Ranking 29 Lean Cuisine Protein Kicks meals from worst to best

CLEVELAND, Ohio-- The calendar just flipped to March. Hard to believe, but it’s true.

Also hard to believe: March is National Frozen Food Month. Hey, we don’t make the rules here.

Show of hands: How many of you have stuck to your New Year’s resolutions to eat leaner and healthier? Or decided to simplify life with less meal preparation? Maybe both?

Let’s face it. Sometimes we just don’t have time to cook dinner or prepare lunch. When we’re crunched for time or in a bind, we might make mealtime decisions that aren’t in line with our healthy aspirations and fitness goals. For a lot of us, this means stocking up on frozen meals.

With so many options to choose from, your “Best of Cleveland” team thought a deep dive into one particular brand might help you meet both the resolutions mentioned above.

Of course, we’re talking about Lean Cuisine Protein Kicks, because who doesn’t need a little more protein or a “kick” in their day? We did all the heavy lifting, trying 29 (count ‘em!) different varieties of Protein Kicks that we found at Meijer’s for $2.50 a box (on sale 4 for $10.00).

These can also be found at most Northeast Ohio grocery stores.

If you have ever found yourself in a bind needing quick microwave meals and wondered if these little boxes in the frozen food section are worth it, we have some insight for you. From beef to chicken to veggie options, we found something for everyone.

Do our rankings agree with yours? Where do your favorites rank on our list?

Check out our full list below, along with our thoughts and rankings from least favorite to the best.

Our rankings:

No. 29: Santa Fe-style rice and beans

Description: Santa Fe-style rice and beans in a sour cream and mild chili sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 310 | Fat 4.5g | Cholesterol 20mg | Sodium 560mg | Carbs 55g | Sugar 8g | Protein 12g

First ingredient: Cooked enriched long grain rice

Our thoughts: Needs too many “add-ons” to want to buy again. Would be a lower rating, but the sauce was decent. Not appetizing in appearance either; just a mushy, oatmeal-like mess. Had a bit of a kick, but you definitely need a spoon to eat it. Can you say baby food? If you eat with your eyes, this one is a definite immediate turn-off.

No. 28: Unwrapped Chicken Burrito

Description: Brown rice with grilled white meat chicken and vegetables in a creamy verde sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 310 | Fat 6g | Cholesterol 45mg | Sodium 510mg | Carbs 43g | Sugar 5g | Protein 20g

First ingredient: Cooked Brown Rice

Our thoughts: Loved the sauce, but the rest could be so much more. In fact, Pete would buy a whole jar of this sauce. Otherwise underwhelming and forgettable... baby food texture? Watery. Lots of beans and corn. Adequate amount of chicken undertone of southwest seasoning but did they forget to “grill” this chicken?

No. 27: Spaghetti with meat sauce

Description: Spaghetti with meat sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 310 | Fat 4g | Cholesterol 10mg | Sodium 770mg | Carbs 53g | Sugar 8g | Protein 15g

First ingredient: Cooked Spaghetti

Our thoughts: Serviceable, but forgettable. Not super-exciting. At all. Sauce (which is a bit runny for our taste) is the only thing that makes this edible, and then barely. Where’s the meat? Soggy noodles. Runny sauce. Could find better out of a can. Don’t be fooled by the picture on the package.

No. 26: Chicken Teriyaki

Description: White meat chicken, vegetables and Asian-style noodles in a teriyaki sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 260 | Fat 4.5g | Cholesterol 20mg | Sodium 560mg | Carbs 37g | Sugar 9g | Protein 18g

First ingredient: Cooked Asian Style Noodles

Our thoughts: Somehow the Asian LC’s end up slightly better than average. We think it’s the sauce, which is savory but not super salty. Outside of that, there’s really not much flavor here. Lots of carrots that got mushy. Broccoli stayed crunchy. Chicken was just OK.

No. 25: Orange Chicken

Description: Breaded white meat chicken with rice and broccoli in an orange sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 310 | Fat 4.5g | Cholesterol 25mg | Sodium 760mg | Carbs 53g | Sugar 13g | Protein 14g

First ingredient: Oven Fried Breaded Chicken Breast with Rib Meat

Our thoughts: Smell/taste of sauce was good, better than average. Mushy chicken and rice but somehow the veggies still had some crunch. Very little actual “orange” flavor. Not flavorful enough. No spice. Is it white meat or is it rib meat? On balance this one is disappointing, not the most visually appealing meal.

No. 24: Spaghetti with meatballs

Description: Spaghetti with meatballs in a tomato sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 280 | Fat 4.5g | Cholesterol 20mg | Sodium 670mg | Carbs 43g | Sugar 5g | Protein 17g

First ingredient: Cooked Pasta

Our thoughts: Same feeling as spaghetti with meat sauce. Noodles too overdone. Tasted like it was out of a can. On the bland size, though we did get 5 whole meatballs. For what it’s worth, it did look like the picture.

