Clean Eating Shopping At Costco
Costco is a fabulous place for clean eaters. If you can avoid all the taste testing tables (say that five times fast!), you can actually find some pretty good bargains there and stock your clean eating kitchen or pantry at the same time!
Please keep in mind that the prices listed can vary greatly by region. Also, please note that this is a combination of what I know to be available in my area, and what I actually buy. This is not an all inclusive list. Just a place to start. I tried to include a variety of both organic and non-organic items.
OTHER CLEAN EATING SHOPPING LISTS
ORGANIC PRODUCE
Tip: If you want organic, look for the green hang tags.
- SPINACH, organic,fresh, 1 lb tub (around $3)
- KALE, organic,fresh, 1.5 lb bag (around $4)
- SPRING MIX LETTUCE, organic,fresh, 1 lb. tub (around $3)
- APPLES, organic,fresh, by the box, 5.5 lbs. (around $7)
- PEARS, organic, fresh, by the box, 6 lbs. (around $6)
- STRAWBERRIES, organic,fresh, by the tub (around $4)
- GRAPES, organic,fresh, by the tub (around $4)
- CARROTS, organic,fresh, 5 lb. bag (around $4)
- CARROTS, baby, organic, fresh, peeled, 5 lb. bag (around $4)
- CAESAR KIT MIX, organic, fresh, 1 lb bag (around $ 4) – Dressing is not clean
- CELERY, organic, fresh, 2 lb. bag (around $5.00)
- RASPBERRIES, organic,fresh, 24 oz. package (around $3 when in season)
- BLUEBERRIES, organic,fresh, 1 lb package (around $5 when in season)
- BLUEBERRIES, organic,frozen, 1 lb. bag (around $10)
- TRIPLE BERRY MIX, organic,frozen, 1 lb bag, Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries – Radar Farms brand (around $10)
NON-ORGANIC PRODUCE
Tip: When choosing non-organic produce, opt for thicker skinned produce so that you peel off most of the pesticides with the peel or skin.
- AVOCADOS, conventional, fresh, by the bag (around $7)
- BANANAS, conventional, fresh, by the box (around $5)
- ASPARAGUS, conventional, fresh, by the bag (around $6)
DAIRY
Tip: Dairy is always best purchased organic. But not everyone can afford it. Costco used to sell organic milk, but stopped. If they still carry it in your area, that’s always the better choice. If not, buy the best you can afford.
- GREEK YOGURT, Fage brand, conventional (around $4)
- MILK, conventional (around $9)
- COTTAGE CHEESE, conventional, (around $ 5)
POULTRY
Tip: Again, organic is best. But if you can’t afford it, Costco at least has some more affordable options.
- CHICKEN BREASTS, conventional, boneless, skinless, Kirkland brand (around $16)
- TURKEY, conventional, ground, lean, 4 packages totaling about 5 pounds ( around $15)
- TURKEY, organic, ground, lean, 2 packages totaling about 2 1/2 pounds ( around $15)
- EGGS, organic, 2 dozen (around $6)
- EGGS, conventional, 2 dozen (around $ 4)
PORK
- PORK, conventional, boneless chops (around $14)
NUTS AND NUT BUTTERS
- PEANUT BUTTER, conventional, two 40 oz. jars (around $10)
- ALMOND BUTTER, conventional, one 26 oz. jar (around $5)
- NUTS IN GENERAL, conventional (range varies depending on type and season)
GRAINS
- BROWN RICE, organic, 6 lb. bag (around $10)
- QUINOA, organic, 4 lb. bag (around $10)
- OATS, conventional (around $6)
PANTRY ITEMS
- GARLIC POWDER, conventional, 18 oz. plastic bottle (around $4)
- ONION POWDER, conventional, 19.5 oz. plastic bottle (around $3)
- DEHYDRATED ONION, chopped, conventional, 11.7 oz. plastic bottle (around $4)
- CUMIN, ground, conventional, 14 oz. plastic bottle (around $4)
- CHILI POWDER, conventional, 20 oz. plastic bottle (around $5)
- CINNAMON, conventional, 10.7 oz. plastic bottle (around $3)
- BLACK PEPPER, conventional, 12.7 oz. plastic bottle (around $5)
- HONEY, regular, 40 oz. bottle (around $10)
- MAPLE SYRUP, grade A, 1 liter (around $15)
- COCONUT SUGAR, organic (around $12 a bag)
- DRIED APPLES, bake-dried (around $6 a bag)
- DRIED FIGS, unsulphured (around $10 a bag)
Sadly, it turns out that agave is not clean. 🙁
Why? I’ve been told by other sources that it is.
