Review: Costco Takes On Takeout With Its Bold New Beef And Broccoli Noodles

Here's a tough question: If you could only get one dish from your favorite Chinese takeout spot, what would it be? I bet about nine out of 10 of you would choose beef and broccoli as your dish of choice, and honestly, I couldn't blame you. Meat, veggies, a sumptuous sauce, and some rice or noodles — it's a pretty well-rounded meal if I've ever seen one. 

Well, if you're the happy holder of a Costco membership card, there's a new way to get your beef and broccoli fix. Containers of the easy stir-fry were spotted in the store's prepared foods section, so, of course, I had to head over immediately to grab one. As an avid takeout fan, my standards are definitely up there. Could Costco's cook-it-yourself version live up to the hype of my favorite takeout? 

To test this dish, I cooked half of what was in the container, which only took about 10 minutes. This meal got points right off the bat for being super easy. There are a few criteria that beef and broccoli has to measure up to in order to be considered perfect: The broccoli should be tender, the beef cannot be chewy, and the sauce should have plenty of flavor without being too sweet or too salty. And, in the case of Costco's offering, the noodles needed to be toothsome and tender, giving just the right bite. 

All in all, this beef and broccoli dish performed pretty well. Again, it was easy to whip up on the stove, which I (and busy caregivers) always appreciate. The broccoli, though cut a little big for my liking, cooked up nice and tender — it did, however, take longer to saute than the suggested two-minute time given in the directions. 

The beef was wonderfully tender, without a chewy morsel in sight, and I adored the noodles. (Then again, I'm always a sucker for yakisoba noodles.) The one thing I would change about this dish is the sauce. It was definitely too sweet and too salty for my taste, but given the perfection of the rest of the components, I can't complain about that too much. If I ever got this again, I'd use less sauce, or just make my own instead of using the sauce that comes with the dish. 

If your family adores beef and broccoli, but you don't want to contend with the ever-rising costs of takeout, this is the dish for you. Perhaps best of all, it's so easy to cook, though you'll need a relatively wide-bottomed saute pan if you want to cook it all up at once. 

I'd advise taking it easy on the sauce the first time you make this. If your preferences are anything like mine, you may find it to be a bit overwhelming. Or, if you already have a favorite sauce recipe, feel free to just use that. The whole container would easily feed a family of four, and would perhaps feed more if your kids are younger or don't have huge appetites. I was stuffed after having about a fifth of the container. It's an economical deal, and it's tasty to boot — if you like beef and broccoli, you should try Costco's version. 

Costco's beef and broccoli costs $6.99 per pound, and the whole container I got came out to about $28. It's unclear how long this will be around, or if it's a permanent addition to the company's ready-to-cook selection; if you're interested, I'd say try it while it's there. 

Each container has four servings, according to the label. Notably, there was no nutrition label on my container, but you can find the relevant info on Costco's website. Each serving has 16 grams of fat, 70 grams of carbs, and 35 grams of protein, and I'd be remiss not to mention the amount of sodium in each serving, which sits squarely at 2,740 milligrams.