Costco Vs Walmart: Which Has The Better Rotisserie Chicken?

Every now and then, we need to simplify things when it comes to cooking. Whether it's choosing boxed instant mashed potatoes over homemade spuds or tearing open a bagged salad rather than pulling out the cutting board, there are plenty of ways to save a little time in the kitchen. When it comes to dinner-time shortcuts, though, few options rival the rotisserie chicken. Precooked, juicy, and big enough to feed the whole family, rotisserie chickens are not only practical but delicious.

There are plenty of places to snag a pre-cooked bird, so Mashed is here to help. With both Walmart and Costco offering their own rotisserie chickens, I set out to find out which one is superior. Price, taste, appearance, and shredability were important factors in determining which bird is king of the coop. Read on to learn more about both brands' takes on the rotisserie chicken and to find out which one should be at the center of your next meal.

Bang-for-your-buck is an important factor when it comes to rotisserie chicken and in that department, Costco reigns supreme. The mega-store's chickens are a massive three pounds and cost just $4.99. While Walmart's birds are no slouches, weighing in at 2 pounds, 4 ounces, they're hardly the best deal thanks to a $5.97 price tag. For those of you looking to avoid math, Costco's chicken will run you a bit over 10 cents per ounce. Walmart's price-per-ounce is quite a bit higher at just a hair under 22 cents.

Both options are available in-store daily, though you can add one to a curbside pickup from Walmart. Similarly, both Walmart and Costco package their birds in plastic bags. For Costco, this is a recent change that offers both cost savings for the company and some serious environmental benefits.

Both chains also offer unique takes on their chickens. Walmart sells a Lemon Pepper bird for the same price as the traditional option and pre-shredded chicken in one-pound containers for $9.97. Meanwhile, Costco uses its rotisserie chicken in multiple pre-made options, including a nearly three-pound container of Chicken Salad.

Chicken is generally thought of as a pretty healthy dish, but there's a reason rotisserie chicken taste so good. It involves slow-cooking the birds in order to seal in as many of the natural juices as possible. Seasoning and additives are important as well, as evidenced by the ingredient decks for both Walmart and Costco rotisserie chickens.

Walmart's ingredient deck is fairly straightforward with chicken, water, and sea salt as the first three ingredients. Next up is a seasoning blend of dried chicken broth and rosemary extract. The chicken is also rubbed with a spice blend that includes garlic powder, salt, dehydrated lemon peel, citric acidic, dehydrated parsley, and other natural flavors. Salt shows up a few times in that list and helps to explain why one 3-ounce serving contains 250 milligrams of sodium, in addition to 250 calories and 19 grams of fat.

Costco's ingredient deck reads much the same: chicken, water, a seasoning blend of salt, sodium phosphate, modified food starch, potato dextrin, sugar, dextrose and spice extractives. Both brands also utilize carrageenan, a stabilizer with little to no nutritional value created from red seaweed. While Walmart posts its nutritional info right on the bag, Costco is more elusive. Based on numerous online sources, there are 140 calories, 7 grams of fat, and 460 milligrams of sodium in a 3-ounce serving.

I've had Costco's rotisserie chicken numerous times, so I knew what to expect. The birds are large and rather picturesque thanks to a golden brown finish. Separating the meat from the carcass is pretty easy, if not unavoidably messy. The white meat is extremely tender and juicy but no more so than a properly cooked chicken breast. The same could be said about the dark meat. Ultimately, this is a good chicken, but there's very little distinct flavor that would separate it as a rotisserie chicken as opposed to a home slow-cooked shredded chicken.

Size is the key factor when evaluating Costco's rotisserie chicken. There is just so much meat, and for the cost, it's a hard value to beat, especially when you can get multiple meals out of a single chicken. As a Costco member, I'm not going to stop purchasing these precooked birds anytime soon, but after testing out Walmart's version, I may reevaluate my chicken of choice based on my needs.

Aesthetically, Walmart's chicken is not the prettiest. A heavy seasoning rub leaves the bird looking two-toned with a charred top and sides that lean more into the pale category than golden brown. Inside, though, Walmart knows how to prep a bird. The meat is just as easy to separate as Costco's, if not slightly fattier. There's a higher ratio of dark meat to white meat which is reasonable given the fact that the breasts on Costco's chicken are so large.

Where it loses points for appearance and quantity, Walmart more than makes up for in flavor. This is a rotisserie chicken with some character. Each bite, regardless of the meat type, is savory and slightly salty. The meat is tender, though Costco's white meat was ever so slightly easier to shred by hand. In addition to flavor, Walmart wins the juiciness race running away. The first indication that this might be the case actually came before I tore into the birds. There was a significant amount of liquid that ran out of Walmart's chicken and into the packaging as I pulled it out. Meanwhile, Costco left only a few drops of liquid here and there, nothing to write home about.

We all have some biases, and I'll admit to mine when it came to rotisserie chicken. Costco's was the best I'd ever had, plus they're massive, so I assumed that the Kirkland bird would win this chicken fight going away, but I was wrong. Walmart simply has a better-tasting bird. It's juicier and more flavorful, but that doesn't mean it's perfect for every occasion. One of the joys of rotisserie chicken is the versatility it offers. There are a ton of dishes you can make with a rotisserie chicken and not all are best served by a more flavorful bird. Plus, while I may sound like a broken record, it's impossible to beat the value Costco offers.

Ultimately, there are no losers in this chicken-off. If you want a lot of meat at a low cost, head to Costco. If you're more interested in a chicken that can stand on its own, turn the car towards Walmart. Either way, you don't have to cook a full chicken, so that's a win right off the top.

To ensure my rotisserie chicken wasn't sitting out for hours, I visited Costco and Walmart in the morning and picked up a chicken from each location. I brought both home and photographed them before shredding and tasting both birds. Each was evaluated on appearance, taste, texture, and how easy they were to work with in addition to size and price. Neither Costco nor Walmart was aware of this review in advance and neither I nor Mashed was compensated by either store in any way for this piece.