Frozen Chicken Burgers/Patties at Costco – Ranked from Best to Worst
Products at Costco tend to be cheaper than the same products on Amazon across multiple categories, especially food. Sometimes, the price difference can be as much as 280%, which is no joke. Costco also specializes in bulk buying, and no one can beat them in their own game–at least, that’s been the case so far.
But you need a Costco membership to shop at their brick-and-mortar stores, which costs you $60 annually. Non-members can shop online from Costco but have to pay a 5% surcharge at checkout.
Costco’s online repository has more items than any of its physical stores, but product availability varies from online to physical and even from one physical store to another. Unfortunately, the Foster Farms Classic Chicken Patties is the sole frozen chicken burger product on Costco.com. Other frozen chicken patties on our list may not be available at all Costco stores.
CP Foods Chicken Fillet Burgers
CP Foods is known for excellent food quality and safety standards. These chicken fillet burgers are just another testimony to the brand’s trustworthiness.
The CP Foods Chicken Fillet Burgers comprise 75% of quality chicken breast, among other exciting ingredients. They come with a seasoned breaded coating, essentially containing wheat and, in turn, gluten. There’s allergy advice printed on the package, with wheat-based ingredients in bold. That’s what a reputable company does.
The taste is marvelous. Can’t recommend it enough.
Amylu Chicken Burgers
Amylu’s fully cooked, charbroiled chicken burgers cost slightly more than the Foster Farms Chicken Patties but offer more value and health benefits. They’re made of chicken raised without antibiotics and contain little to no carbohydrates, making them paleo and keto friendly.
Amylu’s website has only five chicken burger products, but you can find more at Costco (Costco exclusive). Here’s the review of the Amylu Kale & Mozzarella Chicken Burgers available seasonally at select Costco stores. (It’s also available at Costco Business Center).
Amylu Kale & Mozzarella Chicken Burgers
Ingredients
Organic Chicken, Organic Kale, Organic Mozzarella (Pasteurized Organic Milk, Cheese Cultures, Sea Salt, Vegetable Enzymes), Organic Caramelized Onions (Organic Onions, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil), Sea Salt, Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar, Vinegar, Organic Spices, Organic Garlic, Organic Extract of Rosemary.
Nutrient profile
Salient features
- USDA organic
- Gluten-free
- Fully cooked
- Microwaveable
- No nitrites
- No nitrates
- No added MSG
- No preservatives or artificial ingredients
- Chicken raised with no antibiotics and no added hormones
Reasons to buy
I’m not taken in by a product because of the health-washed labels, which include words like “paleo,” “keto,” or “organic.” These labels can be clever marketing tactics, so you should always review the ingredients and nutrition facts to verify the claims.
I love the Amylu chicken burgers because they contain more protein and only a little fat. They’re almost free of carbohydrates, which also include wheat and, in turn, gluten and added sugars.
I love to reheat them with a little bit of olive oil added to the pan or stovetop on medium heat.
You can serve it over a bed of rice with some slices of avocado, a side of pico de gallo, and some marinated artichokes sprinkled over them. But if you want to derive the pure taste and flavor of the Amylu burgers, eat them as an actual burger. For the extra kick, dice up the burgers and add lettuce, cucumber, tomato, etc., in a tortilla wrap.
You can also dice them up and add the slices to a salad with your favorite toppings.
They’re a bit processed, as all cooked, finished goods are, but the taste is pure and magical. It reminds you of a hand-cut chicken breast or ground chicken burger you make at home or even better.
The kale and mozzarella are embedded within the chicken burger, but the flavor is only subtle–there’s no kale and mozzarella flavor explosion, which is a good thing. The seasoning is not overly salty, which means it’s a solid burger that can be spruced up and enhanced based on your preferences.
Reasons to avoid
The packaging needs improvement. Each package contains five sets of two frozen burger patties wrapped together in an air-tight plastic sheet. These patties, when frozen, are almost impossible to separate unless you defrost them. But it’s on the minor side.
Each Amylu burger contains 27% of the recommended daily sodium intake. Eating only two of these quarter-pound burgers translates to 54% of the recommended daily sodium intake. But I’m not hyper-sensitive about these numbers because I only seldom eat processed, store-bought food. Unless you eat them daily, there’s nothing to worry about.
The Amylu refrigerated chicken burgers cost approximately $2 per patty, making them less than ideal as value for money. They’re healthy and delectable, which explains why I love them. But I’m not going to pay a steep $15 for ten frozen burgers–there are a lot of good value fresh meat and seafood options available for this money.
Connie’s Kitchen Chicken Burgers
These fully cooked chicken burgers are gluten-free, protein-rich, and flavorful with minimum but unique ingredients. Also, the amount of fat is as low as it can get. But is this pack of eight burgers worth $10?
Ingredients
Chicken, water, lentil powder, salt, dehydrated onion, flavor, dehydrated garlic, spice, and dehydrated parsley.
There’s no dairy and gluten, which is nice. I have no problems with dairy products, but it doesn’t imply no one has. The chicken is presumably ground-breast meat, though I’m not sure–the manufacturer doesn’t specify the type of meat used, so keep tasting and guessing.
Nutrient profile
A 125 g burger is 140 calories, three grams of fat, only two grams of carbohydrates, zero grams of fiber and sugar, 18 grams of protein, and 380 mg of sodium. The amount of sodium is a bit high, though not too much–380 milligrams of sodium translates to about 17% of the recommended daily use.
Reasons to buy
The taste is not out of this world but quite fantastic. The main flavor comes through chicken, onions, and garlic–the other ingredients are so subtle that they go unnoticed. The burgers are not overly flavorful, thanks to a small number of ingredients. This also means you can enhance the flavor by adding any sauces you like.
