11 Inexpensive Ways To Upgrade Costco Premade Meals

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The premade meals from Costco are great options for when you simply have no desire to cook and want something quick and easy to eat. Another plus is that the wholesale club offers a bunch of different kinds of prepared dishes — including chicken pot pie, street tacos, meatloaf with mashed potatoes, and stir fry — so it is easy to keep things interesting.

That doesn't mean that some of the meals couldn't be taken to the next level or spruced up, especially if after a while you start to get tired of eating the same old thing and want to try something new without stepping out of your comfort zone too much. However, enhancing the dish shouldn't have to cost you an arm and a leg on top of what you already paid for the meal or require too much effort. That is why we decided to compile a list of inexpensive and easy ways that customers recommended to upgrade 11 premade meals from Costco.

The Kirkland Signature Yakisoba Stir Fry is a prepared meal that already requires some work from shoppers to prepare. The dish comes with the ingredients separated (including the noodles, two containers of sauce, vegetables, and chicken). The cooking instructions on the packaging tells buyers to cook the vegetables for two minutes in a large sauté pan with oil on medium heat before adding the chicken for two minutes and finishing with the noodles and sauce for a minute. However, a blogger said that they found cooking the stir fry for eight to 10 minutes worked better for them.

As far as easy ways to upgrade the dish, one member who claimed to have tried yakisoba in Okinawa, Japan recommended adding an egg or two as well as onions to the stir fry. Another enhancement that customers enjoyed was replacing the provided sauce with Bachan's Japanese Barbecue Sauce and then drizzling on some sesame oil. What's even more convenient about this upgrade is that the wholesale club sells the sauce, and with it coming in a 34-ounce bottle you'll get a lot of use out of it. 

"I add extra veggies, usually broccoli, (because) I feel like there are much more noodles compared to the meat/veggies," one redditor shared. Still others said that they add in some tofu, sriracha for a touch of added spice, and peanuts for some crunch.

The Kirkland Signature Chicken Street Tacos is a fan-favorite prepared meal kit at Costco. It comes with seasoned and grilled chicken, shredded vegetables, shredded cheese, 12 corn and flour tortillas, cilantro lime crema, and tomato salsa.

One member got creative and turned their street taco kit into a version of an enchilada. In order to make it, they said to roll the chicken inside the tortillas, top them with a can of enchilada sauce and the provided cheese, and then bake it for 20 minutes. The makeshift enchilada is then supposed to be put on the shredded vegetables with the crema and salsa drizzled on top. "We take the chicken out, put it in a pan, and pour chicken broth over the top and cover it for about 5 (minutes)," a member said regarding how they amplify the protein for the tacos. "Then take the lid off and cook until the broth has basically evaporated." 

Other suggested enhancements include adding pickled jalapeños, avocado, and sautéed peppers to the chicken, and cooking it in hot sauce for those who want the dish to have some spice. "With the leftover chicken, I just add some cheese and panini press some quesadillas. So good," another redditor shared. For a more restaurant-like meal, customers paired the tacos with rice and beans.

Something most members might not know, is that Costco's leftover rotisserie chickens are used to make the wholesale club's prepared meals, including the Kirkland Signature Chicken Alfredo with Penne Pasta. Besides the rotisserie chicken, the dish is also advertised to have fresh alfredo sauce and shredded parmesan. It comes oven ready and is supposed to be cooked for an hour at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, covered in foil.

Some of the easier ways that shoppers recommended taking the dish to the next level were to add broccoli, Italian seasoning, or Old Bay seasoning. Another member said to "pretend it's mac and cheese with a few fixins" by adding broccoli and jalapeños or peas and red peppers and topping it with Ritz crackers, crispy onions, or panko breadcrumbs. Customers also recommended adding bacon, sliced mushrooms sautéed in bacon fat, spinach, prosciutto, black garlic, broiled cherry tomatoes, smoked paprika, and sriracha. 

For those of you that own a smoker — or have a friend or family member that will let you use theirs — there was a Redditor who cooked the pasta dish in the smoker at 185 degrees for 20 minutes before kicking it up to 250 degrees for an hour before finishing it off covered in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit until the internal temperature reached 165 degrees. "It's very good," the person shared. "The chicken really picked up the smoky flavor and it stayed creamy while not mushy. 10/10."

The Kirkland Signature Mac and Cheese is another oven-ready dish that is supposed to be covered in tin foil and cooked at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes to an hour until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Unfortunately, the premade meal has been dubbed one of the Costco food items that customers find overrated. Despite that, some shoppers saved the dish by enhancing it in a variety of different ways.

