The solution to stopping yourself from splurging on expensive takeout several times a week might be hiding in the refrigerated aisles of the grocery store. With the right items stocked in your fridge and freezer, you can prepare a quick meal in minutes, and some grocery stores have been seriously upping their game when it comes to weeknight-friendly, premade offerings.
Customers may already be heading to Costco to buy peanut butter or toilet paper in bulk, but this major retailer has quite a few hidden gems that are ready-to-eat and can make busy evenings much easier. (You might even decide you prefer some premade Costco items to your own meal prep, which is perfectly fine considering how affordable they all are.)
Like nearly everything at Costco, these five shopper-recommended items are budget-friendly, all coming in under $18. More importantly, each one offers multiple servings, making your price per dinner an absolute steal while still delivering delicious results.
Ajinomoto Yakitori Chicken Fried Rice
This frozen fried rice is not only incredibly convenient to make — ready to serve after three minutes in the microwave — but it also includes six packs of rice for just $17, or about $2.83 per serving.
The Ajinomoto Yakitori Chicken Fried Rice features tender vegetables, including carrots, leeks, edamame, bell peppers, and sweet corn, all tossed with white rice and grilled chicken in a savory sauce made with mirin, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Consider adding a fried egg on top or drizzling on some Sriracha or chili crisp as a finishing touch.
Motor City Pizza Co. Double Pepperoni Detroit-Style Deep Dish Pizza
Yutack Kang, a dedicated Costco fan, finds the Motor City Pizza Co. Double Pepperoni Detroit-Style Deep Dish Pizza has managed to stand out among the many frozen pizza offerings at the superstore.
This pie is topped with mozzarella, a slightly sweet tomato sauce, and two types of pepperoni — classic, round pepperoni and diced pepperoni bites — as the name suggests. According to Kang’s review, the deep-dish pizza’s crust is soft and fluffy on the inside with a caramelized, crispy exterior, and he compares it to a “garlic bread focaccia.”
Main Street Bistro Baked Scalloped Potatoes
It might not be an entrée, but these Main Street Bistro Baked Scalloped Potatoes will definitely still make your weeknight meals easier. The creamy side is made with cheddar, Parmesan, and Romano cheeses, along with a rich blend of milk, butter, and sour cream.
Shoppers have noted that the potatoes in this dish still retain a nice bite after being heated, and one mother-daughter duo on TikTok says they “taste homemade.” We recommend pairing the cheesy side with a salad and a simple protein, such as sausage, for a complete meal, or you can enjoy it on its own.
Bibigo Chicken and Cilantro Mini Wontons
Turn frozen wontons into a soup in minutes, or pan-fry the morsels before dunking them in your favorite dipping sauce. Either way, having wontons available is a smart move for quick meals, and this bag of dumplings from Costco will deliver dependable flavor every time.
The Bibigo Chicken and Cilantro Mini Wontons are filled with already-cooked chicken, cabbage, cilantro, and green onions, all wrapped inside a wheat-based wrapper. Food reviewer @checkoutvick notes that none of the dumplings fell apart while cooking, which he considers to be “a sign of a good dumpling,” and describes these frozen wontons as “restaurant quality.”
Frankly Fresh Chicken Breast Burrito Bowl
Why spend $12 on a single burrito bowl from Chipotle when you could snag three of them at Costco for a total of around $15.88? That’s less than half the price per meal at the fast-casual chain if you store the Frankly Fresh Chicken Breast Burrito Bowls in your freezer.
These flavorful, microwavable bowls feature a base of white and brown rice, topped with chicken breast, black beans, corn, green onions, jalapeños, Monterey Jack, cheddar cheese, and fire-roasted salsa. If that’s not enough to convince you, there are also 30 grams of protein and seven grams of fiber per serving. Suffice it to say, we’ll be adding these to our Costco shopping list regularly.
