Costco Apple Pie (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.
If you know, you know.
When I joined Costco 2.5 years ago, this Apple Pie was one of the first things I purchased. At the time, it was only $10, and I was blown away by what I got for the money. In fact, I immediately got on Facebook and babbled into the void about how much I liked this pie. Most of my friends and family are not Costco shoppers, so I got a collective eyeroll, and a few pity reactions.
But, you see — that’s because they don’t KNOW. You can’t know until you try it. You’ve got to try it. That is all.
(Do I sound like a weird cult leader? I sort of felt like one, just now.)
This pie is not currently as much of a bargain (more about the price later), but still a dang good pie. A dang tasty dessert. Probably the best supermarket apple pie I’ve ever had.
One of my co-workers promptly joined Costco after I fed her this pie. If you haven’t had it yet, I hope this post will convince you to try it. No, Costco isn’t paying me to say this. In fact, I don’t think Costco likes me very much — if you’ve read some of my other reviews, you know I snarkle them pretty hard when I don’t like their food (such as this review of their Chicken Pot Pie ). Hey, I’m just doing my snarkle-tastic job. Someone’s gotta do it.
Tiny caveat: you really need to “re-bake” Costco’s Apple Pie to get the best effect. More about that later.
The Filling
My favorite aspect of this pie is the apples. They are thick, perky, and fresh-tasting. Soft on the outside, but with structural integrity. Just the right tender-crisp texture. And there are a LOT of them. My word. This pie is fairly bursting with apples. As someone who has cooked a number of pies from scratch, I know how apples shrink during baking. The starting volume must have been enormous.
Some fruit pies have too much gooey gel filling. Some have almost none. Costco seems to have chosen a crowd-pleasing compromise: there is viscous, sweet, spiced gel surrounding the apples, but only enough to fill in the crevices. Mostly, you are getting a stack of real fruit.
On a sweetness scale, I would say this pie is about a 7 out of 10 for sugary taste. It will satisfy a sweet-tooth, but it won’t overpower and become sickening.
The Flavors
Flavor-wise, the filling has a pleasant-but-subtle tanginess (no-where near as tangy as Aldi Apple Pie — you can read my review of it here), and a rich spice profile that leans heavily on Nutmeg.
I love Nutmeg. I love it so much, I’ve chosen to capitalize it, like the name of a cherished friend. Nutmeg, my old buddy.
There’s definitely a generous amount of cinnamon, too — but Nutmeg is the boss of this show. The warm, intoxicating aroma is unmistakable. Important side note: if you don’t love Nutmeg, we can’t be friends.
The Crustage
Do you want to know about the crust? Of course you do. You’re still here! I like the crust. It’s not as good as Costco’s Four-Berry Pie, but it’s good. It’s thick, but tender, with a flakey-sugary-coating on top — making it a slightly sweet crust.
It gets soggy in the middle if you refrigerate this for several days, but this is easily fixed by popping your slice in a toaster oven (or regular oven) and baking it up a bit. More about that later.
It’s a big boy.
If you read other online articles about this pie, they often start off by mentioning it weighs 4+ pounds. Even though the label says 4 pounds, 11 ounces — mine always weigh a little more than 5 pounds on my kitchen scale. The diameter is nearly 12 inches.
It IS a huge pie. A Thanksgiving-feast-sized pie. A Duggar-Family-sized pie.
This is why my co-workers also end up with pie when I buy it — because my lonely little Hobbit stomach cannot possibly consume it fast enough. Alas.
Because of the gargantuan size, the slices are really long. Sometimes twice as long as a normal pie slice. Nothing wrong with this. Just a thing to know.
Ingredients in Costco Apple Pie
Here are the ingredients from the label:
- Apples (Apples, Ascorbic & Citric Acid Preservatives, Salt)
- Enriched Flour (Wheat flour, Enzyme, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid)
- Sugar
- Vegetable Oil Shortening (Canola, Soybean, Palm, Palm Kernel)
- Water
- Modified Corn Starch
- Dextrose
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Soybean Oil
- Preservatives (Malic acid, Citric acid, Calcium Propionate)
- Xanthan Gum
- Guar Gum
- Nutmeg
- Non-fat Dry Milk (Non-fat milk, Lactose, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D3)
- Egg Whites
- Whey
- Soy Flour
I love that apples are the first ingredient. Although I am generally not enthused by preservatives, these aren’t the terrifying kind. It’s great to see natural flavors from the real cinnamon and Nutