If your one who doesn’t like cooking everyday then I’m sure you’ve had your share of microwave dinners like I have. Two of my favorites are Banquet Dinners and Hungry-Man Dinners. Both are quick fixes that you can pop in the microwave for 4-6 minutes, depending on what kind of dinner you have and what wattage your microwave is. So which is better between the two?
Well when you compare the sizes of the two dinners, Hungry-Man is obviously the larger portion. With each Hungry-Man meal being 1 lb or more of food (their XXL dinners offer more than 1 lb), you get more food in Hungry-Man than you do Banquet meal dinners and the variety of food is better. Hungry-Man not only makes dinners such as beer battered chicken strips and cheese fries, Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes, lasagna, boneless fried chicken, popcorn fish, and bbq ribs, they also make sub sandwiches that come in meatball, grilled chicken, double sausage with egg and cheese, and cheeseburger variety.
Banquet meal dinners are fairly smaller in portion size than Hungry-man dinners with a net weight of about 9 ounces. In their fried chicken dinners you only get one chicken thigh and a small serving of mashed potatoes and corn. Hungry-Man chicken dinners usually have 3 pieces of chicken in them and not all of the pieces are the same. You may get a breast, leg, wing or thigh in any combination. Banquet meals also come in a variety of flavors that includes fish sticks, Salisbury steak, sweet and sour chicken with egg roll, macaroni and cheese, bbq chicken, and many more. However, when compared to Hungry-Man dinners, Banquet meals fall short on portion size. Score: Hungry-Man: 1 Banquet: 0
When it comes down to taste, I have to admit that I’ve had my share of likes and dislikes among both. I have tried a variety of flavors between the two and overall, I prefer the Hungry-Man dinners over the Banquet dinners. With dinners that have more variety and often include a tasty dessert, Hungry-Man is just more pleasing to have. The only dessert I’ve had that came with the Banquet dinners has either been a chocolate pudding or a brownie. The brownie gets dry when they dinner is cooking in the microwave and the pudding comes out with this extra layer of skin on the top like gravy that’s been sitting out for awhile. On the other hand, Hungry-Man desserts range from apple cobbler, cherry crisps, chocolate pudding (minus the skin), brownies, apple cranberry crumb cake (which is delicious might I add) and a few others. Clearly there are more dessert and overall dinner choices with Hungry-Man dinners. Score: Hungry-man: 2 Banquet: 0
Ok so what about the price of these two dinners? Both are frequently on sale at the grocery store where I shop at. I can usually get the banquet dinners for $1 which the Hungry-Man dinners range from $2.50-$3 on sale. Regular price for the Banquet dinners is $2 while the Hungry-Man goes for $3.99 (maybe a little more for certain sizes and varieties). Clearly the Banquet dinners are cheaper which is good for the shopper who doesn’t have much to spend as is often the case with me. However, with the larger portion sizes of the Hungry-Man dinners, sometimes it pays to spend a bit more if you’re going to get more for your money. Still, I have to give Banquet the edge since they are on sale much more often than Hungry-Man dinners and at $1, that’s hard to beat. Score: Hungry-Man: 2 Banquet: 1
The final showdown between these two dinners comes from something both companies have in common: potpies. I happen to have a love for potpies. These are healthier than many of the other options that are full of sodium. The potpies are packed with meat and vegetables blended with tasty gravy inside a great tasting crust. Both offer microwaveable potpies which are more convenient than turning on your oven to cook them for 30-45 minutes. But once again, Hungry-Man potpies offer 1 lb of food while the Banquet potpies are considerably smaller. There are more vegetables in the Hungry-Man potpie and bigger chunks of meat. The Banquet potpie wouldn’t be bad but the crust sometimes seems to be too soggy, even if you cook it on extra time. Sometimes the crust is actually doughy which takes away from the entire potpie and makes you not want to eat it at all. I’ve even compared both brands to Marie Callendar’s potpies and Hungry-Man still tastes the best. The crust comes out brown but not burnt and the inside of the pie along with the crust makes for a taste that is simply delicious. Score: Hungry-Man: 3 Banquet: 1
Well, coming out on top 3-1 is Hungry-Man. I believe this is a better option because you get more food and not only that, it is better tasting. You have a broader variety and selection of foods to choose from with Hungry-Man than you do with Banquet. Although Banquet dinners will come out a little cheaper, in the end you get what you pay for and if you want better tasting and more filling food, I recommend Hungry-Man dinners.
