Costco Pecan Halves (Kirkland) Review
Author’s note: I wasn’t paid (or compensated in any way) to write this review, and I have no affiliation with Kirkland or Costco.
Beware the soulless nuts.
Pecans are one of my favorite quick noshes — I love having a little handful in the afternoon or before bed. Yes, I like them raw, and not salted or roasted.
I’ve been happily buying Fisher brand pecan halves from Amazon for a number of years now, but I decided to give Costco’s store-brand Kirkland pecans a try. Gotta put that $65 Costco membership fee to work! Oi.
At first, I was not very happy — Costco’s pecans don’t have the sweet, tender taste I am used to. They are stiffer, and have a slight bitterness from the shell dust. Alas.
Compared to other brands of pecan halves, Costco’s were overall smaller and much less “plump.” Less meaty. Straight from the bag, they lack the buttery flavor to which I am accustomed.
There were also a lot of shriveled, flat, and dark pecans in my package. And some that start out juicy on one end, and end up twisted and emaciated on the other end. And those dismal, woebegone pecans that are just sort of “weightless,” like they dried out, and there’s nothing left inside. Like a soulless, burnt-out, corporate office worker.
I always expect a few disagreeable nuts in every bag, but there seems to be way more than is normal in mine. I’ve only returned one item to Costco so far, but I seriously contemplated returning these pecans for a refund. I was THAT unhappy.
What I eventually realized is that these pecans are MUCH better for baking than for snacking. They are VERY crisp, and stay wonderfully crunchy after mixing with other ingredients. The lack of natural sweetness and tenderness disappears once they’re cooked into something.
(I did, of course, throw out the especially awful-looking nuts).
Whereas I would normally “toast” raw pecans for certain recipes, Costco’s pecans don’t seem to need any toasting prior to use. Super-crunchy nuts. Toasty-toastless nuts.
What did I make with my pecans?
Gosh, what DIDN’T I make? I used my pecans in a Cranberry-Dill Chicken Salad — made with Costco Rotisserie Chicken and served on Costco Croissants (I swear Costco isn’t paying me!).
I was impressed that the nuts stayed crunchy, even after refrigerating for days in the liquid mush of the chicken salad. It took me almost a week to eat all of it, and the pecans tasted as good at the end as they did in the beginning.
Behold, the crunchy splendor:
I added pecans to a Millionaire Pie, made with whipped cream, cream cheese, pineapple, maraschino cherries, and a cookie crust. The Kirkland pecans were an excellent savory, crispy contrast to the creamy, fruity pie base.
Unfortunately, tasty nuts did not save my pie from looking ugly:
And I baked chopped pecans into this phenomenal Butter Pecan Cake (seriously the BEST cake I’ve eaten in a while! You can find the recipe from Sugar Spun Run here).
This recipe requires the pecans to be chopped very finely, which was a bit of a chore with Costco’s stiff, obstinate nuts — I needed a super sharp knife and a bucket of patience. Next time I will use my food processor! You need almost two cups of pecans for this cake. Yikes.
But seriously, I will be making this cake again. And again. And agaaaaaaain. It is excellent:
Side Geekage: Did you know that pecans are a very recently domesticated crop? Pecans were first grown commercially in the US in the 1880’s, and commercial processing didn’t start until the 1920’s. Unsurprisingly, Georgia is the top-producing pecan state. The pecan tree is the state tree of Texas, and the only major nut tree to grow natively in North America. Pecan trees can yield a crop for 50 years or more. The United States produces 275 million pounds of pecans annually. Whew.
Nutrition Facts in Costco Kirkland Pecan Halves
A serving is 1/4 cup and contains 210 calories. There are 22 grams of fat, 3 grams fiber, and 3 grams protein per serving. A whole serving has 4 grams of carbs and only 1 gram of sugar. You also get a little dollop of Iron, at 6% your daily recommended value.
Ingredients in Costco Pecan Halves
Here are the ingredients from the label:
- Pecans
I searched the label for a country of origin, and finally found it in teeny-tiny print near the bottom seam crimp: PRODUCT OF USA. Yay. I’ll add that the United States is the world’s top producer of pecans, so there was already a good chance these were domestic nuts.
The bag doesn’t explicitly say these nuts are “raw.” But, ya know. Pretty sure they are. Or maybe just “mostly raw,” like Westley was “only mostly dead.” They aren’t roasted or salted, anyway.
Shelf-life and Storage
The “best-by date” on my bag of pecans allowed me about 8 months to consume, which seemed like a short timeframe. I store mine tightly closed in the refrigerator — which is what the label advises, anyway.
Pecans are typically harvested in October-December, and I purchased my package in April, if that helps.
Price and Servings in Kirkland Pecan Halves from Costco
This is a 2-pound bag, and the label says there are 8 cups. The 32 ounce package cost $11 at my local Costco. Since there are 30 servings per bag, each serving costs 37 cents. Per pound, these pecans are $5.50. Per ounce, they cost 34 cents.
This is a Kirkland Signature product, and the Item # is: 203444.
Dramatic Conclusion
I would buy these pecans again for baking, but I will stick to my favorite Fisher brand for snackage — the Fisher flavor and texture is much better for stuffing in my face. Per ounce, Costco’s pecans offer a significant savings that makes them worthwhile to purchase in bulk.
More Reviews You Might Like (or Hate)
Check out these other reviews of snackish items I’ve written:
