The Divisive Costco Southern Breakfast Item You'll Just Have To Try For Yourself

Let's be honest. Costco doesn't make a lot of mistakes, especially when it comes to food. That food court menu with its inflation-proof $1.50 hot dog combo, pizza slices, and delicious chicken bake almost always hits. Even the prepared meals are usually winners. That said, one recent addition to the Costco grab-and-go foods section is one big hit or miss, based on who you ask. While the wholesale club's Kirkland Signature brand usually delivers some tasty products, the fried chicken and waffles with syrup and hot honey is a controversial new item, costing $6.99 per pound.

A lot of customers who have felt strongly enough to talk about it online pretty much hate it. The concerns start with the concept in the first place, as fried chicken and waffles are best made from scratch and thus aren't necessarily ideal for reheating. Then there's the flavor itself. One reviewer on Reddit wrote, "I love chicken and I love waffles. And the chicken, even with hot honey (that's really not hot) isn't tasty and following the directions it is way overdone. It is dry and kind of stringy. The waffles are extremely dense and very heavy, and also crumble." The reviewer said that they won't purchase the chicken and waffles again.

Other reviews in the same Reddit thread complained about the sweetness of the waffles, making the addition of syrup to the mix sugary overkill, as well as the sogginess of the fried chicken after reheating. All that to say, though, not all the reviews of Costco's fried chicken and waffles are negative. In fact, some customers find the retailer's take on the comfort food quite enjoyable, so long as they avoid microwaving it.

On the flip side, it seems like changing the cooking method could drastically improve this Costco deli item. Some customers talk about the air fryer as the ideal appliance for heating the chicken and waffles. "Enjoyed them immensely," a Redditor wrote on the aforementioned thread. "True, it's not like fresh waffles but for prepared food it's pretty dang good, chicken stays crunchy in an air fryer." Another Redditor agreed, saying, "Heated the chicken in our oven on airfry mode and microwaved the waffles. The chicken was sooo good and the waffles were pretty good given how easy they were to prepare. The hot honey was a nice touch too. Will for sure get them again."

If chicken and waffles aren't your thing, you've got many other excellent prepared foods at Costco to choose from. We'd suggest the stuffed bell peppers with ground beef and rice, the meatballs with pasta and red sauce, the macaroni and cheese, or the salmon Milano with basil pesto butter — just to name a few. And then there's that food court, which we already know has a wide range of delicious menu items. All of those choices are tasty and don't come with the hit-or-miss reviews that Costco's fried chicken and waffles have received.

So, yes, Costco doesn't make many mistakes. But is the premade fried chicken and waffles a total miss? We'll let you be the judge.