The Best Costco Snacks, According To Chefs

There are two parts to any grocery list. One includes all the essentials—proteins, vegetables, and carbohydrates—for each meal, and the other features the fun stuff: specialty drinks, desserts, and, most importantly, snacks.

While you may not be using your favorite bag of chips or candy to prepare dinner, they make your life a lot more delicious. As food prices risethere’s one store we’ll be turning to to help ensure snacks still fit into our grocery budget: Costco.

Costco is the ultimate destination for large-format versions of the snacks we know and love — these bulk quantities, paired with its membership system, keep its prices impressively low — but the best part about this retailer is the hidden gems in its aisles just waiting to be discovered.

Professional chefs love this retailer too, and when they aren’t crafting up thoughtful menus for work, it’s one of their go-to outlets for restocking their favorite snacks at an incredible price. To inform our next Costco haul, we asked chefs what their must-buy snacks at the superstore are, and they offered suggestions ranging from light late-night bites to sweet treats and savory chips.

Kirkland Signature Organic Roasted Seaweed

We’re kicking things off with a crispy treat that’s perfect for light snacking or serving with salmon rice bowls: Kirkland Signature’s Organic Roasted Seaweed. Chef Roshara Sanders of Red Rooster Harlemdescribes these roasted seaweed squares as“light, salty, and the perfect late-night snack.”

Each thin seaweed sheet is roasted with a simple, flavorful blend of sunflower oil, sesame oil, sea salt, and rosemary extract.

Shoppers can buy a 10-pack of seaweed snacks for $12, or about $1.20 per individually wrapped serving, which is noticeably cheaper than the $2.50 or more you often pay for similar items at other grocery stores.

Golden Island Korean BBQ Pork Jerky

Although jerky tends to be a pricier snack, Costco’s cost-effective, nearly one-pound bags make it much easier to stock in your pantry. The Golden Island Korean BBQ Pork Jerky delivers seven grams of protein per serving and comes in a 14.5-ounce bag for just $15.

If you’re hesitant to buy this much jerky without trying it first, chef, cookbook author, and content creator Jon Kung notes that “(Costco) has this Korean BBQ flavored pork jerky that I couldn’t control myself around. I’d eat the pound bag within an episode of whatever show I’m watching.”

Kirkland Signature Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds

Like to keep a sweet snack on hand? Your money will stretch further with a tub of Kirkland Signature Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds. Equal parts crowd-pleasing and budget-friendly, this 48-ounce container makes an excellent snack for long road trips, parties, or, for a content creator and chef, on-set shoots.

“I buy my own craft services on shoot days when I employ a video team, and the things that people love to mindlessly graze on are the giant tub of chocolate-covered almonds and the dried mangoes,” Kung emphasizes.

San Pellegrino

While not technically a snack, Slicehaus chef and co-owner Agostino Cangiano considers this the best afternoon pick-me-up you can snag from Costco. The chef describes the Italian water as “elegance in a bottle” and points out that “Costco’s price lets you keep it flowing.”

It’s the whole cases of San Pellegrino that will save you the most at this retailer. A 24-count box of the flavored San Pellegrino Essence will cost $18.50, or just 77 cents per can.

Kirkland Signature Supreme Whole Almonds

Almonds are making a second appearance on this list, as the roasted unsalted Kirkland Signature almonds are a favorite of chefs like Cangiano. During a long workday, these no-fuss bagged nuts offer straightforward nourishment. Cangiano explains that “They taste honest. I keep them in the kitchen when I’m tasting dough and need a reset for my palate.”

They’re priced at $13.69 for a three-pound bag, which breaks down to about $4.56 per pound. That’s much cheaper than what you’d pay at nut-specific retailer Nuts.comwhere one pound of raw almonds costs $10.49.

SoKusa Shrimp Chips with Garlic and Butter

This savory snack is a favorite of Carver Road Hospitality’s corporate executive chef, Daniel Ontiveros. The SoKusa Happy Shrimp Chips with Garlic and Butter are among his top “underrated” picks at the warehouse retailer, and Ontiveros finds that they’re “super light and a great vehicle for just about any dip.”

There’s even data to back up how tasty this offering is: A 2024 report from CouponBirds revealed that Costco’s Shrimp Chips are among the ten most popular chips at the retailer, based on hundreds of thousands of online reviews.

These fried treats are made from tapioca flour and 13.5% wild shrimp, with added layers of savory flavor from butter, garlic powder, onion powder, and soy sauce. This item is a bit on the pricier side, with a bundle of two family-sized, 16-ounce bags available at Costco for $28 (or $14 each). However, this is a notable discount compared to other retailers; for example, one 16-ounce bag at Walmart will cost you a little over $18.

Unreal Dark Chocolate Coconut Minis

Ontiveros recommends keeping the Unreal Dark Chocolate Coconut Minis — miniature bars filled with shredded coconut and a dark chocolate shell coating — on hand for a bite-sized dessert.

The ingredient list for these vegan candy bars is simple: dark chocolate, organic coconut, and organic cassava syrup. With an almost one-pound bag of the sweet snacks for just $12.47, this is another example of a premium product offered at a great price by Costco.