6 Frozen And Refrigerated Pastas From Costco You Should Buy And 2 You Can Skip

Costco is one of those special stores where the opportunity to buy bulk pantry items and other household necessities is often the main reason people hold on to their membership cards. But of course, the warehouse retailer also isn't slacking when it comes to its frozen and refrigerated foods — including pastas. Even though I take great pride in putting together my own homemade dishes with spaghetti, rigatoni, and radiatore, there's always an instance where having something I can pull out of the fridge for an easy meal during a busy week is a true savior. But as we've all learned in the past, just because a packaged product looks good on the shelf doesn't always mean you'll be happy with your decision.

During a recent shopping trip to a Costco location in Brooklyn, New York, I perused the cases and picked up an assortment of prepared pasta options. I was surprised by the relatively wide variety of options, which ended up including everything from family-friendly-format mac & cheese and ravioli to cheesy tortellini and lasagna. As a bar and restaurant owner who frequents Costco for both personal and professional reasons, I tried to focus on the items that were regular fixtures in stores and not seasonal items or one-offs (including anything marked with the dreaded death star). Even as a pasta fanatic, I was mostly pleasantly surprised with what I found, but there were certainly some items that I won't ever be picking up again. Here's how everything played out.

It's a lot to come in touting yourself as the "world's best mac & cheese" to begin with. But even with hyperbole aside, this was a relatively long oven cook time, taking about an hour to finally hit the table (because I wouldn't dream of microwaving this and hope it would do the product any justice). What looked fairly run-of-the-mill in its packaging as I scooped it onto my bowl tasted a little punchier than I expected on the first bite. There was a good mixture of cheeses with a decent combination of light and fresh to deep and rich, all evenly coating each noodle. The texture of the penne itself was also pretty good, maintaining a just over al dente toothsomeness that helped this dish immensely.

Is it as good as its name suggests? I may not be an expert on the best mac & cheese out there, but I do know enough to know that this is about a 7 out of 10 at the very best. That being said, this is the kind of freezer find you absolutely want to have on hand for those days where dinner seems like a forgone conclusion and no one can agree on what they actually want — and it's still better than any stovetop mac & cheese I've ever tried. I'd cautiously call this one of the better pick-ups of the pack, and would definitely bring this home again at the beginning of the winter as a solidly reliable meal backup plan.

I have a somewhat fraught relationship with store-bought tortellini after having been let down so many times in the past. Still, with dead-simple preparation, I was willing to give them a shot. Maybe it's because they were boiled from a frozen state (as instructed on the packaging), these didn't hold their integrity quite as well as the Kirkland tortelloni. They also had a significantly thicker skin, with a slightly gummier texture than their Costco-made counterparts. However, that's not to say they weren't good! The filling was still ample enough to bring a punchy, cheesy flavor to the mix but not overwhelm the palate. 

At some point during the tasting, I started thinking these might be a great fit for an easy brodo dish (especially if you're looking for a way to use some leftover homemade chicken stock or broth, loaded with parmesan). My wife and I both agreed that if smothered in red sauce, the texture issue likely wouldn't be as noticeable. We also agreed that this is the kind of ideal shape, size, and texture for making a delicious pasta salad (another staple of ours in the summer). Given the size and economy of packaging size and pricing here, it's a true go-to when preparing this for a party, and I would absolutely pick these up again in that case (or if I just wanted a simple lunch or dinner option I could pull from the freezer).

At first blush, the fresh pasta and intricate packaging for this product led me to believe this dish would come together pretty well. I chose to do the stovetop preparation in order to give it its best fighting chance. The look of the pasta alone was promising, with plenty of sauce-grabbing crags. It also came together very easily in the skillet, with the sauce reducing and sticking to the pasta.

I was just one bite in when I realized that while this was probably acceptable as a meal (and likely better than your standard packaged pasta), it still wasn't exactly homemade quality like the Kirkland products I tried. The sauce was overly decadent, and I couldn't help but notice that the spongy texture of the chicken felt as though it had been overbrined, resulting in an incredibly salty flavor. If anything, it's more along the lines of a better-than-average airplane meal, or if I'm being crass, something you might get at Olive Garden and not be totally mad about. To its credit, the pasta never really clumped up, which I often find happens with products like this. I would grab this if I were heading into a busy week where cooking was unlikely, but I doubt I would make this a rotation otherwise.

I truly love seafood ravioli, and I've learned in the past that store-bought options aren't always the worst out there. This one comes complete with a lobster bisque sauce that pairs with the shrimp ravioli. I personally like prepackaged lobster bisque in most cases (in fact, it's one of the Trader Joe's soups I buy regularly). The preparation on this was very straightforward too, coming together very quickly in a skillet and a pot after four minutes of boiling and a few minutes simmering together.

While I'm not always impressed with this brand, this wasn't so bad at all! Instead of being overly creamy or buttery, the bisque sauce accentuated the slightly sweet flavors of lobster. The filling of the ravioli was also lighter than I had expected, with firm but not rubbery pieces of shrimp providing a nice balance of shellfish flavor to the mix. My only minor gripe with this might be the texture of the ravioli skin itself, which was slightly weaker and gooier than I would normally like. I was almost afraid I was going to puncture the dumplings when I was stirring them in the sauce on the stovetop. While it might not be my overall top pick, this is a decidedly above-average packaged pasta offering, and one that I wouldn't think twice about picking up again — especially at this price point.

I can't lie: Having previously tried these in a blind taste test, I think the Kirkland Five Cheese Tortelloni are the perfect affordable dinner. In fact, I was more or less inspired to put this piece together based on my pleasant experience with them! Now that I was actually preparing them myself, I realized just how handy and impressive these are, cooking up perfectly in just two minutes.

