{"id":279,"date":"2024-01-21T23:53:34","date_gmt":"2024-01-21T23:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/squarespace.joannawhiteart.com\/wp\/2024\/01\/21\/costco-deli-chicken-alfredo-pasta-review\/"},"modified":"2025-03-28T12:18:16","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T16:18:16","slug":"costco-deli-chicken-alfredo-pasta-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/2024\/01\/21\/costco-deli-chicken-alfredo-pasta-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Costco Deli Chicken Alfredo Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Author\u2019s note: I wasn\u2019t paid to write this review, and I have no affiliation with <\/em>Costco<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can’t all be photogenic.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I hesitated to buy this, because pasta is generally a low-cost food, and simple to prepare. But here we are anyway.<\/em> I am a sucker for convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costco\u2019s Deli Chicken Alfredo is essentially just a pan of cooked pasta with some sauce, cheese, and some rotisserie chicken. Nothing elaborate. Almost a casserole. I wasn\u2019t sure if the price justified the simplicity of the meal, or if I should make my own with jarred alfredo sauce and a $5 Costco rotisserie chicken instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, I ended up satisfied with my decision to try this, although I\u2019m still on the fence regarding value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a fresh product available in the Costco Deli\u2019s grab-n-go area. It comes in an aluminum pan, ready to pop into the oven and bake at home. I was hoping to bake this in my countertop toaster oven, but the pan was just a tad too large. It\u2019s ready to eat in about an hour.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This meal tastes better than it looks! <\/strong>My initial impression is that it\u2019s extraordinarily WHITE. White pasta, white sauce, white cheese, white chicken. There\u2019s a meager sprinkling of fresh parsely fragments, but otherwise, it\u2019s just a big mound of whiteness. There\u2019s something about eating a plate of colorless food that feels a bit off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I guess we can’t all<\/em> be photogenic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Happily, this is a LOT of food. My pan weighed about 4.5 pounds and provided 8-ish servings.<\/strong> If you\u2019re a big eater, you\u2019d still get at least<\/em> 6 ginormous meals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meal is essentially layered in the pan. The cooked pasta is poured into the bottom, then the sauce, then cheese, and lastly chicken is piled on top.<\/strong> Because it\u2019s layered \u2014 and not stirred together \u2014 the sauce doesn\u2019t coat the chicken at all,<\/em> unless you stir this first before baking. I did not, and this was OK. The sauce seems to migrate through the pan and cover the pasta thoroughly as it bakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What does it taste like?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The alfredo sauce<\/a> is creamy, moist and coats the pasta nicely, but it seems to absorb into the penne noodles after refrigeration, so my leftovers were much drier and not nearly as \u201cgood.\u201d<\/strong> The photo above shows the meal the same night I cooked it, and the one below is from two days later. There was \u201cadequate\u201d sauce the first day, and \u201ccompletely inadequate\u201d sauce the subsequent days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDude, where\u2019s my sauce?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Close-up<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The penne pasta maintains a pleasing texture and adequate al dente<\/a> bite, even after baking and storing leftovers. It\u2019s not soggy at all. Pretty decent pasta, all things considered.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chicken is basic white meat rotisserie chicken,<\/strong> and it\u2019s flavorful and tender the first day, but tends to dry out when microwaving leftovers. More about that later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a conservative sprinkle of good-quality, freshly shredded parmesan cheese, and fresh green parsley on top as a garnish<\/strong>. It\u2019s a nice touch, and rounds out the creamy alfredo sauce texture. The parsley dries up too much during baking, however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I added a hefty amount of fresh pepper, which I found improved the taste substantially, and also made it less of a blank white.<\/strong> If I buy this again, I will try mixing in some frozen peas before baking, for a little extra color and some healthy veggies. I\u2019m sure that\u2019s some kind of Italian food blasphemy, but so is this pan of refrigerated layers<\/em>. Deal with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s another picture of the rather dry<\/em> microwaved leftovers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Price<\/strong> and Servings<\/strong> in Costco Deli Chicken Alfredo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s probably an average of 8 modest servings in this meal. This is a lower price than other Costco Deli options, at $4.49 per pound, or $18-ish for the pan. Per serving, this is about $2.25<\/strong>, which is excellent for a pre-made meal. If you eat very hearty meals and only get 6 servings, it will cost about $3 per serving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a Kirkland Signature<\/a> (store brand) product, and the item # is: 40249.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients<\/strong> in Costco\u2019s Kirkland Chicken Alfredo<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Ingredients<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here are the ingredients:<\/p>\n\n\n\n