Stouffer's Lasagna Is Better Than You'd Expect

My in-laws started this tradition: Every year, they stop at the only grocery store in town and pick up a family-sized box of Stouffer’s Lasagna with Meat & Sauce to restore us after a long day on the slopes.

At first, I was skeptical when my father-in-law excitedly popped the hulking frozen slab into the oven. I’m from Rhode Island, which has a massively influential “red sauce Italian” food scene, and I couldn’t imagine a frozen lasagna measuring up. But when it emerged from the oven—gooey, blistered, and with crunchy pasta corners—I had no choice but to give it a chance. 

Many years and many frozen lasagnas later, I’m a Stouffer’s convert. While some pre-made freezer dinners are a letdown, this cheesy, hefty lasagna is consistently better than you expect. The pasta is thick and has a nice, al-dente chew, and layers of real ricotta and tangy, hearty tomato sauce divide each stratus. This standard version contains just beef (the meat lover’s version contains pepperoni, beef, Italian sausage, and pork). And it’s all topped off with mounds of gooey mozz. I dare say it’s better than many lasagnas I’ve had in the Ocean State (sacrilege, I know, and now I might have to watch my back in my hometown). 

There are a few different kinds you can find in the grocery store, and they’re all stellar: Meatless, Veggie Lovers, Meat Lovers, Italian, and Cheese Lovers, which my partner recently purchased. Yes, we now eat Stouffer’s lasagna outside of ski season. And it tastes just as good at home on a Tuesday night as it does after a few hours of skiing in New Hampshire.