The Best Foods To Buy At Costco For The Holidays, According To A Culinary Expert

Meredith Ochs, a Speciality Foods Association evaluator, told Insider that she swears by a number of Costco products for her own holiday shopping. First on her list? Fresh cranberries! She revealed, “I’m a produce nerd, so I get excited when the new cranberry crop hits store shelves each fall. Costco sells a 2-pound bag of Ocean Spray’s fresh cranberries for $3.99. I grab two and freeze one, since they keep beautifully in the freezer.”

Drinking hot cocoa has been hardwired into us as a holiday tradition ever since childhood. This is why the Swiss Miss mix — only $5.99 at Costco — was voted best cocoa on the market by a panel of Eat This taste-testers! One tester said it had the classic taste they remembered as a kid drinking cocoa after sledding, and another admitted, “Reminds me of nights carolling around the neighborhood.” Overall, the verdict was, “Great balance of sweet and chocolate texture.” 

Everybody loves a cheese board at Christmas — and no cheese board would be complete without some sort of goat cheese. The Costco cranberry cinnamon log would be our choice, as it’s as creamy and rich as regular goat cheese, but also has the fun holiday-themed addition of sweet, tart cranberry and spicy cinnamon. It’s a real taste sensation, and a cheese that can also be used to stuff chicken or make a beautiful sauce!

CostCuisine is a website run by Costco enthusiast Natalie and, in a 2021 review, she posted, “I honestly despised ham until I tried the Costco Kirkland Signature Spiral Sliced Ham. Other hams I’ve tried are fatty and greasy while being way too salty, but not the spiral sliced ham from Costco.” She added, “My favorite part about the Costco ham is that it comes with a sweet glaze that you brush on when it’s almost done. This makes the outside of the ham sweet and slightly crispy.” 

“Kirkland’s praline pecans are a Costco favorite,” explained Ochs to Insider. “I buy them during the holidays to add sweetness and crunch to a variety of dishes. Pecans have a distinct buttery, slightly woody taste that’s enhanced by the sugary praline coating. I like to crumble these over a Thanksgiving sweet-potato casserole, toss them into salads with goat cheese, and top pancakes with them for a decadent breakfast.” Sounds great to us!

Chef Lizzy Briskin told Insider that one of her holiday essentials is the Alouette petite brie collection, which contains four small wheels in varieties including black truffle and garlic & herb. She explained, “Brie is always the first to disappear from the appetizer plate, so this sampler will keep you covered. Plus, it gives you more plating options. Serve one wheel at room temperature and wrap another in puff pastry for a decadent baked treat.”

If you’re going to a Christmas gathering and don’t want to bring a traditional fruitcake, why not go Italian? Panettone is available at Costco in three different varieties — a Chiostro di Saronno tin, a Pasticceria Fiorentina tower, and a scrumptious De Milan lemon-cream version. Costing between $25 and $37, it’s a great option, as some people may prefer a sweet option that’s not quite as sweet and heavy as fruitcake.

King’s Hawaiian rolls — available in a pack of 32 for $5.59 in Costco — are great multipurpose items for the holidays. You could make turkey-and-ham sliders, or — our personal favorite — make a tray of festive rolls. A bit of vanilla glaze or coconut filling, topped off with some glazed red and green fruits and walnut halves? Colorful, delicious, and super-Christmassy!

If we saw someone taste something and say, “It feels like there’s a party in my mouth, and everyone’s invited,” we wouldn’t be able to stop ourselves cringing. But here’s the thing — this is actually the perfect description for Barton’s Holiday Mingle Mix, available at your local Costco for less than $10! Chocolate pretzels, peanut butter cups, caramel corn, and chocolate cookies, all in the same bite? Sign us up!

Peppermint bark is a uniquely American festive treat — the mix of white and dark chocolate, along with crushed candy canes, is both sweet and minty at the same time. Costco’s version — sold under its Kirkland Signature banner — is delightful. In fact, it was reviewed extremely favorably by Natalie of CostCuisine, who said the treat was “very satisfying and slightly addictive! It has a good balance of sweetness, chocolate, and peppermint flavors.”

