Costco Foods That Taste Different Now

Have you ever purchased one of your favorite foods from Costco only to bite into it and find the taste wasn't what you were expecting — that somehow the flavor isn't what it used to be? If so, you know how disappointing it can be. Manufacturers alter recipes, source ingredients from new suppliers, or cut corners to save money. It can happen with grocery items from any store, including Costco and other big box retailers.

Learning which Costco products you should buy and which you might want to avoid based on flavor changes and other reasons can help you the next time you're planning a trip to the warehouse. We scoured the web looking for feedback from everyday customers to find out which Costco foods taste different now so that you can be prepared and make purchasing decisions accordingly. You may have even tried a few of these recently, noticed a change in the taste, and been wondering whether it was only you who thought something was off. Let's take a look at some Costco foods that taste different from what you might be used to.  

The rotisserie chicken is arguably one of the most popular food items sold at Costco. While they may have a two-hour shelf life, the chickens often fly off the warming sections so quickly they're gone before employees have a chance to restock them. When you consider how inexpensive the chickens are — especially compared to what you get if you purchase a rotisserie chicken from most standard grocery stores — and all the things you can do with rotisserie chicken, it's no wonder the birds are so popular.

However, some regular customers have noted a change in the way Costco chicken tastes. One took to Reddit to complain, "For the last several months I've noticed an almost chemical, bleach smell. My husband doesn't notice. I keep trying, thinking maybe it's a random on off but they still taste weird to me and it makes me so sad." Several other users chimed in to note that they also tasted a difference, with many referencing a similar chemical taste. The warehouse also changed the way it packages its chickens — retiring the old plastic containers in favor of a new bag to reduce waste. While many customers weren't happy about this change either, the complaints about the chemical-like taste seem to pre-date the redesigned packaging, so it doesn't appear that the two are linked.

Chocolate chip cookies are a go-to dessert item. Costco sells a pack of 24 cookies, allowing you to easily get your chocolate fix whenever you want. Some customers are expressing dissatisfaction in the current recipe, however, sharing that one of their past favorites no longer hits the spot like it used to. One of these customers started a Reddit thread after members of her household complained the texture of the cookies changed, and they are overly crumbly now. They said, "Yes, I have noticed they crumble real easy now in the last 2-3 times we bought them." 

Another shared that they suspected the recipe had changed. "I think they've changed ingredients," they said. "It sounds weird, but they give me really bad heartburn now." And yet another customer had an old pack of cookies and compared one from each batch. They posted a picture on Facebook showing that the newer cookies were not only smaller than the old ones, but that they also were a different color.

A few years ago, the bagels available for sale in the bakery section at Costco were made by Einstein Bros. They were available in a variety of flavors, including sesame seed and plain. You could mix and match sleeves of six of two different flavors to purchase a dozen bagels — perfect for making breakfast sandwiches or freezing for later use. Today, if you go to the bakery section at Costco, you won't find bags of Einstein Bros. bagels. Instead, the bags of bagels in the bakery are Kirkland brand.

While customers rave about many Kirkland brand products, some are disappointed about the switch for the bagels. In response to a customer's question on Facebook asking about the bagels, one individual wrote, "My kids and I LOVED the Einstein Bros bagels. These 'boiled water' bagels are average at best." Not all customers are sad about the change, however. When replying to a question on Reddit, one wrote, "Bagels are now boiled and baked vs baked, which is more traditional. More crusty exterior. I tried them last week and thought they're much better."

A 12-pack of the Kirkland Signature Artisan Ciabatta Rolls is reasonably priced, giving you the makings for several sandwiches, French toast, and so much more. While the rolls clearly sell enough that Costco hasn't discontinued them, some customers have stopped buying them after noticing a difference in their taste and texture. One customer, who shared that they had been regularly buying the bread for about 10 years, wrote on Reddit, "... this last bag, the bread doesn't taste as good, the texture is a tad rubbery, I really hope it's a one off as I love this bread! Anyone else noticed, maybe it was just a bad batch?"

Based on the responses from other customers, it doesn't appear they just got a bad batch. Other customers noted that the bread had a off taste and different texture. Some note that the new rolls don't seem to last as long, explaining they'll freeze most of the pack when they get it to prevent them from spoiling before they get a chance to eat them. In another Reddit threat, one customer wrote, "It USED to be good. But this is inedible now."

About those Costco croissants: "Just curious if anyone else is noticing this too or it's in my head. Feel like the croissants ain't what they used to be," one dissatisfied Costco customer posted on Reddit. Other posters reassured the original customer that the change wasn't "in his head." They commented that the croissants were drier and not as buttery as they used to be, more expensive, and slightly more bitter than a croissant should be.

These changes are a bummer, when you consider the savings you can get by purchasing a 12-pack of croissants at Costco compared to getting them from a bakery or even a standard grocery store. It's also going to put a damper on the Costco food court hack that pairs one of the croissants with a hot dog to make a unique pigs in a blanket. The way some Reddit users complain about the change in the taste, it almost feels like you might be better off waiting for the croissants to turn stale and finding a new use for them.

The Soft & Chewy Granola Bars from Kirkland are a real steal. You can get a box of 64 bars for less than $13, which means each bar only costs about $0.20. Unfortunately, while the bars are still a great deal, some regular customers have found that they simply don't taste as good as they used to. In a product review on Costco's website, one wrote, "First off about 6 months ago I noticed they started making the size quite smaller. Then a couple months I noticed a different smell and taste to the granola bar." The same reviewer also noticed that the newer boxes of bars had fewer chocolate chips and more pieces of crispy rice.

