9 Frozen Pastas You Can Find At Walmart, Ranked

Pasta dinners are popular throughout America, in several different cultural cuisines. Chances are high that you cook pasta for your family as often as once a week or more, whether served in brown gravy, red sauce, white sauce, or something else. While the dishes may vary, there's one thing all delicious pasta dinners have in common — they take a long time to make from scratch. Thankfully, frozen pastas have stepped in to make things easier and faster for those busy nights when from-scratch meals are just impossible. Of course, not every frozen pasta is worth your hard-earned money. Some are downright unpalatable, and discovering which is which through trial and error can cause a lot of headache.

The good news is that you can skip the trial and error when it comes to frozen pastas you can find at Walmart. I was given the opportunity to taste test nine different options and rank them from worst to best, so you know exactly which ones are most worth it. My judgments were based on taste and pricing versus quality and quantity of the food received. All prices are based on my local Walmart in New Jersey, and may vary slightly in other locations. I relied heavily on my food industry background and a great love of pasta to make these decisions. Now, ready to discover your new favorite frozen pastas from Walmart? Let's get into it.

The Stouffer's Spaghetti with Meat Sauce is an individual portion of spaghetti noodles, red sauce, and ground meat for just over $3. I personally think the pricing is a little high for the quality and quantity of food provided, but it's not astronomically so.

The spaghetti sauce in this frozen pasta meal tastes weird, like it's a little too sweet and artificial. There are definite chemical notes from the red sauce itself, as well as the meat that's been combined with it — the meat, particularly, tastes really fake. Then there are the spaghetti noodles. From the first bite, they have an odd, slimy texture that's super off-putting, and when combined with the other aspects of this meal, the entire thing ends up being incredibly bad.

I would not eat this again if it were served to me, and definitely won't be purchasing it again. You're better off making homemade spaghetti with some Italian tomato sauce instead (which can be perfectly paired with fresh garlic bread, if you prefer).

This was the first time I'd seen Gordon Ramsay's pre-made meal kits, and I was honestly really excited to try this one. For just under $6, you receive two small pieces of layered lasagna filled with a chicken and cheese concoction, that's practically swimming in Alfredo sauce. For the price point, I think the serving size is a little small, but I recognize the fact that you pay more for Ramsay's name.

I first tasted a bit of the sauce on its own, which was pretty good flavor-wise. Texturally, it was a little chunky, which I wasn't expecting, so I found it a little off-putting at first. But once I got used to the texture, the sauce was actually pretty fantastic. Unfortunately, the chicken bits in this lasagna tasted artificial to me, and the lasagna noodles had a weird texture — it was like they were almost slimy but not quite. The seasoning was fine, but the dish overall was a bit of a letdown.

Although this isn't exactly the worst thing I've ever eaten, I wouldn't eat it again and definitely won't be buying another. I find this a little unfortunate, since I rather liked the idea of an Alfredo lasagna, and may try my hand at recreating this at home in lieu of my classic homemade lasagna.

Marie Callender's Fettuccini with Chicken and Broccoli costs about $3.50, which I think is a fair price considering the name brand and portion size ... or at least, that's what I would say if it had been a better experience. Unfortunately, I found myself let down overall by this pre-made frozen pasta.

I want to start my taste test notes off on a positive note, so I'll say that the Alfredo sauce is actually really good. It's creamy, rich, and perfectly seasoned to the point where I have zero complaints about that specific aspect of the dish. Unfortunately, the noodles coated in that perfect sauce are a little weird, but the fact that they're less weird than lower-ranking options is why this Marie Callender's meal ranked higher. Additionally, the broccoli is a little mushy in some parts and still frozen in others when cooked according to the package's instructions, and the chicken was just okay.

I might eat this again if it were served to me, if only for the fantastic Alfredo sauce. But I wouldn't go out of my way to purchase it for my household again, and don't recommend you do, either.

This Swedish Meatballs meal was the better of the two frozen pasta options from Marie Callender's. This one costs under $3, which I think is a good price for the amount of food you get, as well as for the overall quality of the meal.

The brown gravy here is really good, and seasoned nicely. I did add a pinch of extra salt and pepper after my first few bites, but that's just a personal preference thing and not anything against the profile of the meal itself. The noodles have a nice taste and texture, which is a relief after suffering through so many slimy noodles. Sadly, what costs this meal in its overall ranking is that the meatballs, while okay, have a noticeable artificial taste to them. Also, I had to cook this meal an extra minute past what the instructions on the box said.

Despite the artificial-tasting meatballs, I'd eat this again if it were served to me. However, I probably wouldn't purchase it again for myself based on personal preference, and recommend you opt for higher ranking meals instead.