Even with just a good EVOO coating, these were gorgeously flavorful. They had just the right amount of cheesy filling that provided a mixture of flavors, all without becoming too salty or heavy. The texture of the pasta itself was remarkably firm, not becoming limp, tearing, or otherwise breaking down, making each bite feel solid. I would eat this with alfredo sauce, tomato sauce, homemade pesto, or even just browned butter with sage!

This is an absolute win for an easy cooking night, and dare I say, worthy of a Costco run in and of itself. If you're going to buy one thing from this list, make this it!

Even with my expectations set sky high thanks to the Kirkland Five Cheese Tortellini, I still went into tasting this product relatively confident it would be at least somewhat of a hit. I noticed when putting them into the pot that these smooth, well-sized pasta pockets even felt high-quality to the touch. They plumped up like little balloons by the end of their 4-minute cooking time, but none of them tore or burst, confirming my assumptions about the quality of the pasta wrapper itself.

Similar to the Kirkland Tortelloni, the texture of the pasta here is superb, holding firm with enough bite to keep everything intact while still allowing easy access to the fillings. Here, the blend of vegetal spinach with the cheese overall makes this feel like a more complex pasta, despite having only had to open a package and boil some water to make it. Even with just a drizzle of EVOO, these felt like they could carry practically any sauce you could conceivably throw at them, with my brain immediately planning on making a fresh tomato sauce the next time I prepare these. From now on, these impressive ravioli have rightfully earned a space in my Costco cart next to their tortelloni siblings.

Even though Costco discontinued its beef lasagna predecessor, this nearly identical replacement seems like an improvement on the original, if anything. At about just over an hour in the oven, this one took the longest of the group to prepare. But when you consider that lasagna is never the speediest affair (at least when it's done right), this seems like a small price to pay for that ultimate comfort pasta dish.

Once out of the oven, the aroma of Italian sausage was what stuck out as the most appealing for me, almost as if a fresh supreme pizza had just been delivered. I also appreciated how the top did crisp and brown up very nicely in the last 10 minutes it spent cooking without its cover. If it hadn't been for the disposable paper container holding it, I would've almost assumed it was homemade.

This carried over to the flavor, which basically hit all of my criteria for lasagna. There wasn't too much cheese filling (a common error by many home chefs), and the pasta layers themselves were tender but not too gooey. The top layers were firm and crisp, providing a slightly crunchy contrast to the saucier lower portions. This is the ideal item to have on hand for when you suddenly find yourself cooking for a hungry crew (especially if you're suddenly hosting your kids' neighborhood friends). And please do yourself a favor: Resist the temptation to microwave this and get it into the oven where it belongs!

In the best cases, Costco's foods that are prepared in-store can have a homemade quality to them. While picking this up to put into my cart, I couldn't help but notice that this looked like something that could've feasibly come out of my kitchen. Of course, the perk of this product is that it has essentially done all of the hard prep for you.

While it did take just shy of an hour in the oven, it smelled delicious — and looked especially appetizing once it was done. Unlike the other chicken alfredo on this list, the sauce here did not come through as overly creamy or buttery, but just right. The major difference had to be the chicken, which was cooked perfectly, still had moisture despite its time in the oven, and wasn't spongy or overly salty with each bite like the Rana pasta. Thankfully, the texture of the pasta was also on par with a baked dish, with enough firmness to make each bite pleasant.

But by the time I had gotten past the textural elements, I found myself wishing it had more flavor. This desperately needed a bit of punching up. My other grip might be that there's probably not enough chicken for it to go around in a family serving. While you could easily put this out at a party and many wouldn't suspect it wasn't from your own kitchen, I still think there are more exciting options on the shelves. This one is (very narrowly) a miss.

Ravioli with a triangular shape? Sign me up! After an afternoon of testing mostly undressed pasta, I was also thrilled to see that these come with their own parmesan and herb seasoning packets. This is a nice change-up from the other options that would likely require you to have another sauce on hand (or at least to be able to whip up a quick and easy pasta sauce). Bonus points where they're due!

These only take six to eight minutes in boiling water to cook, which is a bona fide quick meal option in my opinion. After tossing them with about half a packet of seasoning and some EVOO, I dug in and was immediately pleased. Even though these ravioli have a thicker skin than any of the others sampled by far, their texture holds up as just firm enough without being too doughy. The filling is where they really shine, though, with pleasantly much more spinach than I expected, combined with the perfect amount of soft mozzarella that adds a nice texture to each bite. While it might not be the most mind-blowing combination of flavors out there, the seasoning packets also do their job in a pinch with the right amount of punchy herbs and umami, and this product deserves some bonus points for that alone. At this price, it's also one of the easiest ways to have a $10 lunch from Costco.

As a pasta fanatic, putting this piece together admittedly took a little bit of restraint on my part. I made my purchases at the Costco in Brooklyn, New York, but made it a point to focus only on items that were likely to be available in other markets around the U.S. As the title suggests, I also limited the list to items you can grab from the refrigerator and freezer sections in the warehouse, including the in-store prepared options you can find in the deli section.

Once home, I followed all preparation instructions to a T. It's important to note that while many included a microwave option (that could save some time in a few cases), I always went with the stovetop or oven preparations, simply because I knew this was the only way to give each product a fair representation. Since this is a pasta taste test and not a sauce exhibition, I also only dressed products that came without condiments with nothing but high-quality EVOO and a sprinkle of fresh parsley where necessary. When tasting, I made my decision on whether or not to "buy" or "skip" each product based on taste, quality, ease of preparation, and value. Bonus points went to products that were particularly easy to prepare without sacrificing flavor or quality.