Is Costco's Meatballs And Rigatoni Worth The Price? TikTok Is Divided
Costco may be famed for its low-priced food court, but it also offers a number of prepared meals for those who prefer not to dine in. While the pizza of many slices and the cheap rotisserie chicken are fan favorites, we're not sure if the big box store's heat-and-eat meatballs and rigatoni will attain the same level of popularity. One TikTok channel that covers the Costco beat featured this product, with the video maker touting its ability to feed four people for just $4.49 per pound. While this would be extremely inexpensive if all four people were to share a single pound of the stuff, apparently this is not how it's done. A single serving of baked ziti (a sufficiently similar dish) is considered to be 2 cups with each cup weighing about 7 ounces, so a pound = roughly one serving. This ties in with the price on the package shown in the video, which was nearly $19.
While $4.49 per serving isn't terrible, neither is it the find of the century. Some of the people commenting on the Costco video seemed to feel that the video maker was burying the lede by citing the price per pound instead of the real cost of the meal. Others who tried the dish were unimpressed by its flavor, while some didn't care for the fact that it takes almost an hour to heat up. There were a few Costco shoppers, however, who did express interest in purchasing the product.
How does the price of Costco's pasta bake compare to similar options?
While the TikTok video creator seemed pretty stoked about finding what they considered to be an affordable family meal, the comments made clear that it all depends on your perspective. While one person remarked, "Bro $20 for some pasta is crazy," another responded that you could pay that much for a single serving at a restaurant. They're not wrong, since even the not-so-upscale Olive Garden is charging around $18 for baked ziti and lasagna. On the lower end of the scale, a single-serve pasta bowl from Domino's may be had for just $6.99 — pricier than Costco, true, but it won't need an hour in the oven.
@costcohotfinds Meatballs with rigatoni at Costco!
If you're comparing Costco's meatballs and rigatoni to frozen pasta bakes, unsurprisingly, it's a bit more expensive. Even so, in some instances, it doesn't come off too badly. At $4.49 per pound, the Costco pasta bake is approximately 28 cents per ounce, while the Michael Angelo's brand of baked ziti can be found at Walmart for around 26 cents per ounce. Great Value three-meat lasagna, however, is priced at just over 21 cents per ounce. Still, the difference isn't anything earthshaking. Overall, it seems that the price of this Costco entree is okay if you're in the market for a pre-made pasta dish, but it's not likely to inspire any non-members to fork over $60 for a Costco card.