are there any good frozen vegetables?

[thumper55]

short of edamame, corn, or peas, I have trouble finding frozen vegetables that taste good. I love veggies and need to eat more of them, but getting and preparing fresh ones is a time hog for me.

it's the water and sogginess that bother me. recently I tried a TJ blend of french green beans, cauliflower, and broccoli with garlic butter.
there was hardly any butter flavor and all the veggies were limp and the green beans were chewy.

[kateandmark]

This doesn't really answer your question, but my local grocery stores sell pre-cut, pre-washed, pre-chopped veggies in the produce department. They're more expensive but a huge time saver.

I generally stick to corn and green beans for frozen veggies.

[Deleted]

I think all frozen veggies can taste good if you cook them right. I don't buy the ones with the sauce and stuff in them that you steam in the bag, they just don't taste good. I usually buy the straight up flash frozen plain vegetable, put it in a microwavable glass bowl with a little water in the bottom, and loosely cover with a lid (don't latch the lid to the bowl). Cook in the microwave on full power until almost cooked through. The end result is a quick steamed vegetable. Then I put them in a skillet with a little oil/butter/salt/pepper/spice/whatever and give them a quick sear.

[redheadbaker]

May 18, 2012 9:58:14 GMT -5 papiercherri said:

I think all frozen veggies can taste good if you cook them right. ... I usually buy the straight up flash frozen plain vegetable, put it in a microwavable glass bowl with a little water in the bottom, and loosely cover with a lid (don't latch the lid to the bowl). Cook in the microwave on full power until almost cooked through. The end result is a quick steamed vegetable. Then I put them in a skillet with a little oil/butter/salt/pepper/spice/whatever and give them a quick sear.

Same here. We buy most of our veggies frozen -- broccoli, spinach, kale, butternut squash, corn, cauliflower, green beans, peas, carrots ...

[niche]

May 18, 2012 10:12:36 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

May 18, 2012 9:58:14 GMT -5 papiercherri said:

I think all frozen veggies can taste good if you cook them right. ... I usually buy the straight up flash frozen plain vegetable, put it in a microwavable glass bowl with a little water in the bottom, and loosely cover with a lid (don't latch the lid to the bowl). Cook in the microwave on full power until almost cooked through. The end result is a quick steamed vegetable. Then I put them in a skillet with a little oil/butter/salt/pepper/spice/whatever and give them a quick sear.

Same here. We buy most of our veggies frozen -- broccoli, spinach, kale, butternut squash, corn, cauliflower, green beans, peas, carrots ...

:Y: :Y:

[thumper55]

May 18, 2012 9:58:14 GMT -5 papiercherri said:

I think all frozen veggies can taste good if you cook them right. I don't buy the ones with the sauce and stuff in them that you steam in the bag, they just don't taste good. I usually buy the straight up flash frozen plain vegetable, put it in a microwavable glass bowl with a little water in the bottom, and loosely cover with a lid (don't latch the lid to the bowl). Cook in the microwave on full power until almost cooked through. The end result is a quick steamed vegetable. Then I put them in a skillet with a little oil/butter/salt/pepper/spice/whatever and give them a quick sear.

I'll try this. I've never cooked them on the stove after they have been microwaved. thanks

[dorothyinAus]

I find that I cook everything but frozen spinach less than the recommended time to keep the crispness. I wish I could find more frozen vegetables here. I like the convenience of already cleaned/cut vegetables. And frozen spinach is the only kind I use -- I like that it's already cooked down so I know that a 10 ounce package will yield 10 ounces of usable spinach, rather than having to buy pounds of fresh spinach to get enough for my recipes.

[dearprudence]

My go-to frozen vegetables are corn (when it's not in season), peas, spinach, and artichokes

[doctorsbaby]

I've been very pleased with the whole foods brand frozen veggies. I under cook them and they taste very similar to fresh. The price is pretty good too.

[Kim&Dan]

I also don't like the vegetable varieties that have a sauce on them. I almost always buy Publix's store brand frozen vegetables. The ones we eat most often are corn (not on the cob), spinach, edamame, and broccoli. The key to frozen vegetables is not over cooking them. I put them in a glass bowl sprinkle a little water over them and cover with plastic wrap. When they are mostly cooked through I take them out drain off the water, and stir in butter or Brummel & Brown (tastes like butter but its a yogurt spread) and some Adobo (seasoning blend made by Goya). I then recover in put in back in the microwave to finish cooking. I also use frozen vegetables in place of fresh vegetable sometimes in a recipe. Frozen spinach is so much easier to keep on hand than fresh.

[pacificrules]

May 19, 2012 3:24:43 GMT -5 dorothyinAus said:

I find that I cook everything but frozen spinach less than the recommended time to keep the crispness. I wish I could find more frozen vegetables here. I like the convenience of already cleaned/cut vegetables. And frozen spinach is the only kind I use -- I like that it's already cooked down so I know that a 10 ounce package will yield 10 ounces of usable spinach, rather than having to buy pounds of fresh spinach to get enough for my recipes.

Yeah, less time=more crispiness and better flavor (imo). Frozen broccoli is one of my faves. We do corn and peas, too.

[marissa]

I've been getting Wegmans brands and have been happy with them. In the summer we usually stick to fresh and try to use as much as we can from our garden before we have to go and buy anything.

[mrssavy42112]

May 18, 2012 9:58:14 GMT -5 papiercherri said:

I think all frozen veggies can taste good if you cook them right. I don't buy the ones with the sauce and stuff in them that you steam in the bag, they just don't taste good. I usually buy the straight up flash frozen plain vegetable, put it in a microwavable glass bowl with a little water in the bottom, and loosely cover with a lid (don't latch the lid to the bowl). Cook in the microwave on full power until almost cooked through. The end result is a quick steamed vegetable. Then I put them in a skillet with a little oil/butter/salt/pepper/spice/whatever and give them a quick sear.

Another vote here.

Also, experiment with different brands of steam-in-the-bag veggies. I found my store brand (Shop Rite) steamable veggies actually cook really well & don't come out soggy. It says 5-6min, so I do 5.5min. They come out great & still have a little bite to them.

[ryry]

We really like Trader Joe's frozen veggies--we make a special trip there for frozen vegetables every other week or so! The french green beans are really good, as are the peas and broccoli.

[ryry]

Haha...sorry, just saw that you didn't like TJ brand. We've never tried anything with sauce, but just the plain ones are really good I think.

[Deleted]

I love the Costco organic frozen broccoli. and I always use my Black & Decker steamer for frozen veggies