Trader Joe’s added a new Mexican-inspired entree to its freezer section with the arrival of Trader Joe’s Chicken Chilaquiles Rojo ($4.99). Although you can’t throw this one in the microwave, it cooks on the stovetop in about 10 minutes.
Trader Joe’s Chicken Chilaquiles Rojo filling is a mix of chicken, poblanos, onions, pinto beans and bell peppers. The bag also comes with separate packets of tortilla chips, cotija cheese and chile sauce. The bits of chicken actually have some grill marks. Promising.
All you need to have in the pantry is 1 T. of oil. You throw the chicken and vegetable mixture in a pan, cook it for 4-5 minutes, add the thawed sauce packet and 1/2 a cup of water, and then add the chips at the end. Sprinkle with cheese and serve hot. Easy peasy.
Although the bag claims 2.5 servings, I could easily finish this off myself. If I’m being generous, I’d say it serves two. You can get some extra mileage out of it by making a couple of scrambled eggs to go with it. The thing is, while the ingredient list is pretty clean, it’s also high in sodium: 1300 mg if you eat the whole thing.
So let’s get into the nitty-gritty. There’s decent amount of chicken, without any weird bits. The sauce is…inoffensive. Maybe its because it’s a tomato-based chile sauce instead of straight up chile sauce, but it’s not particularly intense. Obviously, they’re trying to appeal to all sorts of palates, but for me, it needs a little more zip. Definitely some hot sauce. I think a vegetarian version minus the chicken would be great, too. (I think you could actually make this almost from scratch with ingredients from TJ’s).
On the whole, Trader Joe’s Chicken Chilaquiles Rojo is fine. If you eat a lot of Mexican food made from scratch, you probably won’t be impressed. But if it’s a weeknight, you just got home from work, you’re tired and you just want something quick and hot, this fits the bill.
Check out some of our other recent “We Trieds” from Trader Joe’s:
Trader Joe’s Neapolitan Joe-Joe’s Ice Cream
Trader Joe’s Italian Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce
Trader Joe’s Sparkling Coconut Water with Yuzu
