How To Create a Week’s Worth of Healthy Meals for Under $100 at Costco
Costco is a great place to find healthy, high-quality food at a great price, but you’ll have to be willing to buy many items in bulk. This shopping strategy can really help you rack up the savings when shopping for weekly meals, and it also makes meal planning easier.
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Here are five meal suggestions that you can add to your evening meal rotation over the next three weeks, courtesy of consumer analyst Julie Ramhold with DealNews. Each suggestion includes individual item costs, plus weekly and total costs. The best part? Each week, you’ll spend less than $100 to feed your family dinner, Monday through Friday.
Follow these meal plans to the letter or change them up to suit your family’s food preferences and your budget. Either way, you can feed your family with Costco products while saving money.
Meal 1: Yogurt Parfaits
Start the week off right by preparing these hearty yogurt parfaits, featuring fruit, granola and honey. Although Ramhold suggests serving these at breakfast, you can also choose to add these to your evening meal rotation — just tell the family you’re serving breakfast for dinner.
Items to buy at Costco:
Kirkland Signature Organic Greek Yogurt (48 oz), $6
Kirkland Signature Organic Ancient Grain Granola, (35.3 oz) $9
Strawberries (2 lbs), $7
Blueberries (18 oz), $5
Kirkland Signature Wildflower Honey (5lbs), $15
Total cost: The honey and the granola should be a one-time buy for the three weekly meals. However, you’ll need to repurchase the greek yogurt and the strawberries and blueberries, which comes to a total of $42 the first week and $18 on subsequent weeks for a total of $78, or $26 per week.
How to prepare: “Prep the fresh fruit by washing and chopping if necessary,” said Ramhold. “Layer Greek yogurt, fruit, and granola into a bowl and drizzle with honey for a quick and filling [meal].”
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Meal 2: Chicken Caesar Salad
This quick and easy salad meal is perfect for busy families and features a Costco favorite — rotisserie chicken. If you don’t want to use prepackaged dressing, make your own from plain Greek yogurt.
Items to buy at Costco:
Rotisserie chicken, $5
Romaine hearts (6), $5
Shredded parmigiano reggiano cheese (16 oz), $15
Total cost: You’ll spend $25 the first week and $10 the second and third weeks for an additional chicken and romaine hearts each of those weeks, totaling $45, or $15 per week.
How to prepare: “You’ll have to purchase your own Caesar dressing, as your Costco may not have it, although you can also make your own if you prefer,” said Ramhold. “Either way, this is a super easy meal to throw together as you just need to wash the lettuce, slice up the chicken breasts from the rotisserie, and combine the two. Toss with your dressing and top with a little of the shredded cheese as well as croutons if you prefer.”
Meal 3: Roasted Veggies and Italian Sausage
This meal calls for eggs, but you can substitute an alternative if you prefer.
Items to buy at Costco:
Mixed bell peppers (6), $6
Yellow onions (10 lbs), $9
Gourmet medley potatoes (5 lbs), $6
Mild Italian sausage (5 lbs), $20
Eggs (2 dozen), $4
Total cost: $45, spread out over three weeks equals $15 per week
How to prepare: “You don’t have to use all the veggies for this dish — it’ll largely depend on the size of your family,” advised Ramhold. “Either way, chop the potatoes, onions, and peppers into roughly the same-sized pieces, toss with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them evenly on a sheet pan and roast until tender and caramelized. You can roast the sausages on the same pan if you wish, or cook them on the stovetop. If you do the latter I suggest frying eggs in the same pan as an accompaniment. And if that doesn’t sound appealing, you can also eat the sausage and veggies mix with something like rice or pasta to round out the meal.”
Meal 4: Pasta Primavera
The veggie and pasta lovers in your household will be thrilled with this pasta primavera meal that will look as good as it tastes.
Items to buy at Costco:
Garofalo organic pasta variety pack (6 count), $11
Yellow onions (10 lbs), $9
Organic carrots (6 lbs), $4
Broccoli florets (3 lbs), $6
Mixed bell peppers (6), $6
Organic squash (3.5 lbs), $8
Campari tomatoes (2 lbs), $5
Colossal garlic (2 lbs), $6
Shredded parmigiano reggiano cheese (16 oz) (purchased for a previous meal)
Total cost: $55 the first week, divided over three weeks is approximately $18.33 per week.
How to prepare: “Here, the prep work is going to be the most time consuming part of cooking,” said Ramhold. “Take the time to chop all the veggies to roughly the same size, then heat a little olive oil in a deep pan. Cook the onions and carrot first for a couple of minutes, then add the broccoli and bell pepper and allow it to cook for another two minutes or so. Finally add the squash and cook for a few more minutes until veggies are tender but not mushy. Finish it off by adding garlic, tomatoes, and Italian seasoning for 2 more minutes of sauteing. While the veggies are cooking, boil your pasta of choice so that it’ll be done at the same time as the veggies. Drain the pasta, add the veggies, drizzle with lemon juice if you want. Toss in some of the shredded cheese to taste, and top with more if desired.”
Meal 5: Garlic Chicken Thighs
Green beans usually aren’t a hard sell when sitting down to dinner, but Brussels sprouts might be. If so, swap them out with another Costco veggie that your family will love.
Items to buy at Costco:
Kirkland Signature fresh chicken thighs (11 lbs), $11
Organic green beans (2 lbs), $7
Organic Brussels sprouts (2 lbs), $7
Colossal garlic (2 lbs), $6
Kirkland Signature organic chicken stock 6 cartons), $11
Total cost: You can likely get three meals out of this if you buy the chicken again. You’ll spend about $42 the first week, then $11 each subsequent week for a total of $64, or $21.33 per week.
How to prepare: “Pat chicken thighs dry and remove excess fat, skin, and bone if desired,” Ramhold said. “Season with smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Over medium heat, melt butter with olive oil and add crushed garlic. Saute until fragrant and softened. Add the chicken thighs to the pan and sear on both sides; then add chicken stock to the pan to deglaze. Flip the thighs to ensure even coating with the sauce and cook until done. Toss your veggies of choice with salt and olive oil, and roast until done. Serve chicken thighs with roasted veggies and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice if desired.”
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Note: The aforementioned items might not be available at your local Costco or might be listed at a different price. You might also find that you need more or less of the ingredients, depending on the size of your family and their appetites. Additionally, some items needed for each meal, such as butter, olive oil, salad dressing and spices, are not included in the Costco shopping lists. It is assumed you have these items on hand, so plan accordingly.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How To Create a Week’s Worth of Healthy Meals for Under $100 at Costco
