9 Frozen Foods From Costco That Could Pass For Homemade

There are times when you're craving a good homemade meal, but the idea of making one from scratch sounds downright exhausting. If you lead a busy life, it can be difficult to make the homemade meals and treats you love during days when your schedule is packed. Frozen food is always an option during these moments, but sometimes, frozen food tastes, well, frozen.

Luckily, there are some frozen foods out there that actually do come close to tasting homemade, and these products are ones that we love to keep stashed in our freezers for the times when we're too busy to make our favorite dishes from scratch. Luckily, Costco stocks quite a few frozen products that could easily pass for homemade. We've consulted reviews from across the internet and done some tasting of our own to build this list of freezer products from Costco that taste like they come from scratch. So, forget about fast food or takeout and head to Costco to pick up these quick and easy frozen favorites. They're so good, you might just forget that they're not actually homemade.

Lasagna is one of our all-time favorite pasta dishes, but let's be honest: It's not always simple to make from scratch. Homemade lasagna requires a lot of time to prep and bake, so it's not the best meal for an easy weeknight dinner. That's why Costco's Kirkland Signature Italian Sausage and Beef Lasagna should be a go-to on your frozen dinner list. Weighing in at three pounds, it can feed a whole family, especially when you consider that it comes in a two-pack that you can double up on if you have a lot of hungry mouths to feed.

Online reviewers claim that this lasagna actually tastes homemade, with its layers of noodles, beef, and Italian sausage. Importantly, the noodles actually stay intact with this lasagna, which isn't always the case when it comes to reheated pasta. On nights when you want a hearty dinner but just don't have it in you to cook, this Costco lasagna is a solid option.

There are times when seafood sounds appealing, but you don't want to deal with raw fish. Thankfully, Kirkland Garlic Butter Shrimp has you covered on. This product is a staple in our freezers, and it's one that we return to time and time again when we're pinched for time but still want a meal that tastes homemade. The shrimp in this recipe is plump and juicy, and as long as you follow the package heating instructions, you don't have to worry about it drying out and getting rubbery.

What really makes this shrimp shine, though, is the garlic butter sauce. It's rich and deeply flavorful, with enough garlic for even the biggest garlic lovers out there. And because it comes in one-pound pouches, there's enough to make for the whole family. Pair it with a simple salad or toss it into some pasta, and you have a quick and easy meal that absolutely tastes homemade.

Another one of our freezer favorites is the Tattooed Chef Sheet Pan Vegetables. Roasting some veggies may not seem like too difficult a task, but peeling, chopping, and seasoning several different types of vegetable is actually pretty time consuming, making it difficult to pull off when you're pinched for time (or energy). That's where these frozen sheet pan vegetables come into play. It features broccoli, zucchini, onions, sweet potato, and Brussels sprouts, which means that you get a good mix of different flavors (and nutrients) in your diet. They're already simply seasoned and tossed with oil, so all you have to do is put them on a pan and toss them halfway through before serving.

Whereas a lot of frozen vegetables will stay soggy even after roasting, we've found that isn't the case when it comes to this Costco product. In fact, we couldn't even tell that these roasted vegetables weren't made from scratch. Keep them on hand for those times when you need a quick, easy, and healthy side dish.

Eggplant is one of those dishes that can be difficult to cook well. It can often end up soggy when it's not cooked correctly, and some find that soft texture to be unappetizing when it comes to eggplant. This is true of most eggplant dishes, but eggplant Parmesan can be particularly tricky. After all, it's a dish that you really want to be crispy. But if you're not confident in your ability to make eggplant Parm on your own, no worries: You can always pick up Rao's Eggplant Parmesan at your nearest Costco, which reviewers claim tastes homemade.

The eggplant actually ends up nice and crispy, but you don't get any toughness from it, which can be a problem with some pre-cooked versions of the dish. Overall, it's a filling, hearty meal that will have you re-buying this product again and again if you're anything like us.

Meatballs are another dish that's super time-consuming to make from scratch, meaning that they're probably not what you're going to cook when you just want to get dinner on the table. However, frozen meatballs are a great hack when you're looking for some type of meat to round out your pasta dishes. Although some frozen meatballs are lacking in flavor and texture, that's not the case when you choose Kirkland Signature Italian Style Beef Cooked Meatballs from Costco.

