5 Costco Chicken Products To Buy And 5 To Avoid, According To Customers

Costco has a wide range of bulk chicken products, including the timeless fan-favorite rotisserie chicken, several frozen options, prepared meals, and raw poultry. While many of these products are well worth the purchase, when it comes to chicken, it's smart to be picky — some Costco foods simply don't taste as good as they look. However, plenty of Costco chicken products are must-buys that help make cooking and meal preparation easy, enjoyable, and delicious. Others fall short on flavor and texture, and in some cases, are just simply not the best option on the market. 

To take all of the guesswork out of shopping, we've collected the five Costco chicken products that you should absolutely purchase on your next grocery run, and five you're betting off skipping, based on customer reviews. When reviewing quality, taste, texture, and value, Costco shoppers don't hold back on sharing their opinions. As an avid Costco shopper and meal prepper myself, I have tried several of these items personally. I have to say, I agree with the opinions — both positive and negative — of most Costco shoppers when it comes to these 10 products.

As soon as you get a taste of this iconic product, it should come as no surprise that the $5 rotisserie chicken is an immediate add-to-cart for many Costco members, myself included. It often ranks as the best grocery store rotisserie chicken on the market, topping the list of food items that Costco members say they buy the most. It's larger than other grocery store birds at 3 pounds, while most others fall around the 2-pound mark, making it a great value. It also receives plenty of praise for being affordable and mostly recession-proof, since its price has stayed mostly the same for nearly two decades. It's juicy and tender, making it the ideal high-protein addition to many recipes, while being perfectly delicious all on its own.

Customers on Reddit claim that other grocery store rotisserie chickens are "small and really dry in comparison." The competition just can't beat the value and golden-brown, tender tastiness of the Kirkland Signature bird. Whether you shred it up to add to salads or bowls, eat it on its own, or use it as a base for chicken salad, this is an obvious product to add to the grocery list.

Customers can be hard to please when it comes to store-bought tamales, since nothing ever truly compares to homemade recipes or fresh tamales from the local taqueria or food truck. Store-bought tamales are often dry and flavorless, which unfortunately seems to be the case with the Del Real chicken tamales from Costco. One commenter on Reddit explains why the tamales are likely so dry: "It's because they don't use lard in their masa, it ends up being dense and flavorless...The abuelas load up the saturated fats in the homemade ones so they're soft, fluffy, and flavorful throughout."

The chicken tamales with red sauce come in a 15-pack for a reasonable price, but according to customers online, no price point could make this purchase worth it. On a Reddit post where a Costco member raved about the tamales being only $7.97, a commenter responded, "This would indeed be a bargain if the Del Real tamales weren't terrible." Some customers even claim they are the worst product they've ever tried from Costco, so we recommend you steer clear.

The WestEnd Cuisine grilled chicken skewers are the ideal chicken product to have on hand when you need to throw together a quick meal. Personally, I always add these to my cart while on a Costco run. The chicken skewers are already fully cooked, so you just need to pop them in the microwave for a couple minutes to heat them up. They're perfect for adding to bowls, burritos, salads, or wraps, and they're convenient to buy in bulk, whether you're a meal prepper (like me) or have a whole family to feed.

The Mediterranean-style seasoning adds some tangy flavor to the chicken, making it delicious without any add-ons. I've even been known to enjoy them as a healthy protein-packed snack on their own, maybe with a dipping sauce like ranch or honey mustard. One reviewer claims that the chicken skewers are among the best chicken products at Costco, second only to the famous rotisserie chicken. They describe the skewers as having a bold flavor profile of salt, pepper, onion, garlic, and lemon that's delicious, albeit not overtly Mediterranean.

The Kirkland Signature chicken salad is alluring because it uses the delicious meat from Costco's rotisserie chicken. However, according to customers online, not even that extra-tender meat can save this mayo-y mess of a chicken salad, making it a Costco deli item you should skip. The chicken salad commonly gets complaints for going way too heavy on the mayonnaise and salt, and for being much better in years past.

One Costco fan says that the store goes overboard with the mayonnaise and sour cream in its chicken salad recipe, making it overly wet and soggy. Commenters on Reddit agree, explaining that the chicken salad is far too moist and has a strange, tangy, Miracle Whip-like taste. They also agree that it has a greasy texture and minimal flavor, save for salt. If you want a more balanced chicken salad, you might be better off purchasing the Kirkland rotisserie chicken and making your own.

The Crazy Cuizine Mandarin orange chicken from Costco is surprisingly satisfying for a frozen chicken product, with some customers claiming it tastes restaurant-grade. While it may not quite compare to the cult favorite zesty classic from Panda Express, this frozen offering from Costco is a hit with customers online and a crowd pleaser for the whole family. One food reviewer on YouTube cooked up the chicken in the air fryer and found the outside to be nice and crispy while the inside was tender and moist. The sauce is tangy, with a nice balance of sweet and sour flavors.

