The 4 Cheeses You Should Always Buy at Costco, According to a Food Editor

I eat cheese at least once a day. I have it almost every morning on my breakfast sandwich (over-hard egg, slice of sharp Cheddar, toasted English muffin) or in a frittata starring all of the bits of veggies and/or leftover roasted veggies about to go bad in my fridge. Cheese may also make an appearance at lunchtime, either through a slice of provolone on a sandwich or crumbled feta in a salad. Cheese at dinner? Frequently! Tacos and Greek salad are just two examples of cheese showing up after 6 p.m. And then there’s snack time. We have string cheese and snacking Cheddar cheese in our work fridge. Or, since I’m a good Lebanese girl, I have no problem making an afternoon snack plate of olives, hummus, feta and pita.

So, as you can see, if I was stranded on a desert island and could only bring one food, it very likely might be cheese.

We have a lot of cheese in our fridge, and while I don’t buy every single cheese at Costco, there are a few that it pains me to buy anywhere else. Here’s what they are and why.

Cabot Creamery Seriously Sharp Cheese

Cabot Creamery is a local Vermont cheesemaker, but Costcos across the country stock it (88% of them, in fact). While my Costco location has a wide variety of Cabot cheese, I typically buy Seriously Sharp by request from our daughter. It’s nice and flavorful without having an overpowering sharpness. The hefty 2-pound bar is only $8.99. It’s our favorite all-purpose cheese—we snack on it with crackers and apple slices, shred it to sprinkle over chili and nachos and it make a heck of a grilled cheese.

Kirkland Signature Organic Feta

Their store-brand feta is the real deal—the container is marked with the Protected Designation of Origin seal, so you know that it’s been made according to strict rules, from the type of milk to how it’s aged. This is 100% sheep’s-milk feta, so I think it’s rich, creamy and has the (in my opinion) proper tang. We eat a lot of feta in chopped salads and pasta, so we don’t have too much trouble getting through the 28.2-ounce tub in a reasonable time frame. But it’s worth noting that it lasts a long time; maybe it’s because it’s packed in brine and not crumbled and left to the elements? And speaking of the brine, I pour it into a sealable container and freeze it, and then when I have enough, I use it to brine chicken. It doesn’t taste feta-y, but it tastes very salty and savory. I highly recommend giving it a try, although you need a lot, hence the freezer trick.

BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella

We got a pizza oven a few years ago, so we try to make homemade pizza at least once a month. I like to use a mix of shredded mozzarella along with torn fresh on top of mine. Plus, it’s a nice addition to pasta bakes, caprese platters and more. While my Costco location used to carry a single roll of unsliced fresh mozzarella (it came with an adorable squeeze packet of balsamic glaze, too), it’s only currently selling two-packs of sliced. While I prefer to slice my own, as I like it more thinly sliced than this, it’s such a good deal I can deal—the two-pack weighs 1 pound and is just $2 more than a single 8-ounce log at my regular grocery store.

Kirkland Signature Italian Parmigiano Reggiano

Real-deal Parmigiano Reggiano is regulated by the European Union as a protected food. It can only be made in specific places in Italy under very strict guidelines. Needless to say, this imported food is not typically cheap. But the real deal is a real deal at Costco. They sell it at $12.49 per pound compared to $21.31 per pound at the grocery store I regularly shop at. The wedges are about a pound and a half each, since they’re cut from huge wheels. But they really don’t go bad, and the quality can’t be beat. Pro tip: Freeze the rinds and pop them in a pot of soup or beans. The cheesy flavor permeates the broth or cooking liquid, adding fabulous flavor to the dish.