14 Prepared Frozen Seafood Items from Costco, Ranked from Worst to Best

The convenience of Costco’s frozen aisle cannot be beat, and it’s especially true when it comes to prepared frozen seafood. To make it even easier for you to invest your hard-earned money well, we’ve sampled 14 of the most popular Costco prepared frozen seafood items and ranked them from worst to best.

If you want fish, or even a poke bowl, that is already seasoned and comes with instructions no one could possibly mess up, then you need to run, not walk, to Costco’s frozen section. As a long-time Costco shopper and recipe developer for my blog At the Immigrant’s Table, I’ve come to know this section like the back of my hand. It’s just so much easier to develop a smoked salmon quiche recipe when you have just the right product, at a good price, and with extra to spare.

So if you’ve ever found yourself standing in front of the dozens of products in Costco’s freezers, we’re here to make sense of the madness. Using taste testers and online reviews, this is our ultimate ranking from worst to best of the 14 most popular Costco prepared frozen seafood items.

We’ll start with the honest truth: Morey’s Fine Fish and Seafood Marinated Wild Pink Salmon was our least favorite in the Costco seafood aisle. It’s not that the blend of garlic, basil, salt, and red pepper seasoning was bland, or overly spicy, or even just plain not tasty. It was, however, rather salty, an issue that left us reaching for water and has influenced a few reviewers over the years, causing it to be rated as one of the top fish to skip in Costco.

But in Morey’s case, the biggest failure of this fish all came down to the biggest issue people have with wild salmon: its texture. To start, the preserved fish came individually wrapped in a plastic vacuum package that was filled with extra sauce, presumably to keep it moist until cooking. However, we found this extra packaging wasteful, and transferring the fish into a baking dish or pan was messy. No matter how we cooked it, whether in the oven, on the grill, or even in a pan, we found that the majority of the marinade burned down in the cooking vessel, and that the fish itself came out dry and overly flaky.

Another issue noted by long-time shoppers is that the fish has gotten smaller over the years, likely due to rising shipping and production costs. While we acknowledge all food is becoming expensive, we still think you’d get better value for your money with another product.

Next on our list of items we didn’t love in Costco’s frozen aisle is the Olivia Marinated Butterfly Shrimp. The package contains between 16 and 20 shrimp that have already been seasoned, butterflied, and deveined … but not shelled. They are packaged in two bags that cannot be resealed.

The biggest issue for our tasters here was value for money. While the shrimp did not actually taste that bad, they were rather small, and with a sticker price of about $9, that felt like a meager offering. The fact that they came in non-resealable bags was also frustrating. And to be honest, they just weren’t that meaty or filling. Plus, out of all the seasonings, the flavor of garlic was completely overpowering.

For some shoppers, the biggest issue was the fact the shrimp were not shelled. This has even resulted in one diner accidentally getting a big bite of shell with their dinner! Another reviewer took pains to point out, for no apparent reason, that the shrimp were not gluten-free, while others complained about the high sodium content. In our opinion, you would do much better making your own grilled shrimp with spicy lemon garlic butter. 

The package of Authentic Asia promises restaurant-quality wonton soup filled with delicately hand-wrapped pockets of thin dough that are stuffed with large pieces of rosy, pink shrimp. And if you’re a fan of good Chinese food, heating this up in the microwave feels like a long-lost pipe dream. In the case of this product, it probably is better left at the dream stage because the reality sorely disappoints.

First off, the wontons themselves are disappointingly small, and there are only four dumplings in each portion. The soup itself is bland, which is not unlike wonton soup, but it’s also oily, with an off-putting texture. The filling comes out easily and doesn’t look as plump as it does in the photos. The wrapper was also misleading, as it was so thin it ripped upon the slightest touch. And the flavor? While the filling is well seasoned, it feels more like something prepared in a machine rather than the promised “hand-wrapped” bite. As this doesn’t look to have been an isolated incident, based on other reviews, we would recommend you steer clear of this product.

If you’re someone who couldn’t be bothered going to the fishmonger to buy fresh, sushi-grade tuna, season it, and eat it upon preparation, then the Dom Reserve Singles Tuna Poke is meant for you. Unfortunately, this convenience is pretty much the only thing going for it.

The first issue with this product is that it needs to be kept in the freezer until serving. Then, it needs to be thawed in the fridge and eaten within a couple of days. This is a slightly convoluted process, albeit one that makes sense given that this is a raw fish product.

The next issue is the texture. The fish is not cut very uniformly nor nicely, and some of the pieces have a mushy texture, while others are notably gristly. The seasoning had a very strong sesame oil flavor and not much else. While this was passable on rice with avocado and sriracha, it’s not a meal we’d like to experience again.

Only slightly better than Dom Reserve’s tuna poke is the Dom Reserve Singles Salmon Poke. Our tasters found it to rest in the middle of the pack, while some online reviewers gave it a middling 5/10. The flavor was said to be just “ok,” without any prominent acidity or standout texture. Though the product was said to be flavored with lime, we didn’t taste any. It just felt like oily raw salmon, which wouldn’t be a selling point on any given day.

The best thing about this product was, again, the convenience of putting together a healthy meal with decent, sushi-grade salmon. While this would not be an item I’d run to the store to get, it will do on rice crackers as an appetizer in a pinch. The salmon was cut badly, and some packages even contained bone, a huge no-no in anything purporting to be sushi-grade. The best thing to say is that this product was more affordable than buying a poke bowl in a Hawaiian-inspired restaurant or sushi shop, but we aren’t sure affordable should be something you want in raw seafood.

Unfortunately, the Dom Reserve line just isn’t something you want to buy in Costco. The Dom Reserve Singles Smoked Salmon has 10 “single, individually wrapped” servings of smoked salmon that are supposed to be perfect for sandwiches. However, why you’d need this rather than removing a few slices from a tray of smoked salmon is beyond us.

To be perfectly clear, we had no issue with the quality of Dom’s smoked salmon. It was oily, but otherwise very neutral in flavor and not tasting overly salty. The smokiness was also very mild and not overpowering, and it paired well with rosti, blini, and, of course, an old-school bagel, or even a viral 2-ingredient bagel. It also tasted great in salad.

However, the issue here was the wasteful packaging and the very expensive price per serving. Though it is usually a good idea to buy more expensive salmon, this product was not more sustainably raised or substantially tastier than the large packages of smoked salmon we tried. The similar price for a much smaller package came as a shock. If you are so busy that removing a few slices of smoked salmon from a large pack is just too much work, or if you simply cannot eat more than a single slice of smoked salmon at a time, then this product is for you. Everyone else should try one of Costco’s other smoked salmon products.

With 7-10 individually wrapped filets in each package of Janes Tavern Battered Cod, getting a fish and chips dinner to the table in a matter of minutes becomes rather easy. However, this was also our least favorite of the fish-and-chips style products at Costco, so you may want to look elsewhere for your fix.

The product is called “tavern battered” because each filet is dusted in a coating of beer and toasted breadcrumbs, and the effects of the beer do show themselves in a coating that is light and crispy. The fish itself is flaky and neutral tasting, which is a positive in a dish of this sort. However, the coating comes off rather easily in a soggy layer, leaving behind a pale and rather forlorn-looking fish. This wasn’t very appetizing nor did the coating-less fish taste great. While we hoped this was an isolated incident, this issue was noted by other reviewers.  

If we didn’t love Janes Tavern Battered Cod, then Janes Battered Haddock is here to change our mind … but only slightly. It starts from the shape of the filet, which looks more like a typical fish filet rather than a machine-cut rectangle, and goes on to the coating and the flavor.

For starters, this fish comes uncooked, which means the meat inside is fresh, juicy, and perfectly succulent. There’s a bit of sogginess between the fish and the outer layer, and it comes apart very easily in a single layer, which some tasters and reviewers minded. The instructions ask that you cook this in the oven to compensate for the lack of initial cooking, though we threw this one into the air fryer, and it came out extra crispy. The taste of the haddock itself is just as it should be, without a fishy aftertaste, and perfect for homemade fish and chips or fish nuggets. 

If you want a crispy, bite-sized fish and chips option, then the Dom Norwegian Fjord Wild Atlantic Cod Bites are calling your name. As a bonus, they’re also Costco’s only gluten-free breaded fish product, which is pretty cool in and of itself.

This product includes small, bite-sized pieces of cod in a light, breaded coating. The dish comes with baking instructions only, which feels a bit limiting, but in a moment of daring we’ve tried air-frying it. Both ways yielded crispy, crunchy little bites of fish that were coated in a taste-worthy breaded outer layer. There is no soggy underlayer here, the breadcrumbs feel decidedly like, well, breadcrumbs, and the seasoning is light and barely noticeable. The package has the sustainable fisheries logos, which means this fish was approved by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), and it’s a safer bet than ordering Atlantic cod at a restaurant and not knowing what you’re going to get.

Are these cod bites groundbreaking? No. But they are a solid, easy choice for getting a quick appetizer ready, or for providing picky eaters with a delicious protein option at dinner. And no one will even know they’re gluten-free.

The first time I saw the Pineapple Thai Chili Cod in Costco, I admit I was skeptical. Yet this product managed to surprise everyone who tasted it, winning people over with its sweet and sour sauce and mild, flaky fish.

