Costco Triple Chocolate Cream Pie Review
A tale of two cream pies.
Oh boy. I saw this Triple Chocolate Cream Pie on Facebook, and I made a special trip to my store to see if we had it. Yup. I was thrilled. There were only four pies left in the case when I got there, so I must not be the only one eagerly buying this.
Unfortunately, this dessert wasn’t as good as I had hoped. Or maybe I had unrealistic expectations. Not sure. It’s basically a pudding pie, with some fake whipped cream on top, and a layer of undercooked brownie near the crust.
You may have already read my review of Costco’s infamous Peanut Butter Chocolate Cream Pie — which was surrounded by unrelenting hype, yet still impressed me. I had similar hopes for THIS Triple Chocolate Cream Pie. But unfortunately, the two pies are nothing alike.
Despite both being titled “Cream Pie,” the peanut butter rendition was more like a silk pie or a mousse — with a little tangy cheesecake influence. THIS Triple Chocolate Cream pie is straight-up pudding. It’s a reasonably decent pudding, but still pudding. The sign in the Costco bakery called it “custard,” but I’m sticking to “pudding.” There’s no similarity in texture between these two Costco “cream pies.” Alas.
Anyway. The part I liked best is the graham crust. It’s buttery and crunchy and slightly salty, with just the right amount of warm molasses sweetness. In fact, Costco advertised the crust as a “butter & graham crust,” and the ingredients on the label include real butter. Yay. This is much nicer than the palm or soybean oil or margarine of other graham crusts.
There’s a “fudge brownie layer” between the crust and the pudding. Mine tasted somewhat undercooked — more like fudge than brownie. It was still tasty, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t known it was supposed to be a brownie. I could have pretended it was just fudge, maybe.
The pudding (ahem, “custard”) is the most substantial layer. It has a pleasant chocolate taste, and it’s made with whole milk. Indeed, milk is the first ingredient in this pie! According to Taste of Home, the main distinction between custard and pudding is whether or not starch thickeners have been added, instead of relying entirely on eggs to thicken. On the label of this pie, the second ingredient in the “Dairy Custard” is Modified Food Starch. I (anecdotally) associate custard with more richness and silkiness, and pudding with more milkiness. So, Costco’s version is milky and not as decadent or rich as I’d hoped. Pudding.
The white whipped topping layer is my least favorite part of this dessert. If you’ve read my other reviews, you know that I utterly despise fake whipped cream-stuff in any dessert. “Frothy plastic sadness and despair.” Unfortunately, there’s a LOT of it here, so if I scrape it all off, I’m left with perhaps 25% less pie by volume. This whipped topping is lightly sweet and thick, and it holds a good shape on top of the pie. There. I tried to be nice. That’s all I can muster.
I like the bold garnish on top of the pie — big, thick shavings of chocolate. The high contrast is eye-catching and exciting. Slicing through the garnish is kind of tricky, but otherwise I think it adds an edgy and contemporary touch to the aesthetic.
Ingredients in Costco Chocolate Cream Pie
These ingredients do not get any accolades from me:
- Pasteurized Whole Milk (with Vitamin D)
- Whipped Topping (Water, Palm Kernel Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Dextrose, Coconut Oil, Carbohydrate Gum, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitan Monostearate, Polyglycerol Esters of Fatty Acids, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Salt, Sodium Citrate, Disodium Phophate, Xanthan Gum, Soy Lecithin, Beta Carotene (color)
- Sugar
- Graham (Enriched Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Vitamins B3, B1, B2, B9, Iron], Graham Flour, Sugar, Palm Oil, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Molasses, Salt, Sodium Bicarbonate
- Dairy Custard (Sugar, Modified Food Starch, Dried Whey, Coconut Oil, Corn Syrup Solids, Dextrose, Sodium Alginate, Sodium Caseinate, Mono and Diglycerides, Dipotassium Phosphate, Potassium Sorbate [preservative], Artificial Flavor, Beta Carotene (color), Wheat Flour)
- Butter (Cream and/or Milk, Salt)
- Eggs
- Liquid Truffle (Soybean and Palm Oil, Sugar, Cocoa Powder [processed with alkali], Nonfat Milk, Sunflower Lecithin, Sorbitan Tristearate, Vanillin, Tocopherol [antioxidant])
- Dark Chocolate Shavings (Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Butter Oil, Soy Lecithin, Natural Vanilla)
- Cocoa Powder (Alkalized)
- Vanilla Extract
- Sea Salt
High fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors make more than one appearance in this list, as do preservatives. I am glad to see butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla — but they are buried in all this other stuff.
Servings and Size
Costco’s Triple Chocolate Cream Pie costs $19.99. The label says this pie weighs 4.25 pounds, but mine was closer to 5 pounds on my kitchen scale. I’d hazard you will get 12-16 servings, which means each serving costs $1.25-1.67.
The Costco item # is 1788735. This is a “Kirkland Signature” (store brand) bakery item.
Shelf Life
My pie expired 3 days after purchase, so this doesn’t have a long shelf-life. To eat it before it expires, I’ll need to consume 4-6 slices per day. Ha. *pats stomach threateningly*
More Reviews of Costco Desserts You Might Like (or Hate)
Check out these other reviews of Costco bakery desserts I’ve recently written:
- Costco Plain Cheesecake
- Costco Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
- Costco Strawberries & Cream Bar Cake
- Costco Four Berry Pie
Author’s note: I was not paid or compensated to review this cake, and I have no affiliation with Costco.
