Healthy Vegan Costco Finds: What Plant-Based Pros Buy at the Big Box Store

Following a whole-food, plant-based diet isn’t just good for your health; it’s also a smart move for your finances, with research showing that plant-based eaters tend to spend less on food than omnivores. Big-box stores offer a way to make plant-based diets even more affordable. With its wide array of fresh and frozen produce and shelf-stable staples, Costco is the budget-conscious home cook’s best friend. We tapped whole-food, plant-based pros for their favorite vegan Costco products and rounded up top recommendations from our Facebook followers, as well. Add these to your shopping list and you’ll be on your way to a well-stocked plant-based kitchen.

Whole-food, plant-based pros share which products make their Costco memberships worth the spend.

“Costco has a great price for Cherry Bay Orchards No-Added-Sugar Dried Montmorency Cherries. They’re tasty in oatmeal, pancakes, and cookies or savory dishes like rice pilaf, rice salad, and whole grain bread stuffing. Or sprinkle them over some banana nice cream!” —Katie Simmons, Chicago-based personal chef and founder of Plants Rule

“Kirkland Signature Organic No-Salt 21 Spice Blend Seasoning is my go-to sodium-free seasoning. I like that it has strong aromatics, such as onion and garlic flakes. It has just a hint of Italian herbs, so I find that I can use it in many different cuisines without it making a dish taste distinctly Italian.” —Darshana Thacker Wendel, whole-food, plant-based chef and author of Forks Over Knives: Flavor!

“Costco has a few vegetarian-friendly B12 options, including Kirkland Signature B12 and Nature’s Bounty B12, and at least one is typically on sale.” —Cleodia Martinez, author of Ay Sus! Whole Food Plant-Based Global Filipino Cuisine

“Costco has individual containers of oil-free Kirkland Signature Organic Chunky Guacamole that they sell in bulk, so you can have a serving or two and then the rest doesn’t get brown. These are great with carrot sticks, baked chips, corn cakes, or rice cakes for a snack on the go.” —Matthew Lederman, MD, co-author of The Forks Over Knives Plan and co-founder of kinectin.com

“The Minsley Cooked Brown Rice microwavable cups are super expensive on Amazon and hard to find elsewhere, but they’re always cheap at Costco in LA. This one-ingredient wonder is great to keep at the office or take on a trip if you know you’ll have access to a microwave.” —Elizabeth Turner, editor in chief, Forks Over Knives

“Costco is the only place to shop! It’s worth the price of a membership just for the Earthbound Farm Organic Power Greens, a blend of baby chard, baby spinach, and baby kale, which these days costs about $7 for 1.5 pounds. Baby greens are the most delicious, and I eat them in my daily huge salads.” —Chef AJ, culinary instructor and author of Unprocessed: How to Achieve Vibrant Health and Your Ideal Weight and The Secrets to Ultimate Weight Loss

“Costco sells quinoa for significantly cheaper than I’ve seen at other grocery stores, with 4.5-lb. bags of Kirkland Organic Quinoa for around $12.” —Del Sroufe, plant-based chef and author of Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook and The China Study Family Cookbook

“I enjoy the whole grain and seed texture of Mary’s Gone Crackers Super Seed Crackers. They’re satisfying plain or with hummus or avocado.” —Melissa Mondala, MD, co-founder of Dr. Lifestyle

“The Made in Nature Organic Dates are a go-to. We use these plus walnuts to make delicious dessert truffles!” —Alona Pulde, MD, co-author of The Forks Over Knives Plan and co-founder of kinectin.com

We also polled Forks Over Knives Facebook followers on their must-have vegan Costco products. These are the products that came up again and again.

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.