My family tried 16 of Costco’s premade meals, and we’d buy almost all of them again

In my opinion, the mac and cheese was way too rich. There was a lot of cheese and a lot of sauce, and it was unpleasantly gooey and thick.

I ate a few bites before the grease started working on my stomach. Even my kids turned it away, deeming it “too cheesy.”

It was the only Kirkland Signature meal we didn’t eat to completion, and the sauce was so thick that I practically had to chisel out the refrigerated leftovers to recycle the tray. 

The most prominent flavors in this wrap were the salty olives and oily red peppers. My first bite contained almost entirely olives, which turned me off slightly.

I thought the cream cheese and red-pepper pesto made the wrap a bit too soggy on the outside and goopy on the inside. The spinach inside the wrap was also wilted, so it didn’t offer any crunch.

Though I ate the wraps the day I bought them, I thought they tasted like the flavors had started to meld together — like a meal that had been sitting in the refrigerator for a while. 

Still, I liked that the wrap was pleasantly sweet and didn’t fall apart under the weight of its ingredients. The sun-dried-tomato spread also had a nice, almost cheesy tang and worked well when I repurposed it for other sandwiches. But overall, I’d skip this meal the next time I’m at Costco.

I thought the mashed potatoes were mealy and dry, the vegetables were mushy, and the filling was overseasoned and too sweet.

The filling was stew-like, but the ground beef was dry and crumbly. I thought I noticed pieces of steak, but these were just hunks of ground beef resembling burger meat.

Overall, my family wasn’t a fan of the meal.

I thought the wraps were good because they tasted fresh, and the spread that glued them together helped prevent dryness.

There was ample chicken, and the seasoned mix of corn and beans reminded me of a burrito from Chipotle. The pinkish chipotle sauce tasted like a Buffalo sauce to me, but that’s not something I’d ever complain about.

Each wrap made for a viable lunch, and at less than $4 each, they’re way less expensive than takeout. I could imagine buying them again when I need a lunch that saves time and money.

The first bite of the pie was great.

The pie crust was sweet, flaky, and crisp, the hunks of rotisserie chicken were huge, and the pea-heavy cream and vegetables were rich and salty without being mushy or overcooked, as they sometimes are in pot pie.

But in subsequent bites, the initial richness became a goopy sort of heaviness that didn’t sit well, and the whole pot pie started to taste a little too salty.

At the very least, the crust was good enough to make me want to try one of Costco’s dessert pies.

I figured I’d cook the meal in a skillet over medium-high heat until the beef was browned. However, I quickly realized it was difficult to tell when the beef was cooked through because all sides of the meat were covered in a dark-brown sauce.

I went by instinct, stirring frequently to make sure it cooked evenly. Some slices fell apart due to the constant stirring, but the dish seemed fully cooked after five minutes.

Unfortunately, the small pieces of meat made the bulgogi look more like a stew, and its appearance alone turned off my kids.

We thought the meal was tasty but too sweet, as the sauce’s flavor overwhelmed the beef. I’d prefer this dish if the beef came in thicker pieces that I could remove from the sauce before cooking.

The meatballs were a little spongy in texture, and something about how the ground-beef-and-pork mixture was seasoned tasted more like sausage than I expected (though that’s hardly a bad thing).

The rigatoni held up surprisingly well after 50 minutes in the oven — not quite al dente but not at all mushy. However, the sauce was a bit too sweet and seasoned for me.

My kids liked the pasta but not the meatballs. I also thought the shredded cheese on top seemed like an afterthought, and I could’ve gone for more.

The dressing was sweet and tangy with a strong miso flavor, but I thought the udon noodles were a bit mushy. I also wished the vegetable mix of shredded bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, and carrots was crisper to balance out the noodles’ softness.

Overall, the salad wasn’t too heavy or saucy, so it would likely be a nice, no-cook option for a quick meal or picnic.

It was sort of the perfect meal to suit my family’s quesadilla needs.

The chicken was seasoned but not spicy, and there was tons of cheese without being too greasy.

The salsa, a sweet, fresh, restaurant-style dip with jalapeño, was the surprise star for me. The Kirkland Signature quesadillas were my wife’s favorite of all the meals. 

We thought the yakisoba noodles were warm, comforting, and satisfying, with tender hunks of chicken and some nice texture from the fresh vegetables.

It was a bit sweeter than I usually like, but a hit of hot sauce helped balance out the sweetness.

If I bought this again (and I would buy this again) I’d use only one container of sauce. My kids liked the noodles, and we finished most of the portion in a single sitting.

The lasagna was good. The Bolognese sauce was hearty and sweet and my kids appreciated that the ravioli were glued together with melted mozzarella.

It was about a dinner and a half’s worth of food for my family, though it felt like a smaller portion than a traditional lasagna made in an equivalent pan size.

I liked this meal a lot. Not surprisingly, the combination of rice, beans, cheese, and chipotle chicken reminded me of meals from fast-casual Mexican-food chains. The melted cheese gave the whole dish a pleasant creaminess. 

There was plenty of chicken, though some pieces seemed a little dry. The lime’s lively citrus flavor amplified the rice and beans’ heartiness. The guacamole helped make the dish extra creamy, and the salsa added sweetness and a spicy kick. 

My kids enjoyed the guacamole but thought the rest of the meal was too spicy. This meant my wife and I had plenty of leftovers for satisfying lunches.

I thought the gyros were delicious. If there was a weak link in the sandwich, it was probably the gyro meat itself, which was a little heavy on the onion powder and heated up to a scrapple-like consistency.

That being said, the assertive seasoning on the meat was mellowed by the sweetness and crunch of the veggies and the tangy creaminess of the tzatziki and feta.

It wasn’t better than a gyro I might get from a street cart, but the price was right, and there’s no street cart inside my apartment.

The chicken Alfredo was better than I expected.

Alfredo sauce is often a bit too indulgent for my tastes, but I thought Kirkland Signature’s version of the creamy, cheesy sauce wasn’t overwhelmingly heavy. The chicken was also moist and flavorful.

My kids liked it even though they normally prefer their chicken and their pasta separated. Alongside some steamed broccoli, the chicken Alfredo stretched to two full meals for my family with little effort on my part. 

The chicken street tacos were excellent. The chicken was smoky with a chipotle flavor but not too spicy for my kids, the veggies were fresh and crunchy, and the sauces were tasty. I think the salsa was the same kind that came with the quesadillas.

If I were at a restaurant and got these tacos, I’d be more than satisfied with my purchase. 

Like almost every one of these meals, the meatloaf and mashed Yukon potatoes were surprisingly good.

It was heavy (but of course, most meatloaf is), and I don’t think I’d usually choose it over tacos. But my family ate the meatloaf on an unseasonably cold day when I was hungry, and the sweet, juicy, and beefy dinner hit the spot.

My son, who’s normally hesitant about unfamiliar foods, took to it like he was a paid spokesperson. “I’m very happy with this,” he said.

I thought the mashed potatoes were just a touch mealy, but overall, they weren’t bad.

I normally cook for my family and, for whatever reason, prepared meals like those from Kirkland Signature have never been part of our dinner rotation.

But aside from the mac and cheese and rigatoni with meatballs, every one of the meals we tried was better than I expected it to be, and my kids enjoyed them more than I would’ve guessed.

Now, I’ll likely regularly buy some of the Kirkland Signature meals when I don’t have much time for meal prep.

This story was originally published on October 27, 2023, and most recently updated on August 1, 2024.