Warning: Contents may include rancid oil, too much salt and a helping of sadness
As a Costco superfan, I may have sung the praises of Kirkland products more times than I’ve sung “Happy Birthday.” And I particularly love them for shelf-stable bulk items. In fact, I have a pantry that could double as a Y2K bunker. But even I have my limits—and yes, that includes some of the Kirkland canned goods.
“Overall Costco has incredibly high standards for any food they sell, so their house brands are often just as good, if not better, than brand-name products,” says Bryan Quoc Le, PhD, a food scientist and food-industry consultant who has worked with companies to get their foods into Costco and has experienced the vetting process firsthand. “The Kirkland brand is much higher quality than a regular grocery-store brand, like Great Value at Walmart.”
That said, not every item deserves a spot in your grocery cart, let alone your apocalypse pantry. Some are overly processed, some just don’t taste great and some (gasp!) aren’t even a good deal. Marissa Stevens, a chef and recipe developer, agrees: “I shop at Costco regularly for both personal and professional needs, and I’ve worked my way through a lot of Kirkland canned goods in the process, but there are a few I skip every time.”
So which items aren’t worth it? We asked Le, Stevens and chef Donovan DeLoach to share which Costco-brand canned goods you should skip and what to get instead. (Hey, we weren’t going to leave you hanging!) Read on to find out before making your next Costco run.
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Kirkland Signature Canned Chicken Breast
If you’ve ever eaten chicken that tasted like it lost a bet, it might have come from this can. “It’s convenient, but the texture is often stringy or mushy, and the flavor is flat compared to freshly cooked or even some name-brand canned options,” Stevens says. “I’ve tried dressing it up in casseroles and salads, but it never quite redeems itself.”
Also, the sodium is no joke—660 mg per 3-ounce serving, which is nearly 30% of your daily recommended limit.
What to get instead: Stevens recommends Whole Foods 365 canned chicken for better flavor and texture. Or better yet, poach and shred chicken breasts at home, then freeze them in appropriately sized portions.
Kirkland Signature Ground Coffee
It smells amazing when you first crack it open … but by cup 73? Not so much. We’re not trying to (ahem) roast Costco, but Kirkland’s ground coffee is one of its most-criticized items. And that is largely due to how it’s processed and stored. “Ground coffee starts going stale the second it’s opened,” says DeLoach. “And with Costco’s mega-sized bags, it’s basically rancid by the time you finish it.”
The science backs him up: Coffee oils degrade quickly when exposed to air and light, which means the bottom half of that bag is basically powdered bitterness and sadness. Plus, hard-core coffee drinkers say it can develop a slightly metallic or burnt flavor over time.
What to get instead: For the best cup of joe, DeLoach recommends buying whole beans and grinding them in small batches. It may be annoying, but you’ll get better flavor, a longer shelf life and an excuse to say things like “notes of caramel and stone fruit” while judging your friends. If grinding your own beans feels like too much, go for Starbucks’s ground coffee at Costco—it’s still bulk-ish, but it comes in smaller, resealable packages that won’t taste like punishment by week three.
Kirkland Signature Helles-Style Lager Canned Beer
This beer isn’t bad. But it also isn’t great. It’s kind of like the guy who shows up to the party with an acoustic guitar and then proceeds to play Nickelback—technically fine, but spiritually disappointing. Why the “meh” vibes? It’s all about the can. “Aluminum is very thin, which means it loses heat faster, and that means the beer has to be pasteurized at a higher temperature for longer than bottled beer,” explains Le. “And generally speaking, more heat means worse flavor for foods and drinks.”
He adds: “I’m not saying don’t drink canned beer, but I am saying if you’re particular about taste—like I am—choose a bottled option.”
What to get instead: Pacífico Clara, a crisp Mexican lager in glass bottles. It tastes light, balanced and refreshingly beachy, not like it spent spring break in a warehouse. Plus, it’s widely available at most Costcos and still affordable.
Kirkland Signature Canned Roast Beef with Gravy
This one is giving “1970s school-lunch flashback,” and not in a nostalgic way. “The sodium is sky-high, and the texture doesn’t hold up at all when reheated,” Stevens says. “It’s either dry or overly gelatinous.” And gelatinous is … not a word most of us like associated with meat.