When compared to Trader Joe's version of frozen orange chicken, a food reviewer on Instagram found Costco's to be the clear winner. They said the Costco version is clearly much higher quality, with far less gristle than in the Trader Joe's chicken. They appreciated that the large chicken chunks always come out crispy and the sauce is full of complex — yet balanced — flavors without being too sweet. Customers like to serve this with rice and broccoli to make a satisfying restaurant-style meal at home.

Costco members have found themselves disappointed with the Tyson chicken strips in the freezer section. They find the chicken to be chewy, and one customer claims that even their children, who are chicken strip fiends, don't care for the Tyson strips. The disappointed customer stated, "Worst chicken strips ever...These were like chewing on a tire. A shark would struggle eating these things." The breading doesn't inspire confidence, either. The outer coating of the chicken strips is hard, and there's simply too much of it, throwing off the breading-to-chicken ratio.

Costco shoppers recommend sticking with any one of the store's other breaded chicken offerings, because they find the Tyson strips to be almost inedible. One customer on Reddit adds that the bizarre texture has completely turned them off of the brand. They claim that if you try to tear a Tyson chicken strip in half, the tough, rock-like breading falls right off. While you may want to avoid the Tyson chicken strips, you at least have plenty of other tasty options from Costco to replace them with.

There are tons of chicken sausage options on the market, and of the ones I've tried, these Parmesan and cracked black pepper Kirkland Signature sausages are my absolute favorite for both value and taste. Plenty of other Costco shoppers seem to be in agreement. One food reviewer on YouTube says she eats these chicken sausages almost every day. She recommends preparing them by slicing the links into coins and cooking them in a cast-iron skillet so the parmesan gets crispy on the outside.

Another reviewer on TikTok claims they "could have a TED talk about these chicken sausages from Costco." The Costco-sized package comes with 18 sausage links, and each sausage has 14 grams of protein, so I've incorporated them into breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I love them alongside eggs for a hearty breakfast, cooked into risotto with spinach, or even on their own as a snack. Customers on Reddit agree that these are the best chicken sausages Costco has to offer, so they're well worth adding to your cart on your next trip.

Costco's enormous chicken pot pie gets mixed reviews from customers online. One Reddit user posed the question: "Do you like Costco's Kirkland chicken pot pie? This seems to be a very polarizing food item. Some swear by it and others think it tastes bland." While a few Costco shoppers claimed they enjoy it, the consensus among the majority of customers is that the pie is oversalted and overpriced.

Like the chicken salad, the pot pie also uses the iconic rotisserie chicken, but customers think the chicken does not taste nearly as good in the pie as it does on its own. One Redditor stated, "The taste and texture were noticeably different than straight off the bird." Meanwhile, commenters go back and forth on whether the biggest problem with this dish is the salt content or the bland flavor. Despite receiving some praise for being loaded up with chicken, some customers find it to be dry because there isn't enough gravy to add some moisture to the mix. You might be better off buying the rotisserie chicken and making the pie yourself if you're craving a well-balanced, warm pot pie.

One of the most popular breaded frozen chickens at Costco comes from the Just Bare brand, which customers like to use in salads or wraps. The Just Bare breaded chicken breast chunks are also delicious seasoned with some Japanese barbecue and furikake and enjoyed as a poppable snack. A Redditor states, "These are great! No weird bits, nice white meat chicken, and a good seasoning." Some even claim they're the best option for frozen breaded chicken on the market.

Some shoppers say that this item alone makes their Costco membership worth it. They love that the chicken is antibiotic-free, with no added hormones, steroids, artificial ingredients, or preservatives (which is not the case for other brands, like Tyson). I've picked these up from Costco before and have to agree that they're an excellent breaded chicken option. I appreciate that the chunks have a good ratio of chicken to breading, which makes them stand out from many other frozen breaded chicken nuggets that I've tried. Here's a pro tip: Cook up this Costco food in your airfryer for the crispiest results.

Costco has gained a bit of a reputation among its shoppers for having woody chicken breasts. The term "woody" refers to tough and fibrous meat, sometimes described as stringy. The raw chicken breasts are enormous and come in large packs, which can be appealing for those of us who like to meal prep. However, lots of customers online have noticed quality control issues pop up in the last few years that make the purchase less than worth it.

One Redditor explained that the reason for the woody quality might be the sheer size of the raw chicken breasts — a result of raising large chickens too quickly — and recommends opting for tenderloins instead. But that's not the only quality issue that customers have come across. A Costco shopper on Reddit stated, "[Costco's] chicken is often woody, or the bag is leaking, or it smells funky. Every year or two I get tricked into thinking I should try it again." Some customers have found that they have much better luck with the frozen chicken options at Costco.