I’m a solo shopper at Costco. Here are the 15 things I always buy that make my membership worth it.
As a single shopper in NY, here are the best things I get at Costco, from Lululemon-dupe leggings and frozen fruit to hard seltzers and premade meals.
By Alicia Diaz
I live in New York with two roommates, and I absolutely love to shop at Costco. For example, the Truly hard-seltzer variety pack, English muffins, and frozen berries are a great deal for me. For dinners, the frozen Yakisoba, the Kirkland chicken-street-taco kit, and Bibigo soup dumplings make great meals. Below is a roundup of the products I always buy while shopping at Costco:
I am a big peanut-butter fan, and PBfit is a great low-calorie alternative.
With half the calories and sugar as regular peanut butter, this peanut-butter powder (ground-up roasted peanuts mixed with coconut palm sugar) is something I feel better about eating. Plus, the recipes that use it are endless.
I love to do a few scoops in my morning smoothies with a frozen banana, berries, and a handful of spinach. I also love to use it to make chocolate-peanut-butter protein balls, which are just rolled oats, a scoop of PBfit, flax-seed meal, chocolate chips, and honey. A 30-ounce jar costs $12.
This bulk pack of Crest 3D White toothpastes comes out to $2 a tube.
With five tubes in one package, this has enough toothpaste for me and my two roommates to share for at least six to eight months. A regular tube usually costs about $3.50 and will last only a couple months, if you are not sharing.
It makes more sense as roommates for us to share instead of having three separate tubes in the bathroom, and it is way more cost-effective to buy in bulk. Each package contains five tubes and costs $10.
Our house has a lot of hardwood floors and foot traffic, so Swiffer refills are a necessity.
They make cleaning the floors and any messes fast and easy because one wipe can typically take care of the whole apartment and shared bathroom. Each box comes with two refills containing 32 wipes and costs $15.80.
One of my all-time favorite Costco items has to be its leggings.
I randomly got a pair one day not thinking too much of it and it wasn’t till I got home and tried them on that my mind was blown. I went back and bought three more pairs the next trip.
I am a huge fan of Lululemon leggings, and these Kirkland Signature ones feel like an exact duplicate for them at a fraction of the cost. The leggings come in a variety of colors and cost $17.
Toilet paper is one of those things you never want to run out of.
It’s nice to buy it in bulk and not have to keep running out and hoping it is in stock. The Kirkland toilet paper is one of my favorites for the quality, size, and cost. Broken down, each roll comes out to about $0.55. Each package comes with 30 megarolls and costs $16.50.
Seltzers are the go-to drink right now, and this 24-pack is a great deal with six flavors in one box.
These are nice to always have around the house as a quick drink, and the variety of flavors means there’s something for almost everyone to enjoy it if you’re sharing. Most 12-packs at my local liquor store cost about the same price for half the cans. The 24-pack costs $26, which comes out to just over $1 a can.
These are my go-to quick breakfast or light-snack option.
These little bites are a perfect fast breakfast item or on-the-go snack. They are filled with rolled oats, dried fruits, flax seeds, coconut, and other ingredients. I love them because they satisfy my sweet-tooth cravings and are super filling because of the rolled oats and flax seeds. Each package comes with about 32 bites and costs $10.
Yakisoba is an easy dinner option that’s perfect on its own or paired with any protein.
As a single shopper, items like these are perfect since they come individually portioned and won’t go bad in the freezer.
The box contains six packets of noodles with sauce and stir-fry veggies. I like to microwave the packet for a few minutes and then finish the noodles in the pan with my protein, usually chicken. Each box comes with six packets and costs $12.90.
These are the best at-home soup dumplings I’ve ever had.
Soup dumplings are one of my favorite foods, and this product makes it easy to have them at home. In my opinion, these Bibigo dumplings are an exact duplicate for the Trader Joe’s soup dumplings. The box comes with six trays, which contain six soup dumplings each. I love these trays as a quick lunch option. If I have extra time, I add these to a soup with veggies and vegetable broth for an amazing dumping dinner bowl. Each box comes with 36 dumplings and costs $12.
This giant bag of frozen fruit always makes it into my cart.
I love fresh fruit but can never finish it all before it goes bad, so this is perfect. I’m also not big on breakfast, so morning smoothies are my go-to and I use a lot of berries. I like to do a big scoop of berries with frozen coconut cream, oat milk, honey, and a handful of spinach for added nutrition. The sweet berries cover up the spinach taste completely. Each bag is 4 pounds and costs $10.
These Ghirardelli brownies are the best.
These brownies are everything a brownie is supposed to be and more.
I love to have these in my pantry in case a dinner party or special occasion pops up. Since the box contains so many bags of mix, it lasts me for quite a while. Each box comes with six individual bags and costs $11.
This easy snack brings me back to my childhood every time.
These are one of my favorite snacks and can always be found in my cart at Costco. When I was growing up, my mom would always pack these in my lunches, and I never grew out of my love for them. They are a perfect snack or addition to a breakfast or lunch. I also love to add them to salads for a nice citrus taste. Each bag is 5 pounds and costs $7.
This massive bag of Veggie Straws has 30% less fat than most potato chips.
I love snacking, and these are a lighter option than most greasy potato chips. Each 1-ounce serving has 140 calories. Just make sure you have pantry space because the bag is pretty big. The bag is 25 ounces and costs $6.
This package of English muffins comes to $0.32 per muffin.
I’m a big English muffin fan, especially for sandwiches or avocado toast.
Recently I have been eating them for breakfast with some cream cheese and honey drizzled on top.
I like to pop these in the freezer so they last a lot longer and I don’t have to worry about them going bad.
Each bag comes with two nine-count packs and costs $5.80.
These tacos are an easy already made dinner option that can last multiple meals.
The chicken-street-taco kit from Costco has become one of my all-time favorite items, and I especially love the cilantro-lime sauce.
The kit comes with grilled seasoned chicken, tomato salsa, cilantro-lime crema, shredded cheese, 12 corn and flour tortillas, and a shredded-lettuce mix. I can make multiple meals out of this for myself or share with my roommates for a taco night. It’s priced at $5 a pound and typically ranges between $14 to $16 per kit.
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