Idahoan Mashed Potatoes - Hidden Valley Ranch

There sure are a lot of Ranch flavored things. As a noted Ranch disliker, it's weird that I keep buying them, I know. But they usually don't taste that much like ranch! Anyway, these smelled a bit bad in the package, which made me nervous, but they smelled more normal once mixed with the hot water. This makes a generous amount, and it's quite tedious to eat it plain, but I wanted to get a true sense of the flavor. Which is: vaguely ranchy, I suppose. Mostly tastes like cream and typical onion/garlic potato seasoning. Salty. It's fine, but not noticeably distinct from most of the other Idahoan flavors I've had. 

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Idahoan Chicken Broth Mashed Potatoes

These are mostly just fine. They are potatoes with a slight salty/brothy vibe, I guess. Pretty boring on their own, but definitely quick and filling. The cooking instructions (Boil water, add potatoes) weirded me out since they say to add to a bowl straightaway rather than to boil in a pot as I'm used to. Makes it seem less food-like somehow!

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Idahoan Buttery Homestyle Mashed Potatoes

I assume the cup version tastes similar to this bag version, but the bag feels much classier, anyway. So I got this because it was 8 servings and I wanted a backup for Thanksgiving in case the real potatoes didn't pan out. But they did, so I made this all for myself at home with turkey/corn leftovers. It was way too much potato. It actually went well with greens + jalepenos, so that's a good option for a starchy meal for quar times (or post-quar times, even). They do have a buttery taste but it isn't overwhelming or fatty tasting. They do also have a bit of artificialness to them, but it doesn't bother me much, although it is noticeable, especially without gravy. All the more reason to gravy boat! These are so cheap/fast to make that I can't knock 'em too much. And whatever labelling issues I had with the cups wasn't present here!

Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 6/10

Idahoan Cheddar Broccoli Hearty Soup

So, Idahoan never got back to me about their contradictory allergy labelling, which isn't great. Yet I decided to support them by buying a bunch of soup. Oops. But in my defense, you only need water to make these, this supposedly doesn't have soy protein in it, and I like soup. I like soup! Sue me! :D:

This is pretty solid, anyway. It's a pot of warm, filling, potatoey mush. I admit it was weirdly salty and sugary for a soup, and it had an aftertaste of sugar cookies, which was very very weird. But, I like it. It's cheap, easy to cook, didn't make me itchy, and isn't super calorific even though the salt/sugar stats are no bueno. Not a ton of brocco (or cheese) flavor, mostly sweet + potato, which sounds kind bad, but it's really not bad. Pleasant soup. I will try adding veg to it at some point, because that seems like it might be an upgrade.

Overall
Cost: 6/10 [2.50$ at Walmart.com]
Taste: 7/10

Idahoan Buttery Homestyle Mashed Potatoes Cup

During this corona holiday season, I'm a moper without my traditional foods. Sure, it wasn't my first Thanksgiving alone (and probably not my last), but I couldn't even go to the store and buy snacks! So I appreciate the convenience and shippability of this Mashed Potato Easy Mac Cup. It is super easy and fast to prepare (less than 2 minutes), decently filling, and not too calorific. It tastes just like mashed potatoes, which normally I am "eh" on, but they fit the winter bill. So what's not to like? 

Well, I'll tell you what. On the outer box, these say "Contains Milk." but then on the individual cup (with no actual ingredients or nutritional info on it), it says "Contains Milk and Soy". What??! If that were peanut instead of soy I'd be crying furiously. Why are they different?! The best case scenario is that they don't actually have soy, but even just seeing that disparity is so terrifying. I emailed them, so we'll see what happens. 

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10
Labelling: 1/10

Idahoan Steakhouse Creamy Potato Soup

Soup! I love soup, when I'm not allergic to it and when I don't need to use a blender to make it. This was so easy and convenient. Just add water and cook. It also made a lot of soup! And it tasted pretty good; it was creamy as advertised and not too gross like mashed potatoes but wet would be. A tip for me: I shouldn't eat it all at once. Also it was a little monotonous, maybe I should try putting something in there (like carrot, or maybe broccoli or corn?). Anyway, it was good and filling, though fattening. I would buy it again if I ever saw it at the store, but I haven't seen it anywhere.




Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Idahoan Smokey Cheese & Bacon Mashed Potatoes

OK, the main thing to note about these potatoes for me is that the "bacon" in this flavor isn't real bacon at all, but bacon flavored soy protein. Normally I don't care about fake meat/cheese/flavoring, but I'm mildly allergic to soy protein, so this made me really anxious. I tried to eat around the bacon bits in here, but there are quite a lot of them and it still made me itchy. A scary experience. Other than that, I didn't think this tasted very different from the other cheese flavored varieties anyway. So I'd recommend you just get one of those instead, unless you really love bacon flavor. There is a light smoky bacon flavor here for sure, as well as some plain mild cheddar. Even ignoring the soy thing, I wasn't a big fan of this flavor. Easy to cook & cheap though!


Overall
Cost: 8/10
Taste: 4/10

Idahoan Cheddar & Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes

This was fine. Standard. As always, Idahoan potatoes are super fast and easy to cook, plus they are a filling meal and fairly low-cal compared to pasta or rice. The taste of these was really nothing special, though, even with added veg. Tastes like cheesy potato, which is totally serviceable but very boring after a few spoonfuls. A monotonous eating experience. But if you like plain pizza, plain bagels, plain donuts, and sauceless meats, you might love this (I do not).

Overall
Cost: 8/10
Taste: 5/10

Idahoan Roasted Garlic & Parmesan Baby Reds Mashed Potatoes

I actually got potatoes again! They're so cheap and easy and filling, how could I resist. This sounded like the tastiest flavor to me, because I thought it might be lumpy and garlicy like the best mashed potatoes are. However, I failed to realise that fake mashed potatoes probably wouldn't (shouldn't) be lumpy. So they were smooth and not with skin in them, the picture is a bit misleading. The flavor was fine, garlicy and buttery and I guess cheesy. Honestly I could do without the cheese and if I get more potatoes, I will get a cheeseless variety. I put in some mixed steamed veg to make it more healthful, and it worked out pretty decently. 2 meals worth!

Overall
Cost: 8/10
Taste: 7/10

Idahoan Four Cheese Mashed Potatoes

So, I've had the flu this week (still do, bleh) and when I ate this, I was at the apex of sickness (or at least I hope so) and therefore couldn't really taste them enough to give an accurate review. From what I could perceive, they were not amazing but they were fine. I still paired them with brocco and they were still suuuuper filling for the calories. I think I liked the original flavor better, although it's hard to tell what I really thought of these. I hate bleu cheese, so the fact that that is one of the included cheeses makes me nervous, although I couldn't tell it was included. But maybe if I had control of my senses I would have noticed and disliked it. Anyway, this company seems pretty cool - they have a lot of products, everything is cheap, and they have a nice website with allergy info and recipes and pictures. I'm on board.

Overall
Cost: 9/10
Taste: 6/10

Idahoan Classic Mashed Potatoes

I wasn't sure what to except with these, as I find plain potatoes a little boring, and people talk crap on box (or bag) mashed potatoes. But actually, I thought these were really good, especially for the price and convenience factor. The taste was nice and buttery, with a nice creamy texture, and overall a fun experience. They were super easy to make, and I paired it with brocco for a full mean. I ate them all! But it was still less calories than a noodle pack, woohoo.






Overall
Cost: 9/10 [1$]
Taste: 7/10