As Kristin Salaky of Delish wrote, “Keeping a massive thing of dip in your fridge, especially when you’re spending more time at home is a total food hack. I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve dipped various leftover veggies in my giant vat of hummus or tzatziki and called it lunch.” Now, imagine you have La Terra Fina’s incredible spinach, artichoke, and parmesan dip — only $8.79 at Costco — and you’re dipping leftover Christmas food in it? Delish, indeed!

Pomegranates, according to Ochs, are a double threat: they can be great additions to holiday dishes but are also awesome decorative items! She told Insider, “Their blush skin is part of autumn’s palette, and their round shape makes them look like natural ornaments, so they’re great as holiday-table decor. Inside, pomegranates are packed with juicy arils that add a gorgeous ruby-red color and tart flavor to salads, dips, and desserts.”

Do you have kids who want to get involved in your holiday food prep? Well, for only $11.89, you can purchase an awesome pre-built gingerbread mansion from Costco, complete with all the icing and candy a kid could ever need with which to decorate it! Just let them get creative with it, and hey presto, you’ve got a charming kid-friendly — and edible — decoration for the Christmas table.

Have you ever eaten a cookie and some nougat candy at the same time? It’s a taste sensation, and Ochs is fully aware of this. She told Insider that El Almendro’s “turrón duro — a firm, almond-chocked nougat — is a Christmas staple. It’s made with honey, sugar, and egg whites, but since it’s mostly almonds, the bite isn’t cloyingly sweet. I like to add this white brittle to platters of cookies.” Three-packs are apparently $10.99 at Costco.

What would the holidays be without egg nog? Awful, that’s what! We love the rich, milky, boozy taste and always stock up as soon as the season rolls around. Costco’s Kirkland Signature Traditional Holiday variety is our nog of choice, as it’s utterly delicious and only costs $9.99. A word of warning, though — it does contain whisky, brandy, and rum, so be sure to pick up an alcohol-free version for kids or family members who don’t drink.

If we go out to eat and see a lamb rack on the menu, you bet we’re ordering that bad boy. Ochs is also a fan, telling Insider, “A rack of lamb can offer a wow factor to your holiday spread. Buying it frenched means the fat and meat have been removed from each rib bone to make an elegant presentation.” She added, “Costco sells this Australian lamb rack for $14.99 a pound.” Sorted!

Every holiday season, young kids see their parents and other family members indulging in, ahem, adult libations. They don’t really understand why they’re not allowed too — so to avoid them feeling left out, why not give the kiddies some Martinelli’s sparkling cider? The fizzy apple drink comes in a bottle that looks very much like Champagne, and a pack of four will only set you back $14 at Costco. 

Cookies go down well at any time of the year, but do you know what’s even better than eating a cookie in, say, August? Eating a holiday-themed cookie at Christmas! Costco sells a tray of five different kinds of festive cookies for $17.99: a tasty bargain. You get 70 cookies, and the varieties are red-and-green chocolate-chunk, wedding cookies, lemon shortbread cookies, chocolate-crinkle and date-nut biscones. Sold!

This utterly delicious dip can be used pretty much any way you see fit during the holiday season. Maybe you fancy a slightly spicy — yet still creamy and sweet — spread for your morning bagel? Maybe you want it to be the filling in some homemade cream-cheese stuffed peppers? Our personal favorite option might just be slathering it over turkey and ham for a dynamite sandwich filling or salad topper!

Costco’s Kirkland’s Bakery cranberry walnut bread is a festive must-have, according to Ochs. She told Insider, “I’ll set it on a wood cutting board with a ramekin full of room-temperature herbed or salted butter. The cranberries, walnuts, and whole-rye grains would complement a Thanksgiving spread or the holiday flavors of a winter roast.” The 30-ounce loaf will set you back just $8.99.

