These 18 Costco Thanksgiving Apps Will Keep Everybody Happy Until Turkey Time

The smell of baking bread wafting through the house is heavenly — but it’s Thanksgiving, and no one has the time for that. If you want to serve up some bread that’s got a seriously rustic vibe, look no further than Costco’s cranberry walnut bread ($8.99). You can serve it as is, or you can heat up the entire loaf in the oven, and serve with some butter or different flavored jams. The bread can be a first course, or out on the table throughout the meal for people who want to grab a piece to sop up that gravy.

With all the rushing around prior to the holidays, you might not have had time to hit your local fromagerie to find specialty cheeses. Well, Costco did the work for you with this cheese flight ($23.99) that has an awesome assortment of cheese that you might not eat daily. For example, there’s gruyere, Bellavitano, chevre (made from goat’s milk), pecorino, and fontal. But if you’re unsure what spirits to serve alongside these fancy schmancy cheeses, there’s a list of wines and beer that would be delish.

Warm cheeses that you can dip other food into are just one of the many reasons to be thankful on Thanksgiving. If you want to up your cheese game from cheddar and American, observe the yummy goodness of this baked brie with fig jam and chopped walnuts ($10.39). You just heat it in the oven according to the package’s instructions, and then serve with crackers or fruit like apples, grapes, or pears. Your charcuterie board has never looked so sophisticated.

Ravioli might not be the first food that comes to mind when you’re sitting down to a Thanksgiving meal. Thing is, with this Maine lobster ravioli ($13.49), you might rethink your stance on Thanksgiving sides. Fresh pasta is stuffed with tender lobster and a delicate cream sauce. You can steam, sauté, or even boil this pasta dish, which will probably be a big hit with your guests. Now that’s Italian.

If your house smells like heaven (but that dang turkey still isn’t done yet), you’re going to need something to satisfy rumbling tummies. Enter La Terra Fina 2-pack quiches ($12.69). One is made from spinach and artichoke, and the other is a cheddar and broccoli combination. They’re each made with egg whites and boast a whopping 11 grams of protein per serving. They’re already cooked, so this is just a heat and serve situation. You can freeze leftovers easily, or keep them in the fridge for brunch the next day.

Figures. You spend hours upon hours cooking up an amazing meal — and your kid just wants chicken fingers and fries. Serve up some kid-friendly fare with your main meal with this Panera mac n’ cheese ($9.99). Each package comes with four single-serve cups, so you can heat and serve based on how many little mouths you need to feed. It’s also freezable, so if you’re worried about having mac n’ cheese leftovers go to waste (ha), you can always pop it into your freezer. But we know that won’t happen.

There’s something so homey about baking your own bread. But if you can’t be bothered with yeast, you’ll totally appreciate the Tipiak pull apart cheese bread ($10.99). It’s filled with cheesy goodness in the form of mozzarella, brie, and Emmentaler (a medium hard cheese that comes from Switzerland). The bread, which comes from France, consists of 43% cheese sauce, which is a fairly good bread to cheese ratio if you ask us. To ensure that no one takes too big a slice, it’s already precut, so everyone should get the same sized piece.

When you’re making a Thanksgiving meal, there are two food items that take forever to cook: the turkey, and the sweet potatoes. Well, you won’t have to worry about having rock-hard spuds when you serve these fully cooked brown sugar baby sweet potatoes from Vicky’s Kitchen ($13.99). They’re made in small batches, and are gluten-free. They’ll make a sweet side for your Thanksgiving feast, and you’ll finally get to actually eat them with the meal, and not, you know, hours later when they’re finally done roasting.

Shrimp cocktail is nice, but cilantro lime shrimp is even nicer. And that’s what they have at Costco in the prepared foods section — cilantro lime shrimp, which retails for $9.99 per pound. It’s also like a shrimp ceviche (although they have that, too), and can be an amazing app. Just place Romaine lettuce leaves (or the salad greens of your choice) on a platter, and then add cut limes, tomatoes, sliced avocado, or even other veggies for a delicious dish that takes almost no time to prepare.

