The Kirkland Brand Frozen Seafood You Must Buy On Your First Trip To Costco

If you have never been to Costco, then your first trip to the warehouse superstore can be overwhelming. Its aisles and aisles are stocked with all kinds of products, often in bulk, from both brand name manufacturers and from its well-regarded private label Kirkland Signature Brand (which are sometimes made by brand-name manufacturers anyway). To simplify things, there is one Kirkland brand frozen product you must buy during your maiden voyage to Costco, especially if you're a seafood fan. That's the Kirkland Signature tempura shrimp with dipping sauce.

One of two seafood and three frozen items on our list of 16 food items to buy your first time at Costco, the Kirkland Signature tempura shrimp with dipping sauce gets high marks for being a tasty and convenient appetizer to stock in your freezer, particularly if you like to entertain. Each box comes with 30 good-sized pieces of shrimp, which you can heat up using the oven or air fryer, and six sauce packets. Depending on your location, a box costs around $20, which is a great value for plump and tender pieces of shrimp with a crunchy tempura batter and a flavorful soy dipping sauce.

Great for serving a party, you can also heat up just a few pieces of the tempura shrimp with dipping sauce for an individual meal, which is why it also snagged the second spot on our list of seven Costco Kirkland brand frozen meals, ranked worst to best. Delicious on its own, you can also enjoy the tempura shrimp over fried rice, in a homemade sushi roll, in a shrimp taco, in a sandwich, or with ramen, udon, or soba noodles.

The tempura shrimp with dipping sauce gets great reviews online, with fans raving that "these Costco Kirkland Tempura shrimp are to die for" and "these are pound for pound, dollar for dollar, the best tasting store bought shrimp tempura anywhere." Some commenters say that they are "very comparable to restaurant shrimp" or even "better than restaurant quality." People like the size of the shrimp, the ratio of shrimp to breading and generally find that the sauce works well with the shrimp. Many reviewers recommend using the air fryer for the best results — it definitely is a lot easier than making air fryer tempura shrimp from scratch. That is why you should pick up a package of these when you make your first trip to Costco.