Reddit users aren't taking the change well, either. One went as far as to describe the newly formulated bars as "a shadow of their former selves." Other reviewers shared similar sentiments, some lamented on the fact that the bars are now smaller, while others observed they are too hard to chew without hurting their jaws. One even said they get more gas when eating these granola bars compared to the name brand ones which are also available at Costco.

Frozen pizza makes for a quick and easy lunch or dinner. Costco offers a wide assortment of frozen pizza brands, but some customers are questioning the quality and changes they noticed in some of these selections. One Reddit user posted a picture of two slices of cheese pizza side by side, noting the difference in the look of the old pizza with the new one. The mozzarella cheese on the older slice had completely melted, while the cheese on the newer side was splotchier and nowhere near as smooth.

In response to this post, some other Reddit users expressed similar frustrations with the new frozen cheese pizzas. One explained that the new pizzas cook differently. They wrote, "Easier to burn crust, harder crust and cheese does not melt the same. Real bummer."

The cheese pizza doesn't seem to be the only variety that has experienced a downfall. On a different Reddit thread, a few Costco customers complained about the pepperoni pizza available at the warehouse. One shared, "Kirkland pizza used to be so much better. I remember when it had both types of pepperoni (traditional circle and small rectangles). That was great pizza. The thin crust is good but I think it's missing something."

The double chocolate muffins are another Costco bakery item that have received a recent reformulation. Until recently, the oversized muffins used to be sold in a six-pack. One Reddit customer describes them as "... a journey and an experience. Large enough to feel satisfied. Sweet enough, and still soft and bready." However, all good things must come to an end. And it looks like that time has come for the double chocolate muffins.

They've been rebranded as triple chocolate muffins, and are now sold in a pack of eight, instead of a pack of six. However, the new muffins are smaller, and many customers aren't pleased with the new taste or packaging. That same user above who wrote about the journey and experience of the old muffins had this to say about the new ones: "They're tiny, expensive, overly-thick, dry, and have an off-putting taste to them. The wrappers are annoying too. It hardly even tastes like real chocolate." Other posters agreed. One explained the new chocolate muffins are a big downgrade from the previous muffins. Another said they were flavorless, grainy, super dry, and the chocolate chips are situated on top of the muffin, and not on the inside, which is what they prefer. There are a few people who seem to like the new formulation, however, so you might want to try these for yourself before making a final decision.  

While many Costco customers always leave a space for pumpkin pie in their shopping cart, others are questioning whether this holiday staple tastes as good as it once did. One of these skeptics posted the following question on Reddit: "Am I crazy, or does this year's pumpkin pie taste different and just not as good? Felt like there were less spices and more pumpkin. Hoping it was just a bad batch." Several commenters agreed and said that they had also noticed a difference in the taste. One described it as watery, while another said that it was mushier than normal.

This is another item you might want to taste for yourself before jumping to any conclusions, however. Not all customers are in agreement that the pumpkin pie's flavor is off. One Redditor commented on the thread sharing that they had just tried the pie the previous weekend and found the taste to be just as good as it always had been. 

Costco's apple pie used to be a favorite of many customers, but it seems to be falling from favor due to a possible change in the recipe that has many vegans questioning it. One vegan customer, who used to love Costco's apple pie, took to Reddit to share their experiences – they explained that they didn't read the new label in the store, and once they got the apple pie home they learned that it contains milk and eggs.

However, that same customer edited their question after going to the warehouse at a later date. They noted that they checked the label of the apple pies again and that there were once again no eggs, milk, or other animal-derived products listed. One other person replying to the thread shared that they spoke to a Costco supervisor about the possible recipe change and were informed that the vegan pie is a holiday offering, while the newer recipe with animal-derived ingredients is a separate product. Long story short, if you're a vegan, you'll definitely want to check the ingredient list before buying an apple pie from Costco.

In 2020, the Costco food court switched from offering frozen yogurt to serving soft-serve ice cream in its food courts. For a while, only vanilla soft-serve was offered. Strawberry soft-serve joined the lineup for a brief period, but then disappeared. Toward the middle of 2024, the food courts started offering chocolate ice cream, bringing big smiles to the faces of many customers.

Not all customers are all smiles about Costco's ice cream, however. Around the same time that the chocolate soft-serve appeared on the menu, a few started questioning whether the vanilla ice cream was still the same. "Did they change the ice cream formula? It's not like soft serve anymore and the taste is way different," one sad customer wrote on Reddit. Some commenters shared a similar opinion, noting that the texture of the ice cream was more like custard than soft serve. Others said they had different experiences depending on which Costco location they visited. If you've had the soft-serve vanilla ice cream from the Costco food court in the past, it might be worth trying it again to see if you notice a difference.

If you've been assuming that all butter is the same, you might want to stay away from Reddit boards discussing potential changes to the Kirkland butter sold at Costco. Some fans are in an uproar complaining that the butter's formulation has changed for the worse, leading to devastating results when it is used for baking. One Redditor recounted watching a TikTok video where the person had trouble making a favorite recipe using Costco's butter. They wrote, "Didn't think much of it until Thanksgiving. We use butter for our pie crust recipe and that crust would not hold up! 2 batches just crumbly and could not get it to roll. Went to store [and] got different butter ... and what do you know ... same recipe, worked again."

Several other Costco customers commented, also sharing their woes using the butter for making pie crusts and other baked goods. Some shared their suspicions that the reason it wasn't performing as well as it used to was because of a change in the water content. Several customers shared that they are switching to Irish butter — specifically Kerrygold — for all of their baking needs to avoid any potential issues.