What Really Makes Costco's Pizza Taste So Good

The Costco food court is an institution that's often the best part of visiting the warehouse retail chain. From its iconic $1.50 hot dog combo to their succulent rotisserie chicken that's switched out every two hours, the offerings at the food court are the most delicious rendering of Costco's low markup policy. But truly nothing comes close to the Costco pizza, where 2 bucks per (giant) slice is the more expensive proposition. That's right, it actually works out cheaper if you buy the whole Costco pie.

At such low prices, it's a wonder the chain is able to churn out such consistently high-quality pizza. As it turns out, Costco's pizza-making process is (literally) a well-oiled machine that can make an entire pie in a matter of minutes. The deliciousness is in the details and the chain sources its ingredients from very specific places, is overly generous with toppings (especially its specially formulated mix of cheeses), and ensures that pizzas on display are always hot and fresh. If a pizza isn't sold within the hour, it is replaced with a fresher pie. In a broader sense, the Costco food court's philosophy is also geared towards serving delicious, pocket-friendly fare, which, as you'll see, is evident in their menu selections.

The process of making a Costco pizza is detailed and focuses on getting every minor aspect right using a combination of automation and experienced human hands. It all starts with the dough, which is sourced daily from a supplier in Brooklyn and then rested and proofed before being flattened on a pizza press and stretched by hand. Next, the dough is perforated to prevent bubbles from forming during the bake and then goes under the robotic pizza sauce spout. While the sauce's exact recipe is kept under wraps (though forums like Pizzamaking have tried to figure it out), the robotic saucing spout ensures an even layer and no missed spots.

The cheese and toppings are added by hand but always measured to ensure consistency. Costco also uses a blend of cheeses instead of just mozzarella, giving their pies an extra kick of cheesy goodness. And then there's the bake — with each type of pie getting a separate belt so it's baked to perfection. The final factor that makes Costco pizza taste good is its freshness. In addition to there always being fresh pizzas on display for serving slices, you can also ask for yours to be extra crispy or well done. If you do that in person, your pizza will be run through the oven once more and you'll get the hottest, freshest Costco pie possible.

You wouldn't expect Costco to skimp on pizza toppings, and indeed they don't, possibly erring to the other extreme for some. An 18-inch Costco pie is topped with a whopping one and a half pounds of cheese. And because it is carefully measured, every pie will have the same amount. Similarly, a pepperoni pizza will always have 60 pieces of pepperoni, laid out in a specific pattern so that the entire pie is covered evenly. Unfortunately, the best example of a loaded Costco pizza has been discontinued. However, this brings us to the Costco food court's strategic menu selections.

The company prefers to keep fewer options on the food court menu to ensure that each dish hits the mark. With every detail of the pizza-making process so carefully curated, imagine the amount of work that would go into introducing a new type of pizza and ensuring it is consistently up to the retailer's food court standards.