This Discontinued Chef Boyardee Product Was A Textural Flop (We Hope It Never Comes Back)
When no one else has our back in times of trouble, Chef Boyardee does. If you don't have the time or energy to make a full meal at the end of a long day, this pantry staple offers some truly classic dishes like ravioli, spaghetti and meatballs, and even lasagna. But not every product from this smiling chef is a home run, unfortunately. In our ranking of every Chef Boyardee product, one of these bad boys had to get the dishonor of coming in last. To us, the worst Chef Boyardee product has already been discontinued: It's the Chicken Alfredo.
If you're surprised to hear that the company even managed to make a shelf-stable version of a pasta dish that relies quite heavily on easily spoiled ingredients, trust us: same. If you're looking for succulent bits of chicken, perfectly cooked noodles, and a robust cream sauce, what are you checking out canned pastas for? Really, you may want to avoid buying canned pasta in general if you're looking for a show-stopping meal, but this product was an especially big flop.
The chicken pieces were rubbery and small, and some even had gristle. The sauce itself? Completely flavorless. Despite containing parmesan and romano cheeses, we couldn't get a hint of anything other than bland, one-note dairy richness. And given it was from a can, it really wasn't even that rich. This one was a definite pass for us.
It's a good thing Chef Boyardee Chicken Alfredo was discontinued
In May 2024, the official Chef Boyardee account on X noted in a reply to a customer that the canned Chicken Alfredo had indeed been discontinued. Honestly, if you take a look at the reviews online, you'll see that this wasn't a terrible decision. Receiving only 3.1 stars on average on Walmart's website, reviewers left comments discussing how bland the meal is, the soggy nature of the noodles, and the unpleasant wateriness of the sauce. One person even claimed that not even their kids would eat it, which is a real blow considering how much picky eaters tend to love foods without adventurous tastes or textures.
There's a rumor that the real-life Chef Boyardee cooked for a president, and if that's true, they're lucky they weren't served this now-discontinued product. If it was the only Chef Boyardee product you ever ate, no one could blame you for being turned away from the brand at large. Fortunately, there are plenty of other tasty picks to be found, like our favorite: the Mini Pasta Shells with Meatballs. Don't throw out Chef Boyardee entirely, but definitely be grateful that this sad, sad excuse for chicken Alfredo is no longer being produced.