6 Costco Dips To Buy And 4 To Avoid
Whether you are looking for a quick snack for yourself or a delicious appetizer to set on the table for your next dinner party, dips are often the answer. While it's true that making dips can be fun, they're also often a pain to put together. Sometimes, you just want the ease of opening a tub and digging in right away. This holds especially true if your dip is for a party, where you may find you need vast quantities that far outpace what you can typically whip together or find in a single tub at a grocery store. This is where Costco excels, providing large amounts of food at relatively low prices.
As is the company's way, Costco offers a selection of items from name brands and its house brand, Kirkland Signature. We went to our local Costco and put some of the store's most popular dips to the test to see which ones are genuinely worth the money and which are the dips that you should pass by. The results were definitely a mixed bag, but there are some dips that you will not want to miss.
Buy: La Terra Fina Spinach Artichoke and Parmesan dip
To many, spinach and artichoke dip is the perfect party food, but the sad truth is that store-bought versions can be lackluster and disappointing — but not this time. La Terra Fina's Spinach Artichoke and Parmesan dip hits every mark. The consistency is perfectly creamy, with noticeable pieces of spinach and artichoke. However, the pieces are cut finely enough to ensure that they are still easy to scoop. That was especially key here, as we have had many spinach and artichoke dips that contained large spinach pieces and whole chunks of artichoke hearts that made the dip difficult to eat and lent an odd consistency. Not so here.
The dip perfectly blends tangy and mellow profiles thanks to the mix of parmesan, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and Monterey jack which create a harmonious flavor.
When served warm, the dip gets slightly softer. Even when cold, it refrains from becoming gelatinous goop. If you want to serve this dip for a party and warm it up, it will provide a lovely aroma and heighten some of the flavors but, frankly, we were perfectly happy to eat this straight from the fridge.
Avoid: Good Food Organic Avocado Mash
Our biggest issue with the Good Foods avocado mash is that, while it first appears similar to guacamole, it doesn't make for a similarly exciting dip. The ingredients for this are avocados, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Yes, that's it. This sadly lacks the added components that make a good guacamole so delicious.
Eating this with chips is simply boring, with a creamy texture that doesn't have much else in terms of texture or flavor. If you want an easy way to make avocado toast, this is fine. Meanwhile, the individual servings mean that one or two can make for a nice spread, but not a dip.
When we go for a dip, we expect it to bring more: more flavor, more texture, and more interest. What drives the issue home is that Costco sells a few other avocado-based spreads, some of which are better and cheaper. Previously, the Costco we shopped at used to offer Wholly Guacamole in similar-sized containers. This replaced it, a downgrade if we've ever seen one.
Buy: Kirkland Organic Chunky Guacamole
If you are in the market for an affordable single-size tub of guacamole and were put off by the bait and switch avocado mash you found on the shelf, don't give up hope. We recommend the Kirkland organic chunky guacamole, which could be sitting very close by. It may not be the best guacamole we've ever had, but when it comes to store-bought stuff, it is surprisingly delicious.
This chunky guacamole is made with avocados, tomatoes, two kinds of onions, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, salt, and jalapeño peppers. Despite the inclusion of jalapeños (which are last on the ingredients list), this is not spicy guacamole. The peppers add a little flavor but not much in the way of heat, unless you're especially sensitive. The cilantro isn't a prominent flavor, either. This can be good or bad, depending on which side of the cilantro divide you fall on.
Those two points aside, this guacamole provides good flavor and texture. And, given that it's issued as part of the Kirkland Signature brand, it's also pleasantly affordable.
Avoid: Callie's Hot Little Biscuit Caramelized Onion Dip
This was one of the more disappointing dips we tried from Costco. Caramelized onion dip should be sweet and creamy, but this particular dip uses mayonnaise and sour cream as a base. That would be fine, but the result here is a little goopy.
That is not the biggest issue with the dip, though. That would be the exceedingly long (and difficult to read) ingredient list that includes things like caramel color and anchovies. This explains why we initially noticed the dip is a deeper gold than we would expect to see in a caramelized onion dip. Additionally, the odd use of anchovies don't add any discernible flavor, yet make the dip unsuitable to vegetarians or people with certain allergies.
This could all be forgiven if the dip were good ... but it isn't. It may work atop a burger but, with chips, it's overly sweet and lacks flavor. Also, the plastic was really hard to get off the top. It's almost like the container knew we weren't going to like the dip and was trying to prevent us from opening it.
