The Wildly Flavorful $10 Costco Grocery I Use to Whip Up Last-Minute Meals

Grocery shopping is all about choosing the store or strategy that makes your life easier. There is an option for families who never want to step foot in a store (thank you, weekly grocery delivery!), while others pound the pavement visiting several retailers to score the best deals. I’ve chosen Costco as my starting point for stocking up on dinner staples and household supplies.

I know that after a visit to Costco, my pantry will be packed with pasta, sauces, vegetables, and breads for easy meal assembly. While I usually add a stack of canned tuna to my cart, this month, I’m opting for Wild Planet’s Wild Pacific Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Each Costco package of Wild Planet’s sardines contains six (4.4-ounce) cans. If you aren’t already accustomed to eating little fish regularly, this might seem like a lot, but there is so much to love about the tinned fish. To start, while most seafood is best eaten on the day of purchase, you can stash canned sardines in your pantry for a long time. The shelf life of canned sardines is two to five years. A stash of shelf-stable fish is the perfect jumpstart to dinners when you can’t make it to the grocery store. Second, eating abundant small fish, like sardines, is among the more sustainable of seafood choices.

These firm, meaty sardines have been scaled, but not skinned, are packed in olive oil, and they’re ready-to-eat straight from the can. Sardines are a fatty fish, which gives them a stronger, more distinct flavor. If you’re new to serving sardines, start small by adding one fillet to a salad, pasta, or piece of toast to get accustomed to the flavor.

For a hearty snack, I recommend eating them straight from the can on chewy sourdough bread or crispy crackers with mustard and pickled onions, and pickles on the side. They’re also satisfying for breakfast or lunch atop avocado toast. Treat them as you would anchovies: Sizzle in oil with red pepper flakes and garlic, then toss with cooked pasta and tomatoes. Stack the sardines with a crunchy, citrusy slaw on a roll or inside a tortilla.

After you’ve eaten your fill of the fish, don’t let the oil go to waste. Use the oil to sauté aromatics, then shake with mustard and vinegar for a full-flavored, savory vinaigrette, or toss with al dente pasta and top with toasted breadcrumbs.

Find it in stores: Wild Planet Wild Pacific Sardines in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, $9.99 for 6 cans

Have you bought these tinned fish from Costco? What is your favorite way to serve sardines? Tell us your ideas in the comments below.

This post originally ran on Kitchn. See it there: The Wildly Flavorful $10 Costco Find I Use to Make Delicious Last-Minute Meals.