8 Costco Frozen Seafood Dishes, Ranked From Worst To Best

With Costco being a one-stop shop for all kinds of foods, from candy to Kirkland brand frozen meals, I decided to check out the warehouse's prepared frozen seafood selection. It's a section I haven't frequented much, usually passing through without a second thought. While the wholesaler has a plethora of frozen seafood, I wanted to try the seasoned and prepared dishes specifically. This meant opting for battered, seasoned, or ready-made meal options rather than giant bags of raw fish filets or deveined shrimp. 

I also selected a range of seafood, from smoked halibut to lobster, rather than trying multiple versions of one specific seafood. I based my worst-to-best ranking on markers such as flavor, texture, and cost as well as whether the food lived up to its packaging. It was important to follow each package's directions to get the most ideal results, so I didn't deviate from them. 

This was a fun and tasty journey to embark on because I like seafood. Some of the dishes I'd repurchase, others need a little finessing to make them more flavorful, and then there's one I wouldn't recommend at all. Dive into the array of Costco's prepped seafood to see which you should purchase for your next family dinner or party.

Starting not so strong were the Galilean's Kitchen ready-to-cook scallops, which come wrapped in hickory-smoked bacon. You can hold each piece by the toothpick, place the scallop in your mouth, and scrape it off with your teeth. These scallops were the lowest-priced item from this ranking only because they were on sale at the time of purchase. There are 16 pieces as advertised, but I found that their size ranged drastically. Some were small, others were large, some were wrapped with the bacon on the side of the scallop, and then there were a couple that had bacon wrapped over the top. This type of variation created a difficult, uneven cooking experience.

I baked the dish according to its oven directions, and as it cooked, a little puddle of water formed on the parchment paper. The bacon remained pretty soft, so if you're looking for crunchy bacon, this isn't a good fit. The bacon with the scallop created an interesting texture-taste combination — firm and chewy with the smokiness of the bacon and the slight ocean fishiness of the scallop.

Once cooked, the inconsistent sizing resulted in the smaller scallops being chewy and the bigger ones being more tender. But the biggest issue was the lack of flavor. These bite-sized morsels needed some sort of seasoning or sauce because the bacon could only do so much. When the pairing is done right, like it is in this bacon-baked scallops recipe, there's usually more flavor because the scallops get seared and coated in a buttery sauce and are seasoned with ingredients such as garlic, pepper, lemon, and parmesan. This seafood product was the least liked and placed last on this ranking.

If you want to eat wild-caught salmon in a different format than filets, then you may want to check out Trident Seafoods Alaska salmon burgers. The ingredients list explains that the burgers use pink, keta, and/or sockeye salmon, but they are also made with seasonings, such as garlic powder, white pepper, rosemary extract, mesquite smoke flavor, and lemon juice, to offer savory flavors. The package listed directions to air fry, pan fry, or grill the patties straight from the freezer (no need to thaw them), giving customers some options with the cooking method. I chose to pan fry my salmon burgers. As far as cost, these patties were the second most expensive purchase in this ranking after the lobster sliders.

The salmon looks how it's pictured and has a salmon taste and aroma with a lingering salty aftertaste. The texture is a little chewy, and you can hear a little squeak as you munch on it. The salmon left a little to be desired, but I reckon it'd be better slathered in sauce and sandwiched between a bun and other toppings. For this ranking, I ate mine plain. The flavor and texture were okay but have room for improvement with additional ingredients. I preferred this salmon burger much more than the bacon wrapped scallops, and since there are multiple patties left to eat (there are 12 in each package), I can have fun experimenting with more flavors, like topping the salmon burgers with sweet pickle relish.

Phillips crab cake minis come in a package that weighs just over 1 pound and contains 36 pieces. The minis have a soft and pillowy texture with a mild flavor. They are seasoned with ingredients like Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and parsley — I could see the parsley pieces in the bites. I could taste the herbs, but there wasn't any lingering fishiness, which makes them perfect for someone who isn't the biggest fan of seafood.

