Costco's New Prepared Meal Will Make Fried Chicken Lovers Very Happy
Costco, with its superior food court hot dogs and ready-to-eat bagged rotisserie chickens is doubling down on its comfort food offerings with a new product perfect for busy members: A fried chicken and mashed potatoes prepared meal that is ready to pick up, take home, heat up, and eat. These started appearing on shelves in late April 2025 and have since garnered a lot of excitement on social media.
@discovering.costco Fried chicken + mashed potatoes = the ultimate comfort food combo, ready to heat and eat! 📍Chicago, IL #costco #food #friedchicken #mashedpotatoes #soulfood #comfortfoods #foodies #newfood #chickenthighs #quickmeals #easydinnerideas
What is there to be excited about? Yukon gold mashed potatoes, garnished with parsley and a pat of butter accompany what looks to be at least five pieces of breaded and fried chicken, all of which are strictly chicken thigh meat. The pre-packaged meals amounts to almost four total pounds of food — and you get all of this for just $4.99 per pound, so many of the trays cost less than $20. That would feed a sizable group for significantly less than you would pay at many fried chicken chains in this day and age, and you can pick up some green beans and corn while you're at Costco to round out the meal.
Member reactions are rather split about this new Costco offering
When it comes to the taste of this new Costco product featuring fried chicken thighs and mashed potatoes, many members have expressed major satisfaction. One happy customer reported on Reddit, "My family of four ate this up! It was $16 and worth every penny. Made the dill pickle bagged salad with it and it was perfect." Another Redditor shared, "[I] tried them the other day and they are pretty fire in my opinion." However, others are underwhelmed by the amount of food your are offered for $4.99 per pound. A commenter on a TikTok sharing the new item noted, "Just look at those prices, thank God I know how to cook." Another user advised that it is "cheaper to just get [Costco's] $4.99 Rotisserie Chicken and a thing of Bob Evan's Mashed Potatoes."
While opinions are (unsurprisingly) split, it still might be worth the try to decide for yourself oif the taste is worth the price tag. This heat-and-eat prepared fried chicken and mashed potatoes meal is still pretty new, so if your local Costco doesn't have it yet, don't panic — it could very well be on the way. That said, it might not be available in every Costco location; you'll have to keep checking by visiting your store and asking an employee, or checking with the online shopping function on Costco's website.