My Unofficial Costco Organic Foods List
By Nonna Joann • Dec 11th, 2008 • Category: Stretch Grocery $$$“Costco Organic Foods” is a list I put together for my son-in-law, David. He has a Costco membership, but lives a distance from a store. Because, he will be the one driving to the store and shopping, he wanted to know what organic food products I found at Costco (Sam’s has similar products) and purchase from the store. I’ve put an unofficial list together for him. I’m sure there’s more, but at least it’s a start.
Although, I frequently shop at a whole foods store, you can save on organics at big box stores like Sam’s Club and Costco. Since there’s not a Sam’s Club near me, I have a Costco membership. You’d think that Costco would have a list of organic products carried online, but I couldn’t find one. This is my unofficial list. My list is not inclusive and because items are constantly being changed. The most frustrating thing about Costco is that a favorite item will disappear from the shelves…sometimes for good, sometimes for a season.
Not all of these items are available in all Costco stores, some are seasonal and some are for reasons unknown to me are not always available.
Organic Frozen Foods (They keep adding to the organic frozen foods…YEA)
Asparagus (Pacific Meadows)
Blackberries
Blueberries (Scenic Fruit or Pacific Meadows)
Berries, mixed (Cascadian Farms)
Broccoli (Natural Choice)
Cherries (Townsend)
Corn ( Bybees)
Frozen Yogurt (Julie’s Organic lowfat strawberry)
Frozen Whole Food Organic Juice Tubes (Popsicles)
Garden Trio (Bybee)
Green Beans (Lisa’s)
Peas (Bybee)
Peaches (Wawona)
Salmon (check to see if it’s from the Pacific Ocean and not farmed)
Organic Produce
Apples, sliced
Apples and Pears — occasionally are organic
Carrots & Mini Carrots
Edmamame (Fusjsan)
Mangoes(Pacific Meadows)
Romaine Hearts Lettuce
Spring Mixed Lettuce
Spinach
Roma tomatoes aren’t organic, but pesticide free
Not organic produce with peels or shells, so you’re throwing away most
(I added the word most, after Mike’s comment below) of the exterior pesticides.
Avocados
Bananas
Garlic
Onions
Oranges
Potatoes
Nuts in the shell seasonally
Organic Dairy
Butter (Kirkland)
Cheese (Organic Creamery Sharp Cheddar)
Eggs (Some stores have cage-free eggs) “
Free-range Chicken Eggs.”
(I believe that Sam’s Club carries organic eggs)
Milk, but it’s 1 percent (Whole milk is a whole food, children need healthy fats, see “
Whole Milk Challenge.”)
Tapioca
Tofu
Yogurt
Organic Meat
Organic Chicken Breasts, Thighs & Whole Chickens
Beef (grass fed is better than corn fed, but organic fed is a step up from commercially grown beef)
Organic Grains
Brown Rice, short grain (Lundberg)
Cereal (Ancient Grains, Mesa Sunrise, Natures Path Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola & Kirkland Instant Oatmeal)
Crackers, Mary’s Gone Crackers
Farro (Earthy Delights)
Quinoa (Red Hill)
Wild Rice (Harvest Medley)
Other Organic Products
Alpine Valley Organic Multi-Grain Bread
Apple sauce (Treetop)
Apple Chips (Bare Fruit)
Beef Jerky
Blue Agave
Chicken Broth (small amount of sugar)
Corn (Westrae canned corn)
Coffee (Magnum)
Figs ( Black Mission Figs)
Flax
Granola (Udi’s)
Ketchup (Heinz)
Maple Syrup
Olive Oil (extra virgin)
Peanut butter
Rudi’s Bread
Raisins (Sunmaid-comes in 2 two-pound packages)
Rice Dream Rice Drink
Roasted Red Pepper Soup, Pacific
Salad Dressing (Newmans’ Own)
Salsa (Kirkland)
Salmon (Bear & Wolf wild Alaskan salmon)
Seasoning, No Salt (Kirkland)
Soup (Amy’s Lentil & Pacific Red Pepper)
Soy Milk, plain and vanilla (Kirkland)
Strawberry Spread (Kirkland) It has 8 grams of organic sugar (two teaspoons) per serving.
Spaghetti & Macaroni (Garogalo Organic whole wheat)
Tomatoes (canned, brand changes)
Organic, Not Necessarily Healthful, Because They Are Highly Processed (may have added sugar)
Animal Crackers (Kirkland)
Candy (The ingredients shouldn’t contain additives such as artificial colorings and flavorings.)
Cake mix (Sof’ella Gulten-Free Chocolate Cake and Frosting.)