There are directions to bake them, air fry them, or pan fry them from frozen. To prepare the bites, I followed the instructions to cook them in a pan, which included using oil to fry them. I pan-fried them longer than directed because they were kind of mushy, and I wanted to firm up the exterior.

I found they were a tad oily, and I would be inclined to bake them in the oven and avoid the oil next time. I did like these minis, and my toddler seemed to enjoy them, too. They are bite-size and excellent for a quick meal or for entertaining since the crab bites take under 15 minutes to prepare. The flavor is satisfying when you don't have all the ingredients and dishes needed to make them from scratch. I've made crab cakes before, so I thought these were respectable in terms of flavor. My biggest criticism is the oil and lack of crispiness of the fried edges. While these crab cake minis were pretty tasty, other items on this list stood out more.

The Royal Asia coconut shrimp with sweet Thai chili sauce was the only product from this list that I've tried before. It's a convenient seafood dish to stock in the freezer to feed family or guests. The 2-pound box of coconut shrimp was one of two Costco seafood dishes in this ranking that had a sauce included (the other being the butter sauce for the lobster sliders).

The coconut shrimp had a pleasant, crispy yet jagged texture from the coconut. When the coated shrimp was eaten on its own, the coconut flavor was the most prominent. When it was dipped in the sauce, the sweetness came through first followed by the coconut. The shrimp left some oil on the pan when I took it out of the oven but didn't seem to drip or transfer onto the plate. This dish was a bit messy because pieces of coconut flaked off on my hands, the plate, and the table, so keep napkins nearby. There was a slight variation in the sizing of the shrimp but nothing that would affect the cooking time or texture. If you plated these shrimp pieces nicely for a party, they could easily pass as homemade.

The sauce is mainly sweet with a sprinkle of spicy. The heat is in there somewhere, but it's masked by the sugar. I enjoyed the shrimp-to-coconut ratio, the flavor, texture, and appearance, but I ranked these bites in the middle because I wouldn't necessarily add them to my weekly meal list. It would be more of an occasional eat.

The Foppen smoked salmon bagel sandwich is made with Norwegian Atlantic salmon, cream cheese spread, and a crunchy but tender bagel. This marketing is totally correct. I was a bit dubious because the bagel's exterior seemed very crisp when I tapped on it with my knife, but it wasn't as rock-hard as it would seem when you bite into it. There was a balance of textures from the bagel's crunchy exterior and the bouncy softness of the rest of the sandwich. The salmon itself was buttery and soft but quite salty, while the cream cheese spread was flavorful and savory with garlic, chives, and pepper.

I particularly like the convenience of this product and the taste of the salmon and the seasoned cream cheese. The price is good for smoked salmon, especially as it includes four pre-made bagel sandwiches that are individually wrapped. Since the salmon is smoked and not cured, it's not technically lox. However, the price is competitive compared with local San Diego lox bagel options, which makes this product ideal when you're having a time crunch and it doesn't make sense to drive to a shop to grab something. 

You can pop the bagel sandwich in the oven as you're getting ready and then take it with you as you head out. While it certainly doesn't compare to a fresh soft bagel (and could use some more cream cheese), this is a tasty option to keep at home when heading out to eat isn't feasible. I would eat this more frequently than the coconut shrimp, which gave the bagel sandwich an edge in this ranking. 

Admittedly, I wasn't super familiar with halibut, but I enjoyed this product. The Neptune pub style halibut came lightly battered and partially cooked. The fish was meaty, thick, and dense without being overly fishy or salty. While the package's photo has a more homemade, rustic-looking batter, it seemed thinner and flatter in real life. I quite liked the texture of the halibut; it was robust and didn't fall apart. 

The pub style halibut has a mild, buildable flavor that's improved with a dip or some lemon. The batter is light, so it doesn't add too many carbohydrates in relation to the protein of the fish, making it filling and hearty but not heavy. The ingredients list says that the product has onion powder and spice, but it doesn't disclose what the spice is. The packaging shows the fish with a condiment, so I made a makeshift tartar sauce because the halibut was a bit flat on its own. This step jazzed up the flavor considerably. The description on the box says you can eat it in other ways, such as with coleslaw or as part of a fish taco. 