No. 23: Herb Roasted Chicken

Description: White meat chicken and herb sauce with roasted potatoes and broccoli

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 180 | Fat 4.5g | Cholesterol 40mg | Sodium 580mg | Carbs 16g | Sugar 4g | Protein 18g

First ingredient: Cooked herb glazed chicken breast patties with rib meat

Our thoughts: Did have a nice roasted smell/taste. The sides were decent. Would eat again. Note to quality control: Yo, where are the mushrooms? Not a single one in the whole dish/box. Picture was definitely deceiving. Chicken was rubbery. Sauce was watery. No herbs, tasted except salt. Boring potatoes (few) and broccoli (good).

No. 22: Roasted turkey and vegetables

Description: Turkey tenderloins with roasted potatoes and green beans in gravy

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 190 | Fat 4g | Cholesterol 40mg | Sodium 650mg | Carbs 24g | Sugar 8g | Protein 15g

First ingredient: Water

Our thoughts: Serviceable, savory. Needs some additional spice. Too few cranberries to be found. Plenty of green beans, but they were soggy and limp. Slightly on the watery side as a whole. You need a spoon to eat this one. This is no surprise, as water is the first ingredient.

No. 21: Glazed turkey tenderloins

Description: Glazed turkey tenderloins with whipped sweet potatoes and dressing

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 300 | Fat 6g | Cholesterol 35mg | Sodium 530mg | Carbs 47g | Sugar 24g | Protein 14g

First ingredient: Sweet potatoes

Our thoughts: We get what they were going for here, but Thanksgiving shouldn’t taste sad… needs a shake of poultry seasoning. Gravy was good. Stuffing was OK. Very few cranberries. If you like your food separate, this one is not for you. It kinda all merged together. Great texture on potatoes and they had a sweet taste.

No. 20: Oven fried chicken with mashed potatoes

Description: Breaded white meat chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy and corn

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 300 | Fat 9g | Cholesterol 25mg | Sodium 790mg | Carbs 40g | Sugar 3g | Protein 14g

First ingredient: Potatoes

Our thoughts: Pete says: “I think as I’ve been eating these, there’s something about the mashed potatoes that just doesn’t cut it for me. They’re creamy, but too pasty.” We agree there’s too much breading on the chicken. Mushy!!! Lots of gravy on the potatoes. Lacks seasoning. Corn still had texture. Here’s another one to avoid if you want your food compartmentalized. More like a “bowl meal.”

No. 19: Spinach Artichoke Ravioli

Description: Spinach Artichoke Ravioli in a Parmesan sauce with vegetables

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 280 | Fat 7g | Cholesterol 30mg | Sodium 690mg | Carbs 41g | Sugar 7g | Protein 12g

First ingredient: Cooked spinach and artichoke ravioli

Our thoughts: Pete thought the sauce and ravioli filling were a good match, with good texture. Yadi felt the sauce was “bland, runny and had no flavor!” Well, we’re a united front here at “Best Of HQ,” but we’re not always going to agree on these things.

No. 18: Sticky Ginger Chicken

Description: White meat chicken with rice, vegetables and almonds in a ginger soy sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 290 | Fat 5g | Cholesterol 30mg | Sodium 630mg | Carbs 44g | Sugar 15g | Protein 16g

First ingredient: Cooked enriched long grain rice

Our thoughts: Lean Cuisine Asian items are among the better choices. Pete liked the ginger soy sauce, but the rice was mushy and had hard pieces. How does this happen? Almond slivers were few and far between but helped add some texture. Lots of chicken but “rather boring,” said Yadi. “Not much flavor.” We agree that “ginger” was an afterthought. Broccoli was crunchy. There were some actual “grill” markings on the chicken... but were they really?

No. 17: Butternut Squash Ravioli

Description: Butternut Squash Ravioli in sauce with snap peas and carrots

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 300 | Fat 7g | Cholesterol 20mg | Sodium 570mg | Carbs 49g | Sugar 10g | Protein 10g

First ingredient: Butternut Squash Ravioli

Our thoughts: The texture of the ravioli and sauce was appropriate, if a bit runny. Yadi felt “veggies were a bit limp, sauce was a runny, soupy mess.” Didn’t smell the best; at least the pasta seemed cooked appropriately.

