15 Southern-Inspired Foods Real Costco Fans Know To Look For

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Costco is a nationwide (and worldwide) chain, and as such it doesn't lean too heavily into regional items, so there are a number of Southern staples you're unlikely to find on the shelves. If you're wanting to make Southern comfort foods such as collard greens, fried green tomatoes, or fried okra, you may not find the star ingredients in store, nor does Costco seem to carry cult favorite Duke's mayo with any regularity (although it may have done so in the past).

From time to time, Southern-inspired items do pop up as limited-time items. This past summer, for example, there was a peaches and cream pastry that was more strudel than cobbler. There was also a seafood boil kit, albeit one sold for a price customers considered exorbitant. A year ago the bakery offered a banana pudding cake, and oddly enough this did not reappear this year when every other retailer seemed to be awash in banana-flavored finds. (Seriously Costco, that's just bananas!)

At present, however, there are still several Southern-style foods to be had in store. Some can be found in the meat and seafood department, others in the frozen foods aisle. The deli and bakery also show a little below the Mason-Dixon line inspiration, and even the produce department gets in on the action, as do the center aisles with their shelf-stable staples.

Andouille is a highly-seasoned Cajun sausage often used in gumbo, one of the must-try dishes when visiting Louisiana. Gumbo is one product that Costco seems to offer only sporadically, but it does have all of the fixings for a DIY version; andouille included. The Amylu Andouille Sausages currently on offer are somewhat nontraditional since they're made from chicken, not pork, and hail from the shores of Lake Michigan rather than the bayou. Even so, it's nice and spicy and will get the job done.

Purchase a 16-link, 40-ounce package of Amylu Andouille Chicken Sausages at Costco for $15.88.

A recent Costco bakery product, these Southern-style buttermilk biscuits appear dry to some shoppers. Then again, this is exactly what you want if you plan to smother the biscuits in sausage gravy or use them as the base for an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. While Costco Buttermilk Biscuits don't appear on the company's website, they should still be available in stores. A package of 10 biscuits is priced at $6.99.

Catfish are abundant in the waters of the Southeastern United States, and fried catfish has long been a soul food staple. For a true Southern experience, try a fried filet in a coleslaw-topped catfish po'boy or served over rice with an étouffée sauce.

Purchase Kirkland Signature Fresh Farmed Catfish Fillets at Costco for $11.34 per pound.

The chicken biscuit may not be a Chick-fil-A invention, but even if it was it would still be Southern since the chain has Georgia roots. The Jimmy Dean Spicy Chicken Honey Biscuit, then, is doubly Southern since the eponymous Mr. Dean was a Texan. Provenance aside, these breakfast sandwiches make a Texas-sized morning meal since in addition to chicken they also have egg and cheese.

Purchase a package of eight Jimmy Dean Spicy Chicken Honey Biscuits at Costco for $18.15.

Beignets are practically synonymous with New Orleans, so it seems kind of odd that Costco originally sold this dessert at locations overseas. (Or over-border, in the case of Canada and Mexico.) Nonetheless, its chocolate-hazelnut mini beignets finally arrived in the United States in 2025, and at present they remain available in the bakery.

Purchase a package of 22 Mini Beignets Filled with Chocolate Hazelnut at Costco for $11.34.

Famous Dave's is a barbecue chain that offers some of the best ribs out there, but actually got its start in Wisconsin, which is far from the Deep South both culturally and geographically. Nevertheless, cornbread is cornbread, and cornbread has featured on Southern tables for centuries, making Famous Dave's Corn Bread Mix Southern in spirit even if manufactured in the Midwest.

Purchase four 15-ounce boxes of Famous Dave's Corn Bread Mix at Costco for $7.93.

Costco offers the Florida favorite key lime pie as a seasonal specialty, most recently bringing it back to the bakery for a brief summer run earlier this year. At present, however, that pie is no longer available. You can experience the same flavor in frozen form by picking up a pack of Jeni's Key Lime Pie Frozen Dessert Sandwiches.

Purchase an eight-count of Jeni's Key Lime Pie Frozen Dessert Sandwiches at Costco for $16.79.

