Foods You Should Always Buy At Costco

Along with other big-box grocers like Sam's Club and BJ's, Costco holds a special place in the hearts of Americans. There's something about the prospect of flashing a membership card and having access to thousands of items, usually sold in bulk at discounted prices, that makes us undeniably giddy. Not every food item for sale is actually a good deal, but certain items cost far less than what you can expect to pay at the supermarket.

One 5-ounce container of organic baby spinach at Walmart costs $2.56, or 51 cents per ounce, while one 1-pound container at Costco costs $3.79 per pound, or 24 cents per ounce. That's enough lettuce to make 25 salads you can prep on Sunday and eat all week long.

Customers who buy their bacon in bulk can get it for around $3.25 per pound at Costco. If you get this iconic breakfast food at your local grocery store, you could pay anywhere from $5 to $7 per pound.

Top-shelf booze is usually a lot cheaper at Costco than the liquor store, and you can find really great bottles of wine for prices that rival Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck. For bomb bubbly, go for Kirkland's $6.99 prosecco. You're well on your way to making the signature drink of your state.

Butter freezes very well (like these weeknight comfort food recipes), so don't be afraid to stock up at Costco. Kirkland's price per pound (or four sticks) hovers around $2.37, while typical store-bought varieties cost closer to $4.

If you're OK with buying whole cases of canned goods, when the math shakes out, the individual cans in those packs are a lot cheaper than what you'll find at the supermarket. And don't forget, you can turn these shelf-stable groceries into quick and easy dinners.

OK, so while you can't actually buy a car from Costco, it's sometimes cheaper to rent a vehicle through the wholesaler than it would be directly from the rental company. Members can browse Alamo, Avis, Budget and Enterprise on Costco's website to get a great discount for their next road trip.

Everything from gourmet artisanal cheese to blocks of part-skim mozzarella is cheaper, ounce for ounce, at Costco than at the supermarket. Just make sure you're going to use it before it expires; there's always a reason to eat more cheese.

Two 17-ounce bottles of Pam cooking spray, enough to last you a year, will cost you less than five bucks at Costco. Walmart sells a two-pack of 10-ounce cans for $7.58.

Costco sells a 24-pack of organic eggs for around $7.49. Elsewhere, you can expect to pay $4 to $6 for a dozen. Use them to make the best scrambled eggs, period.

The EVOO at Costco is both cheaper and better tasting than the mass-market stuff you'll find at your grocery store.

Ounce for ounce, the bottled herbs and spices you find at Costco are much cheaper than those at the supermarket and stores like Aldi. They tend to be sold in bulk, however, so make sure you're going to use them up within a couple years so they don't get stale.

The food sold at the Costco food court is always a pretty amazing value, but nothing beats the hot dog/soda combo. You'll receive a jumbo hot dog with your choice of toppings and a 20-ounce soda for just $1.50, a price that hasn't gone up in more than 30 years. It's an insane deal.

You can buy a lot of ketchup at Costco. A 3-pack of 44-ounce bottles of Heinz will set you back just $7.99, while the same thing at Walmart runs for $18.23. Now all you need are some hot dogs.

If you're tired of overpaying for 100% pure maple syrup at the supermarket, Costco sells the cheapest real maple syrup around. One 33.8-ounce jug is listed for $12.49. Others will set you back anywhere from $14 to $30.

A 64-ounce tub of Hellmann's mayo costs $7.99 at Costco, ringing in at 13 cents per ounce. A 30-ounce container by the same brand costs $3.77 at Walmart, which comes out to 23 cents per ounce. Seems like a good time to break out those sandwich recipes better than Mom used to make.

The pure vanilla extract at Costco costs less than most supermarkets are charging for the imitation stuff. Expect to find it here for $34.99 per 16 ounces. Trust us, you're going to want this in your cupcakes.

People are low-key obsessed with Kirkland vanilla ice cream because, allegedly, it tastes better than the competition, and at $12.99 for four quarts, it's also inexpensive. In the fall, add a scoop to Costco's famed $5.99 pumpkin pie.

The cult-favorite 3-pound (minimum) rotisserie chicken at Costco is always $4.99 across the board, which makes it one of the cheapest you'll find anywhere. Costco could potentially rake in about $30 to $40 million more annually if it raised the price by a buck, but the chain has purposefully chosen not to — just one of many things we bet you didn't know about this famed bird.

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