Salad Gets A Delicious Protein Boost When You Add This Precooked Costco Find

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Salad always seems like an easy enough idea. One merely "tosses" it together after all; simplicity itself is baked into this seemingly casual preparation. But all the work — and actual cooking — required for something like the iconic Cobb salad, or all manner of other combinations that position grilled chicken over leafy greens, can be just as labor intensive as any other recipe. They hardly seem tossed together at all. But Costco's WestEnd Cuisine Grilled Chicken Skewers can bring it all back a little bit closer to the basics. Not only that, they can add a quick protein boost to just about any other salad you'd like to beef up a bit.

These babies are exactly what they sound like: pre-cooked chicken breast chunks, complete with char marks, all skewered on sticks. They're grilled and have a Mediterranean-style flavor, with seasonings like garlic, lemon juice, and onion, plus the ever-nebulous "spice", and "natural flavor" listed on the ingredients list. Costco shoppers also report pairing them with all kinds of other versatile ingredients, including the hummus that one might infer from the stated Mediterranean essence, as well as the teriyaki sauce that most would not. That also means that they should perform just as well and add protein in all kinds of salads, so you can do more of that low-lift tossing, and less searing, sauteing, and pan frying.

Costco's West End Cuisine grilled chicken skewers sell for about $18 for 28 ounces (14 skewers). They boast 24 grams of protein per two skewer (four-ounce) serving. A fairly standard Cobb recipe will call for about three ounces per portion, so that amounts to a decent number of salads from one pack. The skewers also come with a couple of different heating instructions (oven, grill, or microwave) before you slide them off the sticks and onto your spinach, kale, arugula, and other nutritious salad greens.

Buyers who haven't been won over by these skewers took to Costco's review section to cite texture issues — some saying they're too chewy, some too soft — among their chief complaints. Fonder shoppers appreciate their obvious convenience, particular for salads. Even some folks from that former camp can't deny how helpful the skewers still are in a pinch. "I would order these again; they're just too easy to have around when trying to throw together a last-minute meal," one such critic acquiesced on Costco's website. Sometimes, just getting dinner on the table a little faster, after all, is the most delicious secret ingredient a home cook can have.