Pantry Staples You Should Be Buying From Costco

Fans of membership-only megastore Costco have many reasons for loving the wholesale warehouse retailer, from the amazing deals on everything from TVs to gasoline, to army-size supplies of paper towels and those famous rotisserie chickens (not to mention the Costco food court hot dog combo).

While it's certainly far more than a mere grocery store, food items are likely to be the bulk of what's on a normal Costco shopping list. You can score everything from fresh produce to fantastic bottles of booze with a lot more in between. Everyone has their must-buy Costco freezer staples and their always-avoid Costco items that aren't worth it, but as with most things, the best bets largely depend on your personal preferences and circumstances. One thing that's for certain: When it comes to Costco food, shelf-stable choices abound — from oversize boxes of cereal to multipacks of mac and cheese, it's a veritable paradise of pantry items. So we've rounded up some of the best pantry staples to buy at Costco to keep your shelves stocked for affordable, easy meals at any time.

And, in one of the best Costco hacks around, you can buy many of these items through Instacart and other grocery delivery services even if you're not a Costco member. Here are the pantry staples you should be buying from Costco from now on.

Even chefs stan Kirkland olive oil, which is pressed and bottled in Italy, though the olives themselves may also come from Portugal and Spain. Naturally, it comes in a huge bottle, but if you cook with olive oil for most meals, it should get used up before it goes bad. You can store it in the fridge or freezer to prolong its lifespan, but for convenience, you might want to decant a portion into a smaller bottle to keep closer to the stove (well away from the heat, though).

Note that you'll find more than one kind of Costco olive oil. It's the Kirkland Signature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil that Samin Nosrat says is "really good," but the 100% Italian olive oil also has its devotees.

Other shoppers like to pick up avocado oil to cook with, but the real key is to only buy a type of oil that you use frequently. You don't want to invest in a half-gallon of vegetable oil that will end up going rancid before you're halfway through and end up throwing that money away.

Broth and stock (whether chicken, vegetable, or beef) are always good to have on hand, but as evidenced in this Reddit thread, Costco shoppers seem to prefer stocking up on Better Than Bouillon. It's a concentrated paste made from roasted beef, chicken, or vegetables that one poster said "tastes so much richer than broth" or bouillon cubes and another called "a game-changer." Not surprisingly, one commenter testified that at Costco, it's "much cheaper than at other stores," and another pointed out the added benefit of "no more waste."

You can dilute a teaspoon of the paste in water to make your own broth, or just add small dabs straight to stir frys, sauces, and anything that could use a boost of umami flavor. Once opened, you do need to store it in the fridge, but the glass jar takes up far less room than a box of broth and will last a much longer time too — we're talking months.

Not one but two dietitians recommended Kirkland Signature Almond Flour as one of the best healthy products to buy at Costco.

While this staple of paleo, keto, and Whole30 cupboards may be a bit more of a niche product unless you are a low-carb or gluten-free eater yourself, the superfine Kirkland almond flour is nonetheless an amazing deal to boot. Food blog FlavCity says, "Costco has the best price I have ever seen for blanched almond flour," so if you've never tried it, it's absolutely worth picking up to experiment with.

Search for almond flour recipes online, and you'll find tons of baked goods you can make with it, but it's also useful for breading chicken tenders or tofu nuggets and making savory muffins and biscuits. Since it is made from naturally oily nuts, it will go rancid faster than wheat flour, so if you think it'll take a while to finish, store it in your freezer to be safe.

Buying huge quantities of rice and dried beans can be a smart move if you use them frequently enough to deplete your stock before it goes bad (yes, rice can go rancid). Then there's the issue of storage space for oversize sacks of grains.

However, a relatively small four and a half-pound bag of Kirkland Signature Organic Quinoa will probably take less time to get through, especially since it's so easy to prepare. It's pre-washed, which means you can cook it right away, no rinsing required, and it's a great meal prep staple you can fully make ahead and use throughout the week.

Costco's quinoa never gets mushy and is even cheaper than some unwashed (and hence, more labor-intensive) quinoa from certain other stores. In case you need any more incentive, quinoa is also one of the healthiest grains you can eat, and it's one of the few plant-based complete proteins.

While you might think you only need regular table salt for seasoning your food, switching to coarser kosher salt is a pro move, and Costco offers amazing prices on massive containers of salt. It's a great place to stock up, especially if you tend to like your food on the saltier side.

In fact, Costco sells several types of salt, including Himalayan pink salt and sea salt, all of which come at a great price per ounce, so stock up on multiple varieties. Even in extra-large containers, any sort of salt will last pretty much indefinitely as long as you keep the contents away from moisture.

If you're trying to cut back on sodium, though, you might want to try Costco's Kirkland Signature No-Salt Seasoning. It will lose its fresh flavor much faster than plain old salt, but if you use it up quickly enough, that shouldn't be a problem.

Java drinkers can find all kinds of coffee at Costco, from K-cups in an array of flavors to pre-ground canisters of Folgers, but one of the best values is the Kirkland Signature coffee beans. The House Blend beans are actually roasted by Starbucks, but they go for way less than Starbucks-branded beans (but we think that they taste just as good). Kirkland coffee is also organic and fair trade (and by most accounts, tastes great).

