This Costco Haul Cost $161 — And I Turned It into More than 21 Meals for a Family of Four

published Sep 20, 2019

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Although sometimes it feels like I live at Costco, I don’t usually go to the warehouse store for my weekly grocery shopping. Costco is where I go when we run out of things like dish soap and vitamins, or when we need to load up for a party. Of course every trip I toss in ingredients we might be running low on, like a brick of cheese, or a bottle of olive oil, but basically Costco is for re-stocking the pantry with staples and snacks. Then I’ll use my neighborhood grocery stores to fill in the details to create the actual meals.

But recently, I wanted to see what it would be like to plan a week’s worth of meals from the big-box store. Because everything is sold in bulk, I worried it would end up costing a gazillion dollars and result in giant bags of food that wouldn’t fit in the fridge. Turns out, I was wrong! I was able to plan a week’s worth of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for my family of four and it was only a little bit more than I spent at Trader Joe’s. And nothing went to waste!

The trick, I found, is to plan carefully. Because I was dealing with bulk items, I knew there was going to be a lot of repetition of ingredients, so it was important to think of dishes that would be varied in flavor or format. Shrimp is versatile and healthful, so I grabbed a frozen bag and planned to use it in a fried rice stir-fry, and in Korean pancakes. For proteins, I opted for pork shoulder and used it in a Tex-Mex stew, some simple tacos, and then ground some up to make a Laotian-style pork salad. I also grabbed a rotisserie chicken and used it for two quick and easy meals.

I’ll admit I did use condiments and small bits of ingredients I already had, so the dishes weren’t built completely on Costco ingredients alone. There were tomatoes and chiles from our garden, which was going gangbusters. I had a couple of stalks of lemongrass and a knob of ginger left over from a dinner the previous week. The mayo, mustard, and kimchi were already stashed in our fridge. But I don’t think these things count for much and, besides, I still had tons of peanut butter, tortillas, quinoa, a few eggs, and even a whole other meal of pork stew left over at the end of the week.

So, it turns it out it’s entirely possible to plan a week of meals at Costco without spending a fortune and without turning your pantry into a mini warehouse. Here’s how I did it.

Credit: Logo: Costco, Design: Kitchn

What I Bought

Rotisserie chicken: $4.99
Frozen raw shrimp: $13.49 for two pounds
Pork shoulder roast: $23.38 for 9.4 pounds
Quinoa: $9.99 for 4.5 pounds
Yellow onions: $5.49 for 10 pounds
Avocados: $7.99 for five
Butter lettuce: 4.79 for two heads
Sweet peppers: $6.99 for six
Power greens: $4.99 for 1.5 pounds
Brussels sprouts: $4.49 for two pounds
Pineapple: $2.99
Bananas: $1.49 for three pounds
Pluots: $6.49 for 3.5 pounds
Ciabatta rolls: $5.99 for 12
Tortillas: $5.29 for 40
Extra-sharp cheddar: $10.79 for two pounds
Lunch meat variety pack: $11.79 for three pounds
Omega-3 eggs: $4.69 for 18
Peanut butter: $9.99 for two 28-ounce jars
Nature’s Path flax granola: $4.89 for 35.5 ounces (on sale; regularly $7.89)
Organic oatmilk: $9.99 for six 32-ounce cartons

Credit: Danielle Centoni

Breakfast

Egg and cheese breakfast burritos
Cereal and milk
Pineapple and banana, and banana-peanut butter smoothies
Quinoa breakfast porridge

Credit: Danielle Centoni

Lunch

Turkey or ham and cheese sandwiches
Turkey or ham and avocado wraps
Quinoa bowls with diced bell peppers, leftover meat, avocado
Pluots on the side or as a snack

Credit: Danielle Centoni

Dinner

Rotisserie chicken with sautéed tomatoes, onions, and greens
Stuffed peppers with quinoa, leftover rotisserie chicken, and cheese
Korean pancakes with shrimp (already had homemade kimchi)
Mexican fried rice and quinoa with shrimp
Pork and green chile stew (with green chiles from our garden)
Ground pork larb with shredded Brussels sprouts in lettuce cups (I had some lemongrass and ginger left over from the previous week’s meal)
Carnitas soft tacos with Brussels sprout slaw

Credit: Meal Photos: Danielle Centoni, Onions: Shutterstock, Pepper: Joe Lingeman, Quinoa & Pumpkin Seed Granola: Costco

The Daily Breakdown

My husband doesn’t eat breakfast, and my kids never ate the same thing (read: one would have cereal the other would have a burrito). I went shopping on Friday afternoon and here’s the menu for the full week.

Friday

Dinner: Rotisserie chicken with sautéed tomatoes, onions, and greens

Credit: Danielle Centoni

Saturday

Breakfast: Egg and cheese burritos
Lunch: Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches
Dinner: Mexican fried rice with shrimp

Sunday

Breakfast: Quinoa breakfast porridge
Lunch: Sandwiches and leftover fried rice
Dinner: Pork and green chili stew (with peppers from our garden; froze the leftovers for another meal)

Monday