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Home » United Airlines » Taste Test: United’s New Domestic Hot Meals
Meal of the WeekUnited Airlines

Taste Test: United’s New Domestic Hot Meals

Matthew Klint Posted onJune 19, 2021November 14, 2023 16 Comments

Earlier this week I had a chance to try out United’s new hot-plated meal service. I’m pleased to report the food is a tremendous improvement over the sandwiches we have endured the last several months in first class.

New Domestic Hot Meals On United Airlines

I had to be in Chicago earlier this week and rather than fly nonstop from Los Angeles, I connected via Houston simply so I could try both the new dinner and breakfast options.

Hot meals in first class are now served on the following flights:

  • Domestic flights – over 1,500 miles
  • Hub-to-hub routes – over 800 miles

“Domestic” includes the following routes:

  • United States
  • Canada
  • Caribbean
  • Latin America

My flight to Houston left at 12:45am and flight time was under three hours…oh what a miserable flight for sleeping. But dinner was served after takeoff, with a choice between:

  • Grilled chicken breast with orzo and lemon basil pesto
  • Vegetarian enchilada with green chile sauce, served with a side of Spanish rice

I chose the vegetarian enchiladas and was pleased with the portion size and flavor. The enchiladas were corn tortillas filled with cheese, topped in a green sauce, and served over rice. 

food on a table

a plate of food on a table

a plate of food on a table

a plate of food on a table

a burrito with cheese and vegetables on a plate

They were served with a black bean salad, a bread roll, and a delicious “pie in the sky” chocolate chip cookies from Eli’s cheesecake.

a bowl of food on a table

a package of chocolate chip cookie

How good was the meal?

a plate with foil and cups on a table

After a short connection in Houston, I boarded my flight to Chicago, which would feature breakfast service. After takeoff, flight attendants offered a choice between:

  • Egg scramble with plant-based chorizo, jack cheese, butternut squash, black beans
  • Belgium waffle with bourbon bananas foster sauce and berry compote

I ordered the egg scramble and found the portion size substantial and the mix of chorizo, black beans, eggs, peppers, and potatoes very tasty.

a plate of food and a bowl of fruit

a plate of food on a table

a fork in a bowl of food

It was also great to see a real fruit bowl back (versus a Dole fruit cup) and the melon and pineapple were ripe and sweet.

a bowl of fruit on a blue cloth

I noticed many in the cabin skipped breakfast, so I asked the flight attendant if there were any waffles left. She nodded, admitted she had already had two, and noted there were three left…and offered me all of them if I was hungry enough!

a plate of food and a bowl of fruit

a waffle with fruit on top

a plate of food on a table

I just had one, but enjoyed this almost as much as the eggs. The bourbon sauce on the bananas was great and the waffles had a rich, buttery taste which required no butter or additional sauce.

CONCLUSION

United’s new domestic food is great…I loved all three dishes I tried (and I’ve had the chicken dish in the past, which is also tasty). While I hope that United will rotate its meal selections on a regular basis, these represent a dramatic improvement over the sandwiches we have been served in first class for many months.

Have you tried United’s new first class meals? How did you find them?

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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16 Comments

  1. Slappy Reply
    June 19, 2021 at 9:54 am

    Meal service on a 3 hour red eye flight sounds horrendous regardless of food quality. I guess chalk this one up to “do it for the blog.”

    • emercycrite Reply
      June 20, 2021 at 3:18 am

      Who are we kidding, Matthew just loves to eat lol

  2. Donald Reply
    June 19, 2021 at 10:56 am

    That’s a lot of beans over the course of a few hours. Windy City indeed.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      June 19, 2021 at 11:02 am

      Lol

  3. Mark in Ithaca Reply
    June 19, 2021 at 2:09 pm

    That waffle looks wonderful! The eggs might be OK, but prefab scrambled eggs often disappoint me. These look pretty pebbly.

  4. Tony Carlfeldt Reply
    June 19, 2021 at 4:16 pm

    I for one would never have anticipated any meal on a flight leaving at 12:45am

    • Argosy314 Reply
      June 22, 2021 at 11:13 am

      I’m slightly confused by this as well. Can’t recall anytime recently, or at least prior to COVID, that UA was serving even a snack plate on mid-con redeyes. Not sure I understand the logic that UA would serve meals on redeyes (where I’m pretty certain that 60-70% of the cabin are going to forgo a meal and sleep) but not serve meals on flights under in a 1200-1499 mile band that are about 2.5-3.5 hours where most people would expect some sort of a meal.

  5. Hajime Sano Reply
    June 20, 2021 at 12:27 pm

    I had the chicken dish on an LAX-BOS red eye flight Thursday night. I was pleasantly surprised to get a hot meal after reading blog reports of unappetizing sandwiches over the last year. It was tasty, and large enough to satisfy this big eater.

  6. Nonny Reply
    June 20, 2021 at 4:33 pm

    I’m shocked anything was served on the flight to IAH.

  7. Carlos Reply
    June 20, 2021 at 8:29 pm

    Had the chicken pesto on SEA-IAH redeye last night. I was impressed with it and taste was pretty good for a domestic first class flight.

  8. GKK Reply
    June 21, 2021 at 3:19 pm

    Chicken pesto was a previous dish too… maybe as a 2nd meal in Polaris? But definitely something that’s been served before. I agree that it’s a good pick. I also like the bean salad, something a little bit different. I look forward to more entrees being added to the rotation.

    Also note the “ovenable packaging” of the cookies… come on United, a warmed cookie (even in “COVID-safe” packaging) would be a great touch!

  9. AMS Reply
    July 11, 2021 at 11:20 am

    Flew from San Diego to Raleigh via Chicago, expecting the same as back in May…the packaged tapas box that tasted just that, packaged. Very much a surprise when the enchilada/chicken-orzo meal option was offered. I had the enchiladas (choice made by unfortunate and not by choice wheat intolerance). First, I was surprised there even was an option that worked for me (I don’t complain or expect it), and then it was actually good. I saved the warmed Eli’s cookie, which was enjoyed by another later – they were looking online to see if they could be ordered from Eli’s Cheesecake (looks like a special order for United). Kudos to United for this effort and delivery – I noticed the person seated next to me ate every bit of his chicken meal as well.

  10. C Reply
    August 6, 2021 at 7:56 pm

    Where can I buy those cookies. It was so good!

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      August 6, 2021 at 11:46 pm

      I wish I knew!

  11. Susan Siedler Reply
    August 18, 2021 at 1:40 pm

    I had the Chicken Orzo. I am not what I would consider an adventurous eater, but I barely made my flight, no time to buy from a kiosk/restaurant. I can tell you in 100% honesty, I am ecstatic I chose to try it, even though flight was under 2 hrs & I could have waited for home.
    It was so so very delicious!! That was s 6 days ago. Typing this, my mouth is watering and tummy growling, I want MORE!!!!
    There simply must be a recipe online somewhere that someone has taken time to define all the ingredients & flavors, & posted it somewhere!

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      August 18, 2021 at 1:41 pm

      I’m glad you enjoyed it!

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