What I Buy At Costco

If you have been around here, you know I love Costco. Truthfully, it’s just the easier and cheaper way to shop in Hawaii for most items. If you love shopping at Costco, have always wondered what to buy at Costco, or are just simply curious, today’s post is for you!

What I Buy At Costco 

People are often surprised to learn that Costco is my primary grocery store and I only supplement with a regular grocery store for things I don’t need a ton of (think: specialty recipe items). Otherwise – I shop at Costco for everything. The fewer stores I have to visit, the better. Thankfully, we have a couple Costco stores on the island to choose from.

In any case, we usually do one big Costco run per month and then 2-3 supplementary runs to replenish vegetables. If you read any of my Eating Lately posts, you know we eat a lot of produce! We usually blow through whatever we buy at Costco in a single week. 

Since March, we have been trying to reduce our Costco trips to two per month, just to cut back on being out when we don’t need to be and because there is usually a line to get in (#islandlife)! Because my last ‘Costco Haul‘ post was so popular, I figured I would come back with a second installment.

What To Buy At Costco

One thing that’s nice about Hawaii (I’m not sure if it’s like this other places or not?) is that Costco sources a good bit of their produce from local farmers since everything else has to be shipped here. When it’s sourced locally, it lasts a little bit longer which is AWESOME!

I usually buy corn on the cob (if it’s less than $7), cucumbers, baby potatoes, cauliflower ($3 – you can’t beat it in Hawaii!), bagged salad, and peppers. Sometimes we get zucchini and avocados (if they’re priced well). 

For fruit, we almost always buy apples and bananas and in the summer months, you can’t beat $5 for two cantaloupe. Yes, I recognize if you don’t live in Hawaii that sounds expensive as hell, but for us that’s really affordable!

The organic eggs at Costco are excellent (brown eggs) and Dane really likes their Kirkland Brand lactose-free milk. Also, if you live in Hawaii, you cannot skip the gallon size jug of POG juice (Passion Orange Guava). It’s $4.59 and the cheapest you’ll find. Gosh, it’s so good.

Other cold items we love: Meat + cheese snack packs for Dane to take to work, kombucha (the selection is always different, but great!), prepped food items Dane can take to work for lunch (he recently tried the Kalbi chicken that just required grilling and loved it), chunky guacamole, dips (jalapeño artichoke is a favorite), and feta. 

I don’t buy a ton in Costco’s frozen section, but what I have purchased is always good quality! Their frozen fruit is probably our favorite and their frozen vegetables (when they’re stocked) are a good deal, too. We like their corn and edamame best. We have also liked the Kirkland brand ice cream bars (when we have room in our freezer for them) and the fruit mochi, which is likely a Hawaii-only deal. Sorry mainland friends!

Snacking items are where Costco really gets us! We will almost always buy some sort of chip and if Hippeas are available, I stock up! The Brookside chocolate covered acai + blueberries are my absolute weakness. I store mine in the refrigerator because…Hawaii..but they are good mixed in DIY trail mixes with nuts or eaten on their own. Speaking of nuts, we stock up on cashews and pistachios in bulk at Costco, because that’s how they are cheapest.

Best Items To Buy At Costco

There are a few things we buy at Costco that we don’t buy every single trip that include toilet paper, spices (their garlic powder is excellent!), alcohol (we are lucky to live in a state that sells alcohol at Costco), gum, olive oil, sparkling water, English muffins, and coffee. 

So what do you buy at Costco? Is this a series you would like to see me continue? Let me know!

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy 5 Ways To Shop At Costco Like A Pro + Secret Costco Hacks That Will Save You Money