Restaurant vs. frozen aisle: Does it really taste the same?

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- We're getting you ready for dinner. And you don't need to go out to get a meal that you'd get in a restaurant. Many chains are now offering their dishes in the frozen food section of your grocery store. But, do they stack up? Consumer Reports put them to the test.

We love frozen food. In fact, Americans spent $224 billion on it last year and are expected to buy even more. Now restaurant chains are jumping on the bandwagon, putting versions of their dishes in the supermarket freezer case. Consumer Reports ran side-by-side comparisons to see how they measure up.

From the restaurant to your microwave, many of America's most popular chain restaurants, including California Pizza Kitchen, TGI Fridays, Boston Market, and P.F. Chang's, are now selling frozen versions of their best-selling items. But are they worth staying in for? According to Consumer Reports, sometimes.

California Pizza Kitchen's Frozen BBQ Recipe Chicken Thin Crust is topped with similar ingredients as the restaurant version. And at $6, it's less than half the price.

"Our tasters found that the frozen version is worth a try, but the strong barbecue sauce overpowered the flavors," Consumer Reports' Maxine Siegel said.

Consumer Reports' tasters were pleased with the frozen version of TGI Fridays Cheddar and Bacon Skins. The restaurant dish costs twice as much and has three times more calories and fat.

P.F. Chang's frozen shrimp lo mein resembles its restaurant counterpart in both price and appearance. However...

"The shrimp in the frozen version were noticeably smaller, and the tasters found that they don't have much flavor," Siegel said.

Boston Market's frozen chicken pot pie costs a little less than in the restaurant. But it's much different, with large chunks of rotisserie chicken in the restaurant dish versus small cubes of spongy chicken in the frozen version, although testers thought its crust was tasty.

All in all, Consumer Reports found many of the restaurants' frozen choices were pretty good and worth a try.

Find Patricia on Facebook at ABC13PatriciaLopez or on Twitter at @patricialopez13

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