7 Kirkland Signature Grocery Items You Should Always Grab At Costco And 6 To Leave On The Shelf

You know who loves Kirkland Signature products? Everybody. Well, everybody who shops at Costco, that is. Costco's private label is one of the most comprehensive out there, and anyone who's been to the big box retailer knows how good the value for money on a lot of Kirkland items is. It's no secret that Kirkland products are made by some pretty big brands, allowing you to get way more bang for your buck. Unfortunately, though, not all Kirkland Signature items are made equally — and there are some out there that just don't hit the mark, and instead pale in comparison to the name-brand options at the store.

However, as with all private labels, figuring out which items are worth buying and which aren't can be tricky. Well, guess no more: A Costco expert is here to help. I've spent years shopping at Costco, and in my time I've bought more than my fair share of Kirkland Signature items. As I've done so, I've taken note of which Kirkland Signature products are worth buying again, based on their quality and affordability, and which are best to walk past at the store. I'm ready to share my hard-earned knowledge with you.

If you're a regular user of extra virgin olive oil in the kitchen, then Kirkland Signature's version is worth buying every time you're running low. I've found that the Kirkland Signature 100% Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil is always excellent, with a luxurious, nutty taste that's pronounced without being intrusive. It's perfect poured into salad dressings or dips, where its lightly vegetal taste really shines through. I personally like to pour it into a dish, add a pinch of salt, and dip sourdough chunks straight into it. Heaven.

As the olive oil is cold extracted, its flavor remains consistent from bottle to bottle, and its traceable Italian ingredients ensure that there are no nasty surprises. Each bottle is a generous 2 liters, and as extra virgin olive oil stays fresh for around two years after being bottled you won't have to worry about it going rancid. The best thing about it, though, is its price. Fluid ounce by fluid ounce, each bottle is cheaper than comparable products at Walmart and other major retailers. That combination of price, quality, and consistency is hard to beat, folks.

Okay, so here's the deal with Kirkland spices: There's nothing inherently wrong with them. The few times I've bought Kirkland versions of paprika and cumin, they've always had a down-the-line taste that's pretty good quality. However, they're far from my first choice at the store. The first reason is because while Kirkland spices are great, they're not overly special. There's nothing that really sets them apart from other store-bought spices, and so there's no need to rush to the store for them.

This first reason ties into the second reason to skip them, which is because of their size. Like all other items at Costco, its Kirkland spices come in super-sized containers that can last for years in your pantry. This might sound like a good investment, until you remember that spices lose their flavor over time, with some ground spices taking as little as a year to fade in intensity. Unless you're a professional chef, you may not be getting through them quickly enough to make the most of them — and while you can use expired spices and still have them be perfectly safe, your meal will suffer. Why pay for a perfectly normal set of spices that you won't get the most out of?

Whenever I'm in the freezer section at Costco, the frozen blueberries are the first thing I pick up. Kirkland Signature Frozen Blueberries are a steal for the quality of the product. In each bag, you get several pounds of juicy, crisp blueberries that always seem way bigger and plumper than the varieties that are sold by other supermarkets. The blueberries have a consistent color and ripeness, with barely any being shriveled or discolored — you can tell that they're picked attentively and frozen quickly to ensure maximum freshness.

Plus, as ever with Costco, there's those sweet savings to consider. As a frozen product, these blueberries last for months while remaining fresh. They're much more cost effective than buying fresh blueberries, which can start to go bad in your fridge after just a few days. In my experience, they're also generally more generously-sized than the fresh kind. As well as this, buying them in bulk makes them cheaper than those fiddly little bags of frozen blueberries you'd find in other stores, the price of which can seriously add up.

Buying ground coffee might feel like a natural choice at Costco, especially when you go through as much of the stuff as I do. It's always good to have a healthy amount of the stuff around, so you're not constantly trekking to the store to buy more. However, I've generally found that Kirkland Signature 100% Colombian Coffee isn't really worth the price — because of its sheer size.

Wait, what? Let me explain. Kirkland Signature 100% Colombian Coffee comes in large drums, and the moment that you expose the ground coffee inside them to the air it'll start to lose its flavor. Your first few cups will taste great, but within a few weeks you'll notice that this coffee starts to taste flat and stale. The few times I've bought Kirkland coffee, I've found that I've had to throw the second half of the drum away because it's just no longer up to scratch, wasting a lot of money. It's a shame, because the coffee itself is pretty good. It has a nice, smooth flavor with a healthy amount of complexity and boldness. It's a great choice for offices that go through dozens of coffees per day, but for your own personal use? Not so much.

