There are a lot of hidden treasures in Costco’s frozen food aisle that members flock to when they hit the retailer to stock up. In addition to its vast array of rave-worthy appetizers, it has a convenient and affordable selection of breakfast food options.
Advertisement
The breakfast foods available at Costco include something for all tastes, appetites, and dietary needs, including sandwiches, egg dishes, and healthy breakfast bowls. While the inventory at every Costco varies, I was curious to sample as many of these breakfast options as I could find at my local store.
I sampled each one to determine which is worth stocking up on and which you might want to skip on your next Costco outing. Read on to find out which frozen breakfast option landed on top and what criteria I used to rank them. Once you do, all you will need to start your morning off right is a cup of Kirkland brand coffee to get your juices flowing.
7. Red’s Turkey Sausage Egg’Wich
At the bottom of this ranking of Costco’s frozen breakfast options is the Turkey Sausage Egg’wich from the Red’s brand. Apparently, I was not the only one on the fence about these, as a lot of Costco shoppers have been divided over it. What this breakfast has going for it is that it is made from cage-free eggs and is gluten-free. With 17 grams of protein and 190 calories per serving, this is a relatively healthy option for those looking for something low-carb, yet satisfying. They are also quite easy to reheat, taking just a couple of minutes in the microwave.
Advertisement
That said, these breakfast sandwiches are quite high in saturated fat, with 5 grams apiece (25% DV) and 590 milligrams of sodium (26% DV). They also aren’t exactly convenient travel food, as they can be a bit messy to eat if you want to consume them hot. They leaked melted cheese while reheating, which inconveniently stuck to the moist paper towel that the packaging directions recommend you wrap around them to keep them tender.
I also found the whole thing to be quite bland, with the exception of the sausage. The smell and taste of this was palatable, but reminded me of the free breakfast buffet at any run-of-the-mill budget motel or hotel you might stay at, which is to say, pretty mediocre. Moreover, the texture of the eggs was a little spongy, rather than tender, which was kind of unsatisfying.
Advertisement
6. Red’s New York Style Spicy Chicken Sausage Bagel
Next to last on this ranking of Costco frozen breakfast options was Red’s New York Style Bagel Spicy Chicken Sausage. Like the Egg’wich, this product is made from cage-free eggs and boasts a significant amount of protein per sandwich at 17 grams. It also reheats quickly in the air fryer in under 10 minutes, making it a relatively simple and speedy breakfast option for those in a rush in the morning. That said, this sandwich also has a rather excessive amount of sodium, with 790 milligrams (34% DV) per serving, and a hefty 4.5 grams of saturated fat (23% DV), which may be problematic for some consumers.
Advertisement
In terms of quality, my first impression upon smelling this sandwich was that it smelled like diner food. This isn’t altogether bad, it’s just not necessarily my favorite aroma. The texture of the sandwich was pleasant, with a crisp, chewy bagel that wasn’t doughy, an egg patty that was relatively tender, sausage that was moist, and cheese that melted well.
Taste-wise, I found this sandwich to be a tad underwhelming. While the bagel was fine, it wasn’t stellar. Additionally, the egg was under-seasoned. The sausage, on the other hand, was dynamite. It was plenty flavorful and quite spicy. It made up for the lack of seasoning elsewhere, giving this sandwich an edge over the previous breakfast option.
Advertisement
5. Eggland’s Best Three Cheese Omelets
Eggland’s Best Omelets Three Cheese ranks next on this ranking of frozen breakfast options from Costco. Eggland’s Best is a brand that prides itself on producing eggs that are not only exceptional in quality, but superior in nutrition. It boasts that its eggs contain 10 times more vitamin E, 25% less saturated fat, double the amount of omega-3’s, 6 times more vitamin D, more than double the vitamin B12, and 38% more lutein. That said, with the cheese in this omelet, which has 15 grams of protein per serving, the total saturated fat is 5 grams (25% DV) and the sodium content is 670 milligrams (29% DV).
Advertisement
While this omelet was quick and easy to heat in the microwave and it had a pleasant, fluffy texture, the taste lacked a little nuance and complexity. I felt the cheese was of moderate quality, though it melted well, and the eggs were desperately lacking in seasoning. That said, you could easily elevate this omelet with some clever fillings or garnish it with some fresh herbs or a dash of hot sauce, which would really help bolster its flavor, making it a good option to keep on hand if you aren’t in the mood to deal with cracking eggs and messing with dirty pans to make your own.
4. Sambazon Fruit Topped Smoothie Bowls
Next on this ranking are the Fruit Topped Smoothie Bowls Mango Blend with Fruit and Granola Toppings from Sambazon. These organic frozen breakfasts appeal to me, as I tend to prefer lighter meals in the morning that aren’t particularly meaty. That said, they lack the protein that some might want in the morning and are quite small in size, which may leave those with heartier appetites feeling hungry.
Advertisement
Though these smoothie bowls are “ready-to-eat,” they do take some effort to thaw. The quick method for doing so is to pop it in the microwave for a few seconds at a time. I advise against this as it is far too easy to go overboard and melt the contents, creating fruit juice, rather than a smoothie. The countertop method works, but takes roughly an hour and a half. An easier way to thaw this would be to place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight so it is ready to go in the morning.
