, sweet corn, and a brownie dessert”.

My experience: The bite-sized popcorn chicken in this meal is soft and has a nice flavor thanks to the breading. It heats up well, even in the microwave, and doesn’t taste dry or freezer-burned. I suspect that it would taste even better when cooked in the oven.

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3. Hungry-Man Smokin’ Backyard Barbeque

How the brand describes it: “This easy-to-prepare frozen dinner features a grilled, glazed chicken patty and a rib-shaped pork patty in a smoky chipotle barbeque sauce, home-style mashed potatoes, sweet corn, and a rich chocolate brownie dessert.”

My experience: My first impression of this meal was the chicken, which was very easy to cut into and has a nice flavor, thanks to the BBQ sauce. The pork has a firm bite and mixes well with the sauce, which gives it a subtle spice.

It was good for a frozen meal, but definitely didn’t taste like the real deal that you’d prepare for yourself. Still, the chicken pushed this meal into one of the top spots on our list.

2. Hungry-Man Homestyle Meatloaf

How the brand describes it: “Featuring home-style meatloaf with savory brown gravy, creamy mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, and a rich chocolate brownie dessert, this quick dinner option is ready in minutes in the microwave.”

My experience: Similar to the Salisbury Steak meal (next on the list), the meatloaf is soft and easy to cut into. The gravy also adds a nice amount of flavor.

One thing to note: Since the mashed potatoes are located underneath the meat, it cooks inconsistently, so be extra careful to give it a good stir after the first round of cooking.

1. Hungry-Man Salisbury Steak

How the brand describes it: “Experience classic homestyle flavors with a Hungry-Man Salisbury Steak Dinner. Featuring Salisbury steak in homestyle mushroom and onion gravy, creamy mashed potatoes, green beans, and a rich chocolate brownie dessert, this microwave meal makes a quick dinner option for busy weeknights.”

My experience: Out of all the Hungry-Man meals I tested, this was by far the best. The steak was melt-in-your-mouth soft and the savory sauce added the perfect amount of flavor. It’s not a high-end steak at a fancy restaurant, but it does have a nice taste.

My husband and I never buy frozen meals but my husband said he would definitely buy this one again.

More Parade Rankings:

• I Tried 19 Frozen Pizzas—And the Winner Is a New Find
• I Tried 8 Frozen Meatball Brands To Find the Best—and the Winner Surprised Me
• We Ranked 10 Brands of Frozen Fries, and You Can Buy the Winner at Target
• I Tried 10 Frozen Chicken Pot Pies and Ranked Them Worst to Best
• I Tried 12 Frozen Lasagnas To Find the Best

Final Takeaways

After heating up nine Hungry-Man meals in the microwave, my biggest piece of advice would be to cook them in the oven.

Microwaves have a tendency of heating food unevenly at times, and I found that to be true, particularly with the mashed potatoes in the meals when it was placed underneath the meat. The brownies, which were honestly delightful, also cooked inconsistently for a few of the meals and had crispy edges on some and soft edges on the others.

Personally, I’m always going to prefer cooking my own meals, so it’s not likely that I’d suddenly become a frozen meal convert (for this or any other brand). But I can definitely see the appeal of a quick and easy dinner if you’re in a time crunch.

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