The Rao's Homemade Frozen Dinner We Can't Stop Eating

Once upon a time, the storied New York City restaurant Rao's was just a ten-table family eatery that might be the Big Apple's toughest reservation. The history of Rao's traces back to the Old Country and includes ties to the mafia. You likely still can't get a table at Rao's restaurant, but you can pick up their eponymous frozen dinners in your grocer's freezer case. These meals are more expensive than usual microwave fare, but with good reason: They're of higher quality. Reading the ingredient list, everything is a whole-food ingredient with no additives. 

When it comes to Italian food, there's no question that fresh is the best. Sometimes, however, you crave the speed and convenience that come from popping a frozen meal in the microwave and having something hot and tasty on your plate in under ten minutes. In those moments, you want an entree that has incredible flavor and good texture. Most of Rao's Homemade meals make the cut. The one that really won our hearts, however, was the meat lasagna. What makes this dish so special is a focus on the details: A creamy, savory ricotta mix, noodles that don't overwhelm the dish, and a meat sauce that is bursting with flavor.

You can't have lasagna without ricotta. It's a hot take that ricotta is the unsung star of any lasagna and has more power to make or break the dish than the sauce or noodles, but it stands up. Handled incorrectly, ricotta can be watery and flavorless. In Rao's Homemade meat lasagna, the ricotta has a delicate umami that's the backbone of the meal. The cheese is plentiful and has a silky mouthfeel that contracts enjoyably with the al dente noodles and fine-diced meat in the sauce.

Now let's talk about those noodles for a minute. All too often, lasagna (homemade or otherwise) turns gloppy with hefty noodles that gum up the layers. One of the most appealing aspects of Rao's lasagna is that the noodles aren't overly thick, which preserves the proportions of the dish.

And, of course, you can't talk about Rao's without discussing what makes their homemade sauce so good. According to Rao's, their signature sauces are "simmered slowly and made in small batches with only the best ingredients, like pure Italian olive oil and hand-picked, naturally ripened tomatoes from southern Italy." You can taste the quality of the tomatoes in the plentiful sauce of the lasagna, which contains the perfect kick of sweetness and acid without being stodgy. This is especially impressive since Rao's marinara contains no added sugars.

Having had Rao's meat lasagna made both in the oven and microwave, the oven definitely produces better results. Make no mistake, the microwave will still get you a delicious meal. But don't try to cheat the two-step cooking process if you opt for the microwave, which calls for nuking the meal at full power for three minutes and then at 50 percent power for a further two minutes. The little bit of extra work is worth it for an entree that is piping hot.

If you have time and patience to wait, however, your meal will turn absolutely magical in the oven. It takes 40 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, but the trade-off is a lasagna that is bubbly and crisp on the edges. A personal pro tip is to leave the meal under the broiler for about two minutes to put a little golden sear on the cheesy top.

There are a number of ways to upgrade a frozen lasagna, and most of them apply to Rao's lasagna dinner. A little fresh grated parmesan cheese before the aforementioned broiler tip will add a touch of Italian flair to your lasagna, along with a pop of salt. If you have some basil leaves to chiffonade on top before eating? Now we're really talking. You can add red pepper flake if you prefer a spicy kick, but the dish is flavorful enough to not need it.