No. 16: Steak Portabella

Description: Steak Portabella beef and mushrooms in a savory sauce with broccoli

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 190 | Fat 9g | Cholesterol 40mg | Sodium 800mg | Carbs 13g | Sugar 2g | Protein 14g

First ingredient: Broccoli

Our thoughts: Flavor was decent if not a bit bland; texture was gummy. Sporadic size pieces of proteins. Broccoli did have texture and a slight crunch even after cooking.

No. 15: Sweet and Sour Chicken

Description: Breaded white meat chicken with brown rice and vegetables in sweet and sour sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 330 | Fat 5g | Cholesterol 20mg | Sodium 850mg | Carbs 59g | Sugar 19g | Protein 13g

First ingredient: Cooked Brown rice

Our thoughts: Another solid LC Asian meal. Decent. Orange-y flavor in this one (but not the other? curious...) and not much “sweet and sour.” Some parts of the chicken were hard, while others were mushy. Lots of peppers and carrots, but rice was somewhat mushy.

No. 14: Garlic Sesame Asian-Style Noodles with beef

Description: Asian-style noodles with beef and vegetables in a garlic sesame sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 240 | Fat 4.5g | Cholesterol 30mg | Sodium 510mg | Carbs 35g | Sugar 9g | Protein 16g

First ingredient: Cooked Pasta

Our thoughts: Subtly garlicky sauce (more garlic please), beef was more tender than it looked. Veggies still had some crunch. Garlic was very subtle. Various sizes of meat. This was a lost opportunity to kick it up with the right sauce.

No. 13: Grilled Chicken Caesar

Description: White meat chicken, broccoli and pasta in a Parmesan garlic sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 260 | Fat 8g | Cholesterol 30mg | Sodium 600mg | Carbs 28g | Sugar 1g | Protein 19g

First ingredient: Cooked Pasta

Our thoughts: Liked the sauce, broccoli and chicken. Pete would have preferred rice (or riced cauliflower) as the preferred bedding option. Slight garlicky smell and taste. Yadi liked that it was a different noodle, but again they were overcooked. Chicken was not grilled but had a broiled taste.

No. 12: Baked Chicken

Description: White meat chicken with stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 260 | Fat 9g | Cholesterol 30mg | Sodium 670mg | Carbs 29g | Sugar 3g | Protein 15g

First ingredient: Water

Our thoughts: Serviceable for a quick meal, though not particularly memorable. Stuffing was good but make sure you mix it up. Some celery throughout. Chicken was rubbery but lots of it. Potatoes with chives were OK. They were creamy. Like that the container was split.

No. 11: Buffalo Style Chicken

Description: Grilled white meat chicken with a buffalo style sauce and mashed potatoes

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 210 | Fat 7g | Cholesterol 55mg | Sodium 820mg | Carbs 19g | Sugar 2g | Protein 18g

First ingredient: Potatoes

Our thoughts: The Buffalo flavor feels a bit forced. Could use some additional spices. Still, there’s a little kick to the chicken. Creamy potatoes but the gravy and buffalo get mixed up. We are still unclear how we feel about this.

No. 10: Chicken Parmesan

Description: Breaded white meat chicken with spaghetti in tomato sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 380 | Fat 13g | Cholesterol 45mg | Sodium 790mg | Carbs 44g | Sugar 8g | Protein 21g

First ingredient: Cooked pasta

Our thoughts: Pete says, “OK, I’ve decided I don’t like pasta in a micro dinner (save Stouffer’s Mac & Cheese).” But the chicken was decent. Somewhat cheesy, chicken had a nice flavor. But canned pasta taste and texture. Took longer to cook than the instructions indicated.

No. 9: Shrimp Alfredo

Description: Shrimp Alfredo with pasta and broccoli in a garlic Alfredo sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 280 | Fat 7g | Cholesterol 75mg | Sodium 690mg | Carbs 38g | Sugar 3g | Protein 16g

First ingredient: Cooked pasta

Our thoughts: Pasta was forgettable; everything else was decent and bumped up this score. Sauce was runny but the garlicky flavor was pretty nice. Yadi had 7 good-sized shrimp in hers, “good size for a TV dinner” she says. Pete had 6. Quality control, are you listening? Sauce thickened up as it sat.

No. 8: Maple Bourbon Chicken

Description: White meat chicken with a rice blend, pecans, sweet potatoes and cranberries in maple bourbon sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 350 | Fat 9g | Cholesterol 35mg | Sodium 700mg | Carbs 50g | Sugar 17g | Protein 17g

First ingredient: Cooked, grilled white meat chicken

Our thoughts: Wish this smelled more like it tastes. Liked the sides (texture) quite well. Pecans were minuscule. Had to really search to find ‘em. Runny, mushy rice. Cranberries gave a much-needed sweetness that somehow didn’t come across with maple flavor. The smell was apparent, but also had an after-taste. Only four bland sweet potato pieces, and they didn’t add much to the dish. On the whole, still intriguing. Maybe they’ll tweak this one some in the test kitchen.

