Costco Chicken Pot Pie: Is It Worth Buying in 2026?
If you’ve stood in front of the deli cooler and stared down a Costco chicken pot pie wondering whether it’s worth the cart space, you’re not the only one. This nearly six-pound tub of chicken, gravy, and buttery crust has built a genuine following, and it shows up on “best Costco deli finds” lists every fall. We dug into the price, the ingredients, the taste, and the exact way to bake it so you can decide before you check out.
What Is Costco’s Chicken Pot Pie?
The Kirkland Signature Chicken Pot Pie lives in the refrigerated deli section, usually near the rotisserie chicken and prepared meats. It’s a ready-to-bake, not ready-to-eat, meal: a bottom crust holds a filling of chicken, potatoes, carrots, peas, corn, and onion in a creamy gravy, and a lattice-cut top crust seals it in. Nothing about it is frozen when you buy it, and nothing about it is cooked yet either, so it needs a full trip through your oven before dinner.
Portion size is generous by design. The pie typically weighs somewhere around five to five and a half pounds, which is enough to serve six to eight people, or a family of four with leftovers for lunch the next day.
How Much Does Costco Chicken Pot Pie Cost?
Costco sells the pie by weight rather than a flat price, so your total depends on which pie you grab. In the U.S., it’s priced at roughly <cite index=”4-1″>$3.99 per pound</cite>, which puts a typical pie somewhere in the $20 to $23 range depending on size. That’s noticeably more food than a single frozen Marie Callender’s pot pie, and reviewers consistently call it a strong value for the amount of real chicken and vegetables you’re getting compared to cooking the same thing from scratch.
For comparison, Sam’s Club runs a similar item at a slightly lower per-pound price, though its pie is smaller and the two use different crust styles. If you’re choosing between warehouse clubs purely on cost, it’s close enough that taste and convenience end up mattering more than the few dollars of difference.
What Does Costco Chicken Pot Pie Taste Like?
This is where opinions genuinely split, so it’s worth being honest about both sides.
Most reviewers land somewhere between “really good” and “one of the better grab-and-bake meals at Costco.” The filling leans creamy rather than watery, the chicken comes in large, identifiable chunks instead of shreds, and the vegetable mix (potatoes, carrots, peas, corn) gives it real texture instead of mush. The top crust bakes up flaky and golden, and <cite index=”6-1″>the chicken is plentiful with a savory gravy that keeps everything moist</cite>.
The complaints are consistent too. A handful of reviewers describe <cite index=”7-1″>the gravy as a little on the salty side, though still creamy and well seasoned</cite>, and the nutrition label backs that up. The bottom crust is the other sticking point: it can come out thick and slightly soggy if the pie isn’t baked and rested properly, which is really a technique issue rather than a recipe flaw.
Bottom line: if you like classic, hearty, gravy-forward comfort food and don’t mind a fairly salty dish, this pie tends to earn repeat purchases. If you’re watching sodium closely, it’s worth treating as an occasional meal rather than a weekly staple.
Costco Chicken Pot Pie Nutrition Facts
Costco doesn’t always print a full nutrition panel on the pie itself, and the numbers can shift slightly by location and batch, but the general shape of the nutrition profile is consistent: this is a rich, calorie-dense comfort food, not a light dinner.
Per roughly one-eighth to one-twelfth of the pie (a generous slice), you’re typically looking at:
- Calories: around 400–700, depending on slice size
- Total Fat: 20–40g
- Sodium: 800–1,450mg, which is a significant share of a daily limit
- Protein: 12–22g
- Carbohydrates: roughly 40–66g
The wide ranges come down to how thick a slice you cut. A thinner sliver closer to a 12-way cut lands on the lower end; a hearty quarter-pie serving pushes toward the higher numbers. Either way, sodium is the number to watch if you’re serving this to anyone managing blood pressure. Pairing it with a low-sodium side, like a plain green salad, helps balance the plate.
The pie also isn’t gluten-free or dairy-free. The crust contains wheat flour, and the filling includes milk and cream, so it’s not a fit for those dietary restrictions.
How Long Do You Bake Costco Chicken Pot Pie?
