Have you seen the new Great Value Gourmet Soups and Mac & Cheese selections at your local Walmart yet? We recently heard about this and wanted to give them a try as they are said to be compared to the quality and taste of those found at casual dining restaurants (i.e. chain restaurants).
Today, we are reviewing these new selections and also giving away a $50 Walmart gift card.
For example, according to reviews, many are saying that these soups are compared to the similar varieties found at Panera Bread. We really enjoy eating at Panera Bread, but it is not very often because they are a bit pricey.
In addition, our kids LOVE the the Pub Mac & Cheese from Red Robin. We get one to share between two kids as it is FAR better than the expensive yellow mac & cheese kids meals. But even this is not that frequently as it is still pricey to take a family out to eat.
That is why we occasionally like to explore the freezer options for these restaurant-style dishes at home. It generally means that we can feed everyone a similar meal for 1/4th of the cost.
And this case is no exception! In fact the soups are so-panera-style that they also include croutons like the restaurant.
But the real question is….how do these Great Value Soups and Mac & Cheese compare?
Price comparison
The first and often one of the top comparisons for all of us budget-minded families is the price. I know that we can’t eat “restaurant style” everyday, but if we can eat restaurant-style at home instead of eating out, we can get that much closer to our goals.
So I am not comparing the prices for “everyday eating” but for those alternatives to eating out.
Great Value Soups are in the freezer section
Walmart is offering 4 different varieties of soups:
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Tomato Basil Soup
- Broccoli and Cheese Soup
Each one serves 4 people. The price of these soups is $5.48.
This makes them only $1.37 per serving. This is literally less than 1/4th of the “eating out price.”
When you are at Walmart, you can find these soups in the “convenience foods” freezer section.
Great Value Mac & Cheese in the freezer section
Walmart is offering 2 different varieties of Mac & Cheese:
- Classic Mac & Cheese, and
- 5 Cheese Mac & Cheese
The 5 Cheese Mac & Cheese reminded me of my kids’ favorite restaurant mac & cheese – the Pub Mac & Cheese from Red Robin as this is also a 5-cheese version with bread crumbs on top.
Each one contains 3.5 servings. The price of the Great Value Mac & Cheese is $4.98. This makes each serving $1.42. Since Red Robin is 5 times this price, this also is a REALLY GREAT VALUE!
The Mac & Cheese was located with the soups. In our local store, the Great Value Mac & Cheese was located in the “Entrees” freezer section.
Cooking Ease and Options
We chose these three products as they are our favorite “restaurant” soups and mac & cheese for our family specialty dinner.
This is what they looked like when we opened the packages:
Another thing that I noticed about these Great Value casual restaurant varieties was the many options for cooking these dishes. I was intrigued and excited that the microwave was not the only option for these freezer meals. And along those same lines, that the conventional oven was also not the second or only option.
I get tired of trying to make a fast and convenient meal from the freezer either in the microwave or oven.
With both the soups and the mac & cheese, they have 4-5 options for cooking:
For the soup, you can cook it by:
- Microwave
- Stockpot
- Slow Cooker (YAY!)
- Stovetop
For the mac & cheese, you can cook it by:
- Microwave
- Stockpot
- Slow Cooker (YAY!)
- Stovetop
- Oven
I LOVE having all of these options. I personally chose to cook the soup by the stovetop (thawing method) and the mac & cheese by stockpot, topping it off by baking it in the oven for that crispy, cheesy, top!
My experience cooking the soups:
We had the Great Value Broccoli & Cheese Soup and the Great Value Tomato Basil Soup. I wanted to cook it on the stovetop like how soup is normally cooked.
Since it was frozen, I thawed it in a stockpot of tap hot water for about 10-15 minutes.
They went in the stock pot of tap hot water.
After 10-15 minutes, they were mostly defrosted.
After they were defrosted enough to put in a stock pot, we just poured them out into the pan. They had some frozen chunks still, thus the clumpiness of the Broccoli Cheese Soup and the wateriness of the tomato soup.
I only had to cook them on the stove top for about 6-7 minutes at this point. I did notice that the tomato soup really had to be whisked to make one uniform consistency.
After that, they were done in just over 20 minutes total from freezer to table.
When I made the Great Value 5-Cheese Mac & Cheese, I decided to go with the stockpot cooking option. It was so easy. I just dropped the frozen bag into a stockpot of boiling water. The instructions say to boil for 10 minutes if thawed and 35 minutes if frozen.
I was cooking from frozen. I planned to bake the topping and finish is off with a baked finish. So I noticed that the mac and cheese looked thoroughly steamy hot after about 25 minutes. So I only boiled it for 25 minutes from frozen.
