A lot of Costco’s pre-made meals tend to be comfort foods. This Kirkland Signature Mac and Cheese definitely falls into that category. Some people might argue that macaroni and cheese isn’t a meal, so I suppose this might be more of a side than a true meal. At the end of the day though, all that really matters is if it’s good! So is it?
Some other pasta-based pre-made meals Costco has carried are the Kirkland Signature Chicken Penne Alfredo, Kirkland Signature Four Cheese and Spinach Manicotti, Kirkland Signature Chicken Parmigiana on Cheese Lasagna, Kirkland Signature Italian Sausage Pasta Kit and the Kirkland Signature Meat Lasagna.
Location in Store
This can be found in the pre-made meal section at Costco, near the quinoa salad, chicken tacos and enchilada bake. The item number is and I bought it at the Kalispell, Montana Costco.
Taste
I was so excited to try this! I love macaroni and cheese but for whatever reason Sean has always disliked it so we don’t have it often. We get it from a local barbecue restaurant ever so often and theirs is amazing.
This Kirkland Signature version of the popular dish left me feeling disappointed.
It looks really good because of how much cheese is on top and it’s very creamy but the overall flavor is extremely bland. It’s lacking the strong cheese flavor I love, it doesn’t taste really salty, it just tastes very dull. The sauce tastes exactly the same to me as the Kirkland Signature Chicken Penne Alfredo sauce.
The parts with extra shredded cheese baked on top are my favorite. I followed the cooking instructions on the label and noticed that a few of the macaroni that I tried were a bit hard which was unfortunate. The noodles that weren’t hard were good in terms of texture and tenderness.
I think this tastes more like an Alfredo pasta dish than mac and cheese.
Cost
This gigantic side dish can easily satisfy 8-10 people, or even more! Costco sells its mac and cheese for around $3.49 per pound, with packages costing about $12 to $14. It may be a bit pricey, but totally worth it.
Convenience
The dish needs to be kept refrigerated and the best-before date is four days from when it was purchased. To bake the mac and cheese, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, remove the plastic top and cover the tray with aluminum foil.
Place the covered tray on a baking sheet and bake on the center rack for 40 to 60 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. This is definitely more of a side dish rather than a main in my opinion.
Although you could eat it on its own I recommend serving it with things like ribs, pulled pork, smoked chicken or sausages!
Nutrition
Calories
The mac and cheese from Costco contains 290 calories, 18 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 410 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of carbohydrates, one gram of fiber, one gram of sugar and 10 grams of protein in an 128-gram serving.
Ingredients
The ingredients list doesn’t have anything too surprising that I wouldn’t expect to see in a store-bought macaroni and cheese. The kind of cheese used are romano, parmesan and shredded cheddar cheese. The sauce is an alfredo sauce which I already knew just by tasting it.
Scoring
Taste: 5.5/10
Cost: 7/10
Convenience: 10/10
Nutrition: 0/10
Overall
Walk on by!
I wanted to love this but I found it really bland! I think if I added more cheese, possibly some bacon and a bit more seasoning it would help.
Have you tried the mac and cheese from Costco? What did you think of it?
Please note that this review was not paid for or sponsored by any third party. This product was purchased by Costcuisine for the purpose of producing this review. The opinions in this review are strictly those of Costcuisine. Costcuisine is not affiliated with Costco or any of its suppliers. In the event that Costcuisine receives compensation for a post from the manufacturer of a product or some other third party, the arrangement will be clearly disclosed (including where the manufacturer of a product provides Costcuisine with a free sample of the product).
I have tried the macaroni and cheese twice and very disappointed and it’s bland flavor
Most often things from Costco or season well but this is not. I’m going to add my own seasoning this next time I may try some garlic salt on the top maybe even a little chili powder for for a kick and maybe add some real bacon bits
I just tried this for the 1st time today. The cheese is so stringy it is almost gaggy, not creamy at all, as I was hoping. Noodles are overcooked and there is absolutely no flavor, the texture is a mess. I was going to share this with my daughter bit I’m too embarrassed, so sad because most of their stuff is so much better!….
I add a light dusting of granulated garlic to the top of the Mac and cheese before baking. Without that I find all Mac and cheese bland.
I love this Mac and cheese! It’s a life saver during Thanksgiving, Christmas and other times of the year when we gather as a family.
The trick is you have to “doctor” it up!
I first tried it when I was hosting a family gathering and I was too tired to make the Mac and cheese. So I grabbed this. I add garlic powder, heavy cream, butter, pepper , salt and a few other cheeses finely grated and then bake. My family raves about it and thought I made it. I got away with it for a few years until my brother found the silver pans in the trash . Lol ! Anyway, it’s a good substitute and we have been using it for years now.
How much cream and butter did you add to one tray?
How much heavy cream and butter do you add?
I just tried this for the first time today. The cheese was bland, but I expected that. What I am totally unhappy with is the pasta, which was, to me, very overcooked. I won’t be buying it again.,
Most likely, you just need to add salt to it to bring out the flavors. And sometimes not that much. It’s better that they don’t add too much and allow people to adjust their own serving to suit their taste. I run into this with my own cooking, including macaroni. People have different sensitivity to salt and once it is too salty, not much you can do.
I have not tried this product and instead make my own.
i agree that the dish is rather bland,epecially with all the different types of cheeses listed. it tasted like the bargain mac and cheeses. it is good for a base for other cheese pasta dishes. it is surprising that that costco would not have much flavour with the mac and cheese as compared to their other prepared meals. i did like it, but i am not sure i would recommend it on its own with out help with additional ingredients.