I have two shoppings lists. One for the normal grocery store and one for Costco. The items on my Costco shopping list are foods that are such a better deal it’s worth the trip to a separate store. Here are my 5 Costco must haves plus a few recipes that I like to make with those ingredients.
My 5 Costco Must Haves
Spinach
There is not better deal on a huge bag of spinach than at Costco. It has 2 ½ pounds of fresh spinach that is washed and ready to go. The price at my Costco is $4.99.
I like to use some of the fresh spinach and then freeze the rest. Mostly because I can’t get through the whole bag before it goes bad. I just throw the bag directly into my freezer. I use the spinach for smoothies and also in soups and other Instant Pot/crockpot recipes.
Use your spinach in these awesome recipes:
Creamy Tomato Spinach Chicken in the Instant Pot or the Crockpot
Tuscan Chicken Pasta in the Instant Pot
Spinach Artichoke Mac and Cheese in the Instant Pot
Parmesan cheese
This huge bag of parmesan cheese cost me $11.69 at Costco. It has 3 pounds of parmesan cheese in it, shredded and ready to go for all your recipes. That’s a steal of a deal. I throw this bag into my freezer and then just chunk off the amount I need when using it for cooking.
I like to use this parmesan cheese in so many of my recipes. Here are a few that you might want to add to your menu this week!
Garlic Parmesan Sausage Chowder in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker
Alfredo Sausage Pasta in the Instant Pot
Garlic Rice and Chicken in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker
Frozen chicken thighs
I love using frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs in the Instant Pot and slow cooker. They turn out so moist and tender. The bag at Costco is around $2.00 per pound of chicken. At normal grocery stores finding boneless skinless chicken thighs has been hit or miss for me. I can always count on Costco though.
They are individually frozen so it makes it easy to grab just 2 or 3 thighs at a time. If you haven’t tried chicken thighs I think you should get them a shot!
Here are just a few of the recipes I use with chicken thighs:
Cashew Chicken in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker
Teriyaki Chicken in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker
Garlic Mushroom Chicken in the Instant Pot
Bacon Crumbles
I love the flavor that bacon gives my recipes but I don’t like cooking bacon. It smells up my kitchen and just adds an extra step. The bacon bits from Costco are the best.
The bacon comes in a big bag that you refrigerate after opening. There are 1.25 pounds of bacon and it costs me $9.89.
Here are some of my favorite ways to use bacon crumbles:
Garlic Parmesan Bacon Chicken in the Instant Pot
Chicken Bacon Chowder in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta in the Instant Pot
Garlic powder
I buy both garlic powder and minced garlic in a jar at Costco. Garlic is just one of those ingredients that I use ALL THE TIME! This granulated garlic has a ton and lasts me like 6-12 months. It cost me around $7.
Here are some recipes that use garlic:
Down Home Chili in the Instant Pot/Crockpot
Cabbage Roll Casserole in the Instant Pot
Tortilla Soup in the Instant Pot or slow cooker
Honorable Mentions:
Some other items that I love buying at Costco are fresh tortellini, jars of pesto, blocks of cheddar, sour cream, butter and pitas.
What did I miss that you love buying at Costco?
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Thanks so much for the tip about the spinach. I don’t know why I never thought of it!!
Boursin, mini cucumbers, mini tomatoes and bell peppers are standard staples that stay on my Costco list.
I haven’t seen the individual frozen thighs here in Quebec. I buy the fresh thighs and then divide them up in freezer bags.
Glad it was helpful to you!
Come on people! Alcohol!! 🙂 vodka, whiskey, bourbon, rum, and wine!!
Lol, I don’t drink
The chicken in the vac-pac’s, especially the thighs, is our fav buy at Costco even though it’s now just the 2 of us and the sealed pacs of rotisserie chicken meat is so useful for the casseroles/salads we love.
Our newest find is the garlic and jalapeño stuffed giant olives which I used in place of pepperoncini’s in a Mississippi style pot roast, less heat and more flavor IMHO.
Though we live in WI we’re not cheese superfans but the idea of freezing a bag of shredded parm and breaking off a piece sounds like a good idea in a pinch.
Sure do wish I had some of these options when our 4 kids were still home!
Just way too many good things to mention here
Yes those vac pac’s are awesome! And your other ideas are great too!
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing. Now I will use them for something other than martinis and to put on the cauliflower crust Costco pizza (YUM)
oh just love this idea thank you <3
Costco is my go to place for paper towels, TP, shredded Mexican cheese, cases of petite tomatoes, olive oil, chicken thighs. So many things I buy there. I buy big jars of coarse ground pepper. There’s just the 2 of us and I stock my pantry and fridge with whatever can last for a long time because the supermarkets are so expensive. I have both chicken and beef Better than Bullion and they are the best. I didn’t know I could freeze the spinach. Been buying at grocery store in smaller bags at a substantial cost because the big bag will go bad on me. I love spinach and sometimes just make it as the vegetable – rinse, throw in pot on stove with a little red pepper flakes and olive oil. Let it get soft and eat away. Delish like that 🙂 The water from the rinsing is quite enough.
Oh yeah, I forgot about the better than bouillon! I use that stuff all the time in my IP.
If you ask in the bakery they have par-baked Baguettes frozen that you can bake at home. So good!
Oh, that’s good to know. Also for those of you who use a lot of ground beef…. ask at the butcher window for a 10lb chub. They don’t put that out but will make one for you. Then when you get home you can break it up into smaller amounts and freeze. I find after putting it in storage bags, pounding it rather flat uses up so much less freezer space.
Yum Yum Yum! Perfect with IP soup.
Love, love, love Costco. I buy a couple rotisserie chickens at a time, shred and freeze 2-4 cups per bag. Their chickens are wonderful – huge and juicy. 2 chickens provide ~ 8 cups meat. (Compared to the puny ole dried up ones in the grocery store.) – We also buy large bags of frozen wild blueberries, jarred pesto, minced/dried and powdered garlic, frozen chicken thighs. Kirkland has a wide variety of products that we have grown to rely on…….and they are as good or better (and less expensive) than the store. These include frozen hot dogs, bacon, cheeses (parmesan-reggiano & Romano). They also carry Tillamook cheddar cheese which is really good. I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things………………lol
I agree with all of your ideas!!
Thanks for sharing the Parmesan idea. I’ve never bought it there but spend at least 1/2 that for a 10 ounce freshly shredded bag locally. I’m also partial to the Frozen Stir Fry veggies they sell, and you can’t beat their Rotisserie Chicken for $4.99!
Yes that rotisserie chicken is the best! And the parmesan is so much cheaper in bulk at Costco!
The jars of Better than Bullion are much bigger than in the store & are only $5.99. And we all use a lot of billion in instant pot cooking!
Yes totally! I forgot but I should have included this in my roundup!
Costco pecans, walnuts, almonds and “Power (something) trail mix” mixed after the nuts are toasted are our favorite snack.
Yum sounds great. I will have to try soon.
While I think Costco has some great buys, I don’t think anyone should ever, ever use pre shredded parm. It is simply not the same as using freshly grated parm. Once it is grated it loses its flavour and becomes drier. You gain nothing by using this product . It’s takes mere minutes to grate your own.
I buy big bags (3 or 4 lb., I forget which size) of frozen wild blueberries, 24 oz. cartons of feta crumbles (only slightly more than I pay for a 4 oz. pkg. at my grocery), big blocks of Parmesan Reggiano so I can shred my own and also have rind for using in soups, 6 pack cartons of organic chicken stock, And coffee beans — many varieties and a super bargain.
The feta cannot be beat! I wish it went on sale a little more often, but totally worth the full price! Canned organic diced tomatoes and tomato sauce are also a couple of my staples!
Oh yes the feta! Good call.
Love all these tips!
I always save some of your IP recipes, but wow you outdid yourself this time. I think I saved all but 1!!!!!
ha ha Darlene! Glad you like them 🙂
I buy big bags of walnuts, dried cranberries, oats, boneless/skinless chicken breasts, mixed vegetables, shredded cheddar cheese, and big boxes of salmon, cod, and flounder at Costco.
On my next visit I’ll grab a bag of Spinach, Parmesan cheese and bacon bits
Forgot to say that I’ve saved quite a few of these recipes for both the Instant Pot & the Slow Cooker. They sounds so good!
The dried cranberries are a steal.