No. 7: Tortilla Crusted Fish

Description: Tortilla-crusted fish with rice, poblano peppers and corn in a sour cream sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 320 | Fat 8g | Cholesterol 30mg | Sodium 440mg | Carbs 46g | Sugar 4g | Protein 15g

First ingredient: Tortilla-crusted Alaska Pollock

Our thoughts: Pete: “I think this was my favorite of all of the ones we ranked. Sauce really puts this one over the top. Would buy 4 for 10 again in a hot minute.” Yadi: “Creamy, slightly spicy/smoky. Cheesy but tasteless rice that was mushy. Nice-sized piece of fish. Smelled really fishy, microwave, kitchen stunk. Breading was soggy. Lots of veggies in rice.”

No. 6: Korean-Style Beef and Vegetables

Description: Beef with brown rice and vegetables in a sweet Korean-style sauce.

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 360 | Fat 9g | Cholesterol 25mg | Sodium 630mg | Carbs 56g | Sugar 15g | Protein 13g

First ingredient: Cooked brown rice

Our thoughts: “Protein Kick” implies an added healthy bent, so sides support this one well. Korean sauce was quite savory. Big sizes of meat. Rice was (again) soggy and watery. Veggies not bad, still had some crunch which was a plus. Our advice: Meat is where the flavor is and leave the rest.

No. 5: Salisbury steak with macaroni & cheese

Description: Salisbury steak with macaroni & cheese

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 250 | Fat 4.5g | Cholesterol 35mg | Sodium 760mg | Carbs 28g | Sugar 3g | Protein 23g

First ingredient: Water

Our thoughts: Salisbury steak w/ mac & cheese. Solid choice, sticks to your ribs. Savory, creamy. Only had a half of a mushroom in the whole tray (Pete had a few more). Lots of gravy, meat was soft and tender. Noodles were (surprisingly!) not too soggy. Lots of cheese. Flavored well. Gravy was thick. “Lack of mushrooms is my biggest complaint on this one,” says Yadi.

No. 4: Meatloaf with mashed potatoes

Description: Meatloaf with mashed potatoes

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 250 | Fat 7g | Cholesterol 50mg | Sodium 800mg | Carbs 25g | Sugar 4g | Protein 21g

First ingredient: Potatoes

Our thoughts: Pete: “Lean Cuisine Meatloaf. Solid. Probably would be my first choice to repurchase. Liked the chives in the mashed potatoes, which were surprisingly creamy.” Yadi: “No tomatoes in the sauce, meat was moist but bland, needed salt. There were some visible peppers and onions. Sauce did spill into the potatoes. But the potatoes were the best part of this meal. Sauce was a tad on the sweet side.”

No. 3: Ricotta cheese and spinach ravioli

Description: Ricotta cheese and spinach ravioli in a tomato garlic sauce

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 250 | Fat 6g | Cholesterol 20mg | Sodium 650mg | Carbs 40g | Sugar 10g | Protein 10g

First ingredient: Cheese and spinach ravioli

Our thoughts: Pete: “Something about the ricotta and sauce working together, I really dig this.” Yadi: “Flat like a pancake. Sweet, can’t really get much cheese from this (more cheese please!) and elevated Vodka-ish canned sauce. Upside: it did kinda look like the picture!”

No. 2: Roasted turkey breast

Description: Roasted turkey with herb dressing and cinnamon apples

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 300 | Fat 5g | Cholesterol 35mg | Sodium 770mg | Carbs 50g | Sugar 27g | Protein 13g

First ingredient: Apples

Our thoughts: The herb dressing and zesty apples save this one. Turkey was just OK. Apples were delicious. Delivered on the cinnamon; most “seasonal” feeling of all the turkey ones. Eat a bite of all three things at once, very tasty. More of a homemade taste. Best of all the turkey dinners we tried. Maybe it was the apples or dressing, but we’d both buy this one again.

No. 1: Swedish meatballs with pasta and gravy

Description: Swedish meatballs with pasta and gravy

Nutrition per serving:

Calories 300 | Fat 5g | Cholesterol 20mg | Sodium 690mg | Carbs 45g | Sugar 3g | Protein 18g

First ingredient: Cooked pasta

Our thoughts: Swedish Meatballs are decent, definitely saved by the sauce. 5 meatballs. Enough sauce to coat and have some left over. Meat was well seasoned. Lots of noodles, moist balls. Visible spices. No one on the planet will beat Ikea’s Swedish meatballs, but we digress. We didn’t have to build any furniture as penance to enjoy these. Best and most affordable of the bunch.

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