Costco Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes - Best Prepared Meal?
Kirkland Signature Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes at Costco
Costco sells their Kirkland Signature Meatloaf and Mashed Yukon Potatoes with Glaze for $3.99 a pound. The Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes combo prepared meal can be found in the refrigerated deli area near other items such as the beef bulgogi, macaroni and cheese, and the garlic drumsticks.
Each package of Costco’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes will weigh about 4.25 pounds and comes with a ground beef meatloaf and glaze and yukon gold mashed potatoes.
Thing To Know - Long cook Time
The Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes will take about an hour to cook in the oven. A lot of the prep work is already taken care of by Costco, but there is still a long cook time.
Prepare for your meal accordingly.
The Meatloaf is Made Fresh Daily!
When doing some research for this article, I came across a reddit comment from user livin801 who is a Costco employee. They state that the meatloaf is made fresh daily using ground beef they buy directly from the meat department.
Costco grinds it fresh multiple times a day and adds in the fresh eggs, onions, and seasoning. They then cook it in the “Combi” oven, chill, and apply the glaze.
The Yukon Mashed Potatoes, however, are not made on site and are shipped to Costco prepackaged.
Costco Cost Comparison
How Much Does Costco's Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes Cost?
Costco sells their ~4 pound meatloaf and mashed potatoes for $3.99 a pound. The total price for my purchase of meatloaf was $16.76. This is a solid and fair price for an easy to make dinner meal.
$3.99 a pound for a meal seems pretty fair, but we do have to take into consideration that the mashed potatoes are going to cost significantly less to produce than the meatloaf.
Costco sells their ground beef for $3.99 a pound and after preparing the meatloaf, there should be some markup.
Looking at the meal holistically, I think the $3.99/pound price tag for both the meatloaf and mashed potatoes is appropriate.
Costco vs The Competition
Whole Foods sells a pre-made 13.5 ounce package of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans for $9.99.
This is a per pound price of $11.89 which is nearly triple of Costco’s per pound price. Hard to say how the quality compares, but for a price comparison this isn’t even close.
Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes Taste Test
First Impressions
I will say the biggest turn off for me is going to be the bright red glaze that covers the ground beef meatloaf. It’s not really the color I’m looking for on a meatloaf.
After the cooking process, the mashed potatoes look great. They have a nice golden yellow color and the parsley is a great addition.
Butter is always nice in mashed potatoes, but during the cooking process, the butter just melted directly into the potatoes that it was sitting on and left a butter imprint.
The masthead potatoes will need to be mixed to spread and maximize the butter flavor.
Mashed Potatoes
The mashed potatoes in the dish are very solid overall as it is both chunky and creamy. They have a nice savory flavor with a hint of butter without being overly salty.
I enjoyed the mashed potatoes and they are sufficient for what they are in this meal.
Meatloaf & Glaze
I did cook the meatloaf and mashed potatoes for 65 minutes which is in between their recommended 60-70 minute cook time.
The meatloaf came out firm and still somewhat moist on the inside.
My meatloaf was slightly overdone, but still very tasty and delicious, nonetheless. If cooking again, I would probably pull the meatloaf at 60 minutes instead.
The flavors of the meatloaf were nice, it was savory and the onion chunks were pleasant. The red ketchup glaze was very sweet and drastically contrasted the meatloaf.
I would have preferred the red glaze to be a little less sweet.
When I was eating the glaze, I had to be conscious of grabbing enough meatloaf per bite. A small bite of meatloaf combined with the strip of glaze was a little too sweet for me.
Overall I thought it was pretty darn good for meatloaf. I’m not the biggest meatloaf fan, but Costco’s meatloaf did impress.
I would have no problem buying the meatloaf and mashed potatoes again.
Serving Recommendations
I ate this meatloaf and mashed potato combo just as is. I think the meal would benefit significantly by adding in some greens such as green beans or even a light salad.
The mashed potatoes and meatloaf were both pretty savory and an additional flavor profile would have improved the meal.
How to Cook Costco Meatloaf?
There is only one way that Costco recommends to heat these mashed potatoes and meatloaf and that is to oven bake them.
It does take a little more than an hour to fully heat the dish and that doesn’t include oven preheating time. Make sure to plan ahead accordingly.
Costco Meatloaf Cooking Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Remove the clear lid.
- Cover with foil and place on a sheet tray on the center rack of the oven.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes or until temperature reaches 165°F.
Nutritional Information
Unfortunately when it comes to Costco’s prepared meals, the nutritional information isn’t always readily accessible. Here is some information from what I gathered online about the nutritional information on generic meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
Costco Meatloaf Calories
According to Nutritionix, a 6.5 ounce portion of meatloaf will have 331 calories coming from 18 grams of fat, 14 grams of carbs, and 27 grams of protein.
This is a pretty expected nutritional label for ground beef/meatloaf. There is going to be high fat and protein content.
Costco Mashed Potatoes Calories
1 Cup of mashed potatoes will have 237 calories coming from 8.8 grams of fat, 36 grams of carbs, and 4.1 grams of protein.
Again this is a sample generic mashed potato nutritional label, but will probably be pretty close to Costco’s mashed potatoes nutrition.
Costco Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes Review
Product Name: Kirkland Signature Meatloaf and Yukon Mashed Potatoes with Glaze
Product Description:
Price: ~$17
Quantity:~4.25 Pounds
Location Within Costco: Refrigerated Deli - Prepared Meals
Price Per Pound: $3.99
Summary
Costco’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes prepared meal dish was a very pleasant surprise. The meatloaf was moist, tender, and tasty, and the mashed potatoes were above average.
The meal does take over an hour to cook, but it is easy to make and a great option for a convenient and delicious weeknight dinner. Worth the buy!
Overall
-
Value - 8/10
8/10
-
Convenience - 8/10
8/10
-
Taste - 7/10
7/10
-
Nutrition - 6/10
6/10
-
CFDB Score - 8/10
8/10
Pros
- Great meatloaf
- Fair price
- Easy to make
Cons
- Long cook time
- Subpar nutritional profile
- Review Methodology
