The 10 Absolute Best Costco Food Bargains

When you want to save money, Costco is the place to go. The retailer focuses on offering bulk items at lower costs per ounce or unit, thus saving you considerable money in the long run. However, not every item is cheaper at Costco or presents a fantastic deal. To save the most money, you need to know which items are the absolute best Costco food bargains.

Of course, determining the best bargains takes a lot of time, effort, and research — and maybe you don't have that much time, or you just don't want to do it. If that's the case, you've come to the right place.

After extensively comparing common food items at my local Shoprite and Walmart, both in Vineland, New Jersey, to those at my local Costco in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, I found nine things you'll want to stock up on and one you'll want to get every time you visit the wholesale retailer. Keep in mind that prices can vary slightly from one location to the next, however. Ready to discover what those are? Here are the 10 absolute best Costco food bargains.

At my local Shoprite, a bag of frozen berry blend will run you about 38 cents an ounce. You can expect to pay 22 cents an ounce for a similar product at my local Walmart in Vineland, New Jersey. However, a similar frozen berry blend costs only 21 cents an ounce at Costco — you just have to buy a 4-pound bag. Thankfully, there's plenty of ways to use up all those berries.

A popular and delicious way to use your Costco berry bargain is by making healthy smoothie recipes. Mix the berries with water, ice, milk, or fruit juice for a nice pick-me-up at any time of the day. Or, add them to your protein shakes for a boost of antioxidants. I recommend against storing your frozen berry blend in the original container. Instead, prevent freezer burn by vacuum sealing them in smaller, half-pound bags. Not only will this keep the berries tasting delicious longer, but it'll also make them easier to store in your freezer.

Need a quick fix for supper? Costco's rotisserie chicken is always a great bargain. At my local Shoprite, a rotisserie chicken costs $9.07, but you can get the exact same thing at Walmart for $5.97. Looking for an even better deal? Grab one at Costco for only $4.99 — you can almost get two chickens for the price of one at the wholesale retailer!

Rotisserie chickens are one thing you don't have to buy in bulk at Costco, but it's not a bad idea to get two or even three of these when you do your grocery shopping. You can eat one that night and shred the rest to use in other recipes. Use the shredded chicken in chicken salad sandwiches, soup, stir fry, or stew for the following night and make supper simpler two days in a row. If you choose to go this route, make sure you shred your chicken as soon as you get home, store it in airtight containers, and immediately placing it in the fridge to prevent spoilage or foodborne illnesses.

The Kirkland Signature Maple Syrup is significantly cheaper than Shoprite's store brand option (by about $3 per jug), while offering almost two ounces more. More product for less money? Sign me up! Even when you compare Costco's store brand maple syrup to Walmart's, you spend pennies more for almost two additional ounces, which is still a significantly better deal. 

There's plenty of unique ways to use maple syrup beyond waffles, pancakes, and French toast, too. You can use a little to sweeten your coffee, or mix some in with those frozen berries for a delicious smoothie with mild sweetness. Use it in your baking, or even drizzle a little on your meats while grilling or baking to add a lightly sweet flavor profile. I suggest storing in your refrigerator because the jug of maple syrup at Costco is so large. This will help keep the syrup tasting fresh longer and also keep any potential bugs (like ants) at bay. You don't want to attract bugs with a sticky syrup container!

You can find the exact same brand of high-quality extra virgin olive oil at Shoprite for 58 cents an ounce and at Walmart for 41 cents an ounce. While these aren't terrible prices, they pale in comparison to the bargain you can expect to find at Costco, which is only 26 cents an ounce. It's literally the same thing for around half the price. Plus, the Costco option here isn't so ridiculously big you won't be able to handle the squirt bottle — it's only larger by a little more than eight ounces.

If you regularly cook with olive oil, you'll use up your bulk purchase in no time. But, if you don't already use it for your frying, marinating, and more, now is a great time to start doing so. If you want more control than the squirt bottle offers, you can even place a little in a refillable spray container instead. Store your olive oil in a cool, dry, dark place to ensure it stays fresh and doesn't acquire any weird smells or tastes from smoke or other contaminants. 