Preparing a Thanksgiving meal for the family is a big endeavor, and sometimes you’re so tired that doing it all from scratch seems insurmountable. So, our advice is — maybe don’t do everything from scratch? Costco sells sizable trays of readymade Yukon Gold mashed potatoes and brown sugar sweet potato mash for about $10, and that could take a lot of peeling, chopping, and mashing off your plate!

People love a caprese salad as a side dish to their main meal — and we know a way to tailor it specifically to Christmas! Simply buy a twin pack of Costco’s BelGioioso mozzarella, cut it into circles along with tomatoes, then arrange on a chopping board in a shape that resembles a candy cane! Finish off with some basil, olive oil and salt, and you’re guaranteed to put a smile on the faces of your guests.

Natalie from CostCuisine reckons, “if you’re a sweet chocolate fan you’ll really like these. They are super-rich!” You get two 1kg bags of truffles in each box at Costco, and that makes them perfect for sharing with family and friends during the holidays. Natalie concluded, “They’re creamy, very sweet, smooth, super-chocolatey and they melt in your mouth and hands so they’re a bit messy…The cocoa powder adds the slightest hint of bitterness but not much at all.”

Green-bean casserole is a holiday favorite — and it becomes next-level delicious with the addition of crispy onions on top. A taste sensation! Culinary expert Ochs agrees, as she told Insider, “My family didn’t serve green-bean casserole topped with lots of crispy onions at Thanksgiving when I was a kid, but as an adult, I’ve more than made up for this deficit. Fresh Gourmet’s crispy onions come with recipes for the classic side dish on the back.”

Costco sells a fine pumpkin pie for the princely sum of $5.99, and it’s had the same recipe since 1987. Yes, that’s right — people have been enjoying it so much for 35 years that the company hasn’t altered it in any way! So, this holiday season, if you find yourself pressed for time — or just don’t have the inclination to slave away in the kitchen making a homemade pie — just remember that Costco has your back.

Okay, we know what you’re thinking — chicken wings as a holiday food? The truth of the matter is this — wings are great all year round, and we’ve always loved having them as a Christmas or Thanksgiving appetizer! Natalie of CostCuisine agrees — in her review of the Kirkland Signature Seasoned Chicken Wings, she said, “In comparison to other wings I’ve tried, these have less fat and gristle… The wings are seasoned really well, and the flavor is great in my opinion.”

Real talk? Some think traditional Christmas fruitcake is gross: they don’t like its particular brand of spicy, fruity, nutty stodginess. On the other hand, though, some people love it and believe it’s an integral part of the holidays. So, in order to avoid fisticuffs at your Christmas party, simply part with $30 to get a Kirkland Signature fruitcake from Costco. Everybody’s happy!

“I often keep smoked salmon in the fridge, but I like to have extra during the winter holidays,” revealed Ochs to Insider. “For $20.99, this Kirkland two-pack contains 24 ounces, which is technically a dozen servings, but more like six in my house.” She added, “I serve it alongside bagels and scallion cream cheese or under poached eggs and hollandaise sauce as a meatless eggs Benedict. During Hanukkah, I use this smoked salmon to top latkes, traditional fried potato pancakes.” 

For less than $15, you can get a dynamite shrimp cocktail platter from Costco. To gussy this up at a holiday party, simply do what they do in New Orleans — throw that shrimp in some spicy cocktail sauce, lay it on a base of cream cheese, and serve with saltine crackers. Add some sliced green onions on top for festive color, and we guarantee it’ll disappear quickly!

We humans aren’t the only ones who want to eat well at Christmastime — our furry friends like being spoiled too! For $37 you can get your pooch a Costco doggie advent calendar, which includes eight toys and 16 treat bags containing dog-friendly gingerbread and pumpkin spice pretzels. Don’t just take our word for it, though — Redditor Techie214 posted, “The toys are very high quality… The treats are plentiful as well! Several pieces in each package! It’s a great buy!”