The Best Costco Food Court Menu Items, Ranked
Costco’s food court has achieved legendary status for its high-quality menu items, low prices, and generous portions. For many people, it’s a time-honored tradition to treat themselves to a slice of pizza, churro, or chicken bake at the end of an arduous shopping trip.
However, although we’re huge fans of the Costco food court, we believe that not all menu items are created equal, so we’ve ranked them from worst to best.
Keep reading to see where your favorite Costco food court item stacks up!
8. 20 Ounce Soda with Refill
There’s nothing more refreshing than an ice-cold soda on a hot day, and we certainly appreciate the low price, generous size, and free refill that the Costco food court offers.
However, compared to all the other items on Costco’s food court menu, their soda is a little boring, and you can certainly find the exact same soda at other restaurants.
Although the exact offerings may vary from warehouse to warehouse, the Costco food court menu offers Pepsi soda products, including Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Sierra Mist, Tropicana lemonade, and Brisk iced tea.
Costco’s 20 oz cup of soda with refill costs only $0.69 and ranges from 0 to 420 calories, depending on which soda you choose.
7. Cold Brew Freeze
Costco’s cold brew freezes are made with Kirkland Signature Colombian cold brew, which you can order with or without chocolate syrup.
Many have likened the cold brew freeze to a coffee-flavored slushie, and we concur.
It’s sweet, with a strong cold brew flavor, giving you a double dose of caffeine and sugar.
For those who like Frappuccinos and other super-sugary coffee drinks, the Costco cold brew freeze might be a favorite.
However, many think that the cold brew freezes are way too sweet and prefer a subtler, less sugary coffee drink.
The plain cold brew freeze is called the cold brew latte freeze, and the chocolate cold brew freeze is called the cold brew mocha freeze.
The two drinks are nearly identical, but the cold brew mocha freeze is served with a generous amount of chocolate syrup.
Costco’s cold brew freezes cost $2.99 and are served in a 16 oz cup.
The plain cold brew freeze, or cold brew latte freeze, has 310 calories, and the chocolate cold brew freeze, or cold brew mocha freeze, has 580 calories.
6. Fruit Smoothie
Costco’s fruit smoothie was introduced several years ago as a replacement for the now-discontinued berry smoothie.
Many former berry smoothie lovers are not a huge fan of the fruit smoothie, claiming that the new smoothie tastes slightly more tart and acidic.
However, although it is a little less sweet than its predecessor, the fruit smoothie does have a fresher taste and is more reminiscent of real fruit.
Costco’s fruit smoothie is made using a base of pear puree, apple puree, and pineapple juice concentrate, blended with a berry mix that contains strawberries, blackberries, and pineapple.
The taste is undeniably delicious, but it’s still not our favorite Costco food court item and can be approximated by a homemade smoothie or a smoothie from another food chain.
Costco’s fruit smoothie costs $2.99, comes in a 16 oz cup, and has 220 calories.
5. Chicken Bake
Costco’s chicken bake is a controversial menu item—beloved by some and hated by others.
Chicken bake is like a calzone or hot pocket, filled with chicken, mozzarella cheese, bacon bits, and Caesar salad dressing, all wrapped in pizza dough and topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan.
At its best, Costco chicken bake is doughy, creamy, and delicious.
However, in recent years, due to Costco food court recipe changes, some are reporting that their chicken bakes have become dry and bland, even skimping on the chicken!
Some Costco employees stated in forums that the recent variations in chicken bake quality are due to the fact that chicken bakes are made by hand in the kitchen daily.
So depending on which employee made your chicken bake on a given day, it might have the perfect ratio of chicken-to-cheese-to-crust, or it might be dry and understuffed.
If you’re willing to take a chance on a chicken bake, you might discover your new favorite food court menu item, or you might risk disappointment.
A Costco chicken bake costs $3.99 and is 840 calories.
4. Hot Dog
One of the most famous and beloved Costco food court menu items is the hot dog.
It’s a classic all-beef hot dog served in a soft, white-bread bun, and it famously costs $1.50.
Since the Costco food court originally introduced hot dogs in 1985, it has cost $1.50, and the price has never changed.
In 2018, when Costco CEO Craig Jelinek floated the idea of raising the Costco hot dog price for the first time in over 30 years, Costco founder Jim Sinegal’s outraged reaction went viral.
Costco keeps its hot dog prices low by using its own Kirkland Signature brand factories for manufacturing hot dogs instead of buying them from another manufacturer.
