Why Costco's Bulk Spices Are Totally Worth The Purchase

If you like to actually season your food, you know that buying spices can be pricey. And if you use a lot of seasonings, you probably run out frequently! Luckily, everyone's favorite bulk grocery store solves both of these problems in one go, if you buy your spices in bulk from Costco.

It's not even a close competition in terms of value. Costco's spices not only come in bulk options, but their prices truly can't be beaten. They're practically a steal! Costco's Kirkland Signature fine-grained pure sea salt, for example, comes out to $0.13 per ounce and its Olde Thompson brand kosher-flake sea salt is only  $0.07 per ounce. Compare that with Kroger's prices, which come out to $0.16 per ounce for fine and $0.15 for coarse. Pink Himalayan salt is $9.99 for five pounds at Costco; at Kroger, the same amount of salt would cost $20.32.

And it doesn't stop with salt. Cinnamon alone would pay for your annual membership in savings.

Kirkland organic ground Saigon cinnamon is $15.99 for 21.4 ounces. At Kroger, that same amount of McCormick organic ground Saigon cinnamon would cost a whopping $184.72. And no, that's not a typo. Costco's spices are so cheap they should almost be illegal. 

Now for the elephant in the room: Buying your spices at Costco is only worth it if you use them before they go bad. And with that record scratch, yes, spices expire! Though spices kept in cool, dark, dry places like cabinets away from your fridge and stove won't generally "go bad" in terms of mold or bacteria growth, they do lose their potency (although you can revive them) — with the exception of salt; salt will outlast you and your kids' grandkids (though hopefully you're not passing down unused salt like an heirloom, technically, you could).

The good news is that you have time. Whole spices like those sticks of cinnamon and whole peppercorns — just $6.69 for 14.1 ounces from Costco — will last three to four years. Ground spices like crushed red pepper, ground turmeric, chili powder, and yes, ground cinnamon will last two to four years. Leafy herbs like Costco's bruschetta seasoning blend from McCormick — $10.49 for 19 ounces — will last one to three years.

So since you can use your spices as if they were going out of style (or oxidizing), why not double down on making dishes that require a heavy hand in spicing? There's no need to conserve or be shy since Costco spices are truly a slam-dunk deal.

Rather than blending up or smashing a bunch of fresh garlic for garlic bread, rehydrate garlic powder with water and make a garlic paste to spread over that Italian bread. Get really into making cinnamon rolls. To use up a big jug of chili powder, it's obvious to make massive pots of heavily-spiced chili, whether it's hands-off slow cooker chili, pulled turkey chili, or pumpkin chili with moonshine-spiked sour cream (another bonus dish that uses cinnamon). You can also use those spices up by coating roasted vegetables in a chili-based spice mix. Speaking of chili, you can use that big jug of red pepper flakes to make your own chili oil by heating up three cups of neutral oil to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and pouring it over 1¼ cups of chili flakes.

With the shortest shelf life, the Costco jug of bruschetta mix is going to need some attention. Poultry meatballs like turkey or chicken meatballs especially would benefit from a bigger proportion of the herb mix to impart more flavor and keep them from being bland. Don't skimp. And stock up.