Costco's New Ready-To-Eat Meal Gets Called Out By The Internet For 'Wild' Pricing

While there are plenty of grocery items that people can save money on at Costco, the store also carries upscale merchandise, if customers are in the mood to splurge. The $17,000 champagne collection you can find in California is one extreme example. A recently spotted ready-to-eat (RTE) meal is another relatively expensive item carried by the grocery giant, and although the price tag doesn't come close to hitting five figures, it's still turning heads.

Costco's beef ragu with gnocchi comes in a foil container filled with nearly 3 ½-pounds of shredded beef and gnocchi pasta blended with a tomato sauce and crowned with parmesan cheese. It's enough food to satisfy even the most ravenous appetite, and it also has the convenience factor of being a refrigerated product that's ready to eat after a quick reheat. The dish itself seems to appeal to most Costco fans, but its price tag is another story.

At $6.99 per pound, the containers are setting folks back around $24, depending on the exact weight. It's not the most expensive food one could buy, but it's not exactly a screaming deal either. One Facebook user posted about the dish, writing, "There's a new beef ragu with gnocchi at Costco and it's delicious! Pricing is a bit wild though." The "wild" price has people divided over whether the latest Costco find is a smash or a pass.

As with any subject that's even mildly controversial, Redditors were quick to voice their opinions about Costco's RTE beef and gnocchi meal. At $6.99 per pound, expectations are high. Some people thought the cost was acceptable for what you get: "This was with shredded beef, not ground beef. I felt like this helped justify the higher price tag a little — although it still is pricey," noted one person. Unfortunately, not everyone had the same experience. "We got it this week and didn't like it. The beef wasn't really shredded vs chunked & unappetizing. I'm honestly 50/50 on going back for a refund for the first time,"  wrote another.

The portion size of the pasta dish was also a point of contention, with some saying it was way too big. Still, others fairly pointed out that at approximately 3 ½ pounds, the dish can stretch further than you may think. "We loved this. It made 4 individual meals for us, paired with Costco bag salad," shared one Redditor. Taking that approach, each portion only costs about $6, minus the salad.

However, one economically-minded individual rightly pointed out that if saving some scratch is the name of the game, better options exist. "A WHOLE Costco chicken is cheaper than a pound of this. I know the chicken is less complex, but in these times, it's a lifesaver," they wrote. One reason Costco sold a massive number of rotisserie chickens in 2025 is that the price is on point. Even if Costco's beef and gnocchi dish hits all the right flavor notes, it's still a splurge compared to the savings available elsewhere in the warehouse.