5 Frozen Seafood Products To Buy At Costco And 4 To Avoid

Costco is the place to go when you're trying to purchase in larger quantities as it's one of the top wholesale suppliers in the U.S. It's especially perfect if you are in the mood for seafood; the warehouses have a whole (Costco-sized) aisle full of options, from plain seafood to prepared frozen seafood dishes, with price tags varying from $10 to $30. These products may require prep time, such as thawing overnight in the fridge, while others can simply be placed in the oven straight from the freezer. This variety allows consumers to find options that fit their budget and needs better. 

But how do you choose among the plethora of choices? And how can you sign up for a few pounds of product from Costco without even tasting it first? No need to fret; that is where I come in. I tried a bunch of frozen seafood items to determine the best from the worst. These are my insights on five frozen seafood products to buy at Costco and four to avoid after trying 15 different items. Seafood fans can read all about my thoughts on these products, such as taste and texture, as well as the specifications. Prices may vary depending on location, so specific costs won't be mentioned. More on my methodology and how I reached these sentiments can be found in the last slide. 

The Sea Cuisine Tortilla Crusted Tilapia is a delight that my entire family loves. It comes in a box with 2 pounds of fish packaged in a plastic baggie. The packaging says that the fish filets are encrusted with corn tortilla chips, chipotle pepper, and garlic for a herby, lightly spiced dish. Though not particularly spicy, the farmed tilapia is very flavorful and savory due to the use of ingredients like cilantro, oregano, jalapeño, and chili powder. 

As I read the ingredients, I doubted my ability to even replicate such results at home with just plain tilapia loins despite the fairly simple and accessible ingredients involved. The herb-forward flavor of these is truly incredible, and the texture is nicely balanced with crunchy tortilla bits and the fish's softness. They are one of my favorite items from Costco in general, not just in terms of frozen fish.

I love plopping a filet or two in the oven to save time and dishes since there isn't a need to thaw and season it. Leaving the filets in the oven for a couple of extra minutes will allow the thinner parts of the fish to get nice and crispy, which adds more texture. These are flaky and delicate, so there's no need to flip them. You'd be as pleased to have a box of the tilapia in your freezer because they are convenient, a good value, and incredibly flavorful.

The Kirkland Farm Raised Tilapia Loins are not terrible, but I can't say they are great either. I would much rather pick the Sea Cuisine Tortilla Crusted Tilapia over these. Both are farmed fish, but at least the Sea Cuisine makes a quick and scrumptious meal. The Kirkland version requires additional planning as the packaging recommends thawing the loin overnight and removing it from its individual plastic packaging. This means you have to put it in another container and add it to your pile of dirty dishes. Yes, it is a good value given that you get 3 pounds, but overall the flavor is not too impressive even after seasoning it myself and adding fresh lemon juice.

When cooked, it's very flaky, but gaping and holes in the fish don't necessarily make for an eye-catching plate. The photo on the packaging looks a lot better than how it turned out in person, which can be a big factor, considering that a lot of people like to eat with their eyes. Avoid buying this unless you are prepared to conceal it in a sauce like you would for a sweet and spicy skillet tilapia with coconut and gochujang. 

There are times when you want to cook a restaurant-quality meal at home, but all you have is frozen food. Luckily, the East Coast Seafood Japanese Hokkaido Scallops allow you to do just that. Once thawed, these cook in just a few minutes, which means you can get dinner on the table in less than 10 minutes. However, you'd probably want to pair it with veggies or other ingredients unless you want your entire meal to be scallops. Though, I don't blame you if you do.

You can't beat how incredibly tender and magnificent these scallops are — they're buttery (both literally from the butter I used but also in texture), soft, and mild. They did retain some water even after thawing, draining, and cooking, but they didn't have a fishy or unpleasant taste and were still delicious. The packaging recommends specific seasonings, which you can choose to follow or not, but I did so to get an understanding of how to work with them, and they turned out flawless. 

