You May Not Expect This To Be One Of The Healthier Prepared Foods At Costco

High on the list of must-buy foods for first-time Costco customers are the warehouse retailer's prepared meals. Effortless for scooping up during a shopping trip and so, so easy to heat up at home, they are a cost-effective substitute for takeout on busy nights. We love us some Costco food court hacks, but when you crave a hearty home-cooked meal and not a massive hot dog, the take-and-bake prepared meals come a bit closer to scratching the itch. Of course, not all dinners hit exactly the same, and that's just as true for the entrées in the refrigerator case. Some Costco dinners are loaded with salt and potentially weird ingredients — we're looking at you, Southwest Chicken Wraps — but we found one meal that makes the grade, both in terms of deliciousness and macros: the Kirkland Signature Stuffed Peppers.

These stuffed bell pepper halves are loaded generously with ground beef, rice, and cheese. They bake up into a luscious, comforting meal that comes with six pepper halves, which are a serving apiece. Not only are stuffed peppers a retro classic with mega appeal for even picky eaters and kids, but they are also a lot more wholesome than some other Costco options. That includes 24 grams of protein per serving, 370% of your daily value of vitamin C, and generous amounts of fiber, iron, and calcium in only 320 calories. This means that, even if you crave a more filling meal and eat two pepper halves (again, that's two servings), you get twice the nutrients and still consume fewer calories than what is in a single slice of the Costco food court cheese pizza.

Perhaps the only downside of the Costco stuffed peppers is that, like many ready-made meals at both Costco and elsewhere, they contain a good amount of sodium. A half-pepper has 610 milligrams, which is estimated at 25% of your daily value, and could be even more if you are trying to maintain a low-sodium diet. It's our opinion that this amount isn't insurmountable if you watch the sides with which you serve your peppers for dinner — a salad or veggie side with low-sodium seasonings or dressing, for instance — and are mindful of your consumption the rest of the day. That protein is hard to ignore, and we're pretty psyched about the other nutritional benefits of these peppers as well.

Vitamin C, which stuffed peppers contain in abundance, may be closely associated with orange juice, but it's similarly plentiful in peppers. It's an antioxidant that combats aging, helps store iron, and may help prevent heart disease and cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic. Speaking of iron, your peppers have that, too. According to the Red Cross, which knows a thing or two about blood, iron is critical for making red blood cells and boosting your immune system. Fiber, for its part, keeps your digestive system happy and running regularly. That's why these peppers rank high on our Costco shopping lists, along with our other favorite prepared meal at the warehouse grocery store.