Iceland

I think Iceland is one of those places where the quality varies quite a lot between products. I wouldn't bother with their cheaper ready meals either cuase some are definitely better than others.

For the freezer, I've had much better luck with things like the chicken strips/pieces, chips and some of the branded ranges. Their frozen fruit is also pretty good, so I'm not surprised about the mango! There are also quite a few people who rate their curries, particularly the cheaper oblong ones cause although obviously that's going to depend on how spicy you like them.

Personally, I'd use Iceland more for frozen ingredients and the occasional branded item rather than stocking up on their own-label ready meals. You can then add a bit of your own veg or sauce and make something that tastes much less like a frozen ready meal. They have a surprisingly large frozen range these days, so it's worth trying a few individual things rather than buying several of the same meal.

Not much into ready meals their, but Slimming World beef stew and lasagne - they often have multi-buy offers.

Their ready meals are variable depending on which brand, so you get what you pay for.

They sell Arla milk cheaper than elsewhere.

Their frozen Seabass is almost as good as fresh

We buy frozen fish from Iceland. The packs have reduced from 4 fillets per pack to only 3 now. We are cutting the pieces up to serve 2 for 2 meals. Shrinkflation.

It has lost its way, too many brand names linked to them, all made in the same factory with different labels, very pricey now, may as well go to Waitrose where you don't have to buy 3 of everything to save a £1

I buy my fish there as it’s frozen as soon as it’s caught on the boat. I wouldn’t dream of buying my fish anywhere else!

Every other week I shop @Iceland asi
Ike the MY PROTEIN range and Birds Eye breaded omega 3 fish burgers which also go in the Air fryer..YES Tuesdays is 10% discount for over 60s and they do ask to see some proof…
And, I often get a 10% voucher to spend on the non Tuesday if you spend at least £25.00 ..I think the quality and the choice of products are well worth it….
they have Magnums at £2.00 ATM 😊

Hello Barbadoselle. So pleased you have helped with Iceland it is good when we can have some info about what is good. I think the price is so hard for people it's is helpful thankyou very much

When I could not afford good chicken, we didn't eat it. Cheap chicken tastes horrible and I have my limits.

My concern is also the source of the chicken - a lot seems to come from Thailand! - Sainsburys is a big culprit with Thai chicken!

I live in a county that is well known for its chicken production - why are we flying it in from Thailand!

I do of course appreciate that for families on benefits cheap chicken is a godsend.

I just looked up M&S poultry standards, and on paper the welfare appears to be much better, however, I found the following, which I'll post a link to as the details and pictures are very grim

Horrific conditions at ‘high-welfare’ farms supplying Marks and Spencer and Happy Egg share.google/ozEndW89fLLV8R3dM

Iceland Foods committed to transitioning completely to 100% cage-free shell eggs by June 2027, following a revised timeline and pressure from animal welfare groups. The supermarket enforces baseline animal welfare guidelines, including mandatory CCTV in poultry shackling and slaughter areas, and requires all own-label poultry to be pre-stunned.Cage-Free Egg TransitionNew Target: Fully transition to cage-free whole shell eggs by June 2027.Timeline Shift: Pushed back from a previous 2025 goal due to cost-of-living and supply chain factors, leading to a temporary backlash and subsequent reinstatement of the pledge.Barn Egg Rollout: Introduced affordable RSPCA Assured barn egg alternatives across stores to bridge the transition.General Poultry Welfare StandardsSlaughter Compliance: Adheres to the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (WATOK) regulations.CCTV Monitoring: Utilizes monitored CCTV in poultry shackling, stunning, and slaughter areas.Stunning Required: Mandates that all poultry for own-label products are effectively stunned and unconscious prior to processing.

We don't buy cheap chicken but I am aware that people with families to feed do buy chicken as one of the less expensive sources of protein and cannot always afford free-range organic chicken.

We don't have Iceland here so can't comment on the ready meals.

If chicken is very cheap, it not only tastes unpleasant, there must be real questions about where the chickens come from and animal welfare standards applied to chickens there.

