Costco’s New Rao’s Dinner Is the 'Best on the Planet'

Last night, my friends and I had dinner at an excellent Italian restaurant where every dish on the menu looked better than the previous one. I decided on vodka penne. One of my friends ordered eggplant Parmesan, and I had a little order envy as she dug in. It’s always the way at an Italian restaurant. 

Today, I discovered that Rao’s, our readers’ hands-down favorite pasta sauce maker, makes frozen eggplant Parmesan, and it's sold at Costco in two-packs. It occurred to me that if I keep that in my freezer, I won’t need to have order envy anymore. I can order vodka penne at a restaurant and have eggplant Parmesan at home the next night.

Rao’s Frozen Eggplant Parmesan at Costco

On Instagram, Laura Lamb of costcohotfinds showed off the Rao’s Eggplant Parmesan she found in Costco’s freezer section, and it looks pretty darn good. 

“The breaded eggplant is sliced, breaded and fried to golden brown. It’s topped with their amazing marinara sauce and whole milk mozzarella, and Italian imported Parmigiano Reggiano and Pecorino Romano Cheeses. It’s so authentic tasting and just amazing!” Laura told her followers.

She cooked the eggplant Parm and served it on top of fettuccine noodles. Brilliant move. The frozen package contains four pounds of the Italian favorite for $16.99. This is a terrific deal compared to what Rao’s charges for the dish in its restaurants. The eggplant Parmesan on its menu is currently $28 per serving. 

At the restaurant, it’s the “best eggplant on the planet,” according to one of the comments on Instagram. Considering that the frozen version is made from “premium ingredients and absolutely no preservatives, artificial colors or flavors” and Rao’s grocery items are so yummy, I imagine it's made similarly to the restaurant version and is equally delicious. 

Not all readers were excited about the frozen meal, though. It’s not that they didn’t think it looked good. Instead, they were disappointed that not all Costco locations carry the meal. It’s available only in certain regions—the Southeast, San Diego, the Midwest, and the LA region—and for a limited time. 

That means not everyone will have the chance to buy the eggplant Parm from Costco, the dish that Instagrammers say is “so darn good” and “delicious."