I Tried And Ranked 8 Pastas From Costco

Costco can be a lifesaver when it comes to putting dinner on the table, especially if you're feeding a lot of folks. Some of the simplest, quickest, and most affordable meals you can find at Costco are the store's pasta selections. Whether you're in the mood for a noodle bake from the deli, big packages of stuffed pastas, or massive pans of lasagna, Costco has an option for you that you can get on the table and in front of hungry diners with a minimum of fuss.

I pride myself on my old-school homemade pasta-making skills, but sometimes you just want to enjoy it without all the work. Unfortunately, in my experience, many store-bought fresh and frozen pastas are underwhelming at best and downright awful at worst. I wanted to put Costco's pastas to the test, so I loaded up my cart with as many as I could carry and cooked up a carb-storm. Read on to see how these eight Costco pastas ranked against each other.

I noted all of the frozen and refrigerated pastas sold at my local Costco, and from that list, I chose a selection of eight that covered a wide variety of styles. I then prepared each according to the package directions and tasted them. For those that didn't include a sauce or topping — the tortellini, ravioli, and gnocchi items — I first tasted them plain, then tossed with a bit of olive oil and/or Parmesan cheese as the package instructions suggested. No other external ingredients, like sauces or toppings, were used. 

I assessed each pasta on flavor and texture, taking into account each element separately and then judging how well they work together. I also took into account the quality of ingredients, value, versatility, and ease of preparation. Once I had tasted through them all, I ranked them in order of how likely I would be to buy them again. These pastas were all available at my Costco store at the time of this writing, but keep in mind that inventory and pricing can vary across locations and change frequently.

Far be it from me to stop anyone from treating themselves to mac and cheese, but this was my least favorite pasta of the lineup. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it — I mean, what's not to like? It's pretty hard to screw up something as simple and classic as this dish. Kirkland Signature's mac and cheese, which you can find refrigerated in the deli department, is certainly not a screw up. It's a perfectly fine version of this family favorite, with tender cavatappi pasta, a creamy sauce, and plenty of melted cheddar for ooey-gooey, cheese-pull goodness. I can imagine that if you've got a horde of hungry little mouths to feed, Kirkland's mac is a godsend, especially at $3.99 a pound. It's way easier to make than the now-defunct boxed version, too (though it does take more time) — pop it in the oven for just under an hour, and you've got cheesy pasta for a crowd.

It seems clear to me that this mac and cheese is made with kids' palates in mind, which is why it's at the tail-end of my ranking. It's light on the seasoning, which is fine because you can always add more, but if I'm going to futz with mac and cheese to get it to my liking, I'd much rather make it myself. The noodles also come out pretty squishy after the long bake time. A perfectly serviceable mac — just not my style.

Another of Costco's pasta bakes from the deli, this dish combines penne with Alfredo sauce, chicken breast, Parmesan cheese, and a garnish of chopped parsley. Those of you who are Italophiles are likely aware that the original version of Alfredo sauce contains no cream and is an emulsion of pasta water, butter, and grated Parmesan. Kirkland Signature's version is definitely the Americanized style — the sauce, which is the first listed ingredient, contains cream and whole milk as well as the traditional butter, and a combination of Romano and Parmesan cheeses. That is to say, it's certainly not light.

I preferred this to the mac and cheese because it's got a little more going on. The sauce here seems to be the same as the mac and cheese sauce, but for some reason, it pops a bit more in this dish, perhaps because it's not competing with melting pools of cheddar. I ran into the same issue here with the pasta texture — to get to the recommended 165-degree-Fahrenheit temp, I had to cook it for 15 minutes longer than the instructions stated, and the noodles were pretty soft at that point. As for the chicken, it's all white meat, which, even when drenched in cheesy sauce, becomes dry and stringy after an hour in the oven. Some pieces were far more tender than others, so I found myself picking around for the good ones, which was annoying.

The intense and complex flavors of Rana's Southwest-Style Linguine kept me diving back into the bowl for more. It's a strange hybrid of Italy and Louisiana with a Southwest-inspired sauce involving chipotles in adobo, lime, and cilantro. Sliced coins of andouille sausage and blackened bites of chicken breast, along with red peppers, add flavor and texture to the dish, all tied together with linguine noodles. With so many elements, it seems overwhelming, but I will say that the instructions are simple to follow and the dish itself is incredibly easy to prepare. The noodles, sauce, and chicken are packed in separate bags, and it includes a microwavable bowl into which you sequentially mix all of the ingredients. Then it's just a matter of eight minutes in the microwave until everything is heated through.

I love the way this dish is logistically put together, and it's certainly chock-full of flavor. Unfortunately, not all of the ingredients worked for me. The andouille sausage had an odd springy texture that was off-putting, and the noodles didn't quite work — they seemed too soft and delicate for such a bombastic dish. The red peppers were so overdone that they were practically liquid. However, the chicken was beautifully seasoned and surprisingly tender and meaty, and the sauce was delicious. Not too heavy, but substantial enough, with plenty of smoke and spice; that's what kept me coming back for more. If this were just chicken, sauce, and noodles, I think it'd be fantastic.

