We Tried 7 Costco Prepared Meals - Here's How They Stack Up

If you dread cooking dinner, Costco has a whole area of its store devoted to prepared meals and some kits that are ideal for such a situation. With dishes that have more assembly required and others that basically take popping them in the oven for about an hour, there are meals here for every skill level and craving.

As a newer Costco member, I've been making my way around the store, discovering the best time to shop at Costco, finding grocery products to buy and avoid in every aisle, and enjoying lots of famous Costco free samples. I'll admit that I initially turned my nose up at some of the meals because most of them contain dishes that I can easily make at home. Even still, watching the associates in the kitchen, through the big glass windows shows that these meals, even though they are assembled en masse, are still made with a certain love and care, making me feel much better about serving these dishes for a quick dinner rather than a frozen meal. With so many options to choose from, I selected what I expected to be my favorites to see if these meals are worth a try in your home.

Typically, I've made Alfredo with fettuccine noodles, so penne was a new option here. The meal came with a creamy sauce slathered all over already cooked noodles with what looks like meat from crumbled Costco rotisserie chickens. The serving is generous, and it would be an ideal meal for three hungry adults. I can imagine it serving a family of four, with two adults and two children, quite well. So, a solo diner could eat off this one dish for several days.

This noodle dish needed quite a substantial amount of time to cook, coming to temperature by the 50 minute mark. The reason this one is ranked as my least favorite is because the noodle texture was very soft. Instead of having a slight bite, as I find I often prefer, these were just plain squishy. The flavor of them was mild and creamy, but it had all the feel of pasta that had just been absolutely drenched in sauce and then allowed to sit for far too long. Before cooking, I was nervous that the chicken on top would offer a very dry feel to the overall dish, but that wasn't the case. Instead, the chicken mixed easily into the noodles, also soaking up some of that sauce, which, though it made the noodles too squishy, offered an ideal moist chicken feel. While it was my least favorite of the meals I tried, it was still a very comforting meal, and one I can even say I mostly enjoyed, even if I had issues with the texture of the noodles.

Looking at the package, the stuffed peppers are a delight. Each package contains red, yellow, and orange halved peppers generously filled with what looks to be a tasty beef filling. To cook these already prepared peppers, you remove the included plastic cover and replace it with a foil top before popping it into the oven. I found that 50 minutes was the perfect amount of time, but the package recommends anywhere from 50-60 minutes, depending on your oven.

Upon sampling, I thought these peppers were a little basic, but I was impressed with how tender the actual veggie came out. The texture of the peppers is where my praise ends, unfortunately. I could have done with more salt, better seasoning, and more meat. It tasted closer to turkey than beef, honestly, and was a little bland. There's a generous amount of food, and if pairing with a couple of sides, like mashed potatoes and salad, for instance, you'd have a full meal. I would have ranked these higher if they offered better flavor, but I probably won't be buying them again.

Of all the meals I tried, the one that required the most assembly was the chicken street tacos. While the other dishes needed some time in the oven, the chicken street tacos were curiously without instructions. Rather than giving a specific amount of time that the chicken and tortilla should be heated, it simply said they should be warmed. We found that 30 seconds with a plate of two assembled tacos with chicken, tortillas, and cheese was the ideal amount of time.

I didn't complain too much about the assembly needed for the tacos. It seems necessary for this kind of kit, but I do wish Costco would create a better arrangement for the ingredients in the tray. This was the reason I didn't rank these tacos closer to the top. Rather than separating everything out well, the coleslaw cabbage sat below the cheese and mixed far too easily. For my husband, this was not enjoyable — but those who don't mind a little cabbage mixed in with their cheese won't find this to be too big of a problem. The star of the show was the cilantro lime sauce and it was delicious on tacos, though you'll definitely want to add it after heating. Altogether, the street tacos had a decently flavored bite, but it wasn't my favorite of the taco kits. My husband would likely have ranked it higher. I simply preferred the other meals much more.

