3 Costco Kirkland Snacks To Avoid (And 3 To Stock Up On)

There's no limit to the types of snack foods available to get a person from 3 o'clock in the afternoon to dinner time, but discerning snackers expect innovative flavors, natural ingredients, and convenient packaging. Recent trends have people clamoring for more protein and less sugar and avoiding ultra-processed snacks that are light on the nutrients and leave them hungry.

At Costco, there's no shortage of mega packs and jumbo bags of all kinds of munchies, but if I'm going to commit to such a large quantity, I want to know it's not going to go to waste. I grabbed six popular snack foods in Kirkland Signature's product line to sample and research to determine which are worth stocking up on and which should be left on the shelf.

I chose snacks from three snack categories — crunchy, nutty, and beefy — and snacked my way through them to determine which are good go-to options for staving off hunger, which had reasonable overall nutrition, and which were excitingly flavorful. Read on for the Kirkland Signature snacks to avoid and those to stock up on. 

A much more fun snack to munch on is the new Kirkland Signature Rice Cracker Mix which is like an umami version of Lucky Charm's cereal. It has nine magical shapes: Half moons, crescents, sticks, twists, discs, and mochi flowers, imbued with classic Asian flavors, like sesame, teriyaki, soy, nori, miso, wasabi, chili, and sweet & sour. It's no wonder rice cracker mixes, made of rice flour dough which bakes up crispy and nutty without being deep-fried, have become the ultimate umami, crunchy, low-fat snack sensation in America.

As a newcomer to this craze, I can testify that this mix is ridiculously addictive — I keep digging back into the bag to experiment with various flavor combinations between sweet, salty, sour, spicy, and umami. Then there is also that satisfyingly crispy factor and the interesting shapes that keep engaging my senses. Of course these aren't natural shapes and there's a certain level of refining and processing necessary to create them, but this is not junk food. 

Don't let the 184 ingredients scare you into thinking this is full of additives and chemicals. Once the duplicates are eliminated, it breaks down to just 22 distinct ingredients. The bright hues in mix are not artificially colored either; plant-based paprika, soy, buttery pea flower extract, chili powder, nori, and yeast extract are responsible for adding both flavor and color. 

Costco recently added Kirkland Signature Sea Salt Popcorn to its store brand product line which has become a go-to purchase for those looking for snacks made with high quality ingredients. Sold in a box of 36 single serving bags, the popcorn has just three ingredients: Popcorn, coconut oil, and sea salt, and contains 100 calories, 2 g fiber, 1 g protein, 0 sugars, 6 grams of fat, and 85 mg of sodium per serving.

I like how the sea salt creates a subtle and sophisticated flavor instead of the burning intensity of salted movie theater popcorn I dislike so much. However, I am not overly impressed with the crunchy kernels, which lack a strong corn flavor or airiness, and are small and relatively bland. Nevertheless, they do meet the requirement for a crunchy, whole grain, portable snack. However, this popcorn is nothing special and not superior to other brands of popped popcorn, so I would pass over it for something a little more flavorful and fun to eat.

There is an overwhelming amount of snack bar options promising high protein, low sugar, and whole grains. It's enough to make you nuts. But, I found a deliciously nutty on-the-go snack with Kirkland Signature's Nut Bars with Cocoa Drizzle and Sea Salt. The crunchy rectangle contains almonds, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds, and crispy rice. No other bar has that kind of variety. I enjoyed the caramel-like stickiness of the rice syrup binder.  Some customers suggest chilling the bars to harden them up, but I like to keep it in my pocket to soften it so it eats more like a candy bar. 

The chocolate and sea salt finish adds to the feeling of indulgence, but these actually only have 5 grams of sugar, which is why the nuttiness is the dominant flavor. The nutritional appeal doesn't end there. Its 5 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber have earned this bar a reputation as one of the best high fiber snacks at Costco. 

