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.
Rose
No apology needed. Your posts are always enjoyed whenever they arrive. Family time is very important so ypu never should feel sorry about taking the needed time.
Cream of broccoli is always a go to favorite.
Rose
Oh and I am a subscriber…. since…. well a long time now. LOL.
Carol J
I love Tomato Basil soup so that will be my first Was already heading to Wal-Mart tomorrow so I will pick that and the 5 cheese up to try.
Carol J
Long time subscriber!! – I will be searching website for electric glass clean method for stove top. This site is always my go to!!
Linda Adamo
These meals sound like a winner to me! I especially like the way you added baking to the Mac and Cheese!
Linda Adamo
Hi! I am a subscriber. Both soups are some of my favorites. Basil is my go to flavor enhancer!
Carolsue
I have never tried these, but the broccoli and cheese soup sounds really yummy! I’d love to try that!
Ashley
Thank you for sharing, the 5 cheese Mac and cheese looks delicious!
Ashley
I am a subscriber 🙂
Courtney Oswald
I’ll be adding several of these to my grocery list, can’t wait to include them into our meal planning. Thanks for sharing!!
Courtney Oswald
Long time subscriber. ☺️ Love reading your newsletter and loved your book!!
Cara
I subscribed, confirmed, and am leaving my comment again. (I forgot to mention that in my earlier comment 😉)
Wanda
I will definitely be trying the tomato basil. THank you!
Wanda
Long time subscriber here!
Rhonda
I’m a subscriber I do like the articles you put out
Rhonda
I love the modern Walmart’s our is one of the smallest so I have to travel but we’ll worth it to get awesome deals
Jody Roberts
I look forward to trying them all. Walmart makes precooked yummy chicken strips which I might add to some of them to increase the protein. Thanks for sharing!
Trisha Archuleta
Thanks for sharing easy dinner ideas!
susan saeugling
thanks for the low-down I love to find out what others think before I buy
Mel
I agree with you that the tomato basil soup sounds like the best for me. Thanks for doing the homework for us all and good luck with the math competition.
Sway
All looks yummy. Is it non-gmo products?
Cindy
I would like to try their 5 Cheese Mac & Cheese.
Cindy
I am an email subscriber.
Dianne Park
I too am a tomato basil soup lover and I can’t wait to try that one.
Dianne Park
I am also a subscriber
Irene T.
The broccoli & cheese soup sounds delicious but my family doesn’t like soup so hopefully they’ll make these in single serve too so I can get it for myself!
Mary McDonald
I love tomato basil soup, but the chicken tortilla soup looks good as well.
Becky Seip
Enjoy reading your blog. Purchased the 2% Book a couple of months ago and pulled several good tips from it! I am a big ingredient reader and try to add a 3rd component to my grocery purchases that being Nutritional Value. Don’t like a lot of sodium or added preservatives in the food I feed my family but do enjoy the conscience of some of these foods. Thanks for your insight into options out there!
Becky Seip
And Tomato Basil with a Cheese Toastie is Always a win! 🙂
Jennifer
Looks amazing! Always love getting new tips & tricks for saving money, especially on food!
We just got our first delivery from Zaycon. I can pair some of that wonderful chicken with the mac& cheese & the tomato basil soup for a superb gourmet meal! Can’t wait to try it!
Marla Lutchen
The pictures of the soups look delicious. I have not trued any of them yet, but you’ve definitely given me a reason to! I think the tomato basil will be the first one I try. Yum! Thank you for all the great tips you share.
Cassie
Broccoli & Cheese Soup sounds so yummy
petra
As an eating out alternative, the soups would pair well with a sandwich or salad (just like the chain restaurants). I usually make homemade soup because I can make healthy versions with lower sodium and more veggies. These soups would work well in a pinch, though, and I like the variety of flavors offered.
Trisha Crowder
I had noticed the soup in the freezer section at Walmart and after your review I will be giving it a try.
Val in MN
We LOVE tomato basil soup when we go out, so I would try that first
Val in MN
I am also an email subscriber
Tomeka
Great review! The tomato basil soup looks like a winner.
Brenda Haines
The Tomato Basil looks so yummy and that mac n cheese I have got to try!
Brenda Haines
I am a new subscriber. I just confirmed with the email. Thanks for the chance!
Virginia
You don’t need to apologize for putting your family first and congratulations to your daughter. I will try the broccoli and cheese soup and the 5 cheese mac and cheese.
Brenda Trani
I wonder if you can do a comparison taste test of these products next to the same made from scratch? Price comparison along with taste? Congrats on your daughter’s success!! You must be so proud!
Dorothy
The Tomato Basil soup would be first, then the Five Cheese Mac following. Minimum clean up is always nice too. I subscribe and enjoy your emails thank you
Valerie Pafford
These look great, and I’d love to try them, but is the sodium content sky high? We have to eat a low sodium diet for my husband’s health, so most convenience foods like this don’t fit this category.
Lisa Basye
Thanks for the info on the soups. Ill check them out on my next monthly visit to Walmart. Already a subscriber and glad for you daughters good work! You go girl.
Angela Hendricks
I have not tried these products but I would love to try the mac and cheese and tomato basil soup! Sounds yummy for a date night in!
Jacque DeBoard
Thank you for these comparisons!! My family and I will try these tonight. Great suggestions and money saving advice!!
Jacque DeBoard
I’ve been a subscriber for a few years. No apology needed, I always look forward to your emails, insight, and appreciate the work you put into sharing ways to reduce debt and save money. Thank you most sincerely!!
Kat
Appreciate your candid reviews. I will definitely try these because of your comments. Thanks!
Elizabeth Robinson
Will be trying the broccoli and cheese soup and probably the loaded baked potato as well.
Great article!
Elizabeth Robinson
I’m also a subscriber. 🙂