Costco’s deli is full of bestsellers people swear by. The rotisserie chicken has a full-blown cult following and sells like hotcakes. Half the trays look like dinner for the week. Everything’s cheap, already made, and oversized enough to feel like a good idea. But most of it isn’t doing you any favors health-wise. If you’re chasing dopamine, go for any of these premade foods—maybe follow it up with an apple and a Pepcid. Here are the nine unhealthiest Costco prepared foods.
Macaroni and Cheese
If we’re being real, when has macaroni and cheese ever been healthy? As comfort food, macaroni and cheese goes past the point of being remotely good for you and lands squarely in soul-food territory. Nevertheless, Costco’s Kirkland Signature Mac and Cheese manages to be a particular wreck. It’s cavatappi pasta drowned in a sauce of cream, milk, butter, Romano, and Parmesan, then smothered with shredded cheddar for good measure.
While it delivers a solid 23 grams of protein in a one-cup serving, you pay for it with 24 grams of fat, including 14 grams of saturated fat — 70% of the daily limit — and 720 milligrams of sodium. At 370 calories and just 1 gram of fiber, it’s not the smartest choice if you are watching calories. And according to many who’ve tried it, the flavor isn’t worth the artery damage. Shoppers say it’s bland — besides the mummy-level sodium — and all in all, trash quality.
Kirkland Signature Italian Sausage & Beef Lasagna
Kirkland Signature Italian Sausage & Beef Lasagna doesn’t hold back. It’s stacked with sausage, beef, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, tomato sauce, and a cameo from spinach that doesn’t even try to blend in.
One cup gets you 410 calories, 22 grams of fat (10 saturated), 30 grams of carbs, 890 milligrams of sodium, and 23 grams of protein. Shoppers say it’s very salty, and that tracks.
Kirkland Signature Chicken Alfredo
The same risks apply here. You can’t seriously go for Chicken Alfredo and expect the nutritional profile of steamed broccoli. Kirkland Signature’s version is made with penne pasta, grilled white meat chicken, and a thick Alfredo sauce built from cream, butter, Parmesan, and Romano. It’s seasoned with garlic and black pepper, then topped with a generous layer of shredded mozzarella.
A single serving—about 24 ounces, if you’re eating like a normal human—packs 691 calories, 52 grams of fat (23 saturated), 80 grams of carbs, and 1,310 milligrams of sodium, which is just over half a teaspoon of salt.
Combo Calzone
The Combo Calzone is Costco’s idea of subtlety, which is to say it has none. It’s essentially Costco’s discontinued Combo Pizza, folded in half and stuffed with a medley of pepperoni, sausage, cheese, onions, peppers, olives, and mushrooms, all in calzone form.
One calzone contains more than 1,000 calories, 58 grams of fat, 116 grams of carbs, and a sodium count that blows past the daily recommended limit before you’ve finished your first bite.
Kirkland Signature Chicken Quesadillas
Kirkland Signature Chicken Quesadillas have zero restraint, and it shows in the nutritional macros. The quesadillas are stacked with shredded chicken, a generous cheese blend, and flour tortillas, with guac, sour cream, and salsa on the side.
One serving clocks in at 650 calories, 38 grams of fat (11 saturated), 46 grams of carbs, and nearly 1,400 milligrams of sodium. You get 35 grams of protein, but you pay for it in salt and grease.
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Chicken Bake
The Chicken Bake has been clogging arteries and fueling warehouse hauls for years, and Costco isn’t about to change the formula. It’s a dense log of dough stuffed with grilled chicken, bacon, Caesar dressing, and a generous blend of mozzarella, provolone, and Parmesan — all baked into a golden crust.
It tastes great, but it hits like a brick. One bake contains 540 calories, 19 grams of fat (7 saturated), 58 grams of carbs, and 35 grams of protein — not terrible until you factor in the 1,300+ milligrams of sodium, which hits like a brine-soaked punch.
Kirkland Signature Southwest Chicken Wraps
No one disputes that the Kirkland Signature Southwest Wraps are ridiculously indulgent and delicious. I certainly don’t. They come wrapped in a red tomato tortilla—which, to my broken brain, looks like a giant slice of pepperoni—and are stuffed with rotisserie chicken, grilled corn, black beans, spinach, cotija cheese, and a double hit of mayo—once as-is, and again as a buffalo cream sauce. It comes with a side of extra sauce, in case you’re not already seeing double from the wrap alone.
While it wins all the flavor points, one wrap clocks in at around 620 calories, 35 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, 1,560 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbs, 4 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 27 grams of protein. It has a solid protein count, but you’re trading it for more than half a day’s sodium and a full-fat bomb.
Kirkland Signature Gyro Meal Kits
When one thinks of the Mediterranean diet, Greek food usually comes to mind. Costco took that cue—but turned it into a gyro kit that’s anything but light. The kit comes with pre-cooked beef and lamb slices, pita rounds, chopped romaine, tomato-cucumber mix, diced red onion, feta crumbles, and a couple of tubs of tzatziki.
One serving translates to 520 calories, 31 grams of fat (11 saturated), 39 grams of carbs, nearly 1,000 milligrams of sodium, and 21 grams of protein. Not the healthiest choice, but flavorwise it holds up—except for the tzatziki, which shoppers have flat-out called trash.
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Kirkland Signature Beef And Pork Meatballs With Pasta And Sauce
The Kirkland Signature Beef and Pork Meatballs with Pasta and Sauce comes with rigatoni, tomato marinara, and a pile of beef-and-pork meatballs finished with Parmesan. It’s a solid setup if you want easy comfort food. Still, the nutrition breakdown says otherwise: 540 calories per serving, 26 grams of fat (10 saturated), 47 grams of carbs, 29 grams of protein, and more than 1,000 milligrams of sodium.
More Costco Stories From Cheapism
- 25 Things You Should Never Buy at Costco — Not everything at the warehouse giant is worth buying in bulk. Find out what to avoid.
- Costco Prepared Meals That’ll Feed Your Whole Family — Costco’s prepared meals can really come to the rescue when you’ve got a crowd to feed but you’re trying to avoid dining out or ordering delivery (again).
- Costco’s Healthiest Prepared Foods — If you’re in too much of a time crunch to prepare a healthy meal from scratch, Costco has a few prepared options that are easy, affordable, and won’t count as a cheat day.