Ai says of iceland

Plain chicken breasts: Raw, frozen, or cooked plain sliced chicken breast contains just chicken (and occasionally a tiny amount of salt), making it unprocessed or minimally processed.Plain whole chickens or plain portions: Standard thighs, drumsticks, or wings with no added marinades or coatings are not ultra-processed

I do genuinely rely on ready meals a lot.

I shop at Tesco mainly and always go for their Finest range.

I did try one from Iceland but didn’t like the taste or the quality.
I think they use cheap ingredients.
Also, would never buy chicken from them.
It’s bound to be processed.
Also wouldn’t buy fish from them.
I like fresh salmon and only buy trusted sources.
You pay extra, of course, but I think it’s worth it.

My husband likes the Greggs mini sausage rolls, and we both like the Slow Cooked Beef Rib with Cheesy potato topping from the Luxury range. These both fall under the 3 for £10 deal, so I sometimes get two ready meals and a pack of sausage rolls for £10.

I didn't know about the Tuesday discount for pensioners, thanks for mentioning that.

There is a French version of Iceland called Picard which, being French, is a bit posher and more expensive. Ocado stocks a lot of their products. Worth investingating if you are interested.

Never tried their frozen meals. Initial impression on first visit was expensive. Later on a curiosuty vusut I did buy ice creams at a good price. Only frozen veg I like are peas. Would use frozen veg in soups if being liquidised.

I can't get a bus my mobility is not good so a taxi is £10 so I will try else where

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# 3-4-£12
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Hello I bought a lot from Iceland and I was happy filling freezer up and the meals and quality really goodband I liked the items were in carrier bags but things have changed everything is in a basket and some workers will help but others won't and they aren't sending a substitute which is hard I had no margarine and nothing sent so I had to go out for a n item I needed

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We go fortnightly to stock up on my Slimming World meals - delicious and well balanced; usually 550gr and 400-500 cals. Favourites are :

Meat Feast Pasta - 495 cals
Jerk Chicken - 475 cals
Beef Tagliatelle - 535 cals
Beef Lasagna - 495 cals
Meatballs & Pasta - 520 cals
Chicken Arabiatta - 485 cals

I rate them when I first try them and the above were all 5/5. All others were 4/5 apart from the Cottage Pie which I thought a little bland so 3/5 - although I'm going to buy it again and add alot of black pepper to the meat to give it a kick.

I usually put a layer of spinach leaves on the plate and a couple of tbsp of grated Parmesan on the top equalling (c) +40cals

I don't eat fish but my husband does and really really likes the variety of prawn dishes.

We also very much like a number of their TakeAway range especially the Sweet&Sour Battered Chicken Balls (375 cals for 375g) and the Chicken Korma (490 cals for 375g)
You have to add rice to the two meals though and we use the VeeTee Microwave Rice portions (160 cals).

These two meals are so good that we no longer use them as a treat from our local Chinese and Indian restaurant takeaways.

Other treats are the large range of TGI Friday TexMex foods - usually at least three chest freezer fulls available. Delicious. I'm told that the Gregg offerings are great too.

Lots of choice and good prices (often on the lines of 3-4-12). And, as said 10% off on Tuesdays if you're over 60.

We use the savings towards our 'Date Night' fortnightly treat to a rather expensive and special favourite Italian restaurant (usually £100-£130 for the two of us - would be more if we drank alcohol!!).

So ..... Iceland serves us very well indeed!
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Whoops - canelloni

Have never tried Iceland. Have used ready meals though during the countless heatwaves recently. I find that the vegetarian ones are better, the meat is usually disappointing. Lidl do some lovely Italian ready meals in the fridge section. We like the vegetarian lasagne, vegetarian canaloni, and macaroni, cheese. Apart from this we would use M&S ready meals. Always good but more pricey.

When we were living in France, we used to go to Spain to visit our son and family. Shopping in Iceland there was always a joy as we could stock up on all the things we couldn't get in France. A takeaway curry and a DVD was a real treat. 😂