The “Absolutely Delicious” Frozen Fried Chicken I Could Eat Every Day (It’s THAT Good!)
As much as I love to cook, I try to save big meals that require more effort for the weekends. During the week, I aim to keep it simple yet tasty. This often means I’m making tacos, all sorts of bowls, sautéed shrimp with roasted veggies, and easy pastas. I also happen to love a frozen dinner from Trader Joe’s, like pizza or gnocchi. Recently, a new frozen dinner from an unexpected retailer entered my rotation — and my fiancé and I truly can’t get enough of it.
While my mom is a longtime QVC shopper, I’ll admit that I’m less familiar with it, so it isn’t one of my usual sources for grocery shopping — even though several of our editors swear by it. After trying out the Heartland Fresh Chicken-Fried Chicken with Gravy, my tune matches theirs. Not only is it absolutely delicious, but I can also cook the chicken cutlets in my air fryer, which makes them perfect for a low-effort weeknight meal.
What Is the Heartland Fresh Chicken Fried Chicken with Gravy?
Heartland Fresh’s Chicken-Fried Chicken has quickly become my go-to stress-free meal. When you order it from QVC, you’ll receive a bag of 12 pre-cooked chicken cutlets and two powder packets that you can easily turn into a luscious white gravy on the stove. The gravy is the most labor-intensive part of the whole process, which is to say that it just takes a little bit of whisking in a pot over heat. As for the chicken cutlets, you can toss them into the air fryer for 15 minutes or the oven for 30 minutes. I’ve done it both ways, and I found that there wasn’t a noticeable difference in crispiness, so I usually opt for the air fryer. (I’m notoriously impatient, especially when I’m hungry.)
The chicken arrives on ice, so I popped it right into my freezer when I got it. The bag it comes in is resealable, which I love because my fiancé and I only pull a couple out of the freezer to cook at a time.
Why I Love the Heartland Fresh Chicken Fried Chicken with Gravy
In my experience, some frozen food is more about convenience than taste; it’s good enough and it gets the job done, but it’s not amazing. Thankfully, Heartland Fresh’s Chicken Fried-Chicken doesn’t fall into this category — I genuinely look forward to eating it. It has a peppery, crispy breading that is honestly better than what I could make at home. Plus, the chicken itself is super tender, not tough or rubbery like other frozen chicken I’ve had. And because I can make it pretty quickly in my air fryer, I’ve loved making it for lunch on the days I work from home. I’m also super excited about the idea of making fried chicken sandwiches with it.
I also ultimately enjoy the gravy, but do find it to be a little too much on the bland side for my liking. However, it’s really easy to doctor up, and with a little bit of garlic powder, salt, smoked paprika, and chili powder, I had a very delicious, flavorful sauce that I continued to eat with my chicken over the course of a few days.
As far as quick and painless dinner options go, this chicken-fried chicken is by far my favorite. Once you’ve made the gravy, the chicken takes almost no effort to cook. And if I throw a side of broccoli into my air fryer with the chicken, I can have a full dinner (or lunch!) in less than 20 minutes. When I get home from work after a long day, that is the kind of ease (and deliciousness) I crave.
Buy: Heartland Fresh Chicken Fried Chicken with Gravy, $99