Taste Test Challenge with Michael Angelo’s Lasagna

When you think lasagna, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Mom’s home cooking? A nice Italian restaurant? Or maybe something else all together. Either way, it’s usually the same idea- lasagna noodles, sauce, and cheese. Michael Angelo’s offered me a chance to put their lasagna at a fork-to-fork test with one of their competitors lasagnas.

I went out to my local grocery store to scope things out in the frozen food section. I grabbed the Michael Angelo’s Meat Lasagna (32 oz) and right next to it on the same shelf was Bove’s (30 oz). I’d never tried either brand of lasagna so I thought it was the fairest comparison between competitors. The first thing I noticed about the Bove’s lasagna was that on the back, Iron Chef Bobby Flay commented that he “could eat this all day!” When I checked the back of the Michael Angelo’s box I saw big beautiful ripe tomatoes and words about their lasagnas being made from scratch in small batches. Something I think really speaks to the thoughtfulness of the company.

In comparing the Nutrition Facts of these two lasagnas I found that while the Bove’s has more calcium and iron per serving, the Michael Angelo’s lasagna offers a slightly larger serving size with less calories and fat. I cooked each lasagna according to the directions on the box and I really loved that the Michael Angelo’s Meat Lasagna took less time to cook than the Bove’s. My family was hungry so when it was ready we dug in. The noodles were a little tougher than I expected to cut in to but the cheeses and sauce looked good. The ricotta cheese was very fluffy and seemed to make up a lot of the filling in between noodles and sauce. The dish reminded me much of something my mom would have made and I appreciated the simplicity. Comments from around the table were positive, and B even added “I like it.”

After the Bove’s finished cooking I rinsed our dishes in preparation for the competitor lasagna. The noodles were easier to cut through and the gooey mozzarella cheese on the very top made for an appetizing serve to each bowl. The smell was wonderful and immediately noticeable. I liked that the cuts I made in the dish seemed to hold their shape. I didn’t have to go chasing run away noodles or sauce around the tray. I quickly passed out Bove’s serving to my family and asked for thoughts on it. They remarked that it definitely tasted different than the Michael Angelo’s lasagna but they couldn’t quite put their finger on it. I personally thought the flavors of the Bove’s lasagna were more complex and I could really taste the pecorino Romano cheese. Because the Bove’s has more servings per box some of us went back for seconds where that wasn’t an option with the Michael Angelo’s lasagna.

After thinking it over I decided that while they are both excellent lasagnas and I would be happy to feed either to my family, I will say that a fair review would leave me favoring the Bove’s lasagna because it tasted more like something from a nice Italian restaurant and the Michael Angelo’s is very much like something I would make at home. If you’re missing that unmistakable flavor and uncompromisingly Italian style of home made lasagna, Michael Angelo’s is definitely the way to go!

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