Don’t Overlook These 5 Seemingly Boring Costco Items: You’ll Regret It

Every trip to Costco comes with new wonders, whether that’s strange items like live animals (yes, really) or supersized barrels of maple syrup. But hiding on store shelves in between eye-catching snacks and surprising seasonal additions, there are also plenty of kinda boring basics like seasonings, dried ingredients, and various cuts of meat.

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The next time you’re loading up your extra-large Costco shopping cart, make sure you keep your eyes peeled for these seemingly boring items. They may not be as much fun as a pack of egg-flavored seaweed crisps, but they’ll wow you with their price, quality, and flavor.

Salt

Salt is perhaps the most boring grocery staple to ever exist, so I don’t blame you if you breeze right by the bulk-sized seasonings while shopping at Costco. But trust me on this one: You need to pay more attention to Costco’s salt selection.

Costco sells some seriously great salt, particularly if you’re in the market for sea salt. You can pick up 30 ounces in a convenient, ready-to-sprinkle bottle for just $4 — a steal considering it’s finely-ground and easy to finish off French fries, sauces, and anything else you’re whipping up at home. It’s boring, yes, but the quality will impress you at this price point.

Coffee in Every Form: Beans, Ground, and K-Cups

There’s an awful lot of coffee at Costco, and while you probably grab the same bag of ground coffee or a giant box of your usual K-Cups and move on, I urge you to spend a little more time checking out all that’s available. Not only are excellent coffee varieties available, but they’re also all lower in price than what you’d pick up from a local coffee shop or other big-box retailers.

Across the board, Costco’s selection of whole bean and ground coffee choices are reasonably priced. If you’re able to move through a bulk-sized bag of either one before the coffee itself goes stale (or can store them in airtight containers to preserve them), you can pick up some quality options in dark, medium, or light roast or even flavored variations if you’re opting for ground.

And if you prefer K-cups, there’s even better news. There’s not only a wealth of variety, but also supersized boxes so you can stock up on your favorite flavors. Typically, you can pick up more than 100 K-cups (Costco usually sells 120 packs) for under $45. And that’s a stellar deal for your money, especially when the coffee actually tastes good, not bitter.

Cheese

I’ve raved about the cheese selection at Costco before, and I don’t care how boring it is — I’m going to do it again. Cheese may not be the most exciting thing unless it’s your favorite food group (it certainly is mine), but at Costco, the selection is almost endless. There’s a big block of cheddar, Brie, gouda, havarti, or any other variety you’re dreaming of, including massive Parmesan wheels, waiting for you at a cheaper price than the grocery store.

Costco always has some delicious choices here no matter how your tastes lean. One of my go-tos is the two-pack of goat cheese logs, which offer serious bang for your buck. You don’t have to reserve any of the fancy cheeses you pick up at Costco for guests; I love to take the goat cheese and use it on salads, stuffed peppers, or even pasta dishes.

Sparkling Water

Sparkling water is the new soda for many, but like sipping soda or other drinks, it can come with a price. If you’ve been paying over $4 for an eight-pack of La Croix, Bubly, or Waterloo (or whatever your go-to brand is), you need to stop skipping Costco’s water selection. Sure, it’s one of the store’s most boring aisles, but it’ll save you money on both brand names and Kirkland Signature dupes that are excellent.

Kirkland-brand sparkling water is sold in bulk-sized variety packs with staple flavors like lime, grapefruit, and lemon (sound similar, La Croix and Bubly fans?). There are no artificial sweeteners in the mix here, either, and the flavors taste like dupes of the name brands you already drink. Plus, you’ll get 35 cans for just $15.

Prefer sparkling mineral water? There’s a Kirkland Signature swap for that, too, and it’s fantastic. You can get a whole case for $19, and this Italian Sparkling Mineral Water tastes just like San Pellegrino’s version, if that’s your go-to.

Bacon

It’s a grocery staple, but it’s also pretty boring because there’s not a whole lot you can (or really should) do to fancy it up. Yep, I’m talking about bacon. Costco’s thick-cut bacon is excellent in quality, flavor, and fat-to-meat ratio. Each package offers enough for a large family (or multiple rounds of breakfast if you’re eating solo or in a smaller group), too. 

I do have one gripe about Costco’s bacon: It used to come in a three-pack, not a two-pack. However, this is the kind of shrinkflation I don’t mind, since I always had to freeze two of the packs anyways. Once you try this stellar and reasonably-priced bacon, you’ll find it near impossible to go back to the grocery store variety.