Grocery
The 15 Absolute Best Things to Buy at Costco, According to a Mom
Confessions of a deal-loving hoarder.
According to consumer reports, these are the best things to buy at Costco: perishable foods, store brand deals, warehouse store items, and food court hot dogs. Read on for grocery-store whisperer Katie Workman's complete list.
As a food writer and recipe developer, Iām also by default a professional food shopper. I have all kinds of user-generated algorithms in my mind about where I like to buy certain things, how much I want to spend on them, how much of them I want to keep on hand, and so on. Even though I need to shop continuously for my job, and, like many people, I have a family who needs to be fed, I still get a little adrenaline rush when I food-shop. And thank goodness, because itās a pretty big part of my life.
Iām also a little bit of a hoarder. When I see only four rolls of paper towels in the closet, I start to feel a little frisson of panic. But buying things in bulk has its pros and its cons. The pros include being stocked up for a long time, and usually saving some cash when you compare prices by weight, volume, or unit against smaller packages. The cons are buying too much of something, which can be problematic in terms of storage space (especially for those of us city-dwellers), and also spoilage (it feels so wasteful to throw away half of a 64-ounce container of sour cream just because it was a little cheaper per ounce than the smaller tub).
Few places challenge our abilities to bulk-shop smartly like Costco. The choices range from necessary to enticingly impulse-purchase-y, and the size of the packages is usually large to ginormous. But there are some items I have no qualms about piling high in my cart on repeat. Your list of Costco stocker-uppers will surely vary from mine, but these are the items that I most often load up on.
1. Broth
There are a variety of brands sold at Costco, and a variety of sizes, from big 50-ounce cans to packs of smaller 32-ounce cartons or multipacks of 14.5-ounce cans. The options often include chicken, beef, vegetable, organic, and less-sodium. I use gallons of broth every weekāin soups, stews, sauces, and casseroles. You name it. If itās savory and hot, there might well be broth in it. I like to keep an assortment of sizes of cartons and cans on hand for various recipe needs.
Want to make a rich, semi-homemade chicken stock? While you're there, buy a rotisserie chicken (one of Costcoās most famous products for quality and priceā$4.99!), have it for dinner and use the carcass and some of that store-bought broth to make delicious, mahogany-colored stock. Add ramen (without the seasoning packet) and any leftover shredded meat from the rotisserie chicken to make the worldās easiest chicken noodle soup.
2. Canned Tomatoes
There are often several versions availableāwhole, crushed, diced, paste, and sauce. I buy these in two sizes: the mega cans (6.6 pounds) and the eight-packs of everyday 28-ounce cans. The big cans are for huge batches of pasta sauces, like bolognese or marinara (which I love to freeze), and for when Iām throwing the occasional lasagna party. The smaller sizes are for day-to-day cooking, for recipes like my One-Skillet Cheesy Beef and Macaroni or Fragrant Chicken Tomato Soup. Costco can carry a variety of brands. Last time I got eight 28-ounce cans of Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes for $6.39 (about 80 cents each). Or if you want to splurge on the San Marzano tomatoes, those can be bought for $8.99 for a three pack of 28-ounce cans.
3. Parmesan
If you cook with real Parmesan regularly, then you know that this cheese is a) expensive and b) worth it. But the wedge Parmesan carried by Costco is a mere $10.59 per pound (some versions even less). Plus, it lasts for months when properly stored, and you can grate it freshly as needed. Perfect over salads, pastas, or this simple, four-ingredient creamed kale .
4. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
Costco makes it easy to buy their chicken breasts in bulk because they come in connected, perforated six-packs, each containing about 1.5 pounds of chicken breasts (9 or so pounds total). This allows you to open and use as many sections as you want and leave the rest perfectly sealed. These sealed packages can also go right into the freezer, and are easy to pull out and defrost in the fridge as you need them. They're $2.79 per pound, and also available in organic form for $4.99 per pound. Organic boneless, skinless thighs are $3.99 per pound, packaged in the same way (for some reason the boneless thighs are only available in an organic version).
Whatever the recipeāwhether it's grilled chicken breasts, marinated kebabs, or rolled cutlets, you'll know that you're set because you've got some bulk chicken hanging out in the freezer.
5. Hearts of Palm
This is a weird one, I know, but I love hearts of palm dearlyāand they can be very pricey! Since they come canned or jarred, they last for years. But because I add them to as many salads as I can and eat them by the handful as a snack, I can never have too many jars in stock. (Hearts of palm were also my pregnancy cravingāI ate them every day while I was gestating Charlie.)
6. Peanuts
Okay, well, for those of you without allergies to tree nuts, I guess this would translate to ALL nuts. I'm only able to eat peanuts, though, and my family eats a lot of them. Luckily Costco has quite a number of ways for us to sate my peanut fix in a more economical way: The most important buy is the 48-pack of 1-ounce Planters salted peanut packs. I know you can do even better price-wise when you buy larger containers, but I appreciate the individual packages because they help me keep track of how many peanuts I'm inhaling. They're also terrific protein-filled snacks to keep in my bag when I'm on the go.
