Dr. Gourmet's Food Reviews

Udi’s Gluten Free Sweet Potato Ravioli

Sweet Potato Ravioli and Ziti & Meatballs

We've been watching for the arrival of more frozen single-serving meals from Udi's Gluten Free since we discovered their new line back in March of last year. While their two variations on Mac and Cheese weren't terribly impressive, the lasagnas were much better, with the Broccoli & Kale Lasagna being particularly good. Two more varieties appeared in our local Whole Foods Market this week, so we snapped them up for review.

The Sweet Potato Ravioli (290 calories, 570 mg sodium, 3g fiber) are served with a sprinkling of shredded kale,a few dots of red bell pepper, and tiny bits of diced mushroom. The ravioli themselves are plump, with a nice al dente bite to the pasta and the whole in a clean, buttery sauce. The first thing you taste when you bite into the ravioli, however, is orange juice, which is your first indication that the whole is just a little too sweet. I would have liked to have seen this served with a lot more kale, which would have added a little bitterness to offset the sweetness, not to mention more fiber to the total. Overall? Just OK.

The Ziti & Meatballs (330 calories, 560 mg sodium, 3g fiber) are a different story. The ziti are just a little chewy, but very good gluten-free pasta, indeed, in a speecy, spicy sauce, bright with tomato flavor, a hint of red pepper flakes, and a nice tang of oregano. There are only three quarter-sized meatballs (there are only 330 calories, after all), but they're neither grainy, gummy, nor dry, with a full, meaty flavor. Gluten-free or no, this is a good to very good product that's easily on a par with any other frozen pasta meal - and better than many. Choose the Ziti over the Ravioli.

Udi's also has a line of gluten-free meals for two - we'll keep an eye out for them to add to our Serves Two category.

First posted: February 27, 2015