Buy: Rojo's Street Corn Dip
If you enjoy Mexican-style street corn, you will likely enjoy this dip. If you have never had the chance to try elotes or anything similar, give this dip a chance anyway.
The dip's creamy yogurt and mayonnaise base offers just a hint of tang, alongside cheddar and cotija cheese, as well as green chilies. The result is a mildly spicy dip that combines heat and creamy ingredients. The scoopable result sticks to chips without being too thick, while the pieces of corn and pepper add a nice texture and are soft enough to blend harmoniously with the rest of the dip.
Our main problem was that we had plenty of other dips we needed to try, but we just wanted to keep snacking on this one. It is great hot or cold, while the extra-large container makes it a great choice for a party.
Buy: Hannah Tzatziki Greek Style Yogurt Dip
Hannah Tzatziki seamlessly bridges the gap between sauce and dip. Unlike the Good Food avocado mash, which really should only be used for toppings, this yogurt dip is a well-rounded dip that can also be used to top food.
As a yogurt dip, this tzatziki is a little runnier than most of the other items on this list. However, it is thick enough that a layer still sticks to any chip we dip into the mix. Between the yogurt, the cucumbers, and the dill (we are assuming it is dill, though the ingredient list simply says "spice"), you end up with a cool and refreshing dip. Though it contains yogurt and sour cream, this dip feels light.
We loved dipping pita chips in it and would use it to top gyros, falafel, and just about anything else. This is a good option if you are looking for an alternative to some of the heavier dips on sale at your local Costco.
Buy: Queso Mama White Queso with Diced Green Chiles
It is hard to be disappointed when presented with a vat of cheese. We certainly were not. This delicious cheese is everything it is advertised to be, with the distinct flavor and heat of green chiles. This does not mean it is spicy; some people may see the word chile and assume it is spicy, but no. Green chiles are added to provide a wonderful depth of flavor, which they do.
One caution: this dip is thick. While it is delicious when served cold, it will likely break your chip. However, this is common with cheese dip, which tends to become more solid when cold. Warmed up, this dip is velvety soft and perfect for scooping with tortilla chips. As an added bonus, eating it warm makes it even more delicious. This dip could contend with anything you get at Chipotle or Qdoba and comes at a fraction of the price.
Avoid: Kirkland Signature Organic Pine Nut Hummus
Hummus is one of the great dips. It is light, vegan, and creamy. The problem with this particular hummus isn't the quality of the dip itself but its flavor. This hummus is pitched as a pine nut hummus, which sounds good but really means you'll find plain hummus with pine nut topping and no pine nuts in the dip itself.
Additionally, this hummus is more expensive than the plain Kirkland Signature hummus. We know that pine nuts can get pricey, but we really don't see the incentive to pay more for what's essentially the same dip with a topping that will be gone well before the rest, especially when you buy the container that weighs in at two pounds. Considering how Kirkland Signature typically offers high quality for low pricing, we are even more disappointed by this weirdly skimpy dip currently on offer from Costco.
Buy: Kirkland Organic Hummus
While the Kirkland pine nut hummus was a disappointment, the regular variety most certainly was not. This organic hummus is creamy and mild. It's not all perfect, however, as this hummus is a hint heavy on the tahini and a smidge thicker than what we consider to be ideal. Yet it cannot be beaten at its price point, making it a great choice.
This hummus could go toe to toe with other big-name brands but is cheaper than even other Kirkland Signature hummus varieties. This hummus is smooth as silk and scoops easily. It also comes in individual serving sizes, a factor that makes it a great snack or addition to a packed lunch with some pita chips. Even though it's plain, we liked it enough that it is going to become one of our go-to hummuses from now on. Once again, Kirkland Signature has outdone itself.
Avoid: Good Food Chicken Taco Dip
Smooth and creamy is great in a dip, but this one takes it too far. The first ingredient in this dip is chicken, which makes sense. But, while the flavor of chicken is there, the texture is not. It is almost like someone pureéd rotisserie chicken and added it to a creamy base. When you pair the disconcerting texture with the uninspired flavor and large portion, the result is a lot of dip that you don't want to eat.
We were hoping for something with more texture via shredded chicken, as well as a more robustly flavorful and creamy base. Instead, we got an overly thick, homogeneous gel that does not leave us wanting more. There are certainly better chicken dips out there. You would be better off going with pretty much anything else, whether that be from Costco or another grocery store.