As a single guy, I don’t buy nearly enough of the best canned food at Costco. Truthfully, I usually just grab a rotisserie chicken and maybe some frozen foods for myself with the occasional sweet treat that I can share with friends when I get sick of eating 30 servings (and a hot dog combo on the way out, of course). If I buy too much of anything else, I run the risk of watching it expire before I can eat it all. But not canned foods! Those are made to last for years! I can fill up what precious pantry space I have in my tiny Los Angeles apartment and eat it slowly over time or use it to fill up my earthquake kit. It’s foolproof. Whether you’re cooking for one like me or you have a house full of people to feed, these cans should be on your list of what to buy at Costco.
- Spam Classic
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I do need to make clear that what I’m recommending here is the OG Spam, the classic contender, the true form, because Costco does also sell Spam with less sodium. My doctor has yet to tell me that I need to watch my sodium intake (I’m sure it’ll come one day), so in the meantime I’m going to live it up with the salty Spam. Because that’s what Spam is about! Salty, salty pork that’s molded into a rectangle so you can cube it up and add it to anything from fried rice to omelets. And if you do add this to your grocery list of canned food at Costco, tell them Vinz from Minnesota sent you, because as a Minnesotan I do get a little kickback. (Legally, I have to admit that this was a joke! I recommend Spam only out of pure love.)
Read our ranking of the best canned ham and luncheon meat
- Kirkland Signature Organic Tomato Paste
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Okay, this one is weird but it has a purpose! I grew up in a Sam’s Club family and converted to Costco later in life (not that late, I’m still sort of young). The one thing my Sam’s Club-loving mother asked from me when she found out I got a Costco membership is that we visit so she could buy tomato paste. Sam’s Club never had any in stock! But of course Costco has it by the pallet. Suck it, Sam’s Club! We’re stocking up on the best canned food at Costco.
Read our ranking of the best tomato paste
- Campbell’s Simply Chicken Noodle Soup
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Admittedly, the canned food at Costco leaves a lot to be desired if you want to eat something straight out of the can. Not that you can’t eat Spam without any prep, but it’s still an ingredient, not a meal. Sometimes, you just want canned food that’s a meal unto itself. Mercifully, Costco does have a pack of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup that you can grab when you’re looking for simple meals you can just heat and eat. Sure, it’s no Rao’s chicken noodle soup, but it’ll do the trick in a pinch!
Read our ranking of the best chicken noodle soup
- Bush’s Original Baked Beans
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In the past, I’ve spotted seven-pound cans of Bush’s baked beans at Costco. I think I could maybe put away one solid pound of beans on my own, but what am I supposed to do with the remaining six pounds before they go bad. Thankfully, Costco came to their senses and started stocking a more reasonable option, a multipack with eight regular sized cans. Thank the Costco lord! I did see other beans in stock at Costco—pinto beans, black beans, garbanzo beans), but when it comes to the best canned food at Costco, I’m going with baked beans.
- Del Monte Golden Sweet Whole Kernel Corn
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Surprisingly, Costco doesn’t stock a whole lot of canned veggies. You can either get a multipack of canned beets (umm, pass), a multipack of canned green beans (ehhh, closer), or 12 cans of sweet, tasty-looking canned corn. The Sporked crew’s favorite canned corn, to be exact! Ding, ding, ding—we have a winner! The best canned food at Costco shouldn’t be a slog to get through, and corn is always a good idea.
Read our ranking of the best canned corn
- Genova Yellowfin Tuna
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It felt imperative to include some tinned fish on our list of the best canned food at Costco. The thing is, Costco didn’t make it easy to pick one out. I don’t have any experience with buying fish from Costco, so what do I do when I need help picking out something at the grocery store? I reference Sporked—duh! If you check out Sporked’s rankings of the best canned salmon, tuna, and sardines, you won’t find many of their recs on the shelves at Costco, but I almost found one match. Genova’s premium yellowfin tuna made Sporked’s list of the best canned tuna, so we’ll just put faith in Genova and try out their non premium tuna.
Read our ranking of the best tinned fish and seafood
- Readywise 150 Serving Emergency Food Bucket
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Obviously this is not a canned food, but it has “big canned food energy,” so I’m having a little fun with it. I’ve felt two huge earthquakes in the last month, so I’ve got emergency prep on the brain. Have some peace of mind about any impending natural disasters by picking up this all in one bucket to have in the closet. And if you find yourself still with it when the expiration date approaches, that just makes for a few weeks of easy meal prep!
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!