Costco customers are losing their minds over the calories of new chicken strips

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Everyone loves the Costco food court, especially because of its famously low prices – you can still get a hot dog for just $1.50! However, their new chicken strips are getting a lot of negative attention online.

Costco began testing a new 5-piece chicken tender meal in early May, as a replacement for the calzone. Priced at $6.99 and served with dipping sauce, the tenders have been a popular addition to the food court.

Honestly, nothing beats grabbing some tenders at the ballpark, right up there with pizza, sundaes, fries, and, of course, that classic hot dog. It just feels… perfect. Everything’s right with the world when I’ve got those in my hand!

On May 19th, people started sharing a photo of a sign from a food court that showed how many calories were in the five-piece chicken strips. The photo quickly became popular online, highlighting the high calorie count of the meal.

Costco’s new chicken strips and dip are over 1,600 calories

The sign says that a five-piece chicken tender meal with dipping sauce contains a surprisingly high 1,640 calories – more than half of a man’s daily recommended intake.

Each chicken tender has about 328 calories on average, but it’s not known how many of those calories come from the dipping sauce.

Customers were shocked by both the price and the high calorie count. One person said they were surprised by how expensive it was, then even more surprised to see so many calories – more than they usually eat in an entire day – and questioned what ingredients were in the sauce.

This is what they look like in real life

— Bellybuttoning (@bellybuttoning) May 20, 2026

Someone pointed out that a 5-piece order of Popeyes chicken strips contains 600 calories. Another commenter jokingly described the amount of sauce offered as being more like a soup than a dipping sauce.

Someone shared a picture of the chicken tenders, and it’s clear they’re much larger than typical fast food tenders – about twice the size, in fact.

People began creating exercise plans to balance their meals and maintain good health, and they started comparing the nutritional value of the tenders to other popular Costco foods, such as pizza.

Poutine is like 2000 cals

— Gwilliam (@TheGwilliam) May 20, 2026

Costco Canada’s poutine has the most calories of any single item on the menu, totaling 1,890. Although the chicken tenders are also relatively high in calories, the poutine contains significantly more.

This is just the newest oversized item from Costco to become a social media sensation. Earlier this year, the store gained attention for a massive $140 chocolate Easter bunny – weighing ten pounds – that was meant to be broken open with a hammer.

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2026-05-20 20:49