Many consumers today have become health conscious, mainly due to concern for food allergens such as gluten.
Unfortunately, individuals with gluten allergies have to check the product labels and ingredients before purchasing any items from Costco. That being said, if you want to buy a rotisserie chicken from Costco, you may wonder- is it gluten-free? Here’s all you need to know!
Is Costco Rotisserie Chicken Gluten-Free In 2023?
Costco rotisserie chicken is gluten-free in 2023. If you have celiac or gluten sensitivity, you can eat this chicken because it contains ingredients such as modified starch and dextrin derived from potatoes that don’t contain any gluten. Additionally, the chicken is made in a gluten-free facility; therefore, it’s not contaminated during the cooking process.
Read on for more information about whether Costco’s rotisserie chicken is gluten-free, and which other chicken dishes from Costco are gluten-free!
What Makes Costco Rotisserie Chicken Gluten-Free?
Costco labels its rotisserie chicken as gluten-free because of the ingredients used to make it. It’s also made in a facility that’s free from gluten to prevent cross-contamination.
According to the Kirkland Signature rotisserie chicken labels, Costco chicken doesn’t have any preservatives, colors, artificial flavors, MSG, or gluten.
For this reason, if you have wheat and gluten allergies, you can purchase this rotisserie chicken without any negative effects.
Where Does Costco Rotisserie Chicken Come From?
If you are allergic to gluten, it’s good to know where your groceries and meat products come from.
In the case of Costco’s rotisserie chicken, it comes from its own chicken farm and processing facility based in Fremont, Nebraska.
Costco opened this chicken facility in 2019 to supply all its chicken products.
Because of this, Costco controls its supply, maintains quality standards, and follows humane regulations. Additionally, the poultry products are of good quality and are well priced.
This facility includes hatcheries, feed mills, grower barns, processing facilities, and shipping services to distribute the rotisserie chicken to all Costco warehouses countrywide.
What Is Costco Rotisserie Chicken Made Of?
Costco’s rotisserie chicken contains whole chicken, water, salt, sodium phosphate, modified food starch, dextrin, sugar, carrageenan, dextrose, and spice extractives.
As well, the modified food starch and dextrin are extracted from potatoes, they don’t contain any wheat.
In fact, in popular culture, Costco’s rotisserie chicken was named one of the “healthiest processed foods” by Dr. Oz if you remove the skin.
Is Costco Canned Chicken Gluten-Free?
If you prefer to buy canned chicken from Costco, the Kirkland Signature chicken breast is sold in cans. However, the packaging is not clearly labeled whether the chicken is gluten-free.
This has been a concern for some customers because the canned chicken might contain wheat, which is not ideal if you need gluten-free products.
Therefore, if you have celiac and can’t risk a small trace of wheat entering your system, we recommend refraining from purchasing Costco’s canned chicken.
Is Costco Butter Chicken Gluten-Free?
Costco butter chicken is commonly found in stores in Canada, but according to customers who have bought it, the label does not indicate whether the butter chicken is gluten-free.
However, based on the ingredients on the label, it contains modified cornstarch, which might be safe if you don’t consume gluten. However, you can always confirm with the staff at the store.
Additionally, if the label does not state that the butter chicken is gluten-free, it may have been prepared in a facility with glutenous products in the vicinity.
Therefore, if you’re celiac or extremely sensitive to traces of gluten, it’s recommended that you refrain from purchasing this product.
Is Costco Frozen Chicken Gluten-Free?
Frozen chicken at Costco could be gluten-free or not, as this depends on the brand of chicken you buy from the frozen section.
Usually, gluten-free chicken at Costco is labeled, making it easier to identify the brands to buy.
Is Costco Cooked Chicken Gluten-Free?
If you prefer to buy cooked chicken from Costco, it could contain gluten or be gluten-free, depending on the ingredients used to cook.
For instance, if the chicken is cooked using wheat, yeast, or wheat protein, it’s not gluten-free. However, if it contains other forms of modified starch, it’s classified as gluten-free.
Does Costco Stock Other Gluten-Free Products?
Apart from rotisserie chicken, Costco stocks other gluten-free products.
For instance, you can get gluten-free bread, snacks, cookies, granola, pasta, protein bars, prepared meals, desserts, crackers, chips, and other similar products.
As well, if you are shopping online, you can search for specific items. However, if you are purchasing items in-store, you can consult the Costco staff to help you find the products.
How Much Does Costco Rotisserie Chicken Cost?
Since Costco rolled out the rotisserie chicken in 2009, the price hasn’t changed. Fortunately, Costco has managed to keep the price at $4.99 since 2009, despite the economic inflation.
To keep the price low, Costco invested in a chicken farm and processing facility, significantly lowering the production costs, therefore enabling the company to keep the price stable.
However, this has contributed to heavy losses, because Costco sells the chicken below the actual market value.
In fact, customers are worried that Costco might increase the price of rotisserie chicken due to inflation. However, this is yet to change, and the price is still the same in 2022.
Additionally, Costco stocks the rotisserie chicken at the back of the store, a strategy that ensures that customers shop through several aisles as they go to pick up the chicken.
How Much Rotisserie Chicken Does Costco Sell in a Year?
Because of the health benefits, Costco’s rotisserie chicken is quite popular, contributing to high sales.
At this time, Costco sells more than 100 million rotisserie chickens every year, despite having the same price for more than a decade, and these numbers keep rising each year.
What Other Kinds of Chicken Does Costco Sell?
Costco stocks different types of products, and the same applies to chicken, as you can get raw or cooked chicken products in the company warehouses.
If you prefer the chicken raw, you can get various cuts, and for the cooked options, Costco has whole, deboned, filleted, and spatchcocked chicken.
Apart from the rotisserie, the cooked chicken selections include wings, breasts, thighs, and more.
Overall, you can order your favorite type of chicken from Costco depending on your preferences.
To know more, you can also read our posts on the things to know before buying Costco rotisserie chickens, where does Costco chicken come from, and Costco vs Sam’s Club.
Conclusion
Costco rotisserie chicken is gluten-free. If you have celiac or gluten sensitivity, you can eat this chicken because it’s made from ingredients such as modified starch and dextrin derived from potatoes that don’t contain any gluten.
Additionally, the chicken is made in a gluten-free facility; therefore, it’s not contaminated during the cooking process. Costco sources its chicken from its own chicken farm and processing facility; therefore, the quality standard is good.
