Ordering takeout always sounds like an easy dinner solution — until the entrées, sides, delivery fees, service charges, and tip turn a casual meal into a $50 order. If you’re already a Costco member, the warehouse’s prepared-food section can offer a much cheaper way to get dinner on the table without starting from scratch.
Many of Costco’s deli meals cost somewhere between $12 and $28 per tray and can feed four or more people, bringing the per-person price down to just a few dollars. And that’s before getting to the food court, where a whole 18-inch pizza still costs about $10.
From the famous $4.99 rotisserie chicken to taco kits, pasta trays, and a $1.50 meal that’s basically inflation-proof, here are 12 Costco foods that can cost a lot less than ordering takeout.
Kirkland Signature Rotisserie Chicken
Typical warehouse price: $4.99
Costco’s rotisserie chicken remains one of the hardest dinner deals to beat. At $4.99 for an entire bird, splitting one among four people works out to roughly $1.25 per person for the chicken. Add rice, potatoes, vegetables, or a salad and you can still put together a family dinner for considerably less than the price of four restaurant entrées. Better yet, any leftovers can become sandwiches, tacos, soup, pasta, or chicken salad the next day.
Costco Food Court Whole Pizza
Current price: About $9.95
Pizza delivery isn’t nearly as cheap once taxes, fees, and a tip enter the picture. Costco’s massive 18-inch cheese or pepperoni pizza, meanwhile, still costs about $9.95. Split among four people, that’s roughly $2.50 each. Even ordering two whole pies keeps the food bill around $20, making this an especially wallet-friendly option for family dinners, game nights, or feeding a small crowd.
Kirkland Signature Chicken Street Taco Kit
Typical price: Around $16
Taco night requires almost no work with Costco’s Chicken Street Taco Kit. It comes with roughly 12 tortillas plus seasoned chicken, cheese, slaw, salsa, cilantro-lime crema, and limes. At around $16 for an average kit, that’s roughly $1.33 per taco, or about $4 per person if four diners eat three tacos each. Try ordering 12 fully dressed tacos from a restaurant for anywhere near that price.
Kirkland Signature Meatloaf With Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes
Typical price: About $16 to $19 per tray
Costco takes care of both the main dish and the side with its prepared meatloaf and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes. The deli meal runs about $3.99 per pound, with trays commonly landing somewhere in the high teens depending on weight. A roughly $18 package split into four dinners comes to about $4.50 per serving — potentially less than the price of a single meatloaf entrée at a casual restaurant.
Kirkland Signature Chicken Alfredo With Penne
Typical price: About $13 to $20 per tray
Creamy pasta can get surprisingly pricey when you’re ordering it from an Italian restaurant. Costco’s version combines penne, Alfredo sauce, cheese, and chicken in one oven-ready tray for about $4.49 per pound. A $16 tray divided among four people costs roughly $4 per serving. Throw some garlic bread or a salad on the table and it can stretch even further without getting anywhere close to the cost of four restaurant pasta orders.
Trending on Cheapism
Kirkland Signature Stuffed Bell Peppers
Typical price: About $4.99 per pound
Costco’s stuffed peppers come loaded with seasoned ground beef, rice, sauce, and cheese, so there’s not much else you need to turn them into dinner. Typical packages cost around $18 to $20, depending on weight. If you get six peppers for about $18, you’re paying roughly $3 apiece. Since every pepper already includes meat, rice, vegetables, and cheese, they’re also one of the deli’s easiest meals to portion out and reheat later.
Kirkland Signature Mac and Cheese
Typical price: About $3.49 to $3.99 per pound
Restaurant mac and cheese can easily run $6 to $12 just for a side, while Costco sells an entire tray for roughly $13 to $16. Split a $15 tray into six hearty side portions and you’re looking at around $2.50 each. Pair it with Costco’s $4.99 rotisserie chicken and you’ve got enough food for a family meal for around $20 — a total that can be hard to match with even one takeout entrée these days.
Kirkland Signature Ravioli Lasagna With Beef and Pork Bolognese
Typical price: Around $20 to $23 per tray
Can’t decide between ravioli and lasagna? Costco has conveniently eliminated the need to choose. This hefty prepared dish layers cheese ravioli with beef-and-pork Bolognese and melted cheese. A roughly $23 tray divided into five portions works out to about $4.60 per person, and warehouse prices can be lower than Costco Same-Day prices. Add a salad or garlic bread and you may be able to stretch it to even more diners.
Sign up for our newsletter
Kirkland Signature Yakisoba Stir Fry With Chicken
Typical price: About $5.99 per pound
Before spending $50 or more ordering several noodle dishes, check Costco’s prepared-food case. Its Yakisoba Stir Fry Kit combines noodles, vegetables, seasoned chicken, and sauce in one pan and costs around $5.99 per pound. A $21 tray split four ways works out to roughly $5.25 per person. It does require a quick finish on the stovetop, but that’s still considerably easier — and potentially cheaper — than ordering four separate takeout entrées.
Kirkland Signature Gyro Kit
Typical price: About $6.99 per pound
Costco’s returning gyro kit is basically a build-your-own takeout night in a box. It includes meat, flatbread, vegetables, toppings, and sauce, with enough food for roughly six gyro-style wraps. If a kit costs around $20, that comes to approximately $3.33 per gyro. Considering a restaurant gyro can easily cost $10 to $15 before adding fries, drinks, fees, or a tip, there’s plenty of room in the budget for a side.
Kirkland Signature Beef and Broccoli With Noodles
Typical price: About $6.99 per pound
One of Costco’s newer prepared meals combines beef, broccoli, noodles, and sauce into a family-size dinner that requires little work at home. At around $6.99 per pound, a roughly $24 tray divided among four diners costs about $6 each. Compare that with four $14 Chinese takeout entrées, which would already hit $56 before any delivery charges or tip, and Costco’s math starts looking pretty appealing.
Costco Food Court Hot Dog and Soda Combo
Current price: $1.50
Somehow, the $1.50 Costco hot dog combo is still with us. The deal includes a quarter-pound hot dog and fountain drink and has famously stayed at the same price for decades. That means four people can each get a hot dog and drink for just $6 total before tax. You’d be hard-pressed to find a fast-food chain where $1.50 buys the entrée these days, much less the drink to go with it.
The Takeaway? Costco’s Portions Do the Heavy Lifting
The biggest advantage Costco has over takeout isn’t necessarily that every prepared dish looks incredibly cheap at first glance. It’s how far those trays can stretch. A $16 taco kit can turn into roughly a dozen tacos, while a $20 pasta or stir-fry tray may feed four or more people.
There are trade-offs, of course. Most deli meals still need to be heated, some require a decent amount of oven time, and you’ll generally need a Costco membership and a warehouse trip. But if you’re already there, grabbing a prepared meal for later could make it much easier to resist that $50 delivery order when nobody feels like cooking.
