I have always liked flavored rice side dishes.  In particular, I like the ones that contain both long grain rice and vermicelli.  And if the sauce is thick and flavorful, I'm usually in heaven.

So I decided to try a product from Knorr-Lipton in their Cajun Sides line. In this case, I tried the Garlic Butter Rice flavor.

This product comes in an envelope and is super-easy to prepare.  Dump the contents into a bowl, add water, (optional) margarine, and place in the microwave.  You can also cook it on the stove top but I find the microwave instructions simpler, and normally, the product tastes just as good.

So, what did I think of this product?  It's "ok".  Nothing more than that.  The first problem I had was the aroma.  It wasn't good.  And I don't mean in a "garlicky" kind of way.  It wasn't that the seasonings had a strong odor.  I simply thought the product, itself, did not give off an odor that makes you say "Yummm.... I can't wait to taste this!"  My husband agreed.  He came into the kitchen, sniffing, and said something along the line of "What the heck is that?"  Not the reaction I was hoping for.

Then there was the taste.  Something else that was just "ok".  It was just very plain.  I couldn't have identified garlic, or anything "Cajun" about it.  In fact, in order to give it any real taste at all we had to add salt.  A lot of salt.  And that should never be the case with side dishes that are already trying to kill us with their sodium content.  But this product was simply "blah" without the extra salt. 

The only thing I will say is that the texture of the food was right.  The rice and vermicelli were soft, and the sauce was thick - just the way it should be.

The package makes 2.5 servings of a1/2 cup each.  If you leave out the margarine, then each serving contains 250 calories, 2g of fat, and 750mg of sodium.  Not horrible... I've definitely seen worse when it comes to side dishes of this type.

But none of that matters if the taste doesn't "Wow" me, and this case, it wasn't even close.  If you want more information you can check out their webpage http://www.letsmakeknorr.com/.  As for me, I won't be buying this particular flavor again.

Recommended: No