Costco is nothing if not hyper aware of how time-pressed their customers are. From $5 rotisserie chickens to great ready-to-cook meal kits, they are always considering how they can make meals, parties, and frankly everyday life easier for their customers.
That’s why their newest appetizer really is rather genius—and its price point sure is surprising. During a trip to Costco this week, I found a brand-new stack of deviled egg kits in the refrigerated section tucked between chicken salads and spinach dips. When I saw the price, I had to do a double take. These kits sell for $4.99, and each makes 24 deviled eggs.
I will say this with a great amount of confidence: You almost certainly cannot buy the ingredients for 24 deviled eggs for less than that.
The kit comes with the halved egg whites and a piping bag filled with the pre-made filling, including a piping tip so the yolk mixture will look lovely when you stuff each egg white.
Kimberly Holland/Southern Living
Now, as a Southerner who thinks of deviled eggs as a non-negotiable for most every kind of gathering, I had to take my own pulse on this. How hard are deviled eggs really? Is a kit truly necessary?
I suspect my grandmother, who lovingly makes her deviled egg filling with a pastry blender that no longer has paint on the handle for every holiday, would not give this deviled egg kit a second glance. But for many people, this is just the time-saving choice they need.
We of course tried these here in the Southern Living offices. We are nothing if not curious about how badly some folks can mess up the classics. And reader, let me tell you, we were genuinely surprised.
The egg whites, which come packaged in a bag filled with a salt water or brine solution, are a bit on the bouncy side. Unfortunately, that’s what happens with these packaged egg products. We’ve seen it before with hard-boiled egg snack packs.
The yolk filling was a little too vinegar or mustard forward for many folks. Call us particular, but we tend to like a bit more mayonnaise in our deviled egg filling.
But all in all, the editors who tried it were fairly impressed and not entirely dismissive of what we, admittedly, do not consider to be a difficult recipe to begin with. Still, for last-minute parties, as a quick offering at a Friendsgiving, or even for a tailgate where you won’t have a kitchen handy, this kit is rather genius.
And, the consensus secret around the tasting circle: These are far better than any pre-made grocery store deviled eggs we’ve ever tried.
To make these eggs a little more custom and special, we suggest topping each with some fresh herbs or a sprinkle of paprika. We’d even delight in a little smoky flaked salt.
The egg kit we picked up has a best-by date of December 31, so these will likely be around through the holidays, if your warehouse store doesn’t sell out first. It’s unclear if this is a permanent addition to the offerings. Odds are, it’ll be around for the holidays and then gone.
Maybe for Easter you should try to DIY the appetizers. Start with one of these 25 deviled egg recipes.