Nstant Meal Pots Fiery Chick'n Noodles - Review

[DanielPB]

Hey guys,

So when I was ordering my last refill of Huel, I noticed a new product on the site, some instant meal pots and while I didn’t really need a slightly different way make Huel meals, I saw it came with new flavors so naturally I was intrigued - However, I would have loved some samples instead of being forced to buy a full case of 8 for my first round, as I am not that into spicy food, but I’d still love to try new flavors.

A single serving taste sample package could be this for example:

I got it yesterday and as soon as I opened the outer package(the box outside the box of pots) I could smell the spices and I immediately got scared that it was going to be waaay too spicy for me

Anyway, on to todays taste test!
The instructions on the package say to open the lid halfway and to fill to the line with hot water. The lip for pulling the lid though isn’t positioned in the same place on the pots, so you could be opening the lid on the opposite side of the fill line, which seems a little counter intuitive, perhaps reconsider this design team?
Onwards! I filled the pot to the approximate line with boiling water and stirred, realising that wasn’t nearly enough water, so I filled it a bit more. Let it sit for 7 minutes and stirred again, but it still wasn’t enough water, so I filled it to nearly 1cm from the top I would estimate. The pasta and chick’n wasn’t cooked yet, so I let it sit another 5 min.

It was now ready and the smell was filling my house and once again, I was a little scared, because I am not really a fan of spicy food. Time for the first spoonful.
My fear was confirmed, this was waaay to spicy for my liking, but the flavor was ok, lacking a little depth I felt like, perhaps because the burning sensation took away from the flavor, idk. This is when I started contemplating why this product was designed the way it was, instead of just being in a pouch like the other hot and savoury products. I went to the forum and found a comment from the team that these noodles weren’t scoopable. I looked confusingly down upon the 2-3cm long cut up noodles comparing them in my mind, to the Spaghetti Carbonara 2-3cm long pieces of pasta that comes in that meal and found that statement quite odd.

Anyway, back to the taste test!
If you don’t like spicy food at all, this isn’t for you. If you can handle a little bit of heat, then this might be nice to add to your Huel stables if they decide to do these in pouches. Their current format is confusing to me.
My lips are burning and I won’t be rebuying unless they decide to ship these in pouches, where I can mix them with something a little milder to take the edge of, as my lips are currently burning

For reference the Cajun Pasta is about as spicy as I would like my food.

[hunzas]

I agree that they are spicy. I like spicy food and I was surprised at how hot they actually were, and I also agree they lack depth of flavour - it’s just heat. The other variety would be more to your liking, it’s much milder and a well rounded flavour, but I guess you wouldn’t want to spend good money on another load of pots.

The single serve packaging you mocked up above actually made me think - for Huel users who already use the H&S meal, those sachets would be ideal to decant into the H&S pot and add water and no faffing about with an ill fitting pull back lid with the water mark in the wrong place.

With reference to the smell from the pots. I think I was the first person on the forum to review them and my review actually mentioned that…LOL

[DanielPB]

On the upside, within half an hour of consumption, I’ve drank 750ml of water, so my water goal for the day is almost in already, only halfway through the day

This product is completely scoopable, idk what the team is talking about, but yes, individual pouches could also be an idea and would save shipping air inside the pots and the wasted space surrounding them, and that they can only be sold by the case, because otherwise their fragile nature would break in transport

[Hex]

Someone’s been on DALL-E 3! Ha ha, completely agree with this review and @hunzas’s comments. A meal can be very spicy but still be flavoursome and aromatic, but the Fiery Chick’n one felt like extreme heat was added simply because it can, ruining any sense of flavour.

You’re spot on regarding the fill line. Makes zero sense to put it on the opposite side – it’s so annoying every time and I spilled boiling hot water on my hand the other day awkwardly trying to twist it around. Design flaw for sure. Sachets would have me buying more regularly.

+1 also for having the option of buying a sample. Would have preferred paying extra for a single protected pot, than £20+ on a box of 8. First Huel purchase I regret.

The Katsu Curry one though is deliciouuussss Would recommend grabbing a box of those! Really tasty. I’d say it’s my third favourite Huel instant meal (behind the old Mac & Cheeze versoin and the Spaghetti Carbonara).

[Hex]

Live photo from the scene as it happened

[Mark_Huel]

This thread has been super enjoyable with all the images and jokes along the way so thank you for this! Sorry, you found it so spicy!

Of course you’ve already mentioned before why this isn’t in pouches but just to reiterate to other people, we understand the importance of getting a perfect portion every time. Noodles didn’t get along too well with our current scoop format, thus the Huel Pot was born!

Katsu is a clear winner with a lot of people and seems this could be the case with yourself. Is there any other flavours that you’d like to see us bring to the table?

[DanielPB]

Yeah, I was, easy to get some visuals to help with your point

I didn’t want to say, but I actually did the same, spilled boiling water everywhere because I was looking for the fill line, while filling and the lip of the lid slipped, effectively closing the container again and water splashing all over my counter…

I tried eating it for dinner as well with 1/3 powder from the very bland mac and cheese product, but alas, it was still too spicy for me and without sharing too much details, it hurts coming out as well

I guess I’ll try my hand at the Katsu one instead, thanks

[DanielPB]

I actually find the “chick’n” pieces in the pot to have a great texture, so you could utilize that in other products as well.

