Close Menu
    Money

    I Exclusively Buy My Groceries at Costco; Staples I Always Look for

    Press RoomBy No Comments7 Mins Read

    • My family only buys groceries from Costco — we’ve shopped there once or twice a week for 10 years.
    • We always buy Sara Lee bread, frozen fruit, ice cream bars, and Taylor Farms salad kits.
    • We’ll drive to another location to buy our favorite Vietnamese coffee concentrate.

    I fell in love with my husband because of his Costco executive membership. Come on — how many 21-year-old guys have four Costco beverage options and at least two Costco snacks in the back of their Corolla?

    Jokes aside, we both hate cooking, love a good deal, and have managed to spend the last decade subsisting entirely off of Costco’s groceries. We still have an executive membership today, and we shop at least once a week, usually twice.

    Now, 10 years after we first started dating, we even have a kid who sits in the cart and grins at everyone like Costco is his own personal parade. We buy all our groceries here and have our shopping routine down to a science.

    Not only do we have a specific walking path through the store, but we keep strict rules about when we can or cannot buy something based on whether it’s been marked down to that sweet, sweet clearance price.

    Some of our staples have been on the shelves for years. Still, every now and then, a new favorite enters our lives.

    These are the 10 products we always keep in our pantry, fridge, and freezer.

    We’ll drive to the second-closest Costco location to stock up on Lee’s Vietnamese coffee concentrate.


    Lee's Vietnamese coffee concentrate from Costco.

    I used to spend an hour driving to another Costco location to stock up on my favorite coffee concentrate.


    Allison Lau

    Coffee is the life force of our household. My husband and I go through so much of it that we’re probably more caffeine than human at this point.

    With our voracious need for fuel, we’ve perfected our at-home coffee order. The star ingredient? Lee’s Vietnamese coffee concentrate, which is the perfect blend of coffee divinity and sweetness.

    Typically, we’ll mix a splash of it with Kirkland Signature Colombian Supremo beans and Silk almond milk.

    Lee’s is a newer addition to our local Costco stores. We used to drive over an hour just to buy Lee’s in bulk, and even now, we have to go to the second-closest location to us — but it’s worth it.

    We get a lot of mileage out of Kirkland Signature Greek yogurt.


    Costco's Kirkland Greek yogurt.

    Costco’s nonfat Greek yogurt is a staple ingredient we always keep in our fridge.


    Allison Lau

    In our family, we prioritize easy, fast, and simple. Fruit smoothies and DIY parfaits are breakfast and lunch staples — and for both of those, we’ll use Costco’s Kirkland Signature Greek nonfat yogurt.

    It’s an easy, protein-packed ingredient, great value, and the perfect neutral base for any fruit-centric meal.

    Sara Lee’s Artesano sliced bread is one of the few groceries we keep in our freezer.


    Artesano bakery bread from Costco.

    Artesano Bakery Bread is one of the few groceries we’ll keep in our freezer.


    Allison Lau

    If we’re not in the mood for yogurt parfaits, our backup lunch is good old PB&J. Sara Lee’s Artesano sliced bread is untouchable in terms of “yum” factor and price.

    My husband usually insists on eating only fresh (and not frozen) goods. This is an easy enough rule to follow since our local Costco is within walking distance and we make the trip so often.

    The Artesano bread, though — which comes in a pack of two — is our one freezer exception. The taste and the price are unbeatable, but it often takes us a while to get through two loaves.

    Frozen fruit is always on our shopping list.


    Kirkland frozen blueberries from Costco.

    I love all of Costco’s frozen fruit, but the Kirkland Signature organic blueberries are my favorite.


    Allison Lau

    The frozen fruit selection at Costco is the perfect place for us to get smoothie ingredients.

    Between Kirkland Signature’s frozen blueberries, frozen triple berry blend, and the rotation of different frozen mango options, we nearly always have a few bags of fruit on hand.

    The Kirkland Signature frozen blueberries are probably my favorite. Growing up, blueberries were always the “special” berries in my house, so buying them in bulk feels like I’m living a life of luxury!

    We love buying salad kits from Costco, and use them for easy dinners.


    Taylor Farms organic Mediterranean Crunch salad kit.

    Costco’s premade salad kits are our go-to for easy dinners.


    Allison Lau

    Over the years, we’ve gone through a few different dinner phases. These days, we’ve been on a salad kick — and by these days, I mean the past five years.

    We split one salad kit a night. While we mix it up occasionally, the Taylor Farms Mediterranean Crunch chopped salad kit is our go-to.

    I personally love the crunchy flatbread strips, and I could almost drink the basil balsamic vinaigrette — it’s that good.

    Fratelli Beretta’s Antipasto Italiano cured meat selections are great for at-home charcuterie boards.


    Beretta Antipasto Italiano cured meats from Costco.

    Costco’s charcuterie options are affordable, but make us feel like we’re eating a luxurious snack.


    Allison Lau

    Costco’s Fratelli Beretta Antipasto Italiano cured meat selection is absolutely divine.

    We’re avid travelers, and indulging in some delicious coppa and prosciutto at the end of each day makes us feel like we’re living the European dream.

    Prosciutto can get so expensive in the US, and Costco’s bulk options make it possible to enjoy imported deliciousness all the time.

    Of course, we always buy Cara Cara oranges when they’re in stock.


    Sunkist oranges from Costco.

    We’re always adding oranges to our Costco cart.


    Allison Lau

    When oranges are in season, we typically stock up at Costco — especially if we can find Cara Cara ones.

    In fact, Cara Cara oranges from Costco were our baby’s first solid food. He’s a Costco baby through and through.

    Kirkland Signature’s ice cream bars will always have a spot in our freezer.


    Kirkland Signature ice cream bars from Costco.

    We’ve tried other ice cream bars from Costco, but the Kirkland Signature ones remain our favorite.


    Allison Lau

    Sweet treats are a must in our household, and nothing beats the Kirkland Signature ice cream bars. Nothing.

    My husband and I taste-tested them next to the name-brand bars Costco carries, and the Kirkland Signature ones won by a landslide. The ice cream is creamier and the chocolate shell is just the right thickness.

    We never make a trip without buying sparkling water.


    Kirkland and Waterloo sparkling water from Costco.

    No trip to Costco is complete without a pack of sparkling water.


    Allison Lau

    A small way to jazz up our water consumption, we always keep our top refrigerator shelf devoted to the green, yellow, and pink cans of Kirkland Signature sparkling water.

    Occasionally, we’ll mix things up and grab a case of Waterloo or La Croix (when they’re on sale), but we always come back to the variety packs of good old Kirkland Signature.

    Kirkland Signature’s creamy almond butter is a hit with our baby.


    Almond butter from Costco.

    Our baby loves Kirkland almond butter.


    Allison Lau

    Our baby loves almond butter. (Yes, he’s a tiny man of refined taste.) In our experience, the Kirkland Signature almond butter offers incredible value.

    These are just our food haul go-tos, though. Don’t even get me started on the rest of the store.

    Share.

    Related Posts

    Leave A Reply