Trader Joe's Chicken Tikka Masala Review
Product Name: Trader Joe's Chicken Tikka Masala
Product Description: Chunks of white meat chicken simmered in a flavorful, creamy tomato sauce and served with basmati rice.
Brand: Trader Joe's
Offer price: 5.49
Currency: USD
-
Flavor
-
Value
-
Healthy
Summary
Trader Joe’s Chicken Tikka Masala is a delicious meal. There is plenty of chicken and the sauce is flavorful and complex. While there are plenty of flavors the overall spiciness of the dish is “Mild”.
The meal has two servings and, at a current price of $5.49, is an incredible bargain.
This is as good or better than some of the chicken tikka masala I have eaten at Indian restaurants.
Pros
Delicious
Great Value
Healthy
Cons
The dish is so good that I eat too much.
Trader Joe’s Chicken Tikka Masala is a refrigerated meal for two that heats up in just a few minutes.
The dish features large chunks of chicken, simmered in a flavor packed creamy tomato sauce, which are served over a bed of basmati rice.
Chicken Tikka Masala Nutrition, Ingredients and Labelling
Let’s take a closer look at what you get with this refrigerated meal.
Nutrition Facts
You get one tray of chicken tikka masala per package. There is a full p0und of food in the package and which makes it enough food to equal two servings.
The nutrition facts for a single serving (1/2 container) are:
- Calories: 290
- Fat: 9g (14% DV)
- Cholesterol: 60mg (20% DV)
- Sodium: 640mg (27% DV)
- Carbohydrates: 36g (12% DV)
- Protein: 18g
From a nutrition standpoint the dish is very healthy. A single serving has less than 300 calories, is high in protein and is relatively low in salt and cholesterol.
Heck, you could even eat both servings and it would still be much, much healthier than a McDonald’s cheeseburger meal.
Ingredient List
The Chicken Tikka Masala has the following ingredients:
- Chicken
- Tomatoes
- Basmati rice
- Onions
- Water
- Yogurt
- Butter
- Spices (over 15 listed: Coriander, Garam Masala, Star Anise, Turmeric, etc)
- Sugar
- Olive oil
- Cashews
- Cream
- Salt
- Garlic
- Ginger
There are a LOT of different flavors packed into this dish.
Labelling
The labelling indicates that this product is:
- Gluten Free
This product is not labelled as Organic or Halal.
Heating and Serving the Chicken Tikka Masala
Here is how I heated the dish before it became my lunch 🙂
Heating Instructions
The heating instructions for this product are:
- Remove the tray from the box.
- Puncture both sides (Masala and Rice) of the film with multiple holes for venting.
- Microwave on High for three minutes.
- Let the meal stand for 1-2 minutes.
- Remove the film.
- Place the basmati rice in a bowl and top with the Chicken Tikka Masala.
How Does Trader Joe’s Chicken Tikka Masala Taste?
I am a big fan of Indian food and I do not like to be disappointed by lame attempts at prepared meals (I’m looking at you Chicken Biryani!) I will admit that I was hesitant about trying a tikka masala that could go from the refrigerator to the table in under five minutes.
It turns out that Trader Joe’s chicken tikka masala is pretty dang tasty!
Their was a ton of chicken, plenty of sauce and a nice amount of rice. There is absolutely enough food to make a delightful lunch for two people. Alternatively, you could eat the whole thing for a late brunch and then spend the next hour groaning that you shouldn’t have eaten that much. And yes….I ate the whole thing.
The flavor profile was exactly what I wanted:
- Rich
- Creamy
- Complex
The packaging says the chicken is in a “spiced tomato sauce” but that just means lots of spices were used. This dish is absolutely not “Spicy Hot”. From a “Spiciness” level I would rate the meal as “Mild”.
This was a great meal that exceeded my expectations and I will be buying it again.