I'm a sucker for stuffed pasta. The last time I went to Rome, it was theoretically to visit wineries for work, but the number one item on my to-do list, in all caps, was to go to Trattoria Monti and get the tortello d'uovo. This marvel of Italian ingenuity is a single plate-sized stuffed pasta with a bright orange runny egg yolk inside that creates a sauce when you slice into it. It's also stuffed with spinach and cheese, just like these Kirkland Signature ravioli. Because that core memory is burned into my brain, I have an impossibly high bar to clear when it comes to stuffed pasta, spinach varieties in particular.

While this spinach and cheese ravioli didn't leave me in dazed awe, forever changed, I did enjoy it quite a bit. Rather than pureed into mush, the spinach has some texture, which contrasts well with the softness of the cheeses to give it a great mouthfeel. The pasta is light, strong enough to easily hold in the filling but not too dense, and it cooks to a silky texture in just a few short minutes. The ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses create a lovely triad of fresh, melty, and salty notes. These ravioli have enough flavor that they make a satisfying meal with just a bit of olive oil and a light dusting of grated Parmesan. The fact that all of the ingredients are organic is a bonus.

One word kept running through my mind while I was eating these pesto and mozzarella gnocchi from centuries-old pasta producer Garofalo: fun. They somehow have a party vibe to them. One of the reasons I ranked them so highly here is because of their versatility: Toss them in a sauce and enjoy as a meal, serve them as a starch alongside a main dish, or eat them like finger food, with or without a dipping sauce. They're incredibly easy to prepare, only requiring a frying pan and a glug of oil.

These classic Italian potato-flour dumplings browned up beautifully in just a few minutes, with a little shaking of the pan here and there. It only takes a few minutes for them to develop a crispy crust, while the insides turn soft and creamy. Down the middle of each little dumpling is a filling of pesto and mozzarella, along with crème fraîche, ricotta, and Parmesan. I'm pretty particular when it comes to pesto, especially when it's cooked, so I was happy to find that the basil here retained its fresh, vibrant flavor. I would happily buy these again, even just to keep them around for a quick hot snack. 

When I first bit into a piece of Rana's Roasted Lobster Ravioli, an explosion of flavor took over my palate. An intense roar of deep, rich shellfish flavor moved from sweet to creamy to savory. It was almost overwhelming, but so powerful and intriguing that I had to go back for more bites to make sense of it all. I thought to myself, there's no way this isn't ranking number one. I'm still wavering on whether or not it should be. The amount of flavor Rana is able to pack into each ruffly golden wheel of pasta is incredible, especially when you look at the high-quality ingredients, with no unpronounceable chemicals or additives. 

Here's the issue I ran into, and honestly, it might be an asset when you think about it — after eating one of the ravioli, as delicious as it was, I didn't really want another. I decided to eat another half, and that was enough for me — maybe even too much. This is palate-coatingly rich and decadent, as you'd expect lobster pasta to be, but it calls out for something to lighten it up and give it balance. A glass of crisp white wine, a light citrusy sauce, a shower of freshly-minced chives — I will certainly not hesitate to try them all. As-is, however, this ravioli is just a little too much.

How can you not love this stuff? Kirkland Signature's frozen Italian sausage and beef lasagna checks pretty much every box. There's really not much you can say about this dish that isn't glowing, from its long yet natural ingredients list to its simple preparation. Like the other pasta bakes, it takes roughly an hour to cook, so there is some element of thinking ahead. All it takes, besides time, though, is to unwrap the lasagna, cut a slit in the plastic film, and slide it in the oven.

The flavor of this lasagna is impressively bold, with a strong, bright, zesty, invigorating tomato flavor. Ground beef and Italian sausage make a great pair, with the beef adding savory depth while the sausage spices things up. The classic combination of fresh, milky ricotta and melted mozzarella mellows the dish's zip and tang. My only minor gripes were the thickness of the pasta, which was a touch too firm even after such a long bake, and the height, which was much shorter than the picture on the package suggested. Still, with those small nits, I'd happily eat this lasagna anytime, anywhere. At $17.99 for two 24-ounce trays, it's a lot of great food for not a lot of money.

At first glance, when gazing at all eight of these Costco pasta selections, it may seem that the Kirkland Signature Five Cheese Tortelloni would be the blandest, least impressive of the bunch. When it came down to it, though, this was the one item that I couldn't find a flaw with. Recognizable ingredients, less than one dollar per serving, and incredibly versatile, this product had everything going for it — the only question was the flavor. And in that department, it crushed.

I'm a little bit biased because I love tortelloni and tortellini, possibly more than any other pasta type. The ratio of filling to pasta, for me, is ideal in these chubby navel-shaped noodles. Bias aside, I think it's impossible to deny that these Kirkland tortelloni are perfectly proportioned. The delicate yet sturdy pasta adds just the right bite before you get into the filling, a beautifully complex, cheesy melange of ricotta, mascarpone, mozzarella, pecorino, and Parmigiano Reggiano. Each cheese brings its own character to the table while also melting into the blend to create a cohesive whole. What makes this such a great Costco buy is how much you can do with it. These tortelloni are delicious alone, and perfectly suited to be adorned with all manner of sauces and toppings. I can't wait to experiment.