One member jazzed up the prepared mac and cheese by seasoning it a little bit and putting in some extra cheddar cheese before giving it a mix and topping with bread crumbs. They then proceeded to bake it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, describing the result as delicious. Other add-ins that shoppers picked up at the wholesale club in order to upgrade the dish included bacon bits, Fresh Gourmet Crispy Onions, shredded rotisserie chicken, cajun spice, buffalo sauce, and ranch seasoning. 

As far as protein options, members also recommended putting in chicken teriyaki meatballs, ham and peas, hot dogs, or pairing it with buffalo covered chicken nuggets. One Redditor shared that they mix in fresh diced onion, fresh or pickled jalapeños, smoked paprika, and spicy brown mustard for some tanginess. They topped it with bread crumbs and seasoning salt before baking it and finished the dish off with fresh green onions. Other suggested improvements included cherry tomatoes, chili crisp, nutmeg, dijon mustard, celery seed, cream cheese, Velveeta, Tajin, and mustard powder.

The Kirkland Signature Stuffed Bell Peppers with Ground Beef & Rice is one of the best premade meals at Costco. The dish consists of yellow, orange, and red peppers filled with a mixture of beef, tomato paste, white rice, onions, and garlic, topped with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. The prepared meal can be cooked in the oven covered in tin foil for 50 to 55 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or in the air fryer for approximately 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

Instead of cooking the bell peppers in the oven, one member cooked them in a crock pot on low for eight hours or on high for four to five hours covered in Rao's Marinara Sauce. "We usually pour a can of diced tomatoes on them and cook them in the oven per the instructions. Crumble some Feta cheese on top before eating them! They are delicious!," another customer shared. 

It was also recommended to try adding roasted garlic powder and vodka sauce, covering the bottom of the pan in chicken broth mixed with tomato paste and spices, or tossing in can of tomato soup before cooking to enhance these peppers. "I will add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, paprika, and garlic powder," one Redditor said. "I'll cook (them) for 45 minutes and then I will top with small cans of Hunt's Basil and Garlic tomato sauce and cook for an additional 15 minutes."

The Kirkland Signature Rotisserie Chicken Enchilada from Costco is made with black and pinto beans, cheddar cheese, cilantro and chipotle sauce, Kirkland Signature Rotisserie Chicken, and tri-colored bell peppers. The package instructions say to cook the prepared meal on the center rack of the oven, covered loosely in foil, at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 to 60 minutes or until the dish reaches 165 degrees. 

One member turned the enchilada bake into nachos by putting dollops of it onto a baking sheet of tortilla chips, covering that with extra cheese and olives, broiling it until hot, and finishing the dish off with sour cream and guacamole. Meanwhile, others simply used the premade meal as a dip for Tostitos and Doritos. Shoppers have also paired the enchilada bake with eggs for an easy breakfast option, adding that they freeze it until they are ready to have it and then bake the dish at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 70 minutes. 

"This is a favorite quick dinner and leftover lunch for my husband and I," one Redditor said. "We usually portion it and it's easy to reheat. Also delicious topped with crumbled up Fritos post-bake." There were also thoughts to put the enchilada bake over lettuce with avocados, cherry tomatoes, and sour cream or to add extra enchilada sauce, grilled sliced red onion, and more freshly grated cheese.

The Kirkland Signature Meat Loaf with Yukon Mashed Potatoes is another premade meal from Costco. It contains fresh ground beef covered in a signature glaze and mashed potatoes with Kirkland Signature butter on top. According to the cooking instructions, customers are supposed to remove the prepared dish's clear lid, cover it with tin foil, place it on a sheet tray, put it on the center rack of the oven, and then bake it for 60 to 70 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In order to give the dish a boost, customers advised adding sriracha or barbecue sauce on top of the meatloaf. In addition, customers paired it with steamed broccoli, green beans, or one of the salad kits from the produce walk-in at the wholesale club. "Remove the ketchup and place it in a small bowl. Mix it with a little bit of apple cider vinegar and a smidge of brown sugar," one Redditor said, sharing their preferred preparation method for the dish. "PRE-SLICE THE MEATLOAF. Reapply the sauce and cook as normal." 