There are those who say you shouldn't buy coffee beans at Costco, chiefly because (you guessed it) they come in such large quantities, and it can be difficult or impossible to use them all before they suffer a decline in quality. However, if you make sure to buy whole beans and store them properly — and you aren't a coffee-cupping certified barista — you may not notice enough to mind, especially when the price is just so good.

An easy-to-store snack and crucial homemade granola component, dried fruit is available in many forms at Costco, and all of it is a good deal as long as you can use it before it gets too hard and chewy. Luckily, most dried fruit lasts up to a full year when stored correctly.

In addition to old standbys like apricots, apple chips, and the ever-reliable raisins, keep your eyes peeled for deep discounts on dried cranberries and dried figs, as well as fan-favorite Kirkland whole dried blueberries and organic dried mangos.

You could be forgiven for grabbing one of almost everything, but if you do eventually find yourself struggling to use up the literal fruits of your pantry-stocking spree, get creative. Try jazzing up a green or grain salad with dried berries, make homemade chocolate bark, or even infuse alcohol with any dried fruit you like. (Bonus: The fruit itself will be soft enough to eat again — try it on top of ice cream for a spiked sundae.)

If you bake fairly frequently and you have enough room to store a giant bag (12 pounds of flour is a common Costco size, and 25-pound sacks can also be had), then buying flour at Costco is a great idea.

One loaf of homemade bread usually takes a full pound of flour, so the math might work out in your favor. Or maybe it makes sense to purchase a jumbo bag of flour once a year, right before holiday baking commences. Otherwise, this pantry pillar is better purchased in smaller sizes from other stores.

In any case, you'll want to use your flour within about a year once opened. The colder it is, the better, so if there's space in the fridge, keep it there. If not, a cool, dark pantry or garage will work. And once you break open the original bag, be sure to store it in an airtight container to prevent pantry pests like weevils from bugging you out.

As opposed to imitation vanilla, real vanilla extract is never cheap, but it is far more affordable at Costco than at many other stores. Their pure vanilla extract comes in a 16-ounce bottle, so you won't have to keep restocking your supply if you have this stuff on hand.

To be fair, you will not be getting the absolute best vanilla extract you've ever tasted, but this is not an artificial substitute, and it should meet all of your baking needs. In fact, they deemed it "ideal for everyday treats like chocolate chip cookies and brownies and spiking your morning coffee."

You can use it in your cold brew or other drinks as well, and you might end up going through this big bottle faster than you'd ever expect. If not, no worries — vanilla extract can last for years when you store it in a cold, dry place.

It's an open secret that Costco's Kirkland Signature brand products are manufactured by other companies (see: Starbucks and Kirkland coffee beans above). Their balsamic vinegar is made via traditional methods in Modena, Italy, by Acetum, according to GeekSpin, and it has lots of fans. One Reddit user called it "really, REALLY good and quite inexpensive," and another said they get it "every time" they make a trip to Costco.

While balsamic vinegar is perhaps best known for being drizzled on salads and teaming up with olive oil as a dip for bread, this deeply flavored condiment has plenty of other uses, from perking up caramelized onions with a shot of acidity to putting a sharp spin on cocktails. Balsamic's shelf life is between three and five years, so even with a big bottle, you'll have plenty of time to make good use of it.

Since vinegar doesn't really go bad (or at least not quickly), you'd do well to buy any other kind you even semi-regularly use — like distilled white vinegar and apple cider vinegar — at Costco too, provided you have the space to store the large jugs and bottles they come in.

Costco has potato chips, jerky, trail mix, peanut butter pretzels, and other such snack-time standards in abundance, and many people consider them essential pantry staples they never skip. Others actively avoid buying such processed munchies at Costco, no matter how good the price, because the large quantities often get eaten much faster than they probably should — or else go stale before they're anywhere near finished.

Pre-popped popcorn is no exception, but popcorn kernels are a good buy for anyone who enjoys this movie theater mainstay at home. Even if you're a huge popcorn eater, there's a good chance that it's going to take you a while to get through these huge containers of the stuff.

Costco's Kirkland Signature Microwave Popcorn gets good reviews too, but plain kernels allow you to control the precise amount of salt and fat you add, plus they last indefinitely in a cool, dark storage place. Both options are priced relatively affordably, so either is an economical pick worth adding to your pantry shelves without having to worry about it going stale (or getting completely devoured in five minutes flat).

If you didn't already know, you've certainly discovered by now that plenty of pantry staples are actually better stored in the fridge, at least once they're opened. Since that precious refrigerator space is limited, you'll have to pick and choose your personal must-haves, but Costco pesto is definitely on a lot of people's lists.

The Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto is made from 100% Italian Genovese basil and is available at a relatively affordable price. You can use it as a fast pasta sauce, spread it on sandwiches, or add a dollop to everything from roasted veggies, fish, and meats to scrambled eggs. The Costco Fan blog says, "You must give it a shot at least once."

And if you want to make it last even longer, try freezing it in ice cube trays (or muffin tins) and then popping those portions into airtight freezer-safe bags so you can defrost a little at a time.