We’ve been buying the Kirkland Signature Chicken Chow Mein from the pre-made meal section at my local warehouse for years, though it’s disappeared for a few stretches. It showed up again recently after a fairly long absence and I thought it would be a good idea to update my review since it was over four years old. Has the dish changed at all? How much has the price gone up? The answers to those questions and everything else you need to know about this classic Costco item are below!
Other pre-made meals from Costco I’ve tried recently are the Kirkland Signature Ginger Beef Stir Fry, Kirkland Signature Quiche Lorraine, Kirkland Signature Chicken Noodle Soup, Kirkland Signature Yakisoba Stir Fry, Kirkland Signature Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes, Kirkland Signature Chicken Quesadillas, Kirkland Signature Meat Lasagna and the Kirkland Signature Mac and Cheese.
Taste
This dish is tasty! It’s noodle-heavy but I don’t mind that much because I love chow mein noodles. The texture of the noodles is perfect, not hard and not too mushy. There’s nice big chunks of all-white chicken and fresh bell peppers and onions.
I found it a bit difficult to mix the noodles in with the vegetables and chicken because the noodles were kind of stuck together. I also cooked the chow mein for slightly longer than recommended because I had my heat a bit lower due to using a non-stick pan.
The vegetables were cooked well but still nice and crisp and not at all soggy. I find it a bit difficult to mix the noodles in with the vegetables and chicken. The sauce is a salty, savory, black bean sauce.
I feel there’s enough sauce but my husband likes things really saucy and he felt the dish was a bit dry and could have used more sauce. I also noted that the chicken seemed to be pretty good quality and there was no gristle or fatty bits.
It’s not as good as takeout but it’s pretty good for a dish you can make quickly and easily at home. It would be nice if there were a better balance between the noodles and vegetables and chicken. I like to add any vegetables in my fridge (broccoli, peppers, carrots, celery) to the chow mein to make it a bit more nutrient-dense!
Cost
The price is dependent on the weight – it costs $12.99 Canadian per kilogram for the Chicken Chow Mein. Back in late 2019, I paid $14.07 for a tray of it. In 2024, my 1.542-kilogram tray cost $20.03 Canadian. Unfortunately, I don’t have a record of what it cost per kilogram back in 2019, but I think it’s fair to say the price has gone up a lot over the past few years (no surprise there).
Convenience
You need to cook the chow mein in a frying pan on the stovetop. It’s pretty easy to do but as I mentioned it’s not totally easy to mix the noodles, vegetables and chicken all together because the noodles are kind of in a big blob.
I like to serve the chow mein with Bibigo Steamed Dumplings and Minh Pork Egg Rolls from Costco. My 19-month-old refused to try this but I still think kids would like it because of the noodles!
The best-before date is three days after the date it was packaged on and it needs to be kept refrigerated until you cook it. I don’t recommend freezing it, I think the peppers would be quite soggy and I don’t think the noodles would be great.
Nutrition
Calories
A quarter of the tray contains 400 calories, 12 grams of fat, 48 grams of carbohydrates, 860 mg of sodium, 10 grams of sugar, three grams of fibre and 26 grams of protein. That’s a lot of sodium but the carbohydrates aren’t as bad as I expected. I also like how much protein is in the meal.
Ingredients
This has all the ingredients I expect to see in a grocery-store-made chicken chow mein. I actually don’t mind the ingredients list. There’s not a ton of chemicals or preservatives. The dish contains wheat, egg, soy, sesame and may contain milk, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, tree nuts and mustard.
Scoring
Taste: 8/10
Cost: 7/10
Convenience: 8.5/10
Nutrition: 3/10
Overall
Give it a try!
It’s a little noodle heavy so I add my own additional vegetables, overall the flavor is really nice. I don’t think you’re saving a ton of money by buying the Costco Kirkland Signature Chicken Chow Mein instead of getting takeout. However, if you’re already in the store and need a convenient dinner, it’s a solid option.
Have you tried the Costco Kirkland Signature Chicken Chow Mein? What did you think of it? Drop a comment below!
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 just wanted to let you know that my local food bank has a partnership with Costco and the past couple times I’ve gone for food, I’ve received Costco frozen premade meals. This was the one I received this time around and it cooked great from frozen AND thawed (I just used a knife to cut it into sections small enough to fit into my pan) and that the veggies stayed crisp and the chicken stayed moist. So if anyone is worried about it being soggy or something, I would totally recommend portioning and freezing any extra you won’t eat in time. It will taste delicious still, I promise 🙂
I tried a few of there meals and need to say that the carbs are far to much , that count with the sugar count is a poor nutritional
Meal , I no longer purchase any of there meals I can make myself with no sodium and far less carbs
Instead of oil and sauce, I add a cup of lemon vodka. Everyone loves it. Grandma drinks a few shots when no one’s looking but the kids love the lemon vodka noodles. When we went to a restaurant and ordered chow mein, the kids asked the waiter if lemon vodka could be added. She looked at us funny but I said it was ok and they added it. It was such a hit with the staff that they added it on their regular menu.
I love this chow mein. It has lots of veggies and chicken. I add soy sauce and it makes it much better. I probably by one every week. Love it!
I am a huge fan of Costco a buy 90% of my stuff there. That being said, the chicken chow mien is a very very poor imitation of the real thing. It is no where remotely close to the stuff you get from a regular restaurant. Spend a bit more and get the quality stuff from any Asian restaurant.
Excellent as it is, however can i add more vegetable, e.g. sweet peppers and mushrooms…would i cook the mushrooms first
Aaand we are having this tonight. BTW I’m inputting into MyFitnessPal each time – unsure if other users have access to My Foods but hope so!
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