{"id":9473,"date":"2025-06-18T10:18:47","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T14:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/?p=9473"},"modified":"2025-10-24T16:22:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T20:22:41","slug":"kevins-cilantro-lime-chicken-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/2025\/06\/18\/kevins-cilantro-lime-chicken-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin’s Cilantro Lime Chicken Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Author’s Note: Not a paid review. I have no affiliation with Kevin’s Natural Foods<\/a> or Costco<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A serving is a snack. I said what I said.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I’m not paleo. I just wanted a tasty, convenient meal. And this was on sale at Costco. I hope Kevin will forgive me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What’s in the box?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anyway. This is Kevin’s Cilantro Lime Chicken meal, and it comes in a refrigerated tray with two pouches of “sous vide<\/a>” chicken breast meat, and two pouches of chimichurri<\/a> sauce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m a noob, so I was surprised to see the chicken separated from the sauce. This is different from similarly packaged meals, such as Sukhi’s<\/a>. As a single person, I do love<\/em> having the portions divided, so that I can eat this over a longer period of time. Much appreciation.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Two<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The directions said to break apart the chicken in the pouch by massaging it. I thought this meant I was supposed to squeeze the chicken until it flaked into small-ish pieces. But, in hindsight, I think it was supposed to stay in “strips.” Alas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How did I cook mine?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I opted to cook it in a ceramic skillet on the stove. I double-drained my chicken, just to make sure I got as much liquid out of the pouch as possible. But it wasn’t enough. My chicken didn’t “brown” at first; there was so much liquid<\/em>, it just boiled<\/em>. I finally cranked the heat up, and let it boil until all the water evaporated. It took a little longer, but I did get some slight browning.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Since my chicken was no longer in “strips,” I couldn’t flip each strip over with tongs, like the instructions said. So, I just gently stirred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the chicken cooks, the sauce goes in the pan for 30 seconds to heat. So that part was fool-proof. Trust me, because I am a fool.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I’ve been craving rice, so I ate this with basmatti rice. I know this is tremendously un-paleo<\/a>. Sorry-not-sorry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is 1\/2 a pouch, or 1\/4 the entire 32-ounce package:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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So, is rice a good pairing with this meal? Meh. It’s not bad. But there isn’t enough of the chimichurri sauce to really<\/em> coat the rice. There’s plenty for the chicken. Just not for the rice. Selfish chicken!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you’re “Team Fat” like I am, you will probably want to add more fat to your meal. Maybe more butter or some coconut oil melted into the chicken\/sauce. Otherwise, it’s pretty lean<\/em>. And therefore, not as filling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fine, but what does it taste like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For coming out of a squashy plastic bag, the chicken has a quality, fresh-tasting texture. It’s tender, but not mushy. And, after “browning,” it tastes remarkably like a fresh chicken breast. The meat is trimmed pretty well, although I did encounter two jiggly, conjoined chunks with rubbery stuff between them. If you’ve been reading my reviews, you know how I feel about “jiggly bits<\/a>.”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The chimichurri sauce isn’t spicy. Not one bit. It does have a pleasant, tangy kick, and a very slight<\/em> sweetness, from the added monk fruit. It’s not<\/em> a thick sauce, so it’s a light flavor overall. Gentle garlic aroma. Lots of delicate green herb bits. A few red fragments. I definitely think it needs salt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Here’s my review of Kevin’s Thai-Style Coconut Chicken Curry<\/a>, if you’d like to compare.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nutrition<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Nutrition Facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The package says you are getting 6.5 servings total. Which is kind of silly. That means there are 3.25 servings per pouch. What sort of monster<\/em> puts 1\/4 a serving in a pouch? Explain yourself, Kevin! But also, I don’t see how you could possibly<\/em> feed 3.25 people with one pouch. I’m a small woman, and I ate 1\/2 a pouch over copious amounts of rice, and it was just enough to keep me from eating my own shoelaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mean. A serving is only 160 calories! Do people really eat like this? Are you guys just hungry all the time, or what? I don’t get it. The Cleveland Clinic says “moderately active” women should get around 2,000 calories per day<\/a>. So, without rice, this “meal” would be 7.5% of my daily calories. That’s a snack!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway. A 5-ounce serving contains 8 grams of fat and 20 grams of protein. There are only 3 grams of carbohydrates, of which 1 gram are sugars. There’s a minimal 16% of your daily value of sodium. But, I think you’ll want to salt yours, like I did.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Ingredients<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ingredients in Kevin’s Cilantro Lime Chicken<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here are the ingredients, from the label. There isn’t much to complain about here, unless you have an issue with Monk Fruit Extract<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Heating<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Heating Instructions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You have two options:<\/p>\n\n\n\n