Tyson Chicken Nuggets VS. Banquet Chicken Nuggets

Whether or not these are the best foods to give our children, many of us opt for the quick and easy method of serving lunch. After about twelve minutes in the oven, or just a couple of minutes in the microwave, breaded chicken nuggets are done and ready to serve.

The two main brands for these frozen nuggets are Tyson and Banquet. While both brands basically offer the same type of product, these are certainly not the same chicken nuggets.

You’ll notice in the grocery stores that the Tyson brand of frozen chicken products is more expensive than the Banquet brand, and the truth is that Tyson does have a better quality product, and chicken is sort of their specialty. Banquet makes a variety of frozen foods and TV dinners, only one of which is the chicken.

Tyson chicken nuggets consist primarily of white meat. The meat resembles actual chicken more than the average version of processed frozen chicken, so it simply looks better.

As far as flavor goes, my children seem to love these. I’ve had them myself, and as these sort of chicken nuggets go, they taste pretty good.
It seems that in overall appearance and meat quality Tyson is superior to Banquet.

Now the Banquet brand of chicken nuggets is an example of one product costing less than another for obvious reasons–the appearance of the inside of the nugget is dark and non-chicken looking, if that makes sense. But they surprisingly have more flavor than the Tyson brand, a better flavor even. Another thing that doesn’t help the Banquet brand aesthetically is how greasy they are. When cooked in the microwave they produce an unappealing amount of grease, and they need lots of “blotting” before serving.

This also explains the flavor factor. The Tyson nuggets tend to be dry, thus less flavorful. This is typically the case with the differences between dark and white meat chicken.

And because of this, I had assumed that the Tyson nuggets were healthier than the greasy, dark Banquet nuggets. But this is not the case.

While both brands contain 0 trans fat, Tyson contains more fat, cholesterol, sodium and sugars than Banquet. They are both about the same when it comes to saturated fat. And Tyson’s nuggets offer 0% iron while Banquet’s have 4%.

So overall, Banquet’s nuggets are healthier, though it wouldn’t seem so.

It depends on what is more important to a consumer: food being as close to its natural state as possible, or less exposure to fat, cholesterol and sodium.

Tyson’s nuggets are made with fewer preservatives and strange ingredients than the Banquet brand.

And it also depends on one’s taste preferences.

Tyson: dry, less flavor, similar characteristics to white meat chicken

Banquet: juicy, lots of flavor, more like dark meat chicken

Our family consumes both brands, as there seems to be an equal number of pluses and minuses between the two.