Can Frozen Appetizers Taste Homemade?

The human thirst for variety shows in every portion of our society, but rarely more so than in the freezer case at your local grocery store. There, in an aisle or three, you have a stunning panoply of foods of all types.

Want chicken tikka for dinner? Thin-crust pizza topped with arugula and goat cheese for lunch? How about southern-style biscuits and gravy for breakfast?

That hunger for variety extends easily into the world of frozen appetizers. Sure, the old standbys sell by the bucketloads, and they're fairly tasty, but eventually you're going to get bored and go searching for something new.

You might feel like you've gone down the rabbit hole when you try to wrap your brain around the sheer number of options you'll have. Between different ethnic and pseudo-ethnic varieties and different flavor variations on myriad themes, you could eat for weeks and not taste the same thing twice.

Of course, a great number of the things you'd try would be, shall we say, nasty. It's always been that way with frozen food … the hits are big ones, but the misses are just as huge.

In this article, we'll sample some of the newer appetizer offerings out there and let you in on the winners and losers. A panel of five testers awarded a maximum of 20 points apiece to each entry based on flavor, appearance and overall impression.

Pillsbury Savorings (4 pieces): 250 calories, 16 grams fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 450 mg sodium, 21 grams carbs.

These are unique. Rather than reheating already-cooked pastry or bread shells, you're actually cooking them. As such, they take longer to cook than any similar items, but the extra time is very much worth it. The pastry shell is light and flaky, and the filling, in this case mozzarella and pepperoni, is abundant and flavorful. The only downside was a slightly greasy texture on the bottoms. Final score: 92.

World Classics Artichoke and Spinach Purses (3 pieces): 230 calories, 11 grams fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 440 mg sodium, 24 grams carbs.

Have you ever been enjoying a crock of hot spinach and artichoke dip and thought to yourself, "Hey! I'd love this so much more if only it was contained in a tasty pastry shell so it wouldn't drip all over my shirt"? If you have, or especially if you're looking for a frozen appetizer sure to fool your friends into thinking you made it, you'll love this. The look is somewhat similar to a crab rangoon, with a wonton wrapper-like shell twisted together at the top containing a smooth, rich, very tasty spinach-artichoke filling. Final score: 96.

Health and Wealth Vegetarian Potato Skins (2 pieces): 110 calories, 7 grams fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 440 mg sodium, 8 grams carbs.

Depending on your degree of vegetarianism, these may not fit your definition, as they use real milk in the cheddar cheese. Sadly, that milk does not result in the flavor of real cheddar cheese. The potato shells are dry, the cheese flavorless and the soy bacon bits almost completely flavorless. The price on these is steep enough that you might expect better quality, but you won't find it. Final score: 66.

Jose Ole; Mini Chimichangas (3 pieces): 340 calories, 17 grams fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 700 mg sodium, 38 grams carbs.

The only thing "mini" about these is the size, and even though they are smaller than full-size chimis, they're still pretty beefy. The steak and cheddar variety was the one tested, and while the steak tasted suspiciously like hamburger, overall it was quite satisfying. There was a nice kick of spice and the cheese was very rich. Final score: 85.

Poppers Cheddar Cheese Jalapenos (3 pieces): 200 calories, 11 grams fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 620 mg sodium, 20 grams carbs.

Stuffed jalapeños are a must-have for many snackers, but the muted heat in these is likely to lead to fiery food frustration. There's a good initial flavor of jalape%#241;o but the heat that should follow the flavor never really materializes. The biggest "spice wimp" in the testing group was able to eat them without complaint. Lack of heat aside, though, they were very cheesy and quite pleasing. Final score: 82.

Tyson Cheddar and Jalapeno Chicken Bites (4 pieces): 200 calories, 11 grams fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 450 mg sodium, 13 grams carbs.

Unlike the Poppers, these really delivered in the heat department. The heat hits you on the first bite and builds to a nice burn after the first couple of pieces. However, the somewhat rubbery texture of the chicken and the greasy aftertaste the coating left ruined the party a bit. Final score: 84.

Overall, the new breed of frozen appetizers is encouraging. There are some chances taken with flavors that were unheard-of a decade ago. Ethnic dishes are metamorphosing into bite-size goodies that, while they may not occupy prime spaces in your grocer's freezer, are worth hunting for.

From this group, the World Classics and Pillsbury entries were the clear standouts in terms of quality. Based solely on price, the Pillsbury sensations win the best buy title by a whisker.