Like I said, I don’t feel it’s any less scoopable than your spaghetti carbonara for example, that also has the same length of pasta in it. Or you could just redesign your scoop to be wider if that’s the current issue

I would love to see you guys create more mushroom based recipes. I grow my own gourmet mushrooms and they add so much flavor and depth to dishes.
Currently growing a variety of oysters, lions mane, bears head, coral tooth, pioppiono, trumpets, king oyster, chestnuts, shiitake and loads of others.

The Huel chicken mushroom with crispy pan fried oyster mushrooms is just awesome for example and I’m adding Lions Mane powder to the mac & cheeze for a flavor boost + all the medicinal properties they add.

[Hex]

Glad you mentioned this! Thankfully it doesn’t sound like the boiling water got on your skin. I imagine this design flaw could cause some nasty burn situations for some customers.

Did you ever try the original version of Mac & Cheeze before it was changed? It used to be sooo creamy, flavoursome and cheesy. But yeah the Katsu Curry pot is really nice – completely different experience to Fiery Chick’n.

[DanielPB]

Haha, yeah, wasn’t my proudest moment to realize I screwed up preparing simple “cup noodles” And yes, I would recommend Huel take a look at perhaps making that packaging smarter.

I did and I also posted about my disappointment when I received the new version without any warning. It’s so bland now and so little sauce to pasta ratio(which I also posted about) after receiving a pouch with clearly improper ratio. I find myself adding loads of different things to it to get some flavor going

Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll order those on my next round

[Hex]

Good news – seems like v2 will fix these issues

Ahhhh completely agree with you! Those were my exact thoughts too. I actually had an old bag and made both at the same time for a direct comparison, and the visual difference too was crazy. So flavourness and non-creamy now. I found that by turning the new Mac & Cheeze bag upside down, shaking it like a madman for 20 seconds, then taking 2 scoops with as much powder as possible makes it better (bit more flavour, more sauciness and less macaroni). But it’s still nowhere near the original. Definitely needs less macaroni, more sauce and more cheesy flavour back

Could always vote with your wallet – seems like it’s all about how many people take certain flavours off their subscriptions that sways decision-making.

[DanielPB]

I agree on the mac&cheeze and I did vote with my wallet and took it off my next few orders, but I caved and added it back for a bit of variance, but it was under very vocal protests. I grow my own mushrooms now, so I fry them up and mix in to be the flavoring in there, the rest is just fillers…

[hunzas]

It’s funny. When it first launched I liked the texture of the V2 mac and cheese more than the original, but not the lack of sauce and cheesiness… but after a while I got to like it and alongside carbonara is my most frequently purchased h&s. I eat it regularly (had it for lunch today in fact).

[Darrenbryan10]

My favourite is Mac n Cheeze followed closely by Pasta Bolgnese.

[Hex]

Never back down John! Bring your macaroni shaped picket sign to Huel HQ to stand strong

Carbonara is for sure my favourite. Gives me the creaminess I miss from v1 Mac & Cheeze.

[5kg2go]

@hunzas

The single serve packaging you mocked up above actually made me think - for Huel users who already use the H&S meal, those sachets would be ideal to decant into the H&S pot and add water and no faffing about with an ill fitting pull back lid with the water mark in the wrong place.

I’d love it if the regular H&S came in sachets.

I like the H&S. But I don’t order it anymore as each scoop is too inconsistent and I’m always left with too much powder once I get down to the last few portions.

If they came in 400 kcal (or whatever the portion/serving size is) sachets that we just ripped open and poured into the pot, then filled with water, and had a consistent blend each time, I’d order them again.

They could be paper sachets like you get with porridge for easy recycling:

[hunzas]

Huel used to sell single serve sachets of Huel powder in 100g /400cal sachets but stopped selling them for various reasons (including environmental impact and also people may try them once and then not bother again if they didn’t like Huel after one go - as it takes a few goes to get it right.

But now Huel do sell plenty of other single serve products and some you can even add to your order: instant meal pots, RTD, bars, vitamin drink etc. so maybe it is something that could be revisited. I’m not sure on the viability of a more simple packaging like the porridge oats as the previous ones were similar to the large Huel bags, but I did find them useful in some scenarios and did buy them for when I was at festivals or travelling etc. It’s easier to chuck a lot of single sachets in my rucksack than big bags. I guess loss of nutrients will be the main concern, but I don’t now how well the instant meal pots retain theirs as they are a paper based design and certainly let air through as they do certainly smell quite strong!

[IainCraig]

The thing is you still have to buy hot n savoury in a 7 meal pouch which is only one less than 8 pots? You have lost me

[sb-huel]

That’s a really creative and professional mock up packaging design! Well done.

You’ve triggered SO MANY people on here for even suggesting a plastic based bag for a single serving! hahaha But it looks good.

Wish we could buy single pots.

The stink is a bit of an issue, I’m forced to store them in my room so nobody has to smell them constantly!

[David]

@sb-huel

That’s a really creative and professional mock up packaging design! Well done.

It’s AI generated. No creativity was involved in making it.