Target Chicken Nuggets Win Taste Test

Consumer Reports subjected its team of trained taste-testers to more than a dozen varieties of chicken nuggets, including both supermarket brands and those from McDonald’s. The winner among the frozen nuggets: Target’s Market Pantry. Soy nuggets from Boca and Morningstar were judged to have “very little chicken flavor.”

Other winners included Bell & Evans, and Costo’s Kirkland brand. None of those stood out as leaders in nutrition:

All three scored Good for nutrition, about the best you can expect. Only Health Is Wealth scored Very Good: It’s lower in fat and sodium than the rest but isn’t very tasty. Nutrition scores are for the 3- to 4-ounce serving suggested by most manufacturers. Double the size and most tested nuggets would score Fair or Poor.

The two soy-based products, Boca and MorningStar Farms, didn’t fool our panelists, who said they have very little chicken flavor. Their main nutritional advantage is that they have more fiber—3 or 4 grams compared with zero to 2 for most others.

The McD nuggets won over CR’s junior tasters — 31 kids from 6-17 — though they also liked Target and Bell & Evans. The kids weren’t asked to try the soy versions, which we can only assume is a good thing.

Chicken Nuggets [Consumer Reports]

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