9 Meals at Walmart That Aren’t Worth the Money
Written by
Nicholas Morine
Edited by
Rebekah Evans
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Walmart has a reputation as an budget-friendly grocery leader, from its famous rollbacks to its wide selection of food items, from frozen to fresh produce and meats.
But are all of its offerings actually worth your hard-earned dollars? A variety of sources provided answers to that question and some of the items to avoid may be surprising.
Gordon Ramsay’s Frozen Dinners
Gordon Ramsay may have made a name for himself, but his frozen entrees leave the value proposition slightly cold at the dining room table, according to JoAnn Ryan, writing for Medium.
Ryan sampled the shepherd’s pie, chicken pot pie and lasagna with Bolognese meat sauce, each frozen meal (like this lemon caper chicken bowl) coming in at around the $6 mark.
The trio underwhelmed the food writer, with each being described as, respectively: “moderately tasty” but with a “rather small portion size;” “bland” and not as good as the Marie Calendar’s alternative; and not “anything to write home about,” with the ricotta cheese tasting “a little funny.”
At a hefty price premium for a frozen dinner, perhaps it’s better to steer clear of chef Ramsay’s lineup.
Great Value White Bread, Frozen Tilapia and Lasagna
With FinanceBuzz making the rounds to check out several private label products coming from Walmart itself, three different products in particular received low grades from the outlet and the reviewers cited.
First up: Great Value white sandwich bread. Despite the low price tag of $1.42, the bread allegedly tends to be dry and has the tendency to go stale quickly — even as compared to in-house branded bread from competitors Kroger and Safeway.
Next on the list were Great Value Tilapia skinless fillets ($5.94), which was described as low quality. One quoted reviewer claimed that tiny bones were present throughout this product when they’d purchased it.
If you didn’t like the sticker price of the Gordon Ramsay lasagna, the Great Value ($2.97) single-serve option may not be worthwhile, either. Even at it’s low price point, it was described as overpriced and lower in quality than alternatives from other grocery chains — particularly Dollar Tree, which offers an economical comparable for just $1.25.
Fresh Produce, Meat and Seafood
Covering a swathe of fresh meats, seafood and produce, Eat This, Not That! gave the blue-and-yellow brand a big thumbs down on all fronts.
Beef and poultry were singled out as often being spoiled or at least gravely disappointing — one customer described the chicken as “not at all edible” and a second as “woody,” while beef was “disturbingly gray in color” and the retailer was blamed for selling nearly expired beef for full price.
Walmart’s seafood menu fared no better, with the pre-portioned salmon earning 1.8 stars out of 5 from reviewers — rotten being the key word emphasized in one review quoted by the outlet.
Finally, the poll results of an Eat This, Not That! survey gestured toward the quality or lack thereof, of the retailer’s produce. Walmart placed first in the reader survey of which major grocer sold the worst fresh fruits and vegetables.
It’s worth mentioning that taste in food is a subjective matter and that opinions vary. Otherwise, Walmart wouldn’t be posting positive financials on a yearly basis.
Editor’s note: Pricing and availability may vary depending on location.
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