Others upgraded the premade meal's mashed potatoes by adding cheddar cheese or stirring in garlic powder. Some even wrapped the meatloaf in bacon before cooking it. "I live alone and I can get several meals out of it," one member said regarding how they use leftovers from the premade meal. "Meatloaf sandwiches, quesadilla, scrambled eggs stir fry... and mashed potatoes for days."

The Kirkland Signature Chicken Pot Pie is a ready-to-bake option made with all white chicken, onions, potatoes, carrots, peas, corn, and gravy topped with crust. The pot pie's cooking instructions tell members to bake it covered in tin foil at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 50 to 55 minutes before removing the foil and cooking it for five to 10 more minutes.

Many customers recommended brushing the crust of the pot pie with an egg wash before baking it to give it a beautiful golden brown finish. "I like to do melted butter with garlic powder, brush that on so it's nicely coated then let that dry down (no wetness on crust, takes like 5 min or so), then do an egg wash over it until it's nicely coated with egg then bake as normal," another Redditor advised."Not sure why I liked my crust this way, but I think it makes the crust taste better and gives it a nice golden color." 

To spice the pot pie up a little bit, shoppers added sriracha, black pepper, cayenne pepper, hot sauce, or Cajun seasoning to the dish. The chicken pot pie has also been paired with Better Than Bouillon chicken gravy for more flavor and to prevent the dish from being dry. In order to balance out the meal, there were shoppers who threw a piece of the pot pie in a bowl with steamed or roasted broccoli or added extra mixed vegetables.

The Kirkland Signature Rotisserie Chicken is one of the Costco grocery items that has left customers divided. Despite that, the rotisserie chicken is so famous that the wholesale club sold 157 million of them globally in 2025 alone.

In order to enhance the rotisserie chicken, members used the protein to make a variety of salads, barbecue chicken sandwiches, chicken salad, nachos, quesadillas, tacos, burritos, chicken fried rice, Pho, soup, casseroles, lasagna, enchiladas, and more. One shopper shared their recipe for Thai chicken wraps: "Inside a tortilla I add chicken, coleslaw mix, red peppers, red onion, cilantro, sweet chili sauce, and peanut butter." Another customer said that they use the croissants from Costco's bakery to make their rotisserie chicken sandwiches. 

There were also members who used the bones and skin of the chicken to make a stock for soup or chicken porridge. One Redditor even recommended freezing the stock in silicone or metal cupcake tins for easy-to-use, half-cup cubes, while another shared that they freeze the chicken carcass with whatever is left on it until they have five or six, then add them, water, herbs, and onions to crock pot and cook the mixture on low for 12 to 18 hours to make chicken broth.

The Kirkland Signature Beef Chili comes in a four pound container and is made with cooked beef crumbles, kidney beans, pinto beans, tomatoes, onions, green bell peppers, chili pepper, and a variety of spices. The instructions on the packaging tells shoppers to put the chili in a pot and warm it on medium heat while stirring it until it's 165 degrees Fahrenheit or put it in a microwavable bowl or container and heat it until it reaches the same temperature.

To make the chili more filling, customers used it to cook up chili cheese dogs, added sour cream and tortilla chips to make chili nachos, scooped the chili over nachos, paired it with cornbread, or mixed it with mac and cheese. "Airfry the Kirkland fries and top with some of the chili and the shredded Mexican cheese," another Redditor advised, adding "I'm sorry/you're welcome." 

There were also members who made the chili more substantial by putting it over spaghetti, rice, a baked potato, or other types of spuds. Meanwhile, others simply upgrade the chili by adding extra seasonings, some toppings, and cooking it in a crockpot.

The Kirkland Signature Seasoned St. Louis Ribs come pre-cooked and are a dish that customers can find in the wholesale club's deli section under the heat lamps next to the rotisserie chickens. The ribs come covered in Souvlaki seasoning, which typically consists of garlic, black pepper, salt, oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary, basil, onion, lemon peel, dill, marjoram, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

While some members said that the ribs were passable as they are, others recommended putting in a little bit of extra effort to take them to the next level without breaking the bank. One of those efforts was to cook the ribs for a couple more hours in the oven, wrapped in tin foil so they become fall off the bone tender. Another customer got more creative, suggesting you "Wrap them in foil and poke a couple holes in the foil. Wire rack or casserole dish of water or diluted orange juice and in the oven 30 minutes at 325. Best reheat method I've ever tried." 

There was also the simple suggestion to slather the pre-cooked ribs in your favorite barbecue sauce since they only come with a dry rub on them. One Redditor even shared that they will add the ribs to their ramen.