Worse yet, it contains more than 900 mg of sodium per serving. And the beef often looks like it was personally offended by the concept of “appetizing.”
What to get instead: Canned beans or tuna packed in olive oil offer better shelf-stable protein with less sodium. Or Stevens suggests batch-cooking and freezing shredded beef from Costco at home.
Kirkland Signature Canned Green Beans
These beans have been soaking so long, they could qualify for senior discounts. “They’re packed in extra liquid, and the texture is overly soft and waterlogged,” Stevens says. “Even if you drain them, they never really recover.” Is it a vegetable? Is it just green mush? Hard to say.
What to get instead: Frozen or fresh green beans, depending on the season. You’ll get better texture and taste, as well as actual bean integrity.
Kirkland Signature Albacore Tuna
Tuna should taste like the sea—clean, fresh, maybe a little sassy. But this one? “There are concerns about mercury levels in albacore tuna, and Kirkland’s version doesn’t seem to have any sustainability certifications or sourcing transparency,” DeLoach says. High mercury and unclear fishing practices? That’s a nope.
There is also an ongoing class-action lawsuit alleging that Kirkland Signature White Albacore Tuna in Water carries a “dolphin-safe” label while sourcing tuna via methods—like longline fishing—that allegedly harm dolphins.
What to get instead: Wild Planet or Safe Catch brands, which offer lower mercury levels and sustainable fishing certifications. And yes, Costco carries them both.
Kirkland Signature Imported Basil Pesto
This one’s controversial. People love this pesto—I’ve seen it get more praise on Reddit than most people get at their own funerals. But not everyone’s buying the hype. “This one’s OK, but I really don’t get the hype,” Le says. “I think it’s overpriced for what it is. You can find fresher options for a cheaper price.”
And unless you’re planning to eat it every day, there’s a good chance it will go bad before you can finish it. It does have a “use-by date,” and the manufacturer recommends that you toss it four to seven days after opening, but many Kirkland pesto fans say it realistically lasts three weeks or so in the fridge.
What to get instead: A refrigerated pesto, which is usually fresher, brighter and made in smaller batches that won’t require a 12-step preservation plan. Le recommends Trader Joe’s pesto, which he says has a fresher flavor.
Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes
This one hurts. I wanted to love them. I tried to love them. But like a bad blind date, they kept showing up either too watery or too acidic. “When I’m cooking something where tomatoes are the star, I want more reliability,” Stevens says. Inconsistent quality can derail everything from chili to marinara.
What to get instead: Muir Glen Organic Diced Tomatoes or Cento San Marzano–style. They’re reliable, flavorful and worth the slight price bump.
Kirkland Signature Artichoke Hearts
Artichokes have main-character energy, so why are they being cast in a supporting role to bland oil? “I love artichokes, but the Kirkland ones in oil are overly greasy, and the flavor doesn’t hold up,” DeLoach says. They’re packed in canola oil, which is neutral in flavor, but not in a good way. It flattens the artichokes’ natural brightness and leaves a slick film on everything from salads to pasta. And unless you want to spend your afternoon blotting oily hearts like a pizza slice from a high school cafeteria, it’s a pain to prep.
What to get instead: Artichoke hearts packed in water or marinated in olive oil with herbs. (Costco uses a cheaper canola oil that Le says can easily go rancid.) Look for brands like Trader Joe’s or Mezzetta for better flavor and texture without the oil overload.
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Sources:
- Donovan DeLoach, a private chef in Boulder, Colorado, nutritionist and personal trainer; in-person interview, July 22, 2025
- Bryan Quoc Le, PhD, food scientist, author of 150 Food Science Questions Answered and founder and principal food Consultant at Mendocino Food Consulting; phone interview, July 22, 2025
- Marissa Stevens, chef, recipe developer and founder of Pinch and Swirl; email interview, July 21, 2025
- ClassAction.org: “Costco’s Kirkland Signature White Albacore Tuna Not as ‘Dolphin Safe’ as Advertised, Class Action Alleges”
