5 Items You Shouldn't Buy At Costco, According To A Food Editor

I’m a huge fan of shopping at Costo—for the right things. Even for my small family of two, it makes a lot of sense to buy certain staples there, namely paper towels, cleaning products, most meats, chips, and select frozen items. And for parties, it’s a life-saver.

But while some items may seem like a great deal, a few aren’t worth the savings. Here are the top 5 items I don’t recommend piling into your giant Costco cart.

Broccoli

We eat a lot of broccoli in my house—probably too much. So I thought, “why not get the big bag of florets that’s half the price of the broccoli crowns I buy at Publix?” While it does actually taste fine, the big bag of pre-cut florets—when cooked—smells like a stockyard.

Broccoli (and other cruciferous veggies like cabbage and Brussels sprouts) contain a lot of sulphurous compounds that are responsible for the stank. But the pre-cut florets are worse. Put them back or cook while holding your nose.

Lunch Meat

Unless you’ve got a house full of teenage boys that can plow through 4 pounds of cold cuts in 5 days, stay away from this meat in masse. I tried it out with my family of two, and we couldn’t eat enough before the turkey turned slick and unappetizing—and it was kinda slick to start with [shudder]. Again, if you’re feeding a family of bottomless-pit teenagers, by all means serve them slick meats. I’ll pass.

Capers

Before you get your hackles up –  to me, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the flavor of Costco capers. My only issue is that most recipes call for a scant amount, and they’re sold by the JUG. As long as you have room in your fridge, that’s fine. But I don’t, and I’ve been staring at that same JUG of capers for a YEAR. It’s basically a very cold pet at this point; I’m going to have to name it before too long. (Carl. I’m going to name him Carl.)

Sun-dried Tomatoes

I have an issue with Costco sun-dried tomatoes for two reasons. First off, like capers, they’re also sold by the jug, which is sort of OK because you typically use more of them more often than capers. However, once you open the jug, you have to refrigerate it. And when you do that, the oil solidifies. So to use it, you have to heat the jar, which is a pain and flirting with food safety issues.

Second, I recently had the opportunity to taste high-quality organic sun-dried tomatoes. They are more expensive, yes, but they are 337% better than the Costco jug, and will make you reconsider your relationship with the child food star from the 1990s.

Pizza At The Costco Café

I can already sense this will be an unpopular opinion, but here goes: Don’t waste $1.99 on their pizza. Yes, it’s a very good deal. It’s super cheap, but so is dog food, y’all. In no way am I trying to shame anyone for being budget-minded, but it’s a good bet if you can afford a Costco membership, you can afford to spend $15 on a real pizza. It’s just not good.