Let’s begin with the dressing itself, which feels more like a marinade than a sauce. The filets, which come packed in a big bag, are flavored but not soggy or dripping in dressing, which makes it easy to individually separate and arrange them on a baking sheet. The flavors are zesty and mild, tasting faintly of pineapple. There really wasn’t any heat in this, so I am not sure where the chili went, but this made it more palatable for kids, who also loved the dish.

Finally, the fish itself was perfectly cooked and flaked easily with a fork. My only criticism was that it felt a bit bland inside and needed a squeeze of lemon or a sprinkle of salt to kick the flavors up a notch. That being said, it was a convenient and easily cooked entree option. 

With access to a variety of smoked salmon, Costco makes it impossible not to gorge yourself on bagels with lox. And the Dom Norwegian Fjord Smoked Steelhead Salmon is a solid option if you’re looking for the perfect second half for the schmear on your bagel. 

This smoked steelhead salmon comes in an 18-ounce package, which makes it perfect for feeding a crowd or simply getting a week’s worth of smoked salmon. It is soft, fatty, and perfectly oily, going great in salads, on cucumber slices, or in wraps. One of the main downsides of this salmon is that the package is not resealable, which would have been great for storing leftovers. The salmon is also on the salty side, as noted by our tasters and online reviews, so you will need to pair it up with something bland to balance the flavors.

If you’re confused about all the salmon options out there, you’re not alone. Luckily, we’ve put together a guide with everything you need to know about salmon, from which oceans to avoid to what types of curing are best.

Small but mighty should be the tagline of the Olivia Atlantic Cold Water Shrimp. If there ever was a dinnertime MVP in our house, this would be it.

Wild-caught off of Iceland and marked with a sustainable fisheries logo, these shrimp are a rare entry in the world of frozen seafood. They are also pre-cooked and neatly packaged in three dinner-sized bags, making it easier than ever to just grab a bag in the morning and leave it to defrost in the fridge during the day — or in a bowl of warm water for an hour if you’re in a hurry. The shrimp themselves are small, as is to be expected from this kind of shrimp, but having them peeled and deveined with tails off makes it easier than ever to just use in your favorite salad or entree.

We love piling these shrimp on a dinnertime salad for a protein-packed meal or chopping them with a bit of mayonnaise and green onions for stuffing into buns, lobster roll-style. But for the most authentic way to eat these little babies, look no further than the classic Swedish shrimp salad toast skagen recipe. 

Our second favorite seafood item in Costco is another smoked salmon entry — this time, from the Pacific Ocean. The Nanuk Smoked Pacific Coho Salmon is everything you want lox to be in a family-sized package.

On a personal note, as a family that loves smoked salmon, we always keep a pack of this product in our fridge. It is perfectly seasoned and sliced for easy eating. There’s not a hint of unnecessary saltiness, and the main flavor you get is lightly smoked salmon. It also comes from Pacific salmon and bears the responsible fisheries’ Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) logo, which means it’s one of the better options for smoked salmon you can buy.

So next time you need to pick up some smoked salmon for your sushi rolls, or for a big brunch, consider getting the Nanuk coho salmon from Costco. And as it’s generally a good idea to buy salmon from Costco, this is one of the better seafood purchases out there.

Our favorite Costco frozen seafood product doesn’t come with a lot of fanfare. It’s not particularly pricey, nor is it made out of lobster. A simple, nostalgic appetizer that is just done well, the Kirkland brand Tempura Shrimp is our favorite frozen Costco product in the seafood aisle.

Each tail-on shrimp comes individually frozen, but not wastefully packaged. They are quick and easy to make in an oven, convection oven, and even a commercial oven, and they come out looking exactly as the package describes — plump, golden brown, and coated in the crispiest shell imaginable. The whole thing was perfectly crispy and surprisingly delicious, and half the tray disappeared faster than it took us to watch the opening credits on a movie. The shrimp inside was also perfectly meaty.

Some of our tasters minded the tails being left on, but others felt this made it easier to grab them from a passing tray, hors-d’oeuvres style. It also made for a pretty presentation. For the perfect dish, you’ll need to accompany it with a good shrimp dipping sauce, and then you’re golden.

To put together this list of the best and worst frozen seafood options at Costco, we relied on a combination of taste tests and online reviews. For the taste testing, we put together a group of six tasters of various ages. While the products were not compared blindly, they were nonetheless compared head-to-head against each other and rated on a scale. We also considered which products we purchase for recipe development and personal use more often than others. Finally, each product was sampled multiple times to ensure a balanced and accurate perspective. 

For online reviews, we scoured a selection of customer reviews on product pages, product reviews in blog posts, and TikTok and YouTube video reviews.