I Tried Travis Kelce’s Walmart-Exclusive Meals—These Are the Ones I’d Buy Again

Get my rankings.

Between playing football, hosting a beloved brotherly podcast, and dating one of the world’s biggest singers, somehow, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce still finds time to embark on new business ventures. His latest one? Quietly releasing a line of prepared meals at Walmart.

In October, the Super Bowl-winning footballer launched a new line of heat-and-eat meals under the brand Travis Kelce’s Kitchen. The seven meals are Walmart-exclusive products found in the refrigerator section.

Travis Kelce’s Kitchen entrées are primarily meat-focused and range from sausage with peppers and onions to the Kansas City classic burnt ends—all ready in the microwave in five minutes or less.

It’s no secret that the prepared foods aisle is pretty saturated already—especially at Walmart. The company has exclusive deals with brands like TGI Fridays and even celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Guy Fieri. But, that “Taylor Swift effect” is pretty strong, so having the Kelce name on something definitely doesn’t hurt.

As evidenced most Sundays, the Pro Bowler can score touchdowns, but can he make a good prepared meal? I tested the Travis Kelce's Kitchen entrées to find out. Here's how the meals stacked up, ranked one through five (because I couldn't get my hands on the Sliced Brisket in BBQ Sauce or Burnt Ends BBQ Baked Beans meal).

Travis Kelce's Kitchen Entrées, Ranked

5th Place: Burnt Ends Mac & Cheese

The mac and cheese itself isn’t stellar. The cheese sauce is lacking and it’s a bit watery, but what really lost me were the burnt ends. Since Kelce is a KC guy, I had high hopes, but they didn’t have much flavor on their own. I almost wanted to douse the whole dish in barbecue sauce just to give it a chance. I’d pass here—but, see my notes on the Bacon Mac & Cheese.

4th Place: Seasoned Brisket Burnt Ends in BBQ Sauce

The meat here was world’s better than the burnt ends in the mac and cheese. It actually had a nice smoky flavor, but, and it’s a big but, the barbecue sauce is not very good. Truthfully, after trying the baked beans in barbecue sauce, I had really high hopes for the burnt ends, but it’s clear they’re not the same sauces. If they were, this would be a home run—or, in Kelce’s terms, a touchdown. I'd also bet if you mixed these burnt ends with the burnt ends mac and cheese it would make both meals better.

3rd Place: Sausage & Meatball Marinara With Peppers & Onions

If you’re looking for an easy sausage sandwich, this is a good meal for you. Just heat up the meat and serve it as you please. However, you might want to cook up some extra veggies because even though the photo shows full pepper and onion strips, it’s more like diced peppers and onions. The flavors are perfectly good; however, I just wanted a little bit more from this entrée, which is why it's ranking middle of the road. But throw the meat in a pasta or get out a nice hoagie roll and you'd probably change my mind.

2nd Place: Bacon Mac & Cheese

This may come as a shock since I didn’t love the burnt ends version of the mac, but somehow Kelce’s bacon-packed mac and cheese is immensely better. It’s quite similar to most heat-and-eat mac and cheeses—but, there’s nothing wrong with that. If it ain’t broke, you know. Compared to the burnt ends version, the cheese sauce seemed thicker, and it actually coated the jumbo macaroni, so you got a cheesy, meaty bite every time. My only complaint is that the bacon is a bit salty, but other than that it’s a good side dish mac and cheese.

1st Place: Sliced Pork Sausage BBQ Baked Beans

Sure, these are essentially just baked beans with sausage swimming in a sweet, mildly spicy barbecue sauce, but I loved them. The pork sausage has a good flavor that stands on its own against the sauce—and, surprise, there’s bacon in there, too. Because apparently, Kelce’s motto is more is more. I support it. I’m not sure this is a main dish meal, but it would be a killer side at a potluck.

Read the original article on All Recipes.