Everyone knows Costco for its Kirkland Signature Chicken Bakes, but I can’t find them at my local store. What I did find, though, were these new Molinaro’s Chicken Bakes. They look absolutely delicious on the box, and the product description is mouthwatering so of course I grabbed a box. Were they as tasty as I expected? Read on to find out!
Location in Store
These are located in the freezer section at Costco, by the Kirkland Signature Cheese Pizza and the Motor City Pizza Co. Pepperoni Pizza. The item number is 1975892.
Taste
When I pulled the chicken bake out of the oven, I thought it looked delicious. Unfortunately, it didn’t taste as good as it looked. The chicken bake is extremely dough-heavy, and the dough on the inside seems soft, soggy, and almost raw. The outside crust was the best part—it had a nice crispness and a hint of cheese flavor that was enjoyable.
The chicken inside is very rubbery and tastes processed. Instead of nice, big chunks, there are only tiny pieces and shreds. The chicken is also extremely salty. I didn’t notice any flavor from the bacon or green onion, which the chicken bakes are supposed to have, so there must not be much included.
These are very dry because there’s so much dough and not enough filling, so they need a sauce for dipping. There’s ranch sauce in the chicken bake but you barely taste it and I’m not in love with the flavor. The chicken bakes also taste extremely salty.
Cost
There are four 227-gram pizza bakes in the 908-gram box, which costs $18.99 Canadian. That works out to almost five dollars per chicken bake, which, after trying them, I think is way too expensive.
Convenience
There are only conventional oven cooking instructions on the box, so that’s how I heated my chicken bake. I baked it for 37 minutes at 375°F, and it came out crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.
The chicken bakes need to be kept frozen, and the best-before date is about nine months from when I bought them. I would serve these with some kind of sauce because they’re quite dry—maybe ranch or buffalo sauce.
Nutrition
Calories
One 227-gram chicken bake contains 500 calories, 22 grams of fat, 44 grams of carbohydrates, two grams of fiber, three grams of sugar, 32 grams of protein, and 1,160 milligrams of sodium. That’s a ton of sodium! No wonder they taste so salty.
Ingredients
The ingredients list isn’t impressive; there are a ton of additives and preservatives, as well as unhealthy oils like canola oil. The chicken bakes contain milk, wheat, and rye and may contain eggs, mustard, and soy.
Scoring
Taste: 5/10
Cost: 5/10
Convenience: 9/10
Nutrition: 3.5/10 (Points for protein).
Overall
Walk on by!
I think these are overpriced and not that great, so I wouldn’t recommend buying them.
Have you tried the Costco Molinaro’s Chicken Bakes? What did you think of them?
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).