With more types of nuts to lend a variety of flavors and textures, this store brand bar beats the popularity Kind Bar brand, which has nearly the same nutritional values, but costs 95 cents  per bar compared to Kirkland's 60 cents for its superior per bar. I suggest stocking up on these bars as often as possible — they come in a convenient box of 30 individually wrapped bars.

Similar to Kirkland's Nut Bars, these Cashew Clusters are deliciously nutty, mildly sweet, and not overly salty. They are made with just seven simple ingredients: Cashews, almonds, cane sugar, pumpkin seeds, rice syrup, sea salt, and honey which meld together into a sweet and crunchy conglomerate that shatters easily in the mouth. Compared to the nut bars, these are less sticky and have a more delicate crunch. Instead of being formed into a bar and individually packaged, the clusters are cut into bite-sized pieces — or, more accurately, half of a bite — and stored loosely together in a resealable bag.

The packaging makes these easy to enjoy by the handful, however, their fragility is problematic for the large number of Costco members who cannot find this product at their location, have to order them online, and have to have them shipped. Online reviews are full of stories of unhappy customers who received their bag of Cashew Clusters split open with the nutty bites scattered everywhere, or of the bag securely closed but with the pieces inside reduced to dust and crumbs due to a rough ride in a box with heavier products. Some determined and creative customers sprinkle the resulting crumbs on top of oatmeal or ice cream, but most are upset at the item's condition. Even my bag, which I purchased in-store and left on my kitchen counter, had a bottom layer of crumbs. As far as an on-the-go snack — I would avoid these fragile Cashew Clusters.

Kirkland Signature Grass-fed Beef Sticks are bursting with salty, beefy flavor, but without the strong spices or sodium overkill of some other brands. Honestly, I'm not normally a fan of preserved meats so I wasn't looking forward to this part of the tasting. Slap me with a beef stick, I actually like the flavor and texture. One factor that makes this appealing is there are no artificial flavors or colors. And, the preserving process is done with natural nitrates from celery powder, instead of added nitrites which have a certain flavor that I dislike. No added sugars and 10 grams of protein make it a filling snack, even more satisfying because it takes more time to chew and swallow the thick collagen casing and chewy innards and eating slowly is a helpful eating strategy to increase satiety and prevent overeating.

These grass-fed beef sticks come in a 12 count bag. Each 32 gram serving is individually wrapped, making it an extremely portable, easy-to-eat snack choice for a lunch box or a hike. The best by date on my bag is 10 months away, so it also makes an ideal addition to a stash of emergency food to keep in your car in the winter.

Beef sticks are fundamentally different from beef jerky and steak strips are another snack entirely. Kirkland Signature's Premium Cut Cured and Dried Beef Steak Strips are cut extra thick from a top round steak. Like jerky, they are pieces of muscle, that are seasoned and dried. Their similarities to beef sticks are their softer and more moist chew, because the strips are only partially dried in order to preserve a tender texture. This is a meaty snack, with an overall taste of grilled steak, with hints of smoke, seasonings, and even some sweet notes from brown sugar and peach puree. Of course what I like most about grilled steak — the hot and juicy tenderness — is absent from this shelf-stable snack. This also means the flavors don't linger in the mouth either, which is a plus in my opinion.

A high protein, low-fat snack is hard to find, but a one ounce serving (28 grams) of these has 60 calories, 9 grams of protein, 330 mg salt, 4 grams of sugar, and just 0.5g fat. What makes these steak strips a poor snacking choice is that they contain sodium nitrite, which has been found to have potential health risks. Another mark against the snack-ability rating of this product is the fact that it isn't convenient for snacking outside the house because it requires refrigeration once the bag is open, a strategy commonly used to make beef jerky last longer.

I started with two snack products from three different snack categories: Crunchy — popcorn and rice crackers; nutty — nut bars and nut clusters; and beefy — steak strips and beef sticks. All of the snacks I tasted are good and are highly rated in online reviews. My criteria for choosing which snacks are worth stocking up on was flavor, nutrition, convenience, and some element of enjoyment that made me want to eat more. Paying less for a product is always a bonus, but price didn't affect the final results.