What’s Always in My Costco Cart (From a City-Dweller with *Very* Limited Space)
Table Talk Vol. 1
Living in the city with limited space means Costco isn’t always the most practical option, even if something is a “good deal”. I don’t have much extra space to store things, so buying most things in bulk is silly. One day, the dream is to have a walk-in pantry and a double freezer (still in the city of course), but until then, I have to work with what I have.
That being said, a few years ago I realized I could order Costco delivery from Instacart and my life was forever changed. I do a big order every 2-3 weeks and restock on all of my staples. Everything on this list makes my life 1000x easier and is a much better deal than buying it from a local grocery store. I’ll explain my use cases for all of these ingredients so you can see why I think it’s totally worth it to order them!
Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese: I love parmesan cheese (aka Parmigiano Reggiano but no need to be extra in a casual conversation) because of how versatile it is. A good, aged block like this would be $100(more??) at Whole Foods. I use this for pasta — literally freshly grated parmesan, butter, pasta water, and freshly ground black pepper gives you the easiest lazy caccio e pepe, on top of eggs, on top of salads, in mac and cheese, in breading for chicken cutlets, in soup, on roasted veggies like broccolini or brussels sprouts, on a cheese board. This list goes on! Having it on hand rounds out and elevates so many dishes.
Gluten Free Pizza: This is one of the best frozen pizzas I’ve ever had, gluten free or otherwise. It is absolutely delicious and has a buttery, crispy crust, delicious tomato sauce, and the perfect amount of cheese. My kids love it, and so do we. If I’m making it for adults, I’ll often add some prosciutto, arugula, and (you guessed it) freshly grated parmesan cheese. Last week, my husband tried it on the grill instead of in the oven, and OMG, it was even better than in the oven. Tasted just like take-out pizza. I try to always keep a couple of these in the freezer ready to go.
Sous Vide Egg Bites: If you like the Starbucks Sous Vide Egg Bites, these are the exact same. I love having a high-ish protein breakfast option that is low effort (see also cottage cheese, but a girl can only eat so much cottage cheese) and savory. I heat these in the microwave with a damp paper towel on top (my best microwave hack).
Peanut Butter: I make a lot of peanut butter banana protein smoothies and find that a jar can go shockingly quickly. And yes, I know Costco has a natural peanut butter option that everyone loves but I JUST CAN’T DO IT, OKAY?! This is a big jar, but it still fits in my normal-sized kitchen shelf.
Rao’s Marinara Sauce: Because I think we can all agree that Rao’s is the superior jarred sauce, and for that reason grocery stores are selling it for comically high prices. It’s almost always worth it to get it at Costco.
Butter: Le sigh. Before I moved to Toronto, I would always order my Kerrygold butter from Costco. Now, I am stuck with regular degular butter (they don’t sell Kerrygold here — I have to bring it across the border), but it’s still a good amount cheaper at Costco. If you are lucky enough to have a Costco with Kerrygold, you are lucky enough.
Annie’s Shells & Cheese: Another thing grocery stores really like to mark up. I get the big pack of Annie’s to have on hand for my kids whenever we need a quick and easy dinner. I feel like the boxes end up being half the price when you buy them in bulk.
Maple Syrup: Our house is a strictly real maple syrup house (even before I moved to Canada!), but real maple syrup is annoyingly expensive. The Costco one is still pricey, but the value is much better for the size.
Vanilla Extract: Maybe it’s because I add vanilla extract based on ~vibes~ instead of measuring, but I have been going through bottles alarmingly fast, so I decided to get a big bottle from Costco. And yes, another thing that is way more expensive in a regular grocery store than it is in Costco.
Better Than Bouillon: Storing large jugs (boxes?) of chicken stock in a house without a pantry is not really an option for someone who cooks as much as I do. Better than Bouillon is my best friend and one of my top 10 most-used kitchen products.
Olive Oil: Costco is actually well known for the Kirkland brand Olive Oil, but I don’t have space for the large jug it comes in. I really like this Terra Delyssa brand, and these are countertop size, so I store one and keep the other one next to my stove. It’s a really solid EVOO that’s very versatile.
Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets//Breaded Chicken Chunks: I love both of these options for chicken nuggets. The breaded chicken chunks are a recommendation from Dan Pelosi. (The gluten-free ones are not available in Canada, unfortunately.) I love having nuggets in the freezer for a quick lunch when I just can’t think of anything else. The breaded chicken chunks also work incredibly well on a salad!
Kids Snacks: This is an honorable mention but I also get all my kids’ snacks at Costco. That includes things like apple sauce pouches, fruit leather bars, fig bars, and cheese sticks.
I know Costco can be incredibly overwhelming, but honestly, these staples are so worth it, and ordering on Instacart makes it completely seamless. Let me know if you have anything you would add in the comments!
Love you, mean it!
XO,
JBB