Costco Is Selling Tonkotsu Broth Now and People Are Freaking Out For It

Ramen might be one of the most celebrated convenience foods, but authentic tonkotsu ramen isn’t quite so easy to make. If your local ramen spot is doing things right, they’re boiling pork bones for 12 to 18 hours to get that creamy, fatty consistency that makes the milky broth totally irresistible. If you simply don’t have the time, energy, or stomach to make carefully crafted bone broth at home, Costco is here to help.

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The warehouse store’s Kirkland Signature brand just released its own tonkotsu ramen broth and people can’t get enough of it. I’m an avid Reddit reader and I haven’t seen people this excited about a product in a while.

What are people saying about Costco tonkotsu ramen broth?

One OP said they were “quite impressed” with Kirkland Signature Tonkotsu Ramen Broth, adding that it’s “better than most ramen spots in my state” (no word on which state they’re from, but still, a good endorsement). They cooked it up with sōmen noodles (kinda like Japanese spaghetti) and lots of green onion, but commenters had plenty of other ideas. One user suggested the following recipe: “1 cup tonkatsu broth, 1 cup chicken broth, finely cut green onions, couple of bok choy, white pepper, and boil frozen wontons.” Yum. Another suggested using the broth to make congee, the Chinese rice porridge that, like ramen, can be fixed up with all sorts of toppings.

One sticking point: This new Costco tonkotsu broth contains a lot of sodium. Like, three times as much as Costco’s regular chicken stock—1460mg per 1 cup serving versus 440mg in the chicken stock. Suffice it to say, if you’re on a low sodium diet, this should skip this one.

So what else can you do with this broth? Really, the world is your oyster. You can go full ramen shop by adding in a few pork fat cutlets, a soft-boiled egg, and some greens. Or you can make it a little lighter by just tossing in some sliced green onions and chopped bok choy. Either way, you get the added bonus of a house that smells like ramen broth that’s been simmering on the stove for hours.

How much does it cost…and how much do I have to buy at once?

At my local Costco, you can get a 4-pack of 1-quart (32oz) containers for $18.99, so that’s around $4.75 a container. That might sound pricey, but consider how much a single bowl of tonkotsu ramen costs out in the world.

The key takeaway here is that regardless of how you choose to consume it, Costco’s tonkotsu ramen broth is going to be good. Make a batch of rice, chef it into a Michelin worthy ramen, or maybe just drink it on its own. I haven’t seen anyone try that last one yet, but let me know if you give it a shot.