Costco Shoppers Feel Duped By This Texas Roadhouse Find: 'Tastes Nothing Like The Restaurant Stuff'

It's never fun to be disappointed by a new product that you're trying out for the first time, and even more upsetting when that product is a new version of something popular that fails to deliver. This has been the unfortunate reality for some Costco shoppers who have recently discovered the Texas Roadhouse Honey Cinnamon Whipped Buttery Spread on the retailer's shelves, a product many consider a total disappointment.

The 20-ounce tub of "buttery spread" sells for $6.99 each, a fair price for its massive size. Though the product is meant to replicate the popular cinnamon butter that accompanies Texas Roadhouse's critically acclaimed bread rolls, in terms of both taste and texture, the Costco product falls short of the high marks that many consumers give the restaurant version. "It leaves a weird film in my mouth, I hate it," wrote one Reddit user. Another shopper said, "Tastes nothing like the restaurant stuff." And a couple mentioned that it lacked flavor.

Many fans online believe the reason for this lower quality is because the spread from Costco isn't actually made by Texas Roadhouse. Instead, the store-bought spread is made by Upfield US, Inc. — the company behind products like Country Crock and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter – and is "inspired by" the real thing (via Courier Journal). "This is because they just license the Texas Roadhouse name," claimed one Redditor. Others were upset at Costco itself, with one admitting, "I'm actually disappointed that this made it to Costco, thought they had higher standards."

Now, while the Texas Roadhouse-branded cinnamon spread at Costco doesn't live up to the restaurant version, you can still get some great substitutes in stores. For example, Sam's Club offers its own cinnamon butter spread, the Member's Mark Cinnamon Honey Butter. Not only is the product highly rated online, but it also comes in at the low price of just $6.44 per 12.4-ounce container. Similarly, Jacques Pépin's go-to brand of butter, Land O'Lakes, also sells its own cinnamon butter — which some online have noted is outright better than the Texas Roadhouse-branded product — at many grocery stores around the country. 

Fans of Texas Roadhouse's honey butter recommend making the spread at home, as it's quite easy to do with the right ingredients. Adding powdered sugar, cinnamon, honey, vanilla, and sea salt to some butter and mixing it all together until smooth is one of the many simple ways to emulate the restaurant's popular spread.

Alternatively, you can actually order the Texas Roadhouse Honey Cinnamon Butter to-go directly from the restaurant. For $1.99, you can get an 8-ounce container of the Texas Roadhouse butter. This means that you can actually get more butter — 24 ounces rather than just 20 — for less money by buying three of these containers instead of the Costco product. So, if you really want to enjoy the Texas Roadhouse staple in its most authentic form, buying it directly from the source is undoubtedly your best bet.