Costco Mashed Potatoes - Serve at Thanksgiving?

Costco-Mashed-Potatoes

Main St Bistro Mashed Potatoes at Costco

Costco sells 64 ounces or 4 pounds of Main St Bistro Mashed Potatoes for $7.49. The mashed potatoes can be found in the refrigerated deli area near other items such as the chicken sausagecarnitas, and the lobster ravioli.

Main-St.-Bistro-Mashed-Potatoes

Main St Bistro’s Mashed Potatoes from Costco are all-natural, made with fresh potatoes and whole milk, and have no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.

The mashed potatoes are sold as a 4-pound package with two individual 2-pound trays of mashed potatoes.

Have You Tried Costco's Mashed POtatoes?

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Main St. Bistro at Costco

The mashed potatoes aren’t the only food item that Main St Bistro sells at Costco; they also offer scalloped potatoes and twice baked potatoes
 

I’m hoping the mashed potatoes can redeem the brand.

Mashed Potatoes Ingredient List

Resers-Mashed-Potatoes-Costco

All-Natural Claims

Normally, I include the ingredient list near the end of the article with the nutritional information, but Main St. Bistro has claimed their mashed potatoes have no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, so of course, I had to check it out.

Main-St-Bistro-Mashed-Potato-Ingredients

Simple Ingredient List

Their ingredient list, as you can see, is quite simple. The mashed potatoes have only 6 ingredients, and they are:

  • Potatoes
  • Whole Milk
  • Butter
  • Salt
  • Black Pepper
  • Nisin – to Naturally preserve freshness

Fairly simple ingredient list that looks very similar to the ingredient list you would use if you were to make the mashed potatoes from scratch. Very nice!

Costco Cost Comparison & Price

How Much Do The Mashed Potatoes at Costco Cost?

Costco sells the 64-ounce twin pack of mashed potatoes for $7.49. Each tray of mashed potatoes costs $3.75, and the per-pound price for the mashed potatoes will be $1.87.

Costco-Mashed-Potatoes-Twin-Pack

As expected, this will be more costly than purchasing regular potatoes and making the potatoes yourself. In fact, it probably will be 2-3 more expensive than making homemade mashed potatoes from scratch.

Costco vs the Competition

Sam's Club

Sam’s Clubs sells their Member’s Mark 4 pounds of mashed potatoes for the same price as Costco’s at $7.49. The price is the same, but the ingredient list isn’t as clean.

Target

Target sells a 24-ounce package of mashed potatoes for $4.29. This is a per-pound price of $2.86 and is considerably more expensive than Costco’s price.

Costco Mashed Potatoes Taste Test

Easy to Cook

For these mashed potatoes, I opted to heat them in the microwave. It took about 7 minutes, but it was straightforward and easy. Much faster than making mashed potatoes from scratch!

Cook-Mashed-Potatoes
Cooked Costco Mashed Potatoes

What I Ate It With

I had the opportunity to taste the mashed potatoes with my favorite meal of Crispy Chicken Thighs and with one of Costco’s heat & eat pot roast meals. 

Pot-Roast-from-Costco-with-Mashed-Potatoes

For both options, the mashed potatoes complimented the protein perfectly and made the meal rather enjoyable.

Mashed-Potatoes-from-Costco

Visually Pleasing

Mashed potatoes are one of those foods where you can get a good idea of the quality just by looking at them, and these Costco mashed potatoes look pretty solid.  

Costco-Mashed-Potatoes-Texture

They have a very nice pale cream color, and there was definitely some texture in the potatoes. There were also plenty of visible specks of pepper throughout.

A Little Too Much

My wife didn’t care much for the mashed potatoes as she thought they were a little salty, but I didn’t notice any problems with that. 

The potatoes have an appropriate amount of salt and a robust butter taste. 

Costco-Mashed-Potatoes-Dinner

If anything, the butter flavor was a little overwhelming. Not a deal breaker, but something that is noticeable.

I Enjoyed Them

Altogether, the mashed potatoes from Costco are solid. They aren’t as good as homemade mashed potatoes, but they are easily a step above instant potatoes. 

The mashed potatoes are enjoyable and a great addition to most meals.

How to Cook Costco Mashed Potatoes

How To Cook Main St. Bistro Mashed Potatoes?

Main St. Bistro lists two heating methods for the mashed potatoes: microwave and stovetop. 

Usually, I avoid the microwave whenever possible, but their stovetop instructions do not seem to be intended to heat the entire 2-pound tray of mashed potatoes.

Costco-Mashed-Potatoes-Cooking-Directions

Microwave:

  • Cut a small slit in the film to vent & microwave on high for 3 and a half minutes.
  • Carefully remove the film and stir.
  • Replace the loose film on the tray and heat for an additional 2 to 2 and a half minutes.
  • The product and packaging will be hot. Let stand for 1 minute before serving.
Stove-Top-Mashed-Potatoes-Costco

Stove Top:

  • Small amounts can be heated on the range by placing mashed potatoes in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until hot. 
  • A small amount of milk or water may be added to mashed potatoes to aid in heating.
  • Stir frequently.

    It appears that the stove top instructions for these Costco mashed potatoes are meant to heat just a small portion at a time. 

Main St Bistro Mashed Potatoes Nutritional Information & Calories

How Many Calories in Costco Mashed Potatoes?

One serving of Costco mashed potatoes will be 1/2 cup or 124g (4.37 ounces). Each serving will have 170 calories from 9 grams of fat, 20 grams of carbs, and 3 grams of protein.

Calories-Costco-Mashed-Potatoes-Nutritional-Information

This is a standard mashed potato nutritional label. It’s not exactly healthy for you, but nothing seems out of place regarding the nutritional information.

Servings Per Container?

The Costco mashed potatoes’ nutritional label states there are about 15 servings per container. 

Container is a super interesting choice of words, as I would assume that there are two individual containers in this twin pack of mashed potatoes.

In fact, Main St Bistro considers the container to be the entire package and not each individual tray. 

There is some ambiguity here which can be confusing for those who quickly glance at the nutritional label.

High Sodium

Costco-Mashed-Potato

The big drawback to these mashed potatoes is the high amount of sodium at 540 mg per serving or 23% of the daily recommended value. I will probably consume about 2 servings which means over 1000 mg of sodium and nearly 50% of the recommended daily value. 

This is an extremely high amount in general and almost a deal breaker for a side dish. The main entree that accompanies the mashed potatoes will most likely have a solid amount of sodium as well, and you can easily take way too much sodium for one meal.

Costco Food Database User Reviews

Have you tried this item? Let the rest of the Costco Food Database community know what you think. Leave a rating and review for this product. 

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These mashed potatoes are dry, not creamy or buttery and absolutely no seasoning.Gravy is a must if having to eat these! Better off with good ol’ Bob Evans Mashed potatoes!!!
 1/5