Few Costco products have generated quite as much buzz over the past year as the Kirkland Signature Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks, a frozen offering that debuted last fall and immediately drew comparisons to Chick-fil-A’s beloved nuggets. Unfortunately, shoppers have recently begun to report that the popular item isn’t quite as superb as it used to be.
A Costco member took to Reddit this week to share a picture of Kirkland nuggets (140 calories per serving) that appeared to have spots of red blood even after they were fully cooked. The member said that out of the six to eight nuggets they’d prepared, two pieces were affected by the issue.
As it turns out, this isn’t the only Costco customer who has experienced problems with the Kirkland nuggets. Several others responded to the post to share their own complaints about the product, such as an unpleasant texture, more blood spots, and inconsistent quality overall.
“I swear these things were literally perfect quality a few months ago. The bag I just got has undercooked batter on the insides, and some [gristly] pieces too,” a Redditor lamented.
“I get random nuggs that have hard spots in them. It’s not cartilage either it’s just unnaturally rubbery,” another commented.
That’s not to say that the quality of the nuggets has declined across the board. Some shoppers said that they’ve only ever gotten good batches of the frozen nuggets.
However, the fact that a number of members have complained of quality issues with the nuggets indicates it’s not just a one-off problem. Several even said they’ve made the switch to a slightly pricier frozen chicken nugget brand also sold at Costco—Just Bare—after getting fed up with the Kirkland version.
“My wife won’t let me get the Kirkland brand anymore cause of wildly varying quality. She insists on paying the $4 premium for Just Bare,” a Redditor wrote.
“Idk what happened but Just Bare is just more consistent for me,” another said.
Costco did not immediately respond to our queries for comment on the nugget complaints.
The Kirkland Signature Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks aren’t the only Costco product to face shopper criticism recently. The retailer recently introduced a new Chicken & Bacon Sandwich (920 calories) in its food court, but shoppers took issue with the calorie count and the fact that it’s served cold.
“It tastes so bad and mine was so cold and stale,” a customer lamented on Reddit.
Zoe Strozewski
Zoe Strozewski is a News Writer for Eat This, Not That! A Chicago native who now lives in New Jersey, she graduated from Kean University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Read more about Zoe