I also love the 2 1/2āpound canister of Kirkland Super Extra Large Peanuts, which are impossible to resist at just $6.69ābut you need some serious self-discipline with these in the house, or a lot of peanut loving friends. Or just whip up a batch of cookies.
7. Cooking Spray
Sometimes you can find their house brand of cooking spray, Kirkland, which is very well priced. But even if they're only carrying classic Pam, you're going to save some real cash. Two 12-ounce cans are $6.99 at Costco, compared to about $4 to $5 for a single 8-ounce can at a standard national supermarket. And cooking sprays last forever, both in terms of spoilage and in terms of use. A critical staple to keep on hand for all manner of baking projects.
8. Pure Vanilla Extract
If you're a baker (or you're a reluctant one because your kids go to a bake-sale heavy school), then you'll immediately realize what a great price youāre getting for their big 16-ounce bottle of vanilla extract. $34.99 is a total steal, it lasts for years, and the quality is greatāpure vanilla, not artificially flavored (which is not worth using even if itās free, by the way). Elsewhere, a 1-ounce bottle of a leading national vanilla brand might be closer to $6 or $7, which would translate to almost over $100 if you were to buy the same amount of vanilla, or 16 of those little bottles. Startling, huh? Now you wonāt need to hesitate before baking up a batch of oatmeal or chocolate chunk cookies.
9. Aluminum Foil
I have what can only be termed a deep, meaningful relationship with my oversized role of Kirkland Signature Reynolds Foodservice Foil. 12x1000 feet of aluminum foil may not be what everyone needs in their house, but if you regularly line baking sheets and wrap brownies for freezing (before sliding them into zipper-sealed bags of course), then you can seriously save a large amount of money by purchasing this mega-roll. I buy about one of these a year for $27.99, and that carries me right on through.
10. Prosciutto
While I know that you canāt stock up on prosciutto the way you can on paper towels or aluminum foil, a sealed package will last for four whole months, so you can certainly buy for the future. And it just so happens that my kids' favorite sandwich is prosciutto and mozzarella on a baguette. On my last visit to Costco, a 1-pound sleeve of Citterio prosciutto was priced at $9.99. Suddenly indulgences like prosciutto-wrapped shrimp and this easy party appetizer seem much more accessible.
11. Food Court BBQ Brisket Sandwich
Let's not forget this corner of the warehouse: Don't leave without trying Costco's no. 1 barbecue wonder.
12. $1.50 Hot Dog
Costco sells cheap hot dogsāand they're not half bad. In fact, I kind of love them for their soft bun and hot...dog. (Never underestimate an affordable lunch.)
13. Pizza
Okay, okay. Let's talk about Costco pizza. Wonāt you feel like a smarty-pants when you sail from the checkout line to the food court to pick up your hot and waiting pizza? Then either sit with the fam and dig in, or bring it home to the waiting, cheering crowd. Mom of the Year goes to...
14. Lobster Tails
You can get a five-pound box of frozen lobster tails at Costco. Sure, maybe this one isn't technically budget-friendly. But should you be on the market for some lobster, this is a significant VGD (very good deal) for the otherwise pricey "other white meat."
15. Dishwasher Pods
Curve ball! If you're shopping at Costco, then you might as well stock up on home essentials, too, right? I love that I can get a huge container of Cascade dishwasher pods onceāand never have to worry about them again for weeks.
More from Food52
- Our 52 Most Popular Products of All TimeĀ
- Why We Love the Dansk PitcherĀ
- Our 5 Best Skewer RecipesĀ
- 13 Essentials for Setting a Farmhouse-Inspired Table
Written by: Katie Workman
Popular on Food52
99 Comments
Does anyone know what happened to the Tira Misu? They changed brands. The old one was to die for. The new brand isnāt.
Favorite regular purchases are the two-packs of whole chickens, the giant, resealable(!) bags of frozen veggies for steaming on a week night when you just want a low-effort dinner, the 3-packs of sliced turkey that comes in a Tupperware thatās great for pantry storage or sending people home with leftovers, two-packs of Kirklandās organic peanut butter, 6-packs of unsweetened almond milk, the organic Garo Falo brand pasta, Spanish Queen olives, Better Than Bouillon, and basically all the produce.
Latest winner Iāve tried is the organic heirloom bean blend in a 5.5 lb bag. Really pretty and high quality dry beans.
One thing I wish they had was bay leaves. I love soups and stews and go through bay leaves quickly!
I don't recommend keeping cheese in the frige past their Best Before date if they are N.American made - the manufacturing process seems to be different.
European-made hard cheeses can be kept refrigerated long after their best before dates. (Months. I forgot an unopened piece of Parmesan and it was lovely six months after the BB date.)
Refrigeration does not change the nature & flavour of the cheese as freezing does.
I always have several kinds of cheese on hand (pecorino, parmesan, gruyere, british cheddar) and the European-ones actually improve.
That said, Costco cheese quality seems to be going downhill and their cheese quality is sliding. Some European cheeses, esp. the 'coastal' brand british cheddar, can't be kept like a traditional cheese anymore. (Its texture & flavour have both declined.)
Do you know if this is something they always carry? Or is it seasonal only in certain stores?
Join The Conversation