If you’re trying to hit your daily protein intake for cheap while still eating something yummy, listen up.
In a multi-part video series, a Costco customer who goes by @freedomfitnessequipment on TikTok seemingly confirmed that the company’s viral chicken bake, available at the Costco food court, has a surprisingly high amount of protein. He later backtracked, calling the nutrition information a “fraud.”
“Guys, I have massive news for all the gym bros out there about the Costco chicken bake and macros,” @freedomfitnessequipment says.
The TikToker notes he’s been listening to a podcast that’s been “raving” about the chicken bake’s nutrition information.
He reached out to a Costco customer service representative via chat to ask about the bake’s nutrition facts. While the worker said they weren’t able to share the full nutrition facts, they did reveal the calories, protein, fat, and carbs.
“It’s even better than they thought,” @freedomfitnessequipment says.
@freedomfitnessequipment WHAT #costco #chickenbake #nutrition ♬ original sound – Freedom Fitness Charlotte, NC
Turns out the item has a whopping 52g of protein, 840 calories, 32g of fat, and 83g of carbs.
In a follow-up video, @freedomfitnessequipment even asked a Costco food court worker for the printed nutrition sheet and confirmed the high protein amount.
However, things took a turn in another one of his videos in which he explained that there would need to be at least a cup and a half of chicken in the bake for it to reach that protein quantity. While the chicken is “stacked” in the bake, he doubts it’s enough to match the listed protein amount.
“There is no freaking way it is 52g of protein,” @freedomfitnessequipment says. “… Fraud, it’s a fraud.”
@freedomfitnessequipment #costco We got em Bois #chickenbake #costcoslander ♬ original sound – Freedom Fitness Charlotte, NC
According to copycat chicken bake recipes, the dish is composed of a few simple ingredients: cooked chicken, Caesar dressing, cheese, and bacon, all wrapped in a premade pizza crust dough. The concoction can be cooked on the stove or in an air fryer.
Several commenters pointed out that the rest of the bake’s ingredients are what get it to that 52g line.
“Crazy amount of sodium too,” one commenter said.
Combined, the videos have well over 1.4 million views and over 1,000 comments as of Tuesday morning.
One person in the comments section suggested that the TikToker just get the frozen version of the bake instead of going to the food court.
While there is plenty of debate online about whether the food court version or the frozen version of the bake is better (though people tend to agree that there is a taste difference), they do have different protein quantities.
Costco doesn’t have the frozen bake’s nutrition information on its website, but a customer blog post with an image of the nutrition facts revealed that one of the frozen bakes contains 35g of protein. Significantly less than its food court counterpart. However, it is possible that there’s a size difference between the two that accounts for the protein variance.
The Daily Dot reached out to @freedomfitnessequipment and Costco for comment via email.