I then poured into a baking dish:
I then topped it with the included topping:
I popped it in the oven at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
It was beautiful with that delicious extra crunchy, baked element. I love topping off gourmet mac and cheese in the oven.
So I was VERY pleased with the ease of cooking, outside of a microwave or conventional oven.
Taste
Since these options passed the price and cooking test, the final test was the taste. If the taste wasn’t there, then who cares about the other factors? Right?!?
Great Value Broccoli & Cheese Soup
My kids LOVED this soup. I tasted it as well and it did taste like it had just come out of a Panera-type kitchen. I personally am not much of a cheese soup person, but they liked the dish dry.
Great Value Tomato Basil Soup
I personally opted for Tomato Basil. Most of my kids were not too fond of it. But Tomato Basil is one of my favorite soups.
I think it a bit sophisticated for their little palate. But I really, really enjoyed the Tomato Basil soup.
It was the perfect choice for me. I will buy and eat this over and over again for date night in with Alex. It’s a perfect solution.
Great Value 5-Cheese Mac & Cheese
This was also a total winner! It was so, so good! The thing that surprised me was that I expected the noodles to be a bit squishy and a gross consistency. At least this is what I expected from frozen to cooked noodles from my past experiences. But they were actually perfect, slightly al dente, which is how we like it. So only boiling for 25 minutes and baking for 8-10 minutes was PERFECT.
The 5-cheese blend was amazing and my kids said they thought it tasted EXACTLY like their favorite restaurant version. So I am happy to have found an option to save a bit of money on eating out.
In the end, these options are really a stellar alternative to the restaurant versions. Now you can have family or date night in and enjoy the same kind of meal for a fraction of the cost.
Enter to Win A $50 Walmart Gift Card
Now that we have shared an alternative to eating out that will save you loads of money, we want to make it even more awesome for one of you! We will be giving away a $50 Walmart gift card so that you can have a totally free date night in or family night in.
It’s easy to enter! All you have to do is leave a comment! But we would also love for you to try these out and share your pictures and thoughts with us too.
Enter by leaving comments like:
- Which product(s) seem of most interest to you?
- Have you tried these yet?
- Would you use an alternative like this for eating out?
- What product DID you try (and share a picture with us!)
- Whatever you want about this topic!
BONUS ENTRY:
You can also receive one bonus entry for subscribing to our weekly money-saving/money-making newsletter HERE, then confirm your subscription by clicking on the confirmation link in your emai. Once you have done that leave a comment that you subscribed AND confirmed your subscription.
This giveaway will run through Monday, March 31st at 11:59 pm MST. The winners will be selected randomly and will be notified via email. Must be 18+ to enter and reside in the United States. The information collected is utilized for entry into this giveaway only.
This is a sponsored post, written by me, and my opinions solely. We strive to provide real and helpful information for a money-conscious audience in all of the posts we provide.
Ruth
I would like to try to make bread bowls to serve these soups in .
Jodie hodges
I haven’t tried the soups yet but would for sure!
Charla McCracken
I haven’t tried any of these yet, but the soups look like a wonderful option.
Shirley
I will try the one of the soup options.
Gloria
I haven’t tortured the soups but so looking forward to trying them.
Gloria
LOL… it’s supposed to say tried not tortured….oh that self correct.
Charla McCracken
I already subscribe and enjoy getting your newsletters.
Stacy
I did not know that Walmart had these new yummy dinners. I just discovered tomato basil soup at my local Sam’s club and at my local Smith’s grocery store. I am in love and always have a container in my fridge for a quick meal or snack. I can’t wait to try the Walmart brand now. Thanks for the review!
Brenda
I make those soups from scratch and wouldn’t normally buy soup but your review makes it sound like something my boys could handle when I’m not home. Might have to try them out!
Laurie Dzyak
Have not found this yet at our local Walmart, want to try the mac n cheese and the potato soup!
Brenda
Glad I already subscribe and saw this giveaway 😊
Cathy Singleton
My husband and I have seen these in the freezer section but have not tried them yet. I love Tomato Bisque soup and will probably try the Tomato Basil soup first. I am looking forward to a reasonably priced substitute for Restaurant favorites.
Sarah C
I am huge fan of Panera Breads Broccoli and Cheese soup and it is a little expensive to make, so this might be a good alternative. I can’t wait to try it!
Sarah C
I am also already an email subscriber.
Janette G Lilley
We’re retired, empty nesters. We are always looking for easy to prepare meals, frozen meals included Our budget rarely allows eating out, and because of health issues ( my husband has no stomach, but eats semi normal food) eating out isn’t fun anyway. So, thanks for reviewing these, I see the mac and cheese and potato soup in our future plus broccoli cheese we might try.
