Costco Quesadilla (Chicken) - Convenient But Overpriced?
Kirkland Signature Chicken Quesadilla at Costco
Costco sells their Kirkland Signature Chicken Quesadilla for $5.99 a pound. The quesadillas can be found in the refrigerated deli area near other prepared foods such as the meatloaf, cilantro lime shrimp, and the poke.
Costco’s Chicken Quesadillas come with a mini cup of sour cream, 2 Kirkland Signature guacamole cups, and a mini tub of salsa.
This is the same salsa that is used in the Street Taco Kit.
New Costco Prepared Meal Item?
This is the first time that I’ve seen Costco selling these prepared quesadillas, but they aren’t completely new to all locations.
Some warehouses have had them for on and off for about a year now, but either way, I am glad that Costco is constantly changing and shuffling their deli prepared meal options.
Are Costco’s Quesadilla Authentic?
Yes, Costco’s Chicken Quesadilla are authentic. Quesadillas are rather easy to make as they just involve tortillas, cheese, and optional protein.
Costco keeps the quesadilla simple and on point with the right ingredients.
The additional salsa, guacamole and sour cream are excellent additions to the premade quesadilla meal and standard options that accompany a quesadilla.
I’m glad that Costco gives 3 different options to go with the quesadillas, but I think it might be a little bit of an overkill.
I personally wouldn’t use all 3 of the sour cream, guacamole, and salsa on one quesadilla and my preferred option is to use just the sour cream and guac.
This may also be one way for Costco to inflate the overall weight of the package and sell more food at the $5.99 per pound price tag.
The sauces combined for a total weight of 13.5 ounces or about $5 at the $5.99 price. This is expensive!
Costco Cost Comparison
How Much Does Costco Sell Their Quesadilla For?
Costco sells its chicken quesadillas in approximately 2.5-pound packages for $5.99 a pound. The total for my 2.72-pound package was $16.29.
This is a little pricey on a per-pound basis and a little pricey for quesadilla in general. I think a more fair price would be a little closer to $4.99 or even $4.49 a pound.
Too Expensive
The reason I consider this quesadilla to be too expensive is that all of the ingredients can be purchased from Costco and the quesadillas can be assembled at a fraction of the cost.
Yes, you can always expect to pay for convenience, but it seems like in this case that the price markup is just too high.
An entire rotisserie chicken can be purchased for $4.99, and I would guess the actual price of the ingredients used is probably closer to $2 to $2.50 a pound.
Costco has to make money and I have no problem with that, I just don’t consider this to be a great deal.
DIY Quesadilla
If you do want to make this quesadilla yourself at home, you can purchase all of the individual ingredients for about $55, but could make 10 times the amount of food (not an exaggeration).
You would need one or two rotisserie chickens, jumbo tortillas, shredded cheese, Kirkland Signature guacamole cups, salsa, and a tub of sour cream. This is about $55 total dollars for Costco sized portions which would make plenty of quesadillas with leftovers to spare.
Costco is making a killing on this item.
Chicken Quesadilla Taste Test
Convenient to Make
The Costco chicken quesadillas are served uncooked, and should be heated prior to eating. You don’t necessarily need to heat them, but they don’t really classify as a quesadilla until they are heated and the cheese is melted.
This is a prepared meal and one of the more convenient ones as you simply need to heat the quesadilla on both sides to melt the cheese and to cook the tortilla. After cooking, the cheese melted nicely and I think the tortilla looked really good.
The Chicken is Chipotle Seasoned
The chicken includes a good mix of white meat as well as dark meat and is chipotle flavored. There is plenty of seasoning on the chicken and it spills onto the cheese.
I think the taste is great, but there isn’t much of a kick and it isn’t spicy.
Perfect Amount of Cheese
There is a solid amount of cheese on the quesadilla that when it melts provides a nice gooey layer surrounding all of the chicken.
Costco includes just the right amount of chicken where it’s tasty but not overly gooey or cheesy.
As a whole, I enjoyed the quesadilla and it really hit the spot. I consider it to be a rather simple quesadilla, but satisfying.
Kirkland Signature Quesadilla Cooking Instructions
There is no doubt the quesadillas are convenient, and the cooking directions are quite simple. To heat the chicken quesadillas, you need to just add 1 ounce of oil to a frying pan and heat the quesadilla for 2 and a half minutes per side.
This is a fairly simple cooking direction, and the main point of the cooking process is to heat the filling and melt the cheese as well as to crisp up the tortilla. The final results should have melted cheese on the interior and a brown crispy crusted tortilla.
The chicken is already precooked and will just need to be reheated for desired warmth.
Quesadilla Nutritional Information and Calories
One of the major drawbacks of Costco’s prepared meal is the lack of a nutritional label. It can sometimes be gathered from the internet, but the accuracy of the nutritional information is never 100% guaranteed.
Unfortunately for this case, as a rather new Costco product, there isn’t a lot of concrete information regarding the nutritional information. I can tell you that a typical quesadilla it is going to be moderately healthy. The tortilla will add quite a bit of carbohydrates to the equation, and the chicken will be mostly protein. The cheese will add in some fat and a few grams of protein.
I have no problem eating tortillas with chicken or protein to really boost up the protein count.
Costco Chicken Quesadilla Review
Product Name: Kirkland Signature Chicken Quesadilla
Product Description:
Price: $16
Quantity: 2.75 Pounds
Location Within Costco: Refrigerated Deli Area
Price Per Pound: $5.99
Summary
Costco’s chicken quesadillas are tasty but expensive for what they are. They are an excellent prepared meal that you can have ready in just about 5 minutes.
Quesadillas can also be made at home in about 10 minutes and for 1/3rd of the cost. Great in a pinch, but that’s about it.
Overall
-
Value - 5/10
5/10
-
Convenience - 9/10
9/10
-
Taste - 7/10
7/10
-
Nutrition - 8/10
8/10
-
CFDB Score - 6/10
6/10
Pros
- Convenient
- Good tasting
- Fairly healthy
Cons
- Overpriced
- Review Methodology
