WHAT'S IN NESTLE'S HOT POCKETS?
NESTLE HOT POCKETS — FAR FROM HOMEMADE™
Information updated January 2024
According to Statista 2024, Nestlé Hot Pockets is the U.S. leader in frozen hot snacks:
HOT POCKETS HAVE SOME HISTORY: Hot Pockets were first on the convenient food scene with frozen hand-held meals. The brand was positioned as “The Hot Meal in a Pocket”. The product is a result of modern day frozen food science.
NESTLE’S HOT POCKETS CONTAIN MULTIPLE INGREDIENTS Not In Kitchen™ >> Not In Kitchen ingredients are ingredients we would never have in our home kitchens to make any given item. (Source for Hot Pockets ingredients: Nestlé Hot Pockets package on Target Web site 1/24)
Nestlé has removed the ingredients lists from the Hot Pockets Web site since the first Ingredient Inspector review of Hot Pockets in January 2021.
On the Hot Pockets Web site, Nestlé states Hot Pockets contain “THE GOOD STUFF” . . . but every Hot Pockets contains multiple ingredients Not In Kitchen.
Whole Foods has certain ingredients which they cite as “Unacceptable in food” and several of these are included in Nestlé Hot Pockets products. (Source for banned ingredients: Amazon Whole Foods Web site 1/24)
Nestlé Hot Pockets Big & Bold Double Pepperoni Pizza contain seven ingredients banned at Whole Foods.
Q: Do you think this is “THE GOOD STUFF”?
Nestlé does.
Nestlé says, “It’s what’s on the inside that counts”, so let’s see what’s inside Hot Pockets Big & Bold Chicken Bacon Ranch.
Shown below, Hot Pockets Big & Bold Chicken Bacon Ranch have over 90 ingredients.
The main chicken component — Cooked Grilled White Meat Chicken Strips — consists of: White Meat Chicken, Water, Isolated Soy Protein, Modified Rice Starch, Chicken Flavor (Dehydrated Chicken Broth, Chicken Powder, Natural Flavor), Sodium Phosphate, Salt. (Sources: Nestlé Hot Pockets Web site 1/24; Nestlé Hot Pockets package on Target Web site 1/24)
Q: What is Chicken Powder? A: Chicken Stock in a powdered form.
These Hot Pockets are banned at Whole Foods and contain multiple ingredients Not In Kitchen when making a Chicken Bacon Ranch sandwich.
WRAPPED PIZZA COMPARISON: Here’s Hot Pockets Pepperoni Pizza with a Garlic Buttery Crust vs. Closest To Homemade® brand Amy’s Cheese Pizza Snacks. This is an ‘apples to pears comparison’ (because one has Pepperoni and the other does not), but it makes the basic point that these types of products can be made with no ingredients Not In Kitchen like Amy’s. (Sources: Nestlé Hot Pockets Web site 1/24; Walmart Web site 1/24; Amy’s Web site 1/24)
CLOSEST TO HOMEMADE FROZEN MEALS: There are some Frozen Meals which are Closest To Homemade with no Corn Syrups, no Soybean, Palm or Canola Oil, no Added Colors or Flavors and no Chemical Preservatives and no Bleached Flour. These include offerings from Saffron Road, Amy’s and Primal Kitchen. (Sources: Brand Web sites 1/24 and Amazon Whole Foods Web site 1/24)
Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list
Discover more food + beverages whose ingredients are Closest To Homemade in 275+ categories. Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list.
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