I hate trying to coordinate cooking in the microwave, by the time one thing is cooked, another is cold.
Deborah Bolin
These soups look amazing and I cannot wait to try them. It looks like they would be a quick dinner during the week after a long day at work.
L. Schock
I also have been a subscriber for a long time, and I am glad to hear all is well. It is amazing how connected we become to online subscriptions like this, without even meeting! Your ideas are always thoughtful and interesting. I typically make everything from scratch, but I did try the broccoli soup and found it very tasty. I would use it when I host a luncheon. I find Wal-Mart is really increasing the quality of their products in all areas- nice!
michele moore
I think I’m interested in the Mac & Cheese for my husband & myself. It would be for our date night…having dinner in but without me having to cook.
Susan Achterberg
Sounds like a good deal for a quick meal instead of eating out. Thanks for letting us know.
Allison K Anderson
I want to try the soup!!!
Mona Quinn
Hope to try, especially the mac n cheese. My grandsons are fiends!
Michelle
I haven’t tried any of these products yet but the soups like very convenient for quick meal nights.
Michelle
Already a newsletter subscriber. Thanks for the great content!
Lois
I have not yet tried any of these. I love soup and Mac and cheese though so will be trying all of them soon, starting with the mac and cheese.
anne harris
I haven’t tried any of the flavors yet, but I’d try the chicken tortilla!! Or the broccoli cheddar.
anne harris
I’m commenting as a subscriber!!
Barb
I will most definitely try the soups. We have bought the Panera brand at Hy-Vee on occasion, but it is still on pricey sided. My middle child is very picky and she loves the Panera Broccoli soup. Thank you for this post!
Barb
I already subscribe to your weekly newsletter!
Rose
Have not yet tried these, but definitely would like to try the mac n cheese, and baked potato soup!! Sounds like they taste great and the price is good for the # of servings!! I think I accidentally subscribed twice : )
CS Odeen
Hmmmm… Something to consider, for sure! I’m always reluctant to try the “new” or next-great (value!) thing because if it stinks (and some GV items definitely do!), you’re out the $$. Thanks for the review.
Patty Lack
I will def. give this a try. Since we are I. Such a rural area it will be great to have these handy for a good and quick supper!!
Karen
I definitely would use these products instesd of going out to eat. A few bowls of soup adds up to quite a bit of $. Nice to know I can have the same quality for much less.
Sherri Rochester
I am excited to try the mac n cheese and the chicken tortilla soup. I know hubby will love the broccoli & cheese soup
Karen
I’m subscribed to your newsletter. Thanks for the giveaway
Tammy
I am so glad I read this! I am always looking for new, yet easy meals for my hubby and I and all these are perfect! Especially can’t wait to try the tomato basil soup..yum..already a subscriber to your wonderful newsletter!
Susan Cox
These soups look great. I will definitely be trying the soup and the macaroni and cheese!
Vickie
Awe there you all are! Welcome Back!
We do love great value mac and cheese. All of us.
Vickie
subscriber bonus.
I haven’t tried these soups yet, but will grab the cream of broccoli. We all LOVE this soup.
THANKS
Eileen
Enjoy reading your posts and will have to try the soups.
Laura H
I love tomato basil soup, but haven’t found a canned version that I love. I’ll have to look for this frozen one!
Laura H
Subscriber bonus entry
I’ll have to try the mac n cheese for my kids as well.
Bridgett
Thanks, I was wondering about the broccoli cheddar soup. Can’t wait to try it. Glad to hear all is well
Terri Fullerton
I have never seen these selections. We don’t usually shop at Walmart because of their business practices that seem extremely unfair to their employees and the community at large.
Terri Fullerton
I am a subscriber to your newsletter already. It was mentioned that we should make a second comment for a bonus entry.
Carol G
I have not seen these products in our local Walmart. Although I make my own soups, I would be willing to try one of these by Walmart.
Donna
I’d like to try the Broccoli cheese soup. I like to keep a few quick options in the freezer for those days I don’t feel like cooking.
Donna
I already receive the newsletter and appreciate your tips and hints.
Susan Moberly
I already am a subscriber.
Betty
Because of allergies I have to cook from scratch, but would use a gift card for fresh items. I read your newsletters and appreciate your suggestions.
Susan Moberly
I have not tried any of these but they all sound great. We love soup so will give them a try. My three grandsons and I love mac and cheese. Sounds as good as homemade… Sure easier…
Charla Billington
Tomato Basil is my favorite soup. I will have to try this one, especially at this price.