When I was growing up in the not-so-Southern state of Maryland, I thought of macaroni and cheese as a main dish (albeit one only served when money was tight). It wasn't until spending a Thanksgiving with my Virginia-born brother-in-law that I learned it's a traditional Southern side — not only a holiday must-have right up there with cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes but also a popular add-on at barbecue restaurants. Kirkland Signature Mac and Cheese from the Costco deli makes for a serviceable side right out of the package but can also be spiced up to suit different main dishes or even serve as an entree.

Purchase Kirkland Signature Mac and Cheese at Costco for $4.53 per pound.

Pecans are actually the only edible tree nut native to the United States, and Georgia is the country's top pecan-producing state. Pecans are the official state nut of several Southern states, including Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas. Can't hardly get more Southern than a bag of Kirkland Signature Pecan Halves, then, can you? Costco actually sources these nuts from Mexico, but they can be used to bake a classic Southern pecan pie or a flavorful-despite-the-name Kentucky sawdust pie.

Purchase a 2-pound bag of Kirkland Signature Pecan Halves at Costco for $17.01.

Pimento cheese may be the South's most iconic dairy product, but it actually comes from up North (gasp!). Don't pay that no mind though since the Pawleys Island Palmetto Cheese sold at Costco comes from South Carolina, the Palmetto State. Both the original and jalapeño varieties come in a 24-ounce tub, which should make a more than sufficient amount of sandwiches for your next Master's Golf watch party (pimento cheese sandwiches are traditionally served at the event). Not a golf fan? You can add pimento cheese to tuna salad or a batch of deviled eggs, and it also makes the best cheesy grits.

Purchase a 24-ounce tub of Pawleys Island Palmettto Cheese at Costco for $7.93.

Georgia is known as The Peach State and is the home of Elberta peaches. South Carolina and Alabama have also named the peach as the state fruit, while Texas calls peach cobbler its state dessert. Despite these Southern bona fides, peaches aren't exclusive to the South, and in fact the Rodakino Peach Jam sold at Costco comes from Greece. Still, Greece is Southern too — Southern European. The jam tastes just as good slathered on a buttermilk biscuit as preserves made from Georgia peaches.

Purchase a 30.3-ounce jar of Rodakino Peach Jam at Costco for $10.20.

There are many regional barbecue styles, and quite a few of them are Southern, but pulled pork features heavily in two of them: Memphis and Carolina. With the right sauces and other accouterments, Kirkland Signature Smoked Pulled Pork could serve as a reasonable stand-in for either style. It's already been hickory-smoked for 10 hours so all you need to do is zap it in the microwave to heat it up.

Purchase a 2-pound package of Kirkland Signature Smoked Pulled Pork at Costco for $15.88.

A creamy salad consisting of chopped shrimp in mayonnaise isn't exclusive to the American South since Sweden has a version called skagenröra, but the South claims the dish as a regional specialty. The kind sold at Costco includes chopped celery but no dill, so it's definitely more in the Southern tradition. That being said, it would taste great piled high on a croissant a la Ikea's restaurant.

Purchase Kirkland Signature Shrimp Salad at Costco for $10.99 per pound.

The Mason-Dixon line not only divides the Northern and Southern states, it also serves as an indicator of how people drink their iced tea. Above the line, unsweetened tea is acceptable, but below the line you'd better take plenty of sugar. Sweet tea has been a Southern staple pretty much ever since ice cubes have been available. Pure Leaf Sweet Tea isn't cluttered up with a lot of extraneous ingredients, as the name implies. It's made of nothing more than black tea and sugar with a little citric acid added as a preservative.

Purchase 18 16.9-ounce bottles of Pure Leaf Sweet Tea at Costco for $19.28.

Georgia's state fruit may be the peach, but another official state food is the Vidalia onion. This stands to reason, since Vidalia, Georgia is the original home of the onion, and legally it can only be grown in this state. (A similar product grown outside the state-designated region is not a Vidalia, it's just a sparkling sweet onion.)

Purchase 5 pounds of Vidalia Sweet Onions at Costco for $4.39.