Some nights, making dinner from scratch just isn’t happening. Between work, errands, kids, and everything else competing for your attention, even figuring out what to cook can feel like one more thing you don’t want to deal with.
That’s where Costco’s prepared food section comes in handy. In a recent Reddit discussion about Costco prepared meal recommendations, several favorites kept coming up, from classic comfort foods to quick meals that require little more than heating and serving.
These aren’t necessarily meals you’ll reach for when you’re in the mood to spend an hour in the kitchen. They’re for the nights when you want to open a package, do as little prep as possible, and still put something substantial on the table.
Here are 12 Costco meals worth looking for the next time cooking dinner is the last thing you feel like doing.
Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes
Costco’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes received an almost ridiculous amount of love in the discussion. It’s classic comfort food that requires very little effort, and several people mentioned getting multiple meals from one package, making it especially useful if you’re cooking for one or two.
Chicken Street Taco Kit
Street tacos are another easy option because most of the work is already done for you. The kit comes with chicken, tortillas, shredded cabbage, cheese, salsa, and avocado crema, so dinner is essentially a matter of heating and assembling.
If you have a few extra minutes, heat the chicken in a skillet and warm or lightly crisp the tortillas before serving. It’s a small extra step that can make a prepared meal feel a lot less like something you just pulled out of the refrigerator.
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Stuffed peppers were another repeat favorite throughout the conversation. Since the peppers are already filled with the beef-and-rice mixture, they’re a nice option when you want something that feels like a complete homemade dinner without actually preparing one yourself.
One easy upgrade is adding a little spaghetti sauce to the pan before baking them. It’s still practically effortless, but gives you an easy way to change up the flavor.
Chicken Pot Pie
This is the meal to grab when you want serious comfort food and plenty of leftovers. Costco’s chicken pot pie is famously large, with multiple comments pointing out that one pie can stretch across several meals for a smaller household.
The tradeoff is that this isn’t necessarily your fastest Costco dinner because it requires oven time. It’s better for a night when you don’t want to cook but don’t mind putting something in the oven and walking away while dinner takes care of itself.
Beef Bulgogi
Costco’s marinated beef bulgogi gives you a little more flexibility than a completely finished meal. Cook the beef, add rice and vegetables, and you’ve got an easy dinner without dealing with measuring ingredients or making a marinade from scratch.
The marinade can lean sweet, so one Reddit commenter suggested adding gochujang to bring heat and balance some of that sweetness. Serve it over jasmine rice and dinner is done.
Yakisoba Stir Fry
The yakisoba stir fry is a good choice when you’re craving something other than the usual pasta, tacos, or meat-and-potatoes dinner. The kit combines noodles, vegetables, and protein into one meal, so you don’t have to plan several sides.
Chicken Alfredo
For an easy family-style pasta dinner, the chicken Alfredo is about as straightforward as it gets. You get chicken, pasta, and creamy Alfredo sauce together in one tray, so there’s no need to boil pasta or prepare a separate sauce.
The portions are also substantial. One response described it as enough to “feed an army,” which makes it worth considering if you want dinner tonight with leftovers for tomorrow.
Gyro Kit
The gyro kit is an easy way to break out of the chicken-and-pasta routine without adding much work. Everything is essentially set up for you to assemble, making it especially useful for a casual family dinner where everyone can build their own.
Gyros came up repeatedly alongside the tacos and yakisoba as another favorite prepared option.
Costco Chili
A container of Costco chili doesn’t need much to become dinner. Heat it up and serve it as-is, or add simple toppings such as shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions, or whatever you already have in the refrigerator.
One particularly easy combination from the Reddit discussion was chili topped with Fritos and sour cream. It’s not fancy, but that’s exactly the point on a night when you don’t feel like cooking.
Shepherd’s Pie
Shepherd’s pie is another meal that would take considerably more effort if you made everything from scratch. Costco takes care of the prep, leaving you with a hearty dinner that you can put into the oven and forget about until it’s ready.
It’s also a good option when leftovers are part of the plan. One person summed up the appeal well, describing it simply as a “meal for days.”
Pesto Butter Salmon
For something that feels a little less like traditional prepared food, look for Costco’s prepared salmon. The salmon comes ready to bake with pesto and butter, so you can put the tray directly into the oven and add a frozen vegetable, salad, or another easy side.
It’s one of those dinners that looks like you did considerably more work than you actually did. A response in the discussion recommended pairing it with frozen vegetables for an especially easy meal.
Rotisserie Chicken and Caesar Salad
Sometimes the easiest Costco dinner isn’t technically one prepared meal at all. Grab a rotisserie chicken and Caesar salad, pull some of the chicken apart, toss it into the salad, and you have dinner without turning on the stove.
