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Costco Shoppers Are Criticizing a New Deli Meal: 'It's Very Meh'

Costco's just rolled out its spin on a classic Indian dish—but many aren't happy with it.
FACT CHECKED BY Mura Dominko

Costco's deli section churns out a variety of convenient, premade foods for customers every day, and it frequently adds new meals into the mix to keep things fresh and exciting. Unfortunately, customers are already dismissing the latest new arrival in Costco's deli department as "very meh" and "not good." 

Earlier this week, a Costco member spotted a new butter chicken kit with naan bread at a Fremont, Calif., warehouse and shared the news with fellow customers on Reddit. Butter chicken is a type of curry that consists of chicken in a spiced, creamy tomato sauce with butter. Costco's version of the classic Indian dish comes with eight pieces of naan bread and a healthy portion of the saucy protein, with each package weighing in at about two and a half pounds total. 

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The reviews for the new deli find are already pouring in—and shoppers have some major complaints. Some members, for example, complained about the taste and feel of the premade dish.

"Currently eating this with basmati rice and it's very meh," one customer commented. "The chicken/sauce combo is salty as I'd expect out of one of these kits but the texture is a bit… soft? Great value for the quantity but I'll stick to a real Indian restaurant or cook my own chicken paired with a store bought sauce in the future to scratch a butter chicken itch."

"We had this for dinner. Did not like it. The meat was not good," another wrote.

Other customers had a major issue with the price tag on the item. Costco was selling the meal for $5.99 per pound at the warehouse where it was spotted (prices may vary), which adds up to $14 to $16 per butter chicken kit depending on the exact weight. 

"I wouldn't buy this at $5.99 let alone $5.99 a pound," a Redditor commented.

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That's not to say that the butter chicken kits are getting poor reviews across the board. Some shoppers have even raved about the taste, quality, and price of the meal.

"We had it for dinner tonight and we loved it. Very flavorful, the sauce was very rich and seasoned well. The chicken was tender and mostly thigh meat which made me happy," a fan wrote in the Reddit discussion. 

"As someone who likes to buy butter chicken from a local restaurant, this is quite a bit cheaper. I doubt it tastes as good, but I don't think it's an absurd price," another said.

But with numerous customers already sounding off against the new butter chicken kit, the product is far from a total hit. Those interested in sampling this controversial new deli item in spite of the criticism should check directly with their local Costco to confirm whether it's available yet, since new products typically to roll out to some locations before others.

Zoe Strozewski
Zoe Strozewski is a News Writer for Eat This, Not That! A Chicago native who now lives in New Jersey, she graduated from Kean University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Read more about Zoe