You can get name-brand cheese sticks at Costco for just 24 cents a stick, while the store-brand option at Shoprite will run you 38 cents a stick and Walmart's Great Value brand will run 27 cents a stick. Choosing the higher-quality, cheaper option is an obvious food bargain that you won't want to miss. However, to receive this bargain at Costco, you have to purchase 60 cheese sticks at once. Since this is a lot for most families, consider freezing them to make them last longer. Pull a few out at a time and allow them to slowly defrost in your refrigerator.

String cheese is an excellent lunch-box item for adults and kids alike, offering a little bit of extra protein, vitamin D, and calcium to get you through your day. Keeping them on hand for snacks at home is also an excellent idea. However, these are far from the only ways you can use string cheese. Consider breading and deep frying them to serve as an appetizer, snack, or meal side. Chop them into little pieces to add to a hoagie salad, or use them to level up a healthy tuna salad.

Costco offers a 25-pound bag of flour for only two cents an ounce, while a similar flour will run you six cents an ounce at either Shoprite or Walmart. This is literally only a third of the cost, making this a huge bargain — especially if your household uses a lot of flour. Just keep in mind that with so much flour, you run the risk of bugs infesting it as it sits over time. To prevent this, divide the flour and place into airtight containers.

With that much flour, you could start baking your own bread at home. Or, make homemade pancakes, waffles, and muffins. Use your flour as a batter for breaded pork chops or chicken fried steak. One fun idea is to create your own "just add water" mixes at home — and you can even get your youngest family members involved in the fun. Just remember to add labels so you remember what each jar or bag is!

While you're stocking up on flour, you might as well stock up on sugar, too. At Costco, you can get a 25-pound bag of sugar that comes out to about five cents an ounce. Meanwhile, a similar item will run you around nine cents an ounce at Shoprite or seven cents an ounce at Walmart.

If you're worried that you won't use that much sugar, don't be. Sugar can be used for more than Southern sweet tea and coffee. Use a few tablespoons of sugar in your tomato sauce to reduce the acidity. All sorts of baking also uses sugar — make chocolate chip cookies, butter cake, or lemon loaves with all that extra sweetener. Like many other items on this list, I strongly advise against storing it in the original package. Instead, divide it up into airtight containers or vacuum-seal bags. Then, store either in your pantry (away from direct sunlight) or in your refrigerator. 

Love Nutella? Then you'll love this Costco food bargain. Buy in bulk and spend only 28 cents an ounce at Costco, versus spending 37 cents an ounce on Nutella at Shoprite or 34 cents an ounce at Walmart. And, the best part about this deal is that you don't get so much in bulk that it's overwhelming — just two containers instead of one! Thanks to the way this is packaged, you don't really need to worry about special storage solutions. Just store in your pantry like you would peanut butter.

Nutella is as versatile as peanut butter, so if you haven't tried experimenting with it yet, now is a great time to do it. In fact, I've found great success replacing peanut butter with Nutella in recipes ranging from cookies to milkshakes. Consider taking a bit of this hazelnut spread and smearing it on your pancakes or waffles. It's also fantastic with a bit of jelly or butter in a sandwich.

Costco offers a 16-ounce container of pure vanilla extract that doesn't just come in bulk, but also comes at a deal so good it's practically a steal. Here, you'll pay just 74 cents an ounce for pure vanilla extract, while the same product runs $1.98 an ounce at Shoprite and an incredible $3.48 an ounce at Walmart. Keep in mind that this isn't imitation vanilla extract, which may be cheaper at any of the three stores, but the good stuff containing only vanilla beans and alcohol.  

Since it has such a high alcohol content, pure vanilla extract will stay good in its original container for quite some time, meaning you don't really need to transfer it to anything else for long-term storage. Use vanilla extract to enhance the flavor profile of your baked goods or smoothies. Just remember that this product has an intense flavor profile, so a little goes a very long way.

Costco's food court hot dog is, without a doubt, one of the very best bargains you'll find at the wholesale retailer. However, it's hard to make a direct comparison with other stores because they don't have food courts — but the inclusion of one is enough to tempt hungry shoppers into the store, anyways. After all, it's exhausting shopping for one, two, three, or even four weeks of groceries in one go. 

While it's hard to make a direct comparison, Costco's hot dog comes in a combo with a soda for just $1.50. That price hasn't changed since 1984 and is drastically outdated (but in a good way). In fact, if this meal price had been adjusted for inflation, it would cost $4.76 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI Inflation Calculator. That's more than three times what Costco is actually charging, and that's enough proof of what a deal it is for us.