Costco Cut Its Complete Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner for Eight to $199.99, $70 Off, With Online Orders Taken Until Nov. 13 and Warehouses Closed on Thanksgiving Day
Families who would rather not roast, mash and bake their way through Thanksgiving have a firm price and a firm deadline from Costco this year. The warehouse club’s Complete Gourmet Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner, which serves eight, was listed at $199.99 on Costco.com as of Oct. 15, down from its regular $269.99.
That is $70 off. The catch for anyone who waits is the calendar: the meal is sold online only, orders close Nov. 13, and Costco warehouses themselves will be shut on Thanksgiving Day.
A 30-Pound Box That Arrives Frozen
The dinner is listed on Costco.com as a pre-order item from Fortune Gourmet weighing 30 pounds in total. According to the product listing, the box holds a 5-pound pre-brined turkey breast that comes netted and ready to roast, along with 3-pound trays of mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese, cornbread stuffing and sweet corn.
The listing also includes 2 pounds of candied yams, 24 ounces of turkey gravy, 20 ounces of cranberry relish and a dozen gourmet dinner rolls. Dessert is a whole 2-pound pumpkin pie and a 2-pound apple cobbler.
Costco says the meal ships frozen through FedEx, with shipping included in the price. The company does not deliver it to Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico.
Most of the sides are heat-and-serve. The green beans are meant to be thawed and then cooked, and the cranberry relish can go on the table hot or cold.
The Price, and How Long It Holds
Simply Recipes reported that the dinner was $199.99 on Costco.com as of Oct. 15, against a regular price of $269.99. The food site said the discount runs through Nov. 30 or while supplies last, and that last year’s version was a 28-pound box at the same $269.99 list price.
For a family of eight, $199.99 works out to roughly $25 a person before tax, with dessert and rolls included. For a family of four, the same box can stretch into a second dinner of leftovers.
Simply Recipes also reported the ordering and delivery windows. Pre-orders opened Oct. 6 and close Nov. 13, and boxes are scheduled to arrive between Nov. 4 and Nov. 20, subject to availability. That means even the last orders should land about a week before the holiday, which gives families time to make freezer space or plan a thaw.
Parents comparing options this month have several other store-made meals to weigh. Parent Diaries has covered Sam’s Club’s Member’s Mark meal that serves up to 16 and the $30 Target dinner for six and Aldi’s meal for 10.
Warehouses Close Nov. 26
Costco has posted a notice on its website that reads, “In observance of Thanksgiving, Costco will be closed Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026.” Shoppers who need a last bag of rolls or a backup pie will have to make that run by Wednesday.
Costco is not alone. Walmart has also said it will close on Thanksgiving and Christmas, so families should expect fewer open stores on the day itself.
Thawing, Reheating and the Leftovers
Because the box arrives frozen, the turkey breast needs planning. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s guidance on thawing a turkey in the refrigerator calls for about 24 hours for every four to five pounds, so a 5-pound breast needs roughly a full day in the fridge. The USDA says a fully thawed bird can stay in the refrigerator one or two days before cooking.
Families short on time can use the cold-water method instead. The USDA says to keep the turkey in its original wrapper, submerge it in cold tap water, change the water every 30 minutes and cook it immediately once it has thawed.
The one method the agency rules out is the kitchen counter or the garage. According to the USDA, the outer layer of a frozen package can warm into the 40°F to 140°F range, where bacteria multiply quickly, while the center is still frozen. Leaving frozen meat or poultry at room temperature for more than two hours is dangerous, the agency says.
The same caution applies to the side dishes. The trays arrive frozen solid, and a family that pulls everything out of the freezer the morning of the meal may find the mac and cheese still icy in the middle when the turkey is done. Moving the trays to the refrigerator alongside the turkey breast keeps the whole meal on the same schedule.
Federal food safety guidance on safe minimum internal temperatures sets 165°F for all poultry, including turkey breasts, and for casseroles and reheated leftovers. A food thermometer is the only reliable check, especially with trays of mashed potatoes and stuffing that heat unevenly in a crowded oven.
When dinner is over, FoodSafety.gov advises families to refrigerate leftovers within two hours and eat them within three to four days. After that, the agency says they should go in the freezer.
For households planning ahead, the timeline is simple: order by Nov. 13, clear freezer space for a 30-pound box, move the turkey breast to the fridge a day before cooking, and shop for any extras before Costco closes its doors on Nov. 26.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Jacob Blanck – CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikimedia Commons