Quick answer: Preheat your oven to 375°F, remove both the plastic lid and base, and bake the pie covered loosely in foil for about 50 to 55 minutes. Then uncover it and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until the crust is golden and the center hits 165°F on a meat thermometer. Let it rest 15 to 20 minutes before slicing.
That resting step matters more than people expect. <cite index=”11-1″>Baking the pie on a metal baking sheet, placing it on a lower-middle oven rack, and letting it rest before slicing all help the filling set instead of running out watery.</cite>
If your pie has been in the freezer, don’t thaw it first. Bake it straight from frozen, but plan on adding roughly 30 to 45 extra covered minutes so the center actually reaches a safe temperature. Always check with a thermometer instead of relying on the clock alone, since oven performance varies enough that a “done” pie in one kitchen can still be cold in the middle in another.
How to Keep the Bottom Crust From Getting Soggy
A soggy bottom crust is the single most common complaint about this pie, and it’s almost always fixable with a few small adjustments:
- Use a solid metal baking sheet, not a glass or ceramic dish, so heat reaches the bottom evenly.
- Place the pie on the lower-middle rack, closer to the heat source, rather than the top of the oven.
- Don’t skip the rest time. Cutting into the pie right out of the oven lets the filling run and soak into the crust; a 15- to 20-minute rest lets it firm up.
- Fully remove the foil for the last stretch of baking so steam can escape instead of getting trapped against the crust.
If you’ve tried all of that and the bottom is still thick, it may just be that particular pie’s batch. Reviewers note some inconsistency between individual pies, which comes down to how much filling settled during transport and how evenly it was cut.
What to Serve With Costco Chicken Pot Pie
Because the pie already covers protein, starch, and vegetables in one dish, sides don’t need to do much heavy lifting. A few pairings that work well:
- A simple green salad or roasted vegetables, like asparagus or Brussels sprouts, to add freshness against a rich, gravy-heavy main.
- Mashed potatoes, if you want to lean even further into classic comfort food.
- Dinner rolls or crusty bread, useful for scooping up extra gravy.
- Extra gravy on the side, for anyone who wants their slice on the saucier end.
Since the pie itself runs heavy and salty, lighter, less-seasoned sides tend to balance the plate better than another rich side dish.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
Between the size of the pie and how filling it is, leftovers are almost guaranteed, and the good news is they hold up well.
If you haven’t baked it yet: keep the pie refrigerated until the best-by date printed on the package, or move it to the freezer for up to three months if you need more time.
Once it’s baked: transfer leftover slices to an airtight container and refrigerate for four to five days. You can also freeze baked slices for two to three months, though the crust will soften somewhat once it’s thawed and reheated.
For reheating: a microwave works in a pinch, roughly two to three minutes per slice until hot through the center. For a crust that actually crisps back up, the oven is the better option: 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes gets you much closer to fresh-baked texture than the microwave ever will.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Costco chicken pot pie precooked? The filling ingredients are cooked before the pie is assembled, but the pie itself is not ready to eat. It still needs a full bake in the oven to cook the raw crust and bring the whole dish up to a safe serving temperature.
Do you need to thaw Costco chicken pot pie before baking? No. It’s designed to go straight into the oven from either the refrigerator or the freezer. A frozen pie just needs extra covered baking time to heat through evenly.
Can you freeze Costco chicken pot pie? Yes. An unbaked pie can be frozen for up to about three months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before baking for the most even results, or bake it straight from frozen with added time.
Why is the bottom crust of my pot pie soggy? It usually comes down to baking technique rather than the product itself. Baking on a metal sheet, using a lower oven rack, and letting the pie rest before slicing all help the bottom crust set up properly.
Is Costco Chicken Pot Pie Worth Buying?
For the price, the amount of food, and the amount of actual chicken and vegetables packed into it, this pie holds up as one of Costco’s better prepared-meal options. It won’t replace a from-scratch pot pie for anyone chasing a lighter or lower-sodium dinner, but for a busy weeknight or a lazy Sunday when nobody wants to cook, it delivers real comfort food without much effort. Grab one, follow the covered-then-uncovered bake method above, and let it rest before you cut in.