This is the part of the list where the items go from "just okay" to actually good, so feel free to pull out your pen and start adding to your Walmart shopping list now. These Great Value Cheese Tortellini cost almost $7, which I think is a great deal when you consider how large the Family Size bag is. You can definitely feed a standard family of four from this bag, with enough for seconds — you can trust me, because I did just that.

These are perfectly fine tortellini and are comparable to any other frozen tortellini I've ever had — not better, but not worse, either. In fact, this is the reason this pasta is ranked in the middle of this list. That being said, the only real complaint I have is that the pasta itself was a little hard when cooked according to the instructions on the bag, but this was easy to fix. After my initial taste test of the tortellini by itself, I tossed the pasta in a little butter and sprinkled on some grated Parmesan cheese. This tasted fantastic and really elevated the pasta's flavor profile, so I recommend trying it.

I'd definitely eat these tortellini again if they were served to me, and the only reason I wouldn't purchase them again is because there's a Great Value pasta I prefer much more. However, I can recommend this to anyone who enjoys a nice, standard tortellini.

The Stouffer's Fettuccine Alfredo is a single-serving package featuring fettuccini noodles in a standard Alfredo sauce for a little over $3. This isn't a bad price for the amount or quality of the food you get, and I'd even pay a little more for this.

The Alfredo sauce here is fantastic and smooth, with no unexpected lumps in it like one of the lower-ranking Alfredo meals. The noodles are pretty good, with no abnormal texture, and the seasoning profile is fantastic. Since this is the best Alfredo-based meal on this list, it has a wow factor that easily pulls it ahead of the Great Value Cheese Tortellini. However, the top three are in a league of their own based on taste and personal preference.

I would definitely eat this fettuccini Alfredo again, and highly recommend you try it for yourself. It's a convenient, tasty option when you have a pasta craving, and I think it would be particularly good served with homemade sourdough bread.

You get a large bag of this Great Value Cheese Ravioli for a little over $4, which I think is a fantastic deal. In fact, I'd say this is the best option on this list if you're looking for a frozen pasta meal on a budget — just pair it with a can of tomato sauce (for around a dollar at Walmart) and some seasonings, and you've got yourself a hearty, filling meal.

The ravioli cooks perfectly according to the instructions on the bag without becoming mushy, and the cheese has a nice flavor. The pasta tastes fantastic, offering a nice starchy profile that complements the richness of the cheese. Although I ate these plain for this taste test, I think they'd be especially good either tossed in butter with shredded Parmesan cheese or coated in a homemade meat sauce. The only reason it didn't rank higher was because of personal preference.

I would definitely eat this again and will be purchasing it in the future to keep in the freezer for my family, who also loved this one. I highly recommend keeping a bag on hand for those nights when you want a quick, simple frozen pasta meal.

With this meal, you get four large stuffed shells coated in meat sauce for a little under $8. Each stuffed shell is large enough to be a main course on its own, and I don't think this is a bad price for what you receive. However, I do recommend pairing your Great Value Stuffed Shells with sides like garlic bread and a small garden salad to create a whole meal.

The meat sauce features a warm, savory profile accented by a mild sweetness offered by the tomatoes. It's perfectly seasoned and generously portioned. The shells offer a balanced starchy profile, while the cheese stuffing is fantastically rich. Best of all, there's ample cheese stuffing so you get some in every single bite (and some still falls out on your plate to be eaten after the shell is devoured). The only reason this came in second place was personal preference, and this Walmart frozen pasta meal is closely tied with third and first place in terms of quality.

I would definitely eat this again and will be purchasing it on my future Walmart shopping trips to keep at home. I highly recommend adding this option to your Walmart shopping list so you can give it a try.

The Stouffer's Meat Lover's Lasagna costs just under $10 for a generous tray that not only fed my family of four but also offered seconds. I think this is a reasonable price for the quality and quantity of food you receive.

This meal comes with a fantastic sauce that offers a slight sweetness alongside a robust savory profile. The meat mixed into the sauce tastes high-quality, and the lasagna noodles come out perfectly textured, offering a nice starchy counternote to the dish's stronger flavor profiles. When eaten altogether, this is a perfectly balanced, delicious lasagna meal.

This is one of the best pre-made lasagnas my family has ever eaten, second only to the one from Costco (which you might love even better than the homemade version). I will definitely buy this again and keep one of these in my freezer at all times moving forward. I highly recommend adding this frozen pasta to your Walmart shopping list because once you do, you'll have no doubts as to why it ranked as my top option on this list.

I chose frozen pastas for inclusion on this list based on their availability to me at my local Walmart in Vineland, New Jersey, judging each frozen pasta meal  based on its taste and pricing. For pricing, I looked specifically at the quality and portion size versus cost. To make my judgments, I relied on more than fifteen years of food industry experience alongside my previous experience creating numerous food Daily Meal rankings. My great love of pasta and decades' worth of history eating it also came into play. Although personal preference played a role in this ranking, I aimed to be as unbiased about food quality as possible.