25 Best Costco Groceries of 2023 – What to Buy at Costco

Then several years ago we spotted a pair of familiar jars at Costco (in a slightly larger size, of course). By shopping at Costco I can get two jars for the same price that I’d seen for a single jar at my neighborhood grocer. Needless to say, I haven’t been without the sauce since.

I buy all of my staple ingredients at Costco — including pasta. The Garofalo Organic Pasta Variety Pack is the best pasta you can buy at the warehouse. There are two bags each of Casarecce, Penne Ziti Rigate, and Gemelli, and each pack contains slightly more pasta than you would get at your local grocer (17.6 ounces versus 16 ounces). The pasta is imported from Italy and made of 100% durum wheat semolina flour, giving it the texture and chew I’m looking for when making eggplant Parm pesto, smoky mozzarella pasta and meatball bake, or Philly cheesesteak pasta skillet.

Chef, author, and Netflix star Samin Nosrat shocked us all when she revealed how much she loves the Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Costco. Not only is this an affordable option for high-quality imported olive oil, but it also tastes great. The flavor is buttery and slightly green, making it a good choice for salad dressings, marinades, and everyday cooking. 

If you look forward to the release of Bonne Maman’s Advent Calendar all year long, this Costco pick is for you. Bonne Maman’s Four Fruits Preserves are made from cherries, red currants, raspberries, and strawberries. Because this is Costco, the ruby-red preserves are packaged with the signature checkered lid in an extra-large jar. That means there are enough preserves for your morning slice of toast, easy appetizers, and fruit-filled cookies.

The price and quality of vanilla extracts can vary widely, so it is difficult to know which bottle to buy. Costco’s Pure Vanilla Extract won our taste test for best budget vanilla extract. With a rich caramel and floral aromas, this vanilla extract is an excellent choice for everyday baking. I recommend buying a bottle to have on hand for vanilla wafers, blueberry buckle, or Hawaiian butter mochi.

I taste tested every cereal Costco carries, and Morning Summit is the one I want to wake up to. The cereal is the most delightful marriage of hearty flake cereal and satisfying granola with whole almonds, dried cherries and cranberries, pumpkin seeds, granola clusters, and crunchy flakes.

Believe the Redditors when they say that Costco sells the best caramel candy. These two-bite buttery caramels are covered in dark chocolate with a touch of crunchy sea salt. While they make the perfect holiday gift and Valentine’s treat, you don’t have to wait for a special occasion because Costco carries these caramels all year long.

These bite-sized bagel chips are seasoned with everything bagel seasoning, and will completely replace your standard snacking cracker. Eat them straight from the package, serve with mild creamy cheeses, or use them as a topping for soups and salads.

This is the cheesecake that fooled a group of our taste testers into thinking it was homemade. Costco’s bakery makes the most luxuriously creamy cheesecake with a sour cream topping, all baked in a perfectly crisp graham cracker crust. While it does weigh in at a whopping four and a half pounds, it’s perfect for parties and also freezes well.

Costco’s frozen fruit section is filled with variety, and the best bag of the bunch is the three-berry blend. This mixture of frozen blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries never lasts long in my freezer (despite its hefty size) because I reach for it all day long. The trio of sweet fruits is perfect for smoothies and sangria, trifles and tarts, and more.

If you’re looking for a match to the meatballs your grandma used to make, try Kirkland Signature’s frozen Italian-style meatballs. These well-seasoned have a texture close to homemade, and are one of the best dinner shortcuts money can buy. Use them in quick meatball subs, serve over spaghetti, and or bake on a sheet pan with gnocchi and giardiniera.

Every other butter pales in comparison to Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter (literally). This butter has a golden hue and rich, buttery flavor. I can’t imagine serving a basket of biscuits without a stick on the table. Costco carries both the unsalted and salted versions of this butter, and because the price at Costco is much lower than at my neighborhood grocery store ($0.67 per ounce at my local store, versus just $0.45 at Costco), I make sure to pick up a package whenever I’m shopping.

The price of eggs has been headline news this year. While that may have meant fewer frittatas in 2023 for some, I’ve been able to keep on cracking, thanks to Costco. Every week or two my family of four stocks up on organic, cage-free large eggs at Costco (although the warehouse also stocks conventional options as well).

True to Costco’s M.O., it sells these eggs in cartons of two-dozen eggs, so while the $7.89 price tag may seem high at first glance, these eggs are $3.95 per dozen. And it’s not just at my local warehouse; we recently compared the price of eggs at Aldi, Costco, and Trader Joe’s and Costco came out as the most affordable option.

Buying a two-pound block of cheddar cheese from Costco saves money and delivers even more delicious dinners. Use the shredding blade of your food processor to shred a portion of the block so you can make grilled cheese, quesadillas, and casseroles at a moment’s notice. Save the rest of the cheddar for slicing and snacking.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are the backbone of so many weeknight meals. So while fresh chicken might not be stored in my pantry, I still consider it a staple ingredient ideal for buying in bulk. Costco’s chicken breasts are sold in pre-portioned saddle-packs that make it easy to freeze and thaw smaller portions without the messy work of weighing and packaging each individual breast.

Costco also sells a variety of budget-friendly chicken options: its famous rotisserie chicken and organic or conventional chicken thighs, chicken wings, and whole chickens. There’s an option for everyone. 

We tested dozens of brands of dish soap and Dawn came out on top. Costco sells Dawn Platinum dish soap, which is even better than the original for cleaning greasy dishes and cookware with stubbornly stuck-on food. Plus, Dawn’s uses go beyond the sink. You can use the long-lasting suds to clean grill grates, make your tires shine, and even keep pests out of the garden.

As the mom of two kids, I know that there are no better baby wipes than Kirkland Signature. These hypoallergenic and fragrance-free wipes are soft and gentle on the skin, yet strong enough that they won’t tear. While my little ones are way past the baby stage, I still stock up on these wipes for everyday use. Keep a pack of wipes in the car to clean sticky fingers and in the bathroom as an easy make-up remover. They’re also great for dusting houseplants and cleaning baseboards.

Did your Costco staples make the list? Sound off in the comments below.