I'm a macaroni and cheese connoisseur. I've obviously passed it on to my son who is also obsessed with the dish. Whenever we visit a restaurant, if it has mac & cheese on the menu, I know that is what he will probably order. I must admit, I'm often tempted by ordering the same meal, but ultimately choose something more adult-like — but his meal almost always looks and tastes better than mine. Honestly, that's pretty much the deal here too. I expected a fairly basic macaroni and cheese, and while I can say that most people who enjoy mac & cheese will also enjoy this one, it surpassed my expectations.

This is another very soft noodle dish, but with macaroni and cheese, that's much more agreeable than it is with alfredo. It was very comforting and satisfying, and actually quite heavy. There was a substantial amount of gooeyness, and a nice cheese pull, even from the coating of cheese right on top. Rather than something like an elbow or shell noodle, Kirkland Signature uses cavatappi noodles, which I enjoyed. Although I really liked this macaroni and cheese, I did find that it was under-salted, which was easily remedied before eating.

One of the cool parts about the prepared meals area at Costco is that there are a variety of them that serve many purposes. Whether you need a hearty dinner or something a little more light, there are great options. For lunch, I really like the sandwich choices, in particular the chicken and bacon wrap with ranch.

With four halves of wraps, this prepared meal easily serves two hungry adults for lunch. The wraps tasted fresh. The bacon was a little crunchy and smoky, adding a nice texture to the bite. The ranch dipping sauce was basic, but it did its job. Since the sauce comes in a cup on the side, I used it for dipping — but I can imagine unwrapping the sandwiches slightly and adding it right in there. My only critique is that the interior of the wraps was very soft, aside from the bacon. More variety in texture would be better.

Of the two taco kits I sampled, I was more suspicious of the tempura shrimp taco kit than the chicken street taco kit. It turns out this suspicion was poorly placed, and this turned out to be one of my favorite meals I've tried. While the chicken tacos provided no heating instructions, this taco kit had recommendations on the temperature and length of time the shrimp should cook in the oven. This seems small, but I think it made a big difference in the tacos.

Assembled with shrimp, slaw, pico, and cilantro lime crème, these tacos tasted great and had a nice texture. I really enjoyed how everything worked together. The taco kit, however, suffers from something of a balance problem. While it has the perfect amount of crème, there's way too much slaw, and not nearly enough pico. And there was one more taco shell than shrimp, likely an error.

Of all the meals I sampled, the meatloaf with Yukon gold mashed potatoes was the standout. This was the one I was looking forward to the least. In fact, I saved it for last because I expected it to be my least favorite. However, this one blew me away.

The flavor of the sauce from the meatloaf was perfectly tart and even a little sweet, and it went so well with the meatloaf. The mashed potatoes had a great flavor, and didn't taste like they were simply thrown together from a box mix, even made from best type of spuds for mashed potatoes. These felt like homemade potatoes, like I might make in my own kitchen.

I'm surprised the meatloaf and mashed potatoes were my favorite of all the choices, and I will definitely pick up one of these again. Like the chicken alfredo with penne pasta, this would create a substantial dinner for three people, and between my husband and me, we had plenty leftover for lunch the next day — thankfully, we know the absolute best way to reheat meatloaf. It's the kind of meatloaf you might expect grandma to make, so it brings to mind all those memories of home cooking.

Some Costco meals require a little more assembly than others, and plenty that need quite a bit of time in the oven. I chose four meals to try that looked the most promising in order to determine which was the best of these options. Ultimately, I ranked them based on their flavor, texture, and overall experience. 

For flavor, I simply wanted something that was enjoyable to eat and made my taste buds happy. Texture was also on the agenda — to me, texture should never stray too far from my expectations, because when it does it makes the dish less appetizing. In terms of overall experience, I kept in mind things like easy-to-follow and informative directions, assembly, and serving of the dish.