Although the quality of Costco hot dogs has remained the same for decades, some Costco enthusiasts mourn the loss of the onion cranks, sauerkraut, and deli mustard.
These were previously available in the condiments section as toppings for your hot dog (or any other food court item, technically).
A Costco hot dog still costs only $1.50 and has 540 calories.
3. Twisted Churro
The beloved twisted churro was one of the casualties of the Costco food court menu cuts at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the twisted churro has slowly been filtering back into Costco food courts across the United States in recent months, and people are rejoicing.
Costco’s twisted churro is a generously sized twist of dough, deep-fried and covered in a dense coating of cinnamon sugar.
Unlike Costco’s old churros, which were straight and covered in vertical grooves, the new churro is in a twisted shape.
Costco churros are crispy and sugary on the outside but soft and doughy in the middle, making them a delicious permutation of a donut!
Unfortunately, the new Costco twisted churro has risen slightly in price —Old churros used to cost only $1, but the new churros cost $1.49.
A Costco churro has 570 calories.
2. Ice Cream Sundae
Costco’s ice cream sundaes are also a replacement for a now-discontinued, often-mourned former food court item: Costco frozen yogurt.
Costco sundaes come in three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.
The chocolate and strawberry sundaes are just plain vanilla base, with either chocolate or strawberry syrup drizzled on top.
Costco’s ice cream cup is a swirl of plain vanilla soft serve, which is delicious even on its own.
The chocolate sundae is a swirl of vanilla soft serve with chocolate syrup drizzled on top, perfect for chocolate lovers!
Costco’s strawberry sundae is the closest thing you can get to the now-discontinued very berry sundae.
It’s made using a vanilla soft serve and a generous drizzle of strawberry syrup.
The slight tartness of the strawberry pairs beautifully with the creaminess of the vanilla.
Costco’s plain vanilla ice cream cup costs $1.99, while the chocolate and strawberry sundaes cost $2.49.
A Costco ice cream sundae is anywhere between 650 and 690 calories, depending on which flavor you choose.
1. Pizza
Costco’s pizza is one of its most popular food court menu items, and it’s #1 on our list.
Costco currently serves two kinds of pizza: plain cheese and pepperoni.
You can order individual slices of cheese or pepperoni pizza or get a whole cheese pie, whole pepperoni pie, or, at some locations, a half-cheese, half-pepperoni pie.
Costco’s cheese pizza is made with pizza dough, 10.5 ounces of tomato sauce, and 24 ounces of a cheese blend that contains fresh mozzarella, provolone, and Parmesan cheese.
It has a classic cheese pizza taste and a perfect ratio of dough-to-sauce-to-cheese.
It is not gourmet pizza, but if you’re craving an all-American slice of pizza, you really can’t go wrong with Costco’s.
Costco’s pepperoni pizza is made with pizza dough, 10.5 ounces of tomato sauce, 14 ounces of cheese blend, and exactly 60 slices of pepperoni so that each bite of pizza has a perfect pepperoni ratio.
Like the cheese pizza, Costco’s pepperoni pizza has a classic, almost nostalgic flavor.
Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020, Costco used to offer a third pizza flavor, combo.
The combo pizza was topped with sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, black olives, red onions, and mushrooms.
However, it seems that combo pizza has been discontinued for good.
Costco pizza measures 18 inches in diameter, making it considerably larger than the average large pizza at other popular pizza chains.
A whole pizza is cut into 12 slices and can easily feed anywhere from 4 to 12 people, depending on how hungry they are.
A single slice of cheese pizza costs $1.99 and has 710 calories.
A whole cheese pizza costs $9.95 and has 4,260 calories.
Like cheese pizza, a single slice of pepperoni pizza also costs $1.99 and has 650 calories.
Lastly, a whole pepperoni pizza costs $9.95 and has 3,880 calories.
Conclusion
You really can’t go wrong with Costco’s food court menu items. Any of these delicious foods would make the perfect treat after a Costco run!
Our favorites include the churro, the ice cream sundae, and the pizza!
For more information about Costco, check out the articles below.
Related Articles:
Here’s Where Costco Chicken Comes From
What You Need to Know About Shopping at Costco Business Centers
Everything You Need to Know About Costco Online Shopping
Are Costco Warehouse and Online Prices the Same? (No, Here’s Why)
Do You Need Membership to Shop at Costco? (Try These Instead!)
