It tastes almost as good as homemade
Let’s be real here—Starbucks can start serving Pumpkin Spice Lattes as early as they like, but it isn’t really fall until Costco’s pumpkin pie returns to the warehouse. The Kirkland Signature Pumpkin Pie is the stuff of legend, and every year, it hits the store in September, reminding us all that Halloween and Thanksgiving are right around the corner. It’s like the precursor to the holiday rush—there for sweet, sweet comfort and indulgence. And as of this month, it’s back, baby.
The pie’s arrival has inspired social media memes, TikTok videos and all of the other viral pageantry the return of such an iconic dessert deserves. But what makes this store-bought holiday pie different from the others? Grab your forks and tuck in your napkins, because we’re celebrating Costco pumpkin pie by dropping some knowledge.
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What is the Costco pumpkin pie?
If you aren’t familiar with the Kirkland Signature Pumpkin Pie sold exclusively at Costco, let’s get into the basics first. For just $5.99, you get a 58-ounce, 12-inch pumpkin pie that can serve anywhere from 10 to 16 people. That means this dessert weighs more than 3 pounds (or 3.625 pounds, to be more precise). That’s a lot of pie for under six bucks!
“Though I love making pies from scratch, I have to admit that we often buy a pumpkin pie from Costco at Thanksgiving,” says Marissa Stevens, a recipe developer and the founder of Pinch and Swirl.
As far as ingredients, the primary one is pumpkin, as it should be. Pumpkin is the first ingredient listed on the packaging, followed by sugar, water, eggs, enriched flour and shortening. There are also 2% or less of modified cornstarch, nonfat milk, corn-syrup solids, canola or soybean oil, spices and dextrose. For what it’s worth, dextrose is just a simple sugar—it usually comes from corn and shows up in processed foods.
When was the Costco pumpkin pie introduced?
Costco started selling pumpkin pie back in 1987, using a recipe that was developed by Sue McConnaha, the retailer’s vice president of bakery operations. For the first 10 years, the pies were only 10 inches (that’s still a lot of pie), before being super-sized in 1997. They were sold for $5.99 then and are sold for $5.99 today.
Why does the Costco pumpkin pie still only cost $5.99?
Costco is basically the king of loss leaders, and the Kirkland Signature Pumpkin Pie can be counted among one of those loss-leader products. A loss leader is a product that a retailer sells at a super-low price or sometimes even at a loss (hence, the name) to draw shoppers in. The idea is that once you’re inside Costco’s doors, you’ll end up buying other items with higher profit margins. It’s less about making money on that one product and more about getting you through the door and filling your cart.
“When everything else feels like it costs more every time you step foot in a grocery store, seeing that $5.99 pie is a relief,” Stevens says. “I’m sure it costs Costco more than that to make them, but it’s smart anyway. It’s a nostalgia product now, and keeping the price steady feels like an intentional decision to win trust and goodwill. And it draws people to the store.”
What other Costco products never go up in price?
Costco’s leadership has said time and time again that it will never raise the price of its beloved hot dog combo. It’s a quarter-pound all-beef hot dog with a 20-ounce drink (that comes with free refills!) and is and always will be $1.50. Then there’s the famed Costco rotisserie chicken, which costs $4.99. The chicken did see a price increase (albeit briefly) to $5.99 in 2008, but it quickly went back down to $4.99 within the year. When it comes to keeping prices low, Costco doesn’t play around.
Is the Costco pumpkin pie available year-round?
Sadly, the Kirkland Signature Pumpkin Pie isn’t available 365 days a year, which is kind of what makes it so special. If we had access to all of the pumpkin things all year long, how would we even know when it’s fall? Seriously, though, the pumpkin pie is typically available at Costco from the beginning to middle of September (it depends on your warehouse location) until it sells out, usually in early December. Plan accordingly.
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Sources:
- Costco.com: “Kirkland Signature Pumpkin Pie – 58 oz.”
- Marissa Stevens, recipe developer and founder of Pinch and Swirl; interviewed, September 2025
- Joy of Costco: A Treasure Hunt from A to Z
- Fool.com: “Costco Wholesale (COST) Q3 2024 Earnings Call Transcript”