The meat is fairly ground–you won’t notice any gross bits or hard pieces.
Reheating instructions are printed on the package, so they’re good to go.
Reasons to avoid
I didn’t find anything to complain about. The taste can be mild, but it’s a good thing–I like customizing my burgers my way.
Janet and Greta’s Gourmet Chicken Burgers
These fully cooked, frozen chicken burgers are very flavorful and gluten-free. Also, they don’t contain any fillers or many artificial ingredients.
Ingredients:
The ingredient list reads as follows:
Chicken; roasted vegetables (red bell peppers, onion, zucchini, portobello mushrooms, garlic); seasoning (yeast extract, sugar, potassium citrate, chicken broth, spices, garlic powder, onion powder, dehydrated garlic, dehydrated chives, spice extract, salt); and cultured dextrose (maltodextrin). May also contain mustard.
Except for potassium citrate and cultured dextrose, all ingredients are non-chemical and add to the burgers’ flavor. Potassium citrate and cultured dextrose are okay, often necessary to be present in a store-bought frozen food item. As far as ingredients are concerned, these burgers are good-to-go.
Nutrient profile
A 113-gram chicken burger has 180 calories, 10 grams of fat, 425 mg of sodium, only 2 grams of carbs, and 21 grams of protein.
Overall, the nutrient profile of the Janet and Greta’s Burgers is satisfactory.
Reasons to buy
These chicken patties are delicious, thanks to an expansive list of fire-roasted vegetables and seasonings included. As such, they require no additional sauce or seasoning. But if you don’t like some of the spices used, you can add some sauce to neutralize the taste.
They come in a high-quality vacuum pack, adding to their juiciness and freshness.
Reasons to avoid
The Janet and Greta’s burgers are a bit pricey. But price is what you pay; value is what you get.
Foster Farms Classic Chicken Patties
A word of caution: On Oct. 29, 2022, Foster Farms recalled approximately 148,000 pounds of its frozen chicken breast patties contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically hard, clear pieces of plastic. The fully cooked, breaded chicken patties were produced on Aug. 11, 2022, with a best-by date of Aug. 11, 2023. Here’s the full description of the contaminated products:
“80-oz. plastic bag packages containing 20 pieces of “CHICKEN PATTIES BREADED CHICKEN BREAST PATTIES WITH RIB MEAT” with best by date “08/11/23,” establishment number “P-33901,” and lot code “3*2223**” in inkjet print on the back edge of the packaging as well as “7527899724” under the barcode.”
While the firm itself notified FSIS of the problem after receiving consumer complaints, how come such a large amount of fully processed, finished food items eluded quality control? It could be that there was no quality control in place altogether, which raises serious questions about the brand’s previously excellent reputation.
Ingredients
Chicken breast with rib meat is the chief constituent, followed by wheat flour. The other ingredients include salt, corn flour, yeast, sugar, soybean oil, natural flavors, spices, paprika extract, cream of tartar, annatto extract, and sodium bicarbonate.
Nutrient profile
The nutrient profile of a 114g patty is as follows:
Total Fat 12g, Saturated Fat 3g, Trans Fat 0g, Cholesterol 40 mg, Sodium 490 mg, Total Carbs 21g, Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars <1g, Protein 15g, Vitamin A, Calcium, Vitamin C, and Iron.
Reasons to buy
The Foster Farms Chicken Patties are reasonably priced and easy to find at most grocery stores, including Costco’s. Considering the price and availability, it doesn’t come as a surprise that they’re a staple in many American homes.
Another reason for their popularity is that they’re easy to make and a go-to option for a quick lunch or dinner. They’re already processed and fully cooked, so it’s useless to jot down the heating process for different cooking appliances. If you still need heating instructions, this Foster Farms webpage provides brief heating methods for a conventional oven, deep fryer, microwave, and air fryer.
They’re juicy and plump, not dried-out as some other store brands, which makes them appealing to American taste buds. The texture and flavor are also great and consistent.
Costco’s Foster Farms patties are bigger than other options, so they fit on buns and bread better. They’re usually smaller when bought from other stores, looking like a huge chicken nugget. The taste is also very similar to chicken nuggets, making them an excellent snack.
Summing up, the Foster Farms chicken patties are reasonably priced and very delicious, which explains why people sing their praises from the tops of the mountains.
Reasons to avoid
Foster Farms is an American poultry company owned and operated by the Foster family from 1939 until recently. The company was doing well until 2022, when Atlas Holdings touched it. Foster Farms is now acquired under Atlas Holdings’ umbrella, and anything corporate culture touches loses its soul. The Foster Farms patties used to be great, but no thanks.
Some say the Foster Farms patties have a weird aftertaste. But you can overcome it by using some sauce. In addition, the taste is subjective and varies from person to person.
Foster Farms Chicken Breast Burgers
I don’t recommend these chicken burgers because of poor meat quality. From the taste, it looks like the meat used is chicken goo, aka pink slime or pink goo. Pink slime is scrap meat mechanically devoid of all fat and treated with ammonia. It’s the lowest quality of meat sold for human consumption because it comes from the less desirable parts after the choicest bits have been removed for steaks. The less desirable trimmings, which have about 80% fat and only 20% meat, are heated up and centrifuged to remove the fat, producing meat claimed to be 95% lean.
After the USDA and FDA’s approval, pink slime can be marketed as “finely textured meat” or simply “ground meat.” Like it or not, this is the new normal. There’s no denying that, even if pink slime poses no health risks, it’s devoid of quality protein and looks and tastes terrible.
Foster Farms’ chicken burger patties are significantly cheaper than any other brand we have discussed.
In a nutshell, don’t buy them. If you insist on buying them anyway, I’d suggest first looking at a few buyer reviews here.
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