Cereal (Kirkland Raisin bran & Kashi Autumn Wheat)
Corn Tortilla Chips
Granola bars (Nature’s Path)
Macaroni and Cheese (Annie’s)
Healthy Handfuls (organic toddler cookies, not necessarily healthful, but organic)
Italian Blood Orange Fruit Drink
Oatmeal (Kirkland instant)
Sugar (not healthful at all, but there may be times when a little sugar is needed)
Products which are NOT organic, without too many additives or sugar
Artichoke Hearts, Cynara (only water, citric acid added)
Chicken Breast for sandwiches and salads (Kirkland)
Crackers (Milton’s Multi-grain & Crunchmaster Crackers are trans fat & interesterified fat free )
Fruit Leather (Stretch Island Fruit Co. no artificial ingredients)
Mushrooms (canned)
Marinara Sauce (White Linen Collection-needs some added Italian seasonings)
Tuna (Chicken of the Sea Chunk Light Tuna)
Pet
Buffalo Ears, Not organic, but Free Range Grass Fed (This is a new product, yet two weeks after I purchased it they were out. I hope they get some more. My dogs LOVE them.)
Wild Alaskan Salmon Dog Treats (No Grains, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.) Turns out, this was a special order and is no longer in stock. I sure hope they bring this back!
*These are the brands which I have purchased from Costco, but they can change. If you purchase an organic food item from Costco and it’s not on my list, leave a comment. I’ll add it to the list. Thanks
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I’m not a big organic evangelical, but i really did feel a bit shock when i saw your statement that if something is peeled then the pesticides are gone. that is just completely untrue. i suppose it would help get rid of some of the most recent applications (shipping fumigants), but certainly nowhere near all. additionally, it doesn’t do anything for the workers or streams and wildlife at the farms. thanks for taking it into consideration.
[...] Membership stores like Costco, BJ’s and Sam’s Club are adding more organic products to their inventory. Nonna Joann Bruso of Baby Bites, Transforming a Picky Eater into a Healthy Eater, has created a list of organic items you can find at Costco. CLICK HERE for More [...]
Country of origin for these organic products are important as well. I would not buy organic products from China and would rather consume non-organic US prodcuts. Whose to know that these products from China are inspected on a regular basis to meet standards?
I purchased Cascadian Farms frozen mixed berries and Pacific Meadows frozen blueberries. Almost half the price that I would have paid at the grocery store.
I know ketchup isn’t the most healthy food because of the processing, but Costco has Heinz Organic Ketchup most of the time. I’ve been buying it for over a year now.
[...] in the town where I live. I usually get my organic foods at either Vitamin Cottage Natural Foods or Costco. Needless to say, I ran to my freezer and checked the organic items I purchased…they were [...]
Regarding Country of Origin, there is no organic over sight or regulations in China from what I understand. That was brought out earlier this year when frozen veggies at Whole Foods labelled “organic” were actually from China. Also, the Costco near me now has organic whole milk. It is “fortified” with fish oil, though. I bought it without realizing it. Couldn’t taste it but the idea kind of gives me the creeps. I am supportive of fish oil just not in my milk!
Nick is right about the peels not taking away the pesticides. Most pesticides get into the roots of the plant once they sink into the soil ,and will get into the inside of the fruit/vegetable. Taking the peel off doesn’t really do anything at all.
Kirkland Organic Strawberry Spread is a great product: fresh tasting, low in sugar, organic, made in California, and reasonably priced. I went to my local Costco today and was astonished to learn that it has been discontinued. The manager told me to email Costco, which I did, and I would urge others who like this wonderful product to do the same.
Our local Costco carries frozen organic broccoli , “product of china” that sometimes suspiciously looks like it contains green food coloring. I stopped buying it immediately. Read labels carefully before you trust anything anyone says or “recommends”, especially when you are trying to feed your family the best things you can. We have plenty of organic broccoli farmers right here in the USA.
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Thanks for the reminder. I have to remember to check the “country of origin” on Costco’s organic vegetables more often, because it changes. The broccoli in my freezer says Ecuador and the green beans are grown in the USA.
Nonna
Thank you! This was a great reference as I am putting together a list of Organics from our local Costco here in San Diego which is very close to the LE CASE urban ecovillage. I don’t know if your local Costco carries these items but I have a few organics that I saw that you might want to add to your list: Sambazon Organic Acai Juice (2 Packs), Bolthouse Organic Carrot Juice (3 Pack), Dehydrated Organic Shitake Mushrooms – 6oz, Evolution Organic Apple Juice, Organic Lemon Juice, Monterey Pasta Co – Fresh Organic Spin/Cheese Ravioli (2 Packs) and Organic Tomato Paste. They have also added Eco Greenwares – Compostable discarded Sugar Cane based plates and bowls as well as compostable flatware made of corn plastic.
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Thanks. I’ll check these out the next time I’m in Costco. I know that items will vary according to the location of the store. It’s likely that a California store will carry different items.
Nonna Joann