It’s 6 p.m. and do you know what’s for dinner? At a time when many consumers are still spending more for at-home eating, what meal and entrée attributes win most on the supermarket shelf?

Offering one perspective on just that subject was Conagra Brands, which claims more than $1 billion in quarterly net frozen sales. This January saw the Chicago-based company issue its third annual Future of Frozen Food 2026 report. It identified protein-packed meals, restaurant-inspired favorites, family-style solutions, and all-day breakfast among key forces driving growth in the U.S. frozen food aisle.

Conagra said its demand science team developed the report with insights from Circana, NielsenIQ's Label Insight technology, social media trends from Tastewise, and search data from Similarweb.

"Frozen food is no longer just about convenience, it's about meeting consumers wherever and however they're eating," said Bob Nolan, Conagra senior vice president of demand science. "As households grow more complex and budgets stay top of mind, frozen food delivers on quality, nutrition and affordability in a big way."

Will you put your money where your mouth is? Conagra did that last summer with more than 50 new frozen products—including single- and multi-serve meals—that address interest in protein, comfort, global restaurant flavors, family dining as well as better-for-you nutrition.

New items targeting protein and comfort included Banquet MEGA Bowls Mike's Hot Honey Chicken Mac 'N Cheese, Healthy Choice Power Bowls Vodka Chicken Pasta and Marie Callender's Fried Chicken & Mashed Potato Bowl. After introducing Dolly Parton’s frozen desserts earlier, Conagra came back last year with more co-branded Southern comfort food classics: Beef Pot Roast, Chicken & Dumplings, Country Fried Steak, and Shrimp & Grits.

New global-inspired offerings included a P.F. Chang's Home Menu Mongolian-style Beef (single-serve), Frontera Beef Enchiladas with Red Sauce, and evol (Indian inspired) Butter Chicken. New multi-serve offerings (22oz-60oz) included Marie Callender’s Chicken Parmesan, Bertolli Italian-style Chicken Penna Alla Vodka, Chef Boyardee Chicken Carbonara, P.F. Chang's Home Menu Shrimp Fried Rice and Birds Eye Voila Cheesy Buffalo Chicken.

Want better-for-you diet attributes? Conagra addressed that with two new all-natural meals from Blake’s (Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole, Classic Beef Pot Roast); a gluten-free Chicken Enchilada dish from Udi’s; Gardein Ultimate Plant-Based frozen single-serve Fried Chick'n Mac & Cheeze Bowl; and a plant-powered, vegan Portobello Mushroom Ravioli from the Purple Carrot.

However, Conagra isn’t alone in the freezercase. It faces hot competition from brands new and old—as well as a growing collection of private label offerings. There are still more interesting new additions in the refrigerated deli aisle and even center-store.

Two new faces in the freezercase each hail from Los Angeles: KANZEN MEAL USA Inc. and Crave New World.

KANZEN (part of Nissin Foods Holdings Co. Ltd.) debuted last June with three offerings and came back in October with two additional varieties as it pushed eastward. Offerings include Spaghetti Bolognese, Fettuccine Alfredo, Shrimp Teriyaki, Spicy Dan Dan Noodles and Spaghetti Carbonara. Officials say kanzen means “complete” in Japanese and the products represent complete meal solutions with taste and nutrient density. All five varieties contain up to 24g of protein, 10g of fiber, more than one-third of daily value for all 27 essential vitamins and minerals with 0g added sugars. They retail for between $6.99 and $7.99.

Targeting clean label comfort was Crave New World, which debuted last October with four single-serve, high-protein offerings (9oz-11.4oz portions). Varieties include Grass-fed Bison Meatloaf, Chicken Enchiladas, Southwest Turkey Lasagna and Chipotle Chicken Mac 'n Cheez.

It’s no secret that retailers also crave a bigger portion of the consumer’s meal dollar. Last year saw Kroger introduce an 80+ item line of Simple Truth Protein products including a Cacio E Pepe Chicken Bowl. It came back this January with more than 30 additional offerings. Late last fall, the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) presented its 2025 Salute to Excellence Award winners and they included Misfits Market’s Odds & Ends Cacio e Pepe Ravioli (pasta category) and a Sam’s Club Members Mark Teriyaki Chicken Bowl (prepared foods category).

In other news, ready-to-heat meal delivery service Factor75, LLC took four of its best-selling Factor meals to Target in the refrigerated deli case. Each is high in protein, under 580 calories and made without artificial colors, sweeteners or refined sugars. The initial debut included Smoky Gouda Chicken, a Creamy Mushroom Pork Chop, Roasted Garlic Chicken and a Shredded Chicken Taco Bowl.

Consumers might have been surprised to find more center store meal options last fall. Born Simple Brands LLC, Mt. Prospect, Ill., introduced four Better Bowls that deliver 20g-24g protein per 11oz serving with no preservatives. Varieties include Chipotle Chicken Bowl, Ultimate Mac + Cheese, Thai Style Chicken and Teriyaki Chicken. Officials say retort heat treatment allows the entrées to be shelf stable. Consumers simply pour a package into a microwaveable bowl and heat for 60 seconds.

Have Taste Buds, Will Travel

Looking for authentic foreign flavors—without leaving home? Several processors showcased new global offerings. In particular, the freezercase was a hot spot for activity from Nestlé USA, Arlington, Va., Deep Foods Inc., Union, N.J., and Saffron Road, Stamford, Conn.

Nestlé extended its Mings brand with four frozen, single-serve meals inspired by James Beard and Emmy award-winning chef Ming Tsai. The new line includes Spicy Dan Dan Noodles, Spicy Beef Ramen, Chicken Ramen, and Sweet Chili Chicken and Broccoli.