If you can follow directions, you'll be pleased with the results, but you can also make any type of scallop dish you desire with these. There are a lot of scallop recipes for seafood lovers to follow, so you can get plenty of use out of this product. They aren't too expensive, given that you get a 2-pound bag of the stuff, so consider buying this bag of scallops.

The Galilean's Kitchen Bacon Wrapped Scallops could be amazing but fall short. The issue is the sizing: Each piece is so different — large, small, bacon wrapped on the side, bacon wrapped over the scallop. Each one varying makes cooking them more difficult than it should be, as the cooking time might fluctuate from size to size.

Aside from that, they can be chewy, not crispy enough, and lacking in taste despite the hickory smoked bacon. The bacon can only offer so much flavor, particularly when most of the scallop has no other flavoring. The remainder of the scallops are still sitting in my freezer as I try to figure out some way to give them more flavor to avoid wasting them. 

The East Coast Seafood Japanese Hokkaido Scallops have a better value and texture, even without adding any seasoning. These were even on sale at the time I purchased them, but given that you get 13 ounces, the East Coast Seafood brand is still a better price per pound. Avoid buying these because the consistency can range from scallop to scallop, the cooking times can ultimately vary based on the size, the flavor is lackluster, and it is not a good value.

If you are a lobster connoisseur, you will probably have more critiques on the East Coast Seafood Cold Water Lobster Sliders than I do, but overall, this is a fun meal that you can enjoy for dinner. It makes six sliders, so it does not feed a lot of people but works if two individuals have them for a date night. You could make it work for more people, though. Say if you're cooking for a smaller family, then you could supplement this with additional sides — or seafood to keep up with the theme. And you can always grab multiple boxes if you like the sliders after trying them once.

The lobster is fresh without being too chewy, but most importantly, the lobster butter is a unique addition that ties it all together, bringing plenty of richness and flavor to both the buns and the lobsters. It is not your average herb butter because it has a lobster base with cooked lobster, lobster extract, cayenne, paprika, saffron, parsley, and more. You could even elevate the lobster butter sauce with a drizzle of hot honey for a sweet and spicy kick. The brioche buns are soft yet crisp from being toasted in butter.

Everything works really well together — the flavor, freshness, and texture, which is why it is a buy item in my book. It is one of the more expensive items on this list, but it's a prepared meal for convenience. Because of the price and how much lobster meat you get (around 9.24 ounces of lobster meat when I weighed it on my food scale, but it may vary per box), this makes a solid choice for a special occasion rather than a frequent purchase.

The Phillips Maryland-Style Crab Cake Minis were decent in terms of flavor but teetered on the mild side. They look nice with visible herbs like parsley and have a pillowy, soft texture, but I could not get past the oiliness. I made these in two different ways: pan-frying with oil and cooking them in the oven without oil. Both times resulted in a pretty oily mess, leaving oil in the pan, the oven tray, my plate, and my mouth. 

It is not an enormous pool of oil, but it's enough to feel it around your mouth or see it on your cooking utensils. Soybean oil is one of the first ingredients, so this makes sense. When I've made crab cakes myself in the past, I did not have this issue because there isn't oil in classic Maryland crab cakes.  

Despite a sauce depicted on the packaging, it was not included. A premade sauce could have elevated the flavor and added to the meal experience, but consumers are left to resort to sauces in their pantries and fridges. This is not the worst item on this list, but I would avoid buying it. Instead, I recommend purchasing crab meat and making some crab cakes or bites yourself for better results.

I tried Neptune Pub Style Halibut and liked the convenience, as well as the batter. The batter gives it a nice crispy texture after some time in the oven. I will admit they look a lot better on the packaging, though, as the ones in person seem to fall a little flat in comparison, but they still won me over because I am all for easy meals. 

