Costco’s Heat-and-Eat Casserole Is a Must on Holiday Tables

This store-bought shortcut tastes homemade.

It’s no longer the time to say, “The holidays are coming...” The holidays are here! With Thanksgiving covered, we enter the most wonderful time of the year, as some people call it. Others call it the busiest time of the year and are looking for shortcuts that help to get a holiday feast on the table just a little bit easier.

Costco is working overtime this holiday season to help. They have plenty of food on sale for under $10 that you can use in your holiday dishes, like chicken broth to flavor stuffing or Ritz crackers to top your mac and cheese. And, of course, everyone goes crazy for Costco’s enormous pumpkin pie that costs just $5.99.

Now, the store has one of the most popular side dishes that many serve throughout the season in a heat-and-eat form that you can pretend you made yourself. As Ina Garten has taught us, there’s no shame in doing so. Just take it out of their container, put it in your own baking dish, and keep mum.

Related: Amazon’s Black Friday Sale Starts Today — Shop Cookware, Kitchen Tools, and More, From $10

Costco Has a New Green Bean Casserole in the Deli Section

“Green bean casserole is in the Costco pre-made meal section! I’ve never seen it at Costco before! I’m so excited!” Instagram’s costcohotfinds said in a caption on the video she posted while enjoying a forkful. The nearly three-and-a-half pound casserole is very similar to the traditional green bean casserole topped with French fried onions that’s ubiquitous on holiday tables.

“Oh man, I’m a [fiend] for green bean casserole! Extra crispy onions! I would finish that whole tray!” one of the commenters said, but not everyone was as excited—for one reason.

Costco’s version has one ingredient that’s not in the traditional dish: red bell pepper. The colorful addition is not in the traditional recipe (and might be the giveaway you didn’t make it yourself).

Comments ranged from “IMO red peppers do not belong in green bean casserole” to “We need to take them out.”

But, if you can accept the add-in of the extra veggie (makes it healthier, right?), the casserole comes in a ready-made tray you can heat it up in, or you can transfer it to your own casserole dish. The French fried onions are wrapped separately, so adding them to the casserole is easy after changing baking dishes. Then all you need to do is slip it on the table and decide if you want to keep quiet that it's a Costco casserole or tell everyone proudly.