Deep Foods expanded its Deep Indian kitchen frozen line with three Kati Street Wraps: (Coconut Chicken Curry, Chicken Biryani, and Matar Paneer) as well as a vegetarian Butter Paneer entrée.

For its part, Saffron Road revamped its namesake line. Last August, it introduced a product refresh with 50-100% more chicken or lamb in all respective entrees. Reformulation also eliminated seed oils (including canola, soybean). In other moves, it introduced new packaging graphics and said it was transitioning to plant-based and sustainably sourced compostable fiber trays later in 2025.

Hispanic foods processor Del Real Foods, Mira Loma, Calif., targeted the refrigerated case with new Chipotle Chicken & Cheese Pupusas. They debuted this February to select Costco locations across the Northeast, Northwest, Bay Area, and Texas.

Among those targeting Asian noodle fans were processors Nissin Foods USA, Gardena, Calif.; Ajinomoto Foods North America Inc., Ontario, Calif.; Maruchan Inc., Irvine, Calif.; and Nestlé.

Nissin introduced a Geki line of ramen noodles in two varieties: Spicy Carbonara Chicken and Spicy Hot Chicken. Separately, it extended its Cup Noodles brand with a three-item Ramen Bistro line including Sichuan Garlic Chicken, Korean Gochujang Beef, and Japanese Miso. Elsewhere, Ajinomoto extended its Tai Pei brand with two frozen single-serve noodle trays: Tai Pei Shrimp Chow Mein and Tai Pei Vegetable Chow Mein. Officials say both feature "sauce-infused” noodles. Also targeting heat was Maruchan, which bolstered its yakisoba noodle line with two bold flavors: Fire Mango Habanero and Fire Pineapple Jalapeño.

Last but not least, Nestlé extended its global Maggi brand in the US (already known for bouillon) with three Maggi Noodles varieties. Varieties include Indian Classic Masala, Chinese Spicy Garlic and Korean Spicy BBQ. They come in bags, sold in four-packs (for an MSRP of $4.20); and cups sold individually (for an MSRP of $1.99).

Morning Has Spoken

How much time do you have for breakfast? Is it enough for a knife and fork or is this a heat-grab-and-go moment? No matter what consumers say, processors have new products to addressing the “rise and dine” occasion.

This February saw Conagra introduce a four-item, 30g protein line of Banquet MEGA Breakfast Bowls for the knife-and-fork crowd. Varieties include Meat Lovers, Bacon, Sausage, and Sausage & Gravy—and all products feature scrambled eggs. Speaking of bowls, Walmart’s Marketside Chorizo Breakfast Bowl earned a PLMA 2025 Salute to Excellence Award.

Back to protein, Kellanova (Mars) extended its Eggo line with three new protein waffle and pancake items: Buttermilk Vanilla Protein Waffles (10g protein), Vanilla Protein Pancakes and Blueberry Protein Pancakes (each 13g protein). Meanwhile, new Kroger Simple Truth Protein offerings straddle the line between sit-down and hand-held eating. Included among the more than 80 new items are French Toast Sticks (12g protein per serving) and Snack Sized Filled Pancakes (10g protein per serving).

New hand-held breakfast offerings included three items from Rich Products’ Farm Rich brand: Sausage Stuffed Biscuits, Bacon Breakfast Roll-ups and Loaded Hash Brown Bites.

Freezercase newcomer, The DropOut Companies, Nashville, Tenn., greeted this year with its frozen breakfast bagel brand, Eat Bronco, entering Target stores nationwide with two signature flavors: Turkey Sausage, Egg & Cheese (21g of protein) and Turkey Bacon, Egg & Cheese (15g of protein). DropOut notes that Bronco products are seed oil free and feature a “proprietary bagel recipe and process engineered specifically for the freezer.”

Need a Helping Hand?

Those consumers wanting a quick at-home or at-work lunch (or dinner) option could find hand-held relief in the freezercase.

Tyson Foods took its Hillshire Farm (processed meat) brand into the freezercase last October with six new Hillshire Farm Stuffed Croissants and Ciabatta Deli Sandwiches. Croissant options (9g-12g protein) are Ham & Cheese, Buffalo Style Chicken, and Philly Style Cheesesteak. Ciabatta Deli Sandwiches range from 20g to 25g of protein in three varieties: Chicken Pesto, Italiano, and Turkey & Bacon.

Also launching meaty, high protein offerings were Nestlé and Raybern Foods LLC, Shannon, Miss. Nestlé introduced Hot Pockets High Protein in two varieties: Barbacoa Style Beef and Chipotle Chicken. Each XL (6.75oz) sandwich delivers 20g of protein. In another move, Nestlé partnered with The HV Food Products Company (Clorox) on two co-branded Hot Pockets x Hidden Valley Ranch offerings: Ranch Lovers Pepperoni and Ranch Lovers Buffalo Style Chicken.

Elsewhere, Raybern’s, extended its frozen deli-style sandwich line with a Pork Bánh Mì variety in Costco stores in select regions.

Where’s the beef? As it turns out, not all hand-held offerings feature meat. Last year saw The JM Smucker Co., add two higher protein (12g) versions of Uncrustables: a Bright-Eyed Berry sandwich and an Up & Apple sandwich. The DropOut Companies also broke into the freezercase with Jams, two varieties of protein PB&J sandwiches: Strawberry and Mixed Berry. Each sandwich has 10g of protein, with no seed oils, no high-fructose corn syrup, no dyes, and real fruit jelly. Kraft-Heinz also introduced a refrigerated Lunchables Dippable, No-Thaw Crustless PB&J (with strawberry or grape flavored dips).