This filet's mild taste makes it adaptable for whichever way you end up serving it. As a bonus, my toddler liked it. Given that you add some sort of sauce or a side or include the fish in a dish rather than on its own, the halibut makes a wonderful freezer protein for meals. We're now down to the wire in this ranking. The top two dishes beat out the halibut because they were both flavorful and came without needing additional seasoning. This halibut is still good, though, finishing with a solid third place.

The East Coast Seafood lobster sliders were the only dish that required some prep work as the lobster needed to be thawed overnight in the fridge — but the directions say you can speed up the thawing process by running it under cold water. The sliders came with lobster meat, brioche slider rolls, and lobster butter. They were the most expensive item on this list by several dollars, making it a more suitable meal for special occasions. I don't see the average family paying for these every week, but they've got all the right components for a date night dinner that's sure to impress. 

I weighed the lobster meat on a food scale after squeezing out most of the water; it came in at 9.24 ounces of lobster meat, which makes the meal itself cost-competitive given the amount of lobster, buns, and butter. The directions say to cut the lobster into half-inch pieces because they do come in large chunks.

The package has six buns and three balls of lobster butter, which has a lobster base with cooked lobster and lobster extract. There were also seasonings such as paprika, cayenne, black pepper, garlic powder, saffron, and parsley for added flavor and color. The lobster on its own wasn't extraordinary, but once you added the buttered brioche, it transformed into a much tastier dish. It was buttery and soft with the crisp, nicely toasted buns. If I could make it again, I'd cut the lobster into smaller pieces to allow for more even butter distribution and reserve most of the butter for the lobster. 

And we've made it to the No. 1 spot in our ranking of prepared frozen seafood meals from Costco. While all the aforementioned products had slight flavor issues, the Sea Cuisine tortilla crusted tilapia tasted fantastic. According to the packaging, these white flaky filets are crusted with corn tortilla chips, chipotle pepper, and garlic. Just by looking at them frozen and straight from the package, I could tell they were going to have flavor because they had pops of red and green (likely from spices such as oregano, cilantro, jalapeño, chili powder, and the like). 

The underside of the filet doesn't have as much seasoning or crust, so it's not as aesthetically pleasing to look at, but there's no lack of flavor. I tried to flip it halfway through cooking, but it's a delicate fish and flaked off, so I'd recommend just leaving it. The price for 2 pounds of prepared fish is reasonable, ideal for meals when you don't want to make a mess by creating a crust and washing a bunch of dishes afterward. Plus, tilapia is a great type of fish to cook straight from frozen.

These filets had a light spice to them and a fantastic crunch. I particularly loved the way the edges of the thinnest part of the filet got crispy. The tilapia was flaky and soft, so the crust gave it a welcome texture change. It looked like what was pictured on the packaging, and unlike most other products on this list that were somewhat dull by themselves, the flavor of the tilapia was fantastic on its own. I would repurchase this in a heartbeat.

Costco offers a wide variety of frozen seafood, but for this ranking I chose more prepared, meal-ready options rather than a solo, plain, raw version. It was important to get a variety, so I tried different types of seafood: crab, halibut, lobster, salmon, scallops, tilapia, and shrimp. There were two types of salmon: smoked salmon bagels and salmon burgers. But these seemed different enough to warrant trying. 

To develop my rankings, I factored in essential qualities such as the flavor, consistency, and price plus whether the seafood delivered on what was advertised on the packaging. I also considered whether I'd purchase the item again, as this is ultimately a significant deciding factor on how good something is. I tried the seafood over several days to allow my thoughts to form independently. 

I started by trying one food, writing my thoughts, and taking photos. Then, I'd try another on a different day and determine if it ranked higher or lower than the previous one. I followed this format until I had a clear ranking, and then I took a second look to see whether anything stood out (positively or negatively). I heeded the instructions on the packaging to ensure the best results regarding cooking method, temperature, and time. Generally, I like seafood, so I found that none of these was unpalatable. I would not recommend the bacon-wrapped scallops, though. One problem I ran into for multiple dishes was that the packaging depicted the seafood with some sort of sauce, but there was no sauce included.