They get rave reviews online, with many customers saying that they're perfect for low-effort dinners when you don't really feel like cooking. They pair well with spaghetti and marinara sauce, of course, but you can also use them in all different types of dishes, ranging from meatball subs to stroganoff to soups. Sure, they may not be homemade, but we think they come pretty close to delivering that dense texture and bold, complex flavor that homemade meatballs tend to provide.

Of all the dumplings in the world, xiao long bao might just be our favorite. Biting into a juicy, brothy dumpling only to experience that beautiful combo of broth and dense filling, all wrapped in a thin, melt-in-your-mouth dumpling wrapper is a top-tier culinary experience. But if you've had frozen soup dumplings before, then you probably know that most of the time, they don't live up to the fresh version of the dish. They may work when you're craving soup dumplings but don't want to go out to eat at your favorite dumpling place, but they often fall flat when it comes to texture, wrapper-to-filling ratio, and even the flavor of the broth.

One of the few exceptions we've found on the frozen front is Synear's Pork Xiao Long Bao, which are so good that they almost taste homemade. The skin is the standout feature with these dumplings — it's thick enough to hold the filling without ripping, but it's thin enough that you don't feel like you're biting into anything too chewy. Additionally, the broth is super flavorful, and the pork itself is rich and juicy. We love to keep these on hand when we don't want to spend money on takeout but still have a serious dumpling craving. They should definitely be a part of your next Costco dim sum run.

We've already highlighted the fact that Costco has some solid frozen meatballs, but what if you're looking for a saucier situation? Homemade marinara sauce might be your preference, but when you don't feel like spending a ton of time standing over a simmering stove (in addition to making those from-scratch meatballs), you might want to head to Costco to pick up Frank G's Hole in the Wall Meatballs and Marinara Sauce.

First of all, these are unlike other frozen meatballs you're likely to come across. They're huge, like the kind of meatball you'd get on your plate when the entire dish only comes with one. Interestingly, they're also made with veal, which isn't exactly common when it comes to frozen meatballs. The sauce is also super flavorful, with an acidic, tangy kick that's so much more interesting than the sugar-loaded variety you'll often find in jars at the grocery store. When these two elements of the dish come together, they create a meatball and sauce combo that actually tastes homemade.

Admittedly, we've never had a homemade chicken bake before, but we think that Kirkland Signature's Frozen Chicken Bake tastes extremely close to the food court version, which essentially puts this product in the same category as tasting homemade. When you just can't make it to the Costco food court to snag yourself a filling meal, this frozen version works well. It's filled with plump, juicy pieces of chicken, and the cheese is rich and melts well.

That being said, how you cook this frozen meal really matters. Put it in the microwave, and you'll likely find that it comes out soggier than you'd ideally want it to be. The oven or a toaster oven is a better option, as it'll help make the cheese on top crispier and will help the bread retain its chewy texture. These chicken bakes are perfect for the times when you're looking for a rich, hearty dinner that will keep you feeling satisfied and doesn't taste like it came out of the freezer.

There's just something so warming and comforting about chicken pot pie. It's rich and hearty, of course, but it also has a relative lightness to it that makes it perfect for a meal that you want to be nutritious but also sort of indulgent. But let's be honest: Making a chicken pot pie from scratch is a lot of work, and it's probably not something you're doing on a regular basis. You may think that it's a rare treat that you won't get to enjoy very often, then, but we've found that's not the case when we pick up some Marie Callender's Chicken Pot Pies from Costco.

First of all, these pot pies are packed with chicken — a surprising amount for a frozen meal. The gravy is rich and creamy, with a saltiness that doesn't fall flat. And it offers a lovely textural experience, with the crisp top crust and beautifully soggy bottom crust. They get rave reviews on Reddit, with customers specifically calling out the crust and salt levels. No need to go and make a whole homemade chicken pot pie when you can have one of these.

We consulted online reviews from across the web, including other Tasting Table reviews and various Reddit posts and comments, along with our own personal experience, to construct this list of Costco frozen foods that taste like they could be homemade. We've tasted several of the products on this list (and buy them from Costco regularly), and the others were widely praised online for their flavors and textural qualities.