7 Hidden Gems From Costco's Premade Foods

If you want to save time on dinner and need to feed a crowd, Costco's premade foods are the perfect solution. They're prepared in store each day and offer some of the best value and taste, especially if you want a home-cooked meal without doing any of the actual cooking yourself. Like most things at Costco, these premade foods come in giant portions, so it's important to make sure that it's something you will enjoy all week or that you're cooking for a large group.

Some of the options at the Costco deli already have a loyal following. If you've been to a cookout with Costco favorites, you may have already sampled the pinwheel sandwiches with cream cheese or the gigantic pizzas. (And don't get me started on the Costco hot dogs!) But some of the best premade options at Costco are the ones that don't get as much attention. These hidden gems are worth checking out, whether you're getting ready to host a large dinner or just want days of delicious leftovers for yourself.

The stuffed bell peppers are one of the best prepared foods at Costco, make a wonderful one-dish meal, and are one of the reasons that I've maintained my Costco membership all these years. They're made with rice, veggies, and sausage stuffed in red, orange, and yellow peppers. The filling includes ground beef, tomato paste, and two kinds of cheese — mozzarella and provolone. But the Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top is what really gives it some extra salty flavor along with a crispy crust.

The dish comes with six pepper halves, each brimming over with delicious insides. Unless you are ravenous, half a pepper is enough for a meal. These also reheat well in the microwave, although putting them under the broiler for a minute is my secret to getting that crispy cheese topping even with leftovers. I've tried to replicate these, but they didn't turn out quite as good, and wound up costing more to make once I purchased all of the ingredients. If I had to pick only one Costco premade food, this would be my choice.

These giant meatballs are fit for a family meal without any prep required. The meatballs are made of a beef and pork combination, which enhances the flavor. They come precooked so you don't need to worry about measuring with a meat thermometer to make sure they are done, which is great if you're anything like me and wind up juggling several things at once around dinnertime. The pasta is also cooked, of course, coated generously with marinara, and topped with Parmesan cheese. All you have to do is heat and serve. If you're like my kids and want even more cheesy goodness, look at Costco's great selection of cheese for extra Parmesan to sprinkle on top before popping the tray into the oven.

The meatballs are very large, so don't be surprised if you end up cutting them in half to serve two people. You'll need a knife and fork to really enjoy this dish, which is one of the signs of a great meatball in my book. For a quick meal, I cut them up ahead of time and mix them in with the noodles and sauce. But when served in a hearty dish over the pasta and sauce, the gigantic meatballs make a show-stopping entree that requires almost no time in the kitchen.

Salmon Milano refers to the preparation of salmon with butter and herbs. The result is a moist, tender fish that has bright herb flavor and Costco's is one of the best. Not only do they use excellent quality salmon but the herb topping makes it extra flavorful without any extra steps required. It comes with the herb butter already placed on the salmon in just the right spots. As it cooks, the herb butter melts and creates a coating on the top of the fish. Along with large pieces of dill, the placement of the butter ensures that every piece of salmon has a burst of this extra flavor. You might need to rearrange the butter pats before you throw the salmon in the oven if they've shifted to make sure that they are evenly spaced. This dish looks impressive on the plate and pairs well with steamed broccoli and white wine, which you can also find at Costco in certain states.

This is also one of the healthier options thanks to the omega-3s in the large salmon portion. The only downside of this option is that, like most fish, it doesn't reheat that well. This one is best prepared when you plan to eat all (or at least most) of it during the same meal. As expected from Costco, it's a large piece of salmon, which makes it a great value; a restaurant might charge two or three times as much for a similar dish, and a smaller portion at that.

Costco mac and cheese is the perfect option for a shared side and is a favorite among the younger members of my family. It comes with precooked noodles with a creamy, cheesy alfredo sauce. The gooey sauce is some of the richest I've ever tasted, and it makes my kids' eyes light up every time they see it in our cart. What makes this mac and cheese better than what you might find from the Costco freezer case is that it contains generous sprinkles of shredded cheddar cheese over the top. When you bake it, this cheese melts and then gets crispy. For maximum crispiness, I recommend removing the foil — which is recommended to cover the dish while it's in the oven — for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

At just $2.99 per pound, the prepared mac and cheese is also very budget-friendly, and it's my top choice to bring when I'm attending a potluck and don't have a lot of time to make something from scratch. You can doctor it up with your favorite mac and cheese add-ins to make it your own or to upgrade it to a main course entree. It's plenty delicious on its own, of course, and there's enough for a large dinner plus lunch leftovers the next day. The mac and cheese also freezes well, making it a good choice even for Costco shoppers in smaller households.

This is my favorite Costco prepared salad because it has plenty of dressing as well as grains that make it hearty and filling. The kale poppyseed salad from Costco's produce section gets plenty of love, but it doesn't have as many ingredients as this prepared salad, which gains an edge thanks to its complex flavor. The crunchy celery works well with fresh cabbage and carrot and the sweet dried cranberries. The chickpeas add extra protein, which I like in a salad to keep me full. I portion out individual servings of this salad when meal prepping and eat them all week for lunch. It's one of the few salads that doesn't need extra ingredients since it has veggies, protein, and enough dressing all in one.

The dressing comes in two packages, so you can add exactly how much you want. I recommend starting with one packet and mixing thoroughly before adding the next one. If you're planning to each individual portions over a few days, add one dressing packet to half of the salad and keep the other on hand to add to the remaining salad later in the week. This keeps the salad from getting soggy as it sits in the dressing for days. This salad keeps well in the fridge and the flavors meld together even more overnight. 

Prepared foods don't have to be boring, and Costco's tandoori wraps are the perfect example. They have a ton of flavor and come with a creamy mint yogurt sauce. The tandoori chicken is the perfect balance of sweet, savory, and spicy thanks to the addition of coconut, garlic, and peppers. These wraps come already cut, but they are so loaded with meat inside that I recommend cutting them down even further. Half of a wrap is enough for me for lunch or dinner, especially when I pair it with a salad or fruit.

The yogurt sauce it comes with is a perfect addition, and I love that it's on the side so that you can customize the amount to your liking. I tend to put a small amount on my plate and dip the wrap with each bite, although my kids like to slather it over the top instead. If we have extra sauce — which doesn't happen often, —I like to put it over shredded Costco rotisserie chicken in pitas with fresh sliced veggies. These wraps are another a zero-cooking option since you don't even need to heat up the oven. This is why I often rely on Costco's prepared salads, sandwiches, and wraps on a hot day — all you have to do is cut your desired serving size and enjoy!

Taste was the top criteria that we used to decide which Costco prepared foods were a must-try. Convenience and value were also significant, though, since most Costco shoppers are looking to make the most of their grocery budget. I also made sure to include dishes that could work for lunch and dinner, as well as a few that could serve as a no-prep meals or as a shared dish for a group. I shop at Costco for the large portion sizes, which makes feeding my family and taking leftovers for lunch even easier, and many of these favorites work for both.

As a frequent Costco shopper for years, I made sure to include prepared meals that I've relied on to bring as a shared item, whether it's at work gatherings, neighborhood get-togethers, or my kids' birthday parties. I also asked my kids what their favorite items from Costco's deli were and they gave all of these choices an A-plus, which was great, because they are also the ones that I buy most often for myself.