Street tacos don’t exactly scream Thanksgiving, but if you’re looking for a meal that can feed a crowd, these chicken street tacos ($4.99 per pound) will do that — and deliciously. They come with seasoned, fully cooked chicken, tortillas, slaw, salsa and cilantro lime crema. There are even lime wedges you can squeeze over your tacos once they’re assembled, and this package should yield about 12 street tacos. No one will even miss the turkey.

Sure, you might want to celebrate the flavors of the season, but that doesn’t mean that you want to struggle with slicing and dicing a butternut squash. Now you can have all that festive flavor without having to stand over your soup simmering it for hours when you pick up this butternut squash bisque ($10.99). The 2-pack of soup is all organic, and is vegetarian, too. All you need to do is heat and serve right before the soup course (if your Thanksgiving meal is fancy like that). And if you find that one container is quite enough, this bisque freezes quite well.

Chicken soup will never win an award for being the most photogenic food. But what this one lacks in looks, it definitely makes up for in flavor. It’s made with rotisserie chicken (yup, those same $4.99 chickens you smell as soon as you come near the meat section) and other veggies that are chicken soup staples, like carrots and celery. For just $2.99 a pound, you can feed quite a few people who might want to eat some soup while the turkey finishes roasting.

Another alternative to turkey are these bacon wrapped stuffed chicken breasts from Realgood. The frozen entrée, which costs $12.89), is stuffed with all sorts of cheeses, from mozzarella and parmesan, to fontina cheese. There are six bacon wrapped stuffed chicken breasts per package, and should be cooked in the oven, not microwaved. But with bacon, cheese, and chicken, you’re pretty much guaranteed to serve a meal that everyone is going to want seconds of.

Usually pot pies are served after Thanksgiving as a way to use up leftover turkey and veggies. But if you’re craving crust right now, you might want to serve these Marie Callender’s chicken pot pies as the main meal. They’re ideal for people who prefer chicken over turkey on Thanksgiving (yes, these people do exist), and are easy to prepare. The package comes with frozen eight chicken pot pies, which cost $12.99, and are made from antibiotic-free chicken. While they are microwavable, you’re bound to get a much flakier and crumbly crust if you pop them in the oven — and woot, your whole house will smell like you cooked for hours.

No matter how old you are, finger foods are fun to eat. So you’ll have a blast popping these cute mini quiche into your mouth. This box, (retailing for $14.99), comes with 72 baby quiche that come in Florentine and three cheese flavors. The crust is made from butter, and there are no artificial flavors (it’s even kosher!). They microwave in about a minute, but line them up on a baking sheet and heat them in the oven for even more intense flavors.

When you’ve got puff pastry, you’ve got a party. And these cocktail beef franks from Costco ($21.99) are an awesome appetizer before the main meal. Each piggie in a blanket is wrapped in puffed pastry, and all you need to do is pop them onto a baking sheet when you’re ready to cook them. They might not look like much when they’re frozen, but once they bake in the oven for a bit, they’ll get all golden and, well, puffy. Serve with some yummy dipping sauces, and you’ll have an appetizer that everyone will enjoy. And if you don’t feel like making the entire box, you can always open just one of the two resealable bags.

With turkey and stuffing being the stars of Thanksgiving, veggies are often a last-minute thought. But that won’t be the case with this fire roasted Brussels sprouts and uncured bacon from Pura Vida ($11.99). It comes in four microwavable pouches, and is on the table in just five minutes flat. And even if you have friends who might not love this much maligned veggie, chances are the bacon, (along with extra virgin olive oil and Himalayan pink salt) just might change their minds.

Cauliflower is a veggie that sometimes needs a little extra help in the seasonings department. Well, with this organic riced cauliflower stir fry ($9.99) from Tattooed Chef, your guests will definitely be asking for seconds. It’s made with peas, corn, and red bell peppers that are in a yummy stir fry sauce. It’s non-GMO verified, and takes mere minutes to prepare.

Your Thanksgiving meal should be a cause for celebration, not something you dread because you’re going to be stuck stirring, sauteing, and basting in a hot kitchen all day. With a little help from Costco’s Thanksgiving dinners and appetizers, you just might realize that you don’t have to cook — at all. And that can make you feel very grateful indeed.