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Dr. Gourmet's Food Reviews
Amy's
Cheese Ravioli Bowl and Vegan Spinach & Cheeze Ravioli
We last visited Amy's almost five months ago with their Broccoli & Cheddar Bake Bowl and their Chili Relleno Bowl.
The Broccoli & Cheddar Bake was a revisiting of a product we'd first tried in 2017, and we noted that "Now it seems that Amy's has doubled down on hiding one's sins with fat and salt, because the Broccoli & Cheddar Bake we tested for today's review has 460 calories, 740mg of sodium, 3 grams of fiber, and 21g of fat (with 11 grams of saturated fat)."
The good news we have today is that they didn't do the same thing with the Cheese Ravioli Bowl, last tasted in 2019. Then it had 380 calories, 680 milligrams sodium, and 4g fiber.
Now it has fewer calories, at 340 calories, but the same amount of sodium and fiber (680mg and 4g).
It's not clear to us what exactly is different - but this is a far, far better meal.
As before, there are 9 ravioli with tender pasta filled with a reasonable amount of ricotta and parmesan - and there's no question that the ricotta is the dominant flavor. Not much different than before.
The sauce is somehow worlds better. It might be a touch salty, but it reminded our panel of sauces from an Italian restaurant: a thick, rich sauce that tastes of roasted tomatoes and hours of slow simmering, with definite basil and garlic notes. Too often tomato sauces can be too sweet, but this is neither sweet nor too tart. "Really filling," noted our panel. Definitely a keeper.
Next up was Amy's Vegan Spinach & Cheeze Ravioli, with 360 calories, 630mg sodium, and 4g fiber. This is new to us and was right next to the Cheese Ravioli Bowl on the shelf. Okay, how about a comparison?
This vegan dish was a bit disappointing to our (admitted non-vegan) panel. Eleven ravioli were filled with spinach and onion, dominated by the spinach. Unfortunately the "ricotta" flavor was quite faint, and since it's made from tofu, tasted like, well, tofu - very faintly sour.
The pasta, as with the other ravioli, was al dente and we couldn't fault the texture of the sauce.
It was the flavor of the sauce that was so disappointing: it's much more tart than in the Cheese Ravioli Bowl, with a bitter aftertaste.
If we had not tasted this right after the Cheese Ravioli Bowl, we might have given it a thumbs up, and certainly it's not bad for vegan ravioli. Amy's really would have done better to use the same pasta sauce, as the more vinegary flavor did nothing for the "ricotta".
The verdict? Ok for vegans, everybody else, choose the Cheese Ravioli.
Posted: July 8, 2022