The Ready-To-Eat Meal Brand Costco Shoppers Suggest Skipping: 'Simply Not Worth The Money'

Costco excels at stocking all sorts of prepared food that's both convenient and easy to prepare. But they can be hit and miss with customers: There are items like the Bibigo Sobaba Crunchy Glazed Chicken, which made our list of the 14 best Asian foods at Costco. And then there's the Kirkland Signature Burnt Ends, which some customers say should be left on the shelf. And now, another microwaveable meal brand at Costco has been designated by shoppers as worth skipping. That would Kevin's Natural Foods, which is safe for paleo and keto-friendly diets, free of refined sugars, and gluten-free. 

According to Reddit, customers have had their fill of Kevin's Natural Foods. In one thread, commenters mentioned that they are either ho-hum on the products, or simply not a fan at all. One person wrote, "Oh, wow, someone said what I've been quietly thinking. I've yet to find any of these worth a repeat buy and quit buying new ones." Another concluded, "[They're] simply not worth the money or convenience."

Some concede that there are a few Kevin's products worth buying, but even they can be questionable purchases. As another user noted, "The cilantro lime chicken was good when I used it for nachos. I've had mixed reviews for most of the others. I think they're usually edible, but sometimes they're just awful."

Many of Kevin's Natural Foods products are meat-based, of which chicken is a significant percentage. But as one person wrote on Reddit, "The texture is weird for the chicken." Another added, "It's strangely stringy and tender, but doesn't really resemble what you think of as chicken." 

I tried the Butter Chicken last night, and the observations about the meat being somewhat unconventional are correct. It comes in a large single brick, and you're meant to agitate the inner packet with your hands, breaking the single chunk into smaller bits. The chicken is then prepared sous vide, meaning it's slowly cooked in a water bath to a precise temperature. That does tend to make the meat fuse together, but all the muscle fibers stay intact. That appears to be the case with many of Kevin's products: It's not a visually attractive end result, but the meat stayed moist after microwaving it with the included sauce packet.

That being said, the Butter Chicken product was actually pretty good. But my previous run-ins with Kevin's items have been mixed (I didn't care for a beef meal, which had a coconut flavor that was distracting). And customers on Costco's website only scored one of Kevin's Natural Foods products a dismal 2.8 out of 5 stars, which should say plenty. Good thing Costco always has a ton of alternative things to grab during your next trip; you might as well get a rotisserie chicken and make one of 10 easy meals from it instead.