Otherwise, I have nothing negative to say about the flavor and texture. I loved the taste of the mango purée, which was fresh and not excessively sweetened. When thawed on the countertop, the mouthfeel remained almost like sorbet, which was quite pleasant. The coconut garnish lent a nice crunchy contrast and was just the nutty bite needed, though you could easily elevate this smoothie bowl with a high protein topping, like peanut butter or chia seeds, to round it out nutritionally.
Advertisement
3. Red’s Meat Lovers Breakfast Burrito
In third place on this ranking of frozen breakfast options from Costco are the Red’s Breakfast Burrito Meat Lovers. These burritos are made from cage-free eggs and have a relatively decent nutrition profile, with 280 calories, 12 grams of protein, 4.5 grams of saturated fat (23% DV), and 550 milligrams of sodium (24% DV). These can be reheated in the microwave or the air fryer, which is the method I chose. The air fryer yields a nice crisp crust and moist, melty center, which I prefer over a softer tortilla.
Advertisement
What this burrito did well was flavor. The meat and cheese were loaded with seasoning, including a robust spiciness from sausage, pepper jack cheese, and green chile peppers. It also smelled incredibly enticing, which made it go down that much more smoothly.
Perhaps my only complaint was that it wasn’t exactly “chock-full” of meat. In fact, I felt like calling this a “Meat Lovers Breakfast Burrito” was a bit of false advertising. While the meat was there, it was about equal to the amount of cheese, if not slightly overshadowed by it. This didn’t make it any less enjoyable, but since I needed to select a winner, I had to split hairs. That said, I’d definitely buy these again and keep them on hand for a more hearty breakfast on a busy day.
Advertisement
2. Kirkland Signature Breakfast Sandwich
The Kirkland Signature Breakfast Sandwich landed in second place on this ranking of frozen breakfast options from Costco. To be transparent, this is not my first time sampling this product. I have previously reviewed it when testing who offers the better breakfast sandwich: Starbucks or Costco. As you might expect, this sandwich won that face-off and performed beautifully yet again in this round-up.
Advertisement
This sandwich reheats perfectly in an air fryer, though it can also be tossed in the microwave for speed. Each one contains 390 calories, 9 grams of saturated fat (45% DV), 770 milligrams of sodium (33% DV), and 19 grams of protein, which may make it a poor choice for some diets, but it does deliver in the aroma, flavor, and texture departments.
The smell of this was on the more gourmet side, with rich, meaty, and buttery notes wafting through the air the moment it came out of the air fryer. The texture of the bread was perfectly crisp, yet tender, the egg was fluffy, the cheese well-melted, and the bacon wasn’t floppy, which is typically a problem in frozen items. The flavors were well-balanced and there was adequate seasoning in all the layers, giving this a more complex taste. I said it last time, and I’ll say it again, this is a great product to have on hand for a bougie breakfast that is a fraction of the price that you’d pay for the Starbucks facsimile.
Advertisement
1. Veggies Made Great Spinach Egg White Frittatas
The top-ranked frozen breakfast option from Costco was the Spinach Egg White Frittatas from the Veggies Made Great brand. These petite, muffin-like frittatas had everything going for them. They were flavorful, pretty to look at, and versatile. I could just as easily see serving them to a crowd for a more elegant brunch as I could as an appetizer for a dinner party. They are gluten-free, have just 70 calories per serving, and are quite favorable nutritionally, with 1 gram of saturated fat (5% DV), 190 milligrams sodium (8% DV), and 5 grams of protein apiece.
Advertisement
While they are designed to be reheated in the oven, toaster oven, or microwave, they worked perfectly well in the air fryer and were ready in about 15 minutes at 350 degrees, becoming a crisp, golden brown on the outside, while retaining a moist, fluffy interior. When they came out of the air fryer, the aroma immediately signaled something delicious. They had an herbaceous, almost meaty smell, despite the fact that they are completely vegetarian.
I was most impressed with the flavor of these frittatas. They were loaded with vegetables, including spinach, tomatoes, onions, and peppers, and the cheese lent a nice umami-rich, salty bite that didn’t overwhelm the egg whites, but accentuated them. I also thought the seasoning was en pointe, which gave these a more sophisticated feel than all the other breakfast items I sampled.
Advertisement
How we ranked Costco’s frozen breakfast options
When it comes to breakfast, I consider myself to be something of an expert. I was the chef and owner of an award-winning bed and breakfast (and restaurant) for nearly 18 years, which means that I have made every type of breakfast under the sun, from scratch. While it isn’t perhaps fair to compare a frozen product to something homemade, I do consider my standards to be fairly high, and, as such, my expectations of these breakfast foods were viewed through that lens.
Advertisement
I prepared each frozen breakfast food as per the packaging directions. Where applicable, I used my air fryer as much as possible, as I find this to be a superior appliance for reheating frozen foods to maximize texture and flavor. I sampled each item right after heating and tasted them all on the same day.
The most important factors I considered were ease of preparation, nutritional content, convenience, aroma, texture, and, above all, flavor. Lastly, if a product was markedly different from what the packaging suggested, I deducted points from my final assessment. I hope that this helps you to select those products that will best suit your particular needs and desires and can make your morning routine easier, more nutritious, and more satisfying.
Advertisement