This halibut dish allows customers to pop a few in the oven — or all of them, depending on how large your family is — for baking and letting them do their thing. No thawing or preparation is needed with this fish. Just like with the Phillips Maryland-Style Crab Cake Minis, the packaging depicts it with a sauce but doesn't include it. There isn't a lot of added flavor, but these can be easily jazzed up with a little bit of lemon juice or a simple tartar sauce. They are like a blank slate for flavor since you can use various sauces or spices. And if you want a fish and chips type of situation, dig out the frozen fries from your freezer.

These are ideal when you want something heartier and more filling than a plain halibut filet but don't want to think about thawing, prepping, frying, and cleaning everything up. This is a buy based on the taste, texture, and usefulness.

The Trident Seafoods Alaska Salmon Burgers are a mix of pink, keta, and/or sockeye salmon, according to the packaging. There are a couple of things I did like about these burgers: the protein content and the fact that they were wild-caught in Alaska. Even so, I had more complaints than I did praises. These are seasoned with garlic powder, white pepper, mesquite smoke flavor, and other ingredients to give them a taste. Yet, the range of seasoning contributions turned out a bit salty. 

If a particular food is underseasoned, you can always add some seasoning to it ( which is why I appreciated the Neptune Pub Style Halibut), but if it's overly salty, you can't take that away. It's more difficult to solve. To add to that, the texture is chewy, whereas fresh or frozen salmon is usually more on the buttery and flaky side. It's likely that we don't get the classic salmon texture because these are in a burger form. I would say though, that these salmon patties would probably be enhanced if it was eaten with the rest of the burger accoutrements, such as bun, lettuce, and tomato, for added flavor and texture. Although the burgers are convenient, I would rather do the extra step of cooking the plain salmon from the refrigerated section instead. These are an item to avoid because of the salty flavor and chewy consistency.

The Kirkland Wild Argentine Red Shrimp are incredible. If you have an aversion to shrimp because of the chewy or rubbery texture, you don't have to worry about that with this bag of shrimp. You actually might be able to stomach and delight in eating these. I have never had a shrimp that was buttery, soft, and delicate like this. In fact, I had some other shrimp in the freezer that I also cooked to compare with Costco's side-by-side. The wild Argentine red shrimp was divine in comparison to the other's chewy, dense, and utterly unpleasantness. 

While other frozen shrimps usually have that dull gray color, the Kirkland Wild Argentine Red Shrimp are just as the name states – red even while they are raw and uncooked, which gives them an eye-catching quality. Since they come with the tail off, peeled, and deveined, they are super convenient to work with and don't take up too much of your precious time, especially on a weekday night after you get off work. With these shrimps, you can create several versatile shrimp recipes from around the world, and you don't have to do any extra prep work for the shrimp itself, which is a big bonus. These are an absolute buy because of the flavor, texture, and versatility.

Even though there are a variety of seafood options out there, I had to go with what was available at my local Costco, which did not have every type of seafood. I tried a total of 15 frozen seafood products from Costco, including every item on this list. However, there were many other plain, unseasoned seafood products that I didn't try. That means there are still plenty of options for you to explore. For example, my Costco had many types of frozen shrimp (cooked shrimp with tail on, tail off, etc). Testing every single frozen seafood offering would require more freezer space and a gigantic budget, so I picked based on what I thought would work best for me and my family — which is highly personal and an important deciding factor for many households.

Of the 15, I did not include those that were mediocre in this list of the best and worst frozen seafood products to buy at Costco. This list is made of things I felt the most strongly about, either items I truly loved or thought had the most potential or the ones I did not enjoy. I based my thoughts on my personal experience of eating them, with contributing factors like taste, texture, and appearance. 

The items I deemed purchase-worthy had favorable results to the aforementioned qualities, whereas the items to avoid were lacking. These are a mix of seasoned products and plain items. For the plain unseasoned items, I created a seasoning blend with salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder to use as a baseline to give them a standardized seasoning.