I’ll refer you to this article: http://www.foodrenegade.com/agave-nectar-good-or-bad/
Really? I must have missed this somewhere… I always thought Tosca preferred agave over honey?
If you look at her site, she no longer has agave listed. Turns out it’s very processed. You can read more about it here: http://www.foodrenegade.com/agave-nectar-good-or-bad/
Besides being not clean it is incredibly high on the glycemic index!
Paige – Really? I always thought it was low on the index and that’s why people liked it. Either way, definitely not clean.
Agreed!
We just had a Costco open up in our area. Nice to know they have some organic options. I’ll have to check it out.
Awesome list Tiffany, thank you! I keep an ongoing Costco list on my fridge and will be adding many of these to it. One little tidbit I thought I’d pass along…my favorite greek yogurt is by far Fage. But I also buy Costco’s Kirkland’s brand of plain greek yogurt and it’s pretty good too. Plus it comes w/ two containers in one package so you get much more for your money. If you eat a lot of greek yogurt like I do, that equals big savings. It’s not quite as thick and creamy as the Fage but it’s a close second.
When I was in Costco last week, I found chia seeds. I also buy agave there too. Thanks for the list, I love Costco.
Costco in my area (Long Island, NY) just started selling Carrington Farms organic, unrefined, cold pressed coconut oil. Priced at $15 it is quite a bargain. I had some Nutiva in my pantry and compared the taste, it was equal.
Oh. My. Gosh. I love this post. I don’t even have a Costco near me, but I am looking forward to the other stores to come in the near future!
Count on it! Trader Joe’s is next. 🙂
VERY helpful!!! Thank you!!:-)
Didn’t realize I’ve been doing this forever already, except we don’t eat the swine…
I have been trying to decide if doing the Costco thing would be worth it for us. This list just might tip the scales if favor for Costco!! Thanks so much!!
I didn’t know Costco did organic food. They have some excellent products but it is hard to avoid those sample tables. I wish that everything there would be cost effective to buy in bulk but unfortunately I’ve found you really have to do your math to make sure you are actually saving money with some of the products there.
Yes, that is true. I have to say they have the best deal on organic spinach ever.
Excellent post! Thanks so much! Another great item is Kirkland Organic no-salt seasoning, 14.5-ounce container. A great marinade mixed with 1/4 cup of EVOO and 1/4 cup of bean, mushroom, or chicken stock.
thanks for the list! We just got a Costco and today I found 15 containers of Chobani, mixed flavors, for $2.97! Thats $.19 a container!!
Wish we had one near our home. They have a pretty good organic selection.
I have a Sams Club so I can take some of this info and apply it there, thank you
For me.. Costco cleans my bank account out Clean eating indeed. 😉
I keep my Costco member ship for a handful of certain products they have that I cant get elsewhere. I love their frozen chicken breasts. Not too big & excellent quality. You might ask about their Exec Membership if you’re interested in earning your money back. Supposedly, you will always earn your cost back in cash back, and if you dont, you only have to go to the customer service desk & tell them & they will give you the difference every year. A rep just told me this last month. I love Costco.. but I do spend too much $$ there.
Thanks so much…I love Costco, and thought I was doing a pretty good job at “shopping clean” there…I love to have my choices validated!
This is perfect! I have to go to Costco this week and seriously this helps with the grocery list.
I do love me some Costco!!!! It’s so easy to spend a lot though, but the value really is worth it for things you can store/freeze. Thanks for sharing this list!
Similar, yes.
That is entirely possible. I know the Concord store has a wonderful selection of organics. But I’ve heard other people say that their Costco doesn’t carry any organics at all.
Thank you for posting this! I’m so glad to know that the honey and maple syrup I’ve been buying is clean. I noticed that my Costco now has Maple sugar. Thoughts? Clean? I didn’t have the time to really check out the label…
It’s possible. You’ll have to read the ingredients. If it’s just 100% maple crystals, then yes. It’s clean.
Thank you for this list! This is help me make better choices and skip the cookies 🙂
Alice