There's maple syrup, and then there's Kirkland Signature Maple Syrup — and if you want the good stuff, you'd better grab a bottle of this next time you're in the store. Costco is a reliable place to get quality maple syrup, and I've always been impressed by its Kirkland version. It has a rich, mellow flavor, a gorgeous amber color, and it lacks any hint of artificiality. This stuff is 100% pure with nothing else mixed into it that could sully its taste, and so it isn't one of those fake foods you have to worry about. Instead, it's made using traditional methods, a fact that's proudly displayed on the back of the bottle.

Plus, this is one of those items where buying it in bulk is definitely the right move. Smaller bottles of pure maple syrup can be incredibly expensive, whereas Costco's version is always reasonably priced for what you get. As maple syrup stays for around six months after it's opened, if you use it regularly you should have no trouble getting through the bottle in that time.

On the surface of things, Kirkland Signature Milk Chocolate Raisins feel like a great choice for a sweet snack. They come in absolutely massive jars that provide endless chocolatey joy, they're not too expensive, and the raisins provide energy and a hint of healthiness amidst all that chocolate. What could be wrong with them?

Well, here's what: the taste. These milk chocolate raisins aren't just sweet — they'll put your teeth on edge. For some reason, this snack has a slightly cloying taste that prevents you from eating more than a few at a time without starting to feel a little sick. It's no surprise when you look at the ingredients, which lists corn syrup and maltodextrin, two industrial-strength sweeteners that amp up the sugary notes. The sweetness of these raisins combined with the massive size of each jar means that it's pretty tricky to eat them all with any speed, and you may well find that they start to turn a little stale before you can get to the bottom. I'd personally go for any of the other Kirkland chocolate products on offer.

This cheese is the real deal. Kirkland Signature 36 Months Aged Parmigiano Reggiano is one of the best-quality cheeses you can get at Costco, and its PDO status ensures that it maintains a consistent taste from pack to pack. The age of this parmesan gives it an intense, complex flavor that elevates any dish you're adding it to. Grating it over pasta or stirring it into risotto will deepen things considerably, providing a fruity, nutty taste to your meal. My favorite use for it, though, is to serve it in chunks next to sliced fruit, to allow its full flavor to blossom and stand out.

The good thing about this Parmesan is that it will last a good one to two months in your fridge. As a hard cheese, Parmesan has a low moisture content that prevents it from spoiling so quickly. I've whipped this cheese out to grate onto my food after a good few weeks of it chilling in my refrigerator, and it still tasted just as good. Bear in mind, though, that even Parmesan can dry out slightly when exposed to the constant cold air of your fridge, so keep it wrapped tightly in some plastic wrap.

Okay, I'm just gonna say it, I'm really not a fan of this spiced rum. Let me preface that statement by pointing out that I generally think that Costco's alcohol selection is awesome: It's well-priced, tastes good, and is made by some surprising brands. When it comes to its spiced rum, however, it really misses the mark. Kirkland Signature Original Spiced Rum has a off-note smoky flavor that has an unpleasant artificial notes to it, and it also has a syrupy edge to its taste that gets in the way of any spice-laden intricacy. That syrupiness is contributed to by its vanilla-forward notes, which weigh too heavily on the palette.

To top it all off, this spiced rum has a slightly harsh alcoholic flavor to it that you don't really expect spiced rums to have. This makes it stand out way too much when it's used in drinks, but it also means that drinking it on its own can be a bit of a challenge. In my opinion, you're far better off grabbing a different spiced rum that has more smoothness and is easier to drink.

If you're just starting out on your Costco liquor journey, then its Kirkland Signature French Vodka is one of the best places to start. This vodka is the definition of smoothness. Every time I drink it I'm surprised by how easily it slips down, with only a touch of that acrid flavor that plagues other liquors. If you're looking for a vodka to drink on its own with just an ice cube or two, this is the one to go for, with a crisp, neat taste that's somewhat surprising for its price point.

Kirkland Signature French Vodka also mixes pretty seamlessly into other drinks. From espresso martinis to cosmos, this vodka will give your beverage the strength it needs without overpowering it. There's a reason why so many rumors persist about this vodka actually being made by Grey Goose — it really does taste that good. It's definitely better than the Kirkland Signature American Vodka that Costco sells, which has a harsher taste. When you consider that the price difference between them is pretty small, I'd pick the French vodka every time.

Costco gets a lot of things right, but the humble protein bar is absolutely not one of them. I bought a pack of them once, and pretty much instantly regretted it. That might seem surprising, given the nutrition of each bar, which at first glance looks pretty awesome. You get a generous 21 grams of protein in each serving, as well as 10 grams of fiber — and to top it all off, there are only 2 grams of sugar in every bar. Not bad, huh?

Well, just wait until you taste them. To put it simply, these bars taste terrible. They have a cheap, artificial flavor that vaguely imitates the profile it's going for. The combination of erythritol and stevia to sweeten them gives them a slightly sickly taste that somehow makes you feel less wholesome after eating them, despite their enviable nutritional stats. There are way better protein bars out there, and Costco usually has a pretty good selection of them, so grab one that's a little higher in wholesome ingredients like nuts and dried fruit and a little lower in artificial sweeteners.

Costco does nuts really well, guys. Every time I've bought nuts from Costco, I've been impressed by their combination of size and flavor. This is never as evident as with its Kirkland Signature Cashew Nuts. These cashews, which come in a bumper pack, are plump and large with a rich, buttery, moreish flavor that will have you struggling to stop after just a few. Their flavor makes them especially versatile, and they're great for scattering over salads or chopping up and throwing into curries.

Plus, the price of Kirkland Signature's Cashew Nuts is impressive. In other supermarkets, cashews are pretty pricey, usually because they're decanted into tiny little bags to be sold. Costco's, on the other hand, are reasonable — and if you get through loads of nuts, they're a worthwhile investment. Not a fan of cashews? Not to worry. The other nuts Costco offers are also a great option, and are reliably delicious. Just bear in mind that nuts can go rancid after a while when left at room temperature, so if you don't think you'll eat them all within a few months, you may want to opt for smaller packs from elsewhere.

Marinara sauce is one of those food items that needs a little bit of character. You don't want it to stand out too much, but given that it's usually paired with simple ingredients like pasta or roasted veggies, you do need it to hold its own. Unfortunately, it appears that Kirkland Signature Organic Marinara Sauce didn't get the memo about that.

This marinara sauce is curiously flavorless, and has a pretty bland profile that prevents it from making much impact. I'm surprised by how little there is going on in this sauce: There's a slight undertone of basil, but that's about it in terms of layers. Instead, the top note is one of heavy acidity, which unbalances the sauce and makes it a bit of a chore to eat. Having said all this, its vaguely anonymous flavor means that it does work as a good base to which you can add ingredients to. The question is, should you have to? My humble assessment is that it should stand on its own, and it just doesn't. Sorry, Costco, the ball was dropped with this one.

Balsamic vinegar is one of those ingredients you should invest in. If you're gonna have it to hand, you're gonna want to make sure that it's good quality and doesn't deteriorate over time. Well, I present to you Costco's Kirkland Signature Organic Balsamic Vinegar of Moderna. Like several of Costco's other Italian products, this balsamic vinegar has DPO status, giving you an assurance of its quality and origins. Every time I've bought this vinegar from Costco, it's delivered a consistent texture and flavor.

What a flavor, too. This vinegar has a deeply nutty profile, with an immensely satisfying fruity complexity, a touch of chocolate, and just the right amount of tanginess. Its taste won't fade as it sits in your pantry, so you can pull it out after months and it'll still give you that same zip. Plus, unlike a lot of other balsamic vinegars, its flavor doesn't get too stifling after using it once or twice: It's really moreish. It works super well in salad dressings or balsamic reductions, or drizzled over vegetables before you roast them.

When writing this article, I relied first and foremost on my personal knowledge of Costco products. I've been a Costco member for many years, and in my time, I've worked my way through a lot of its Kirkland Signature products. As I've done so, I've taken note of which ones hit the spot and which ones don't — and have usually done this by observing which items end up in my kitchen time and time again. 

The items that I've listed are strictly included based on personal opinion: I'm sure some folks out there will disagree with me, and it ultimately comes down to a matter of taste. Having said this, I also took note of why some products might not have the best flavor, as in the case of Costco's milk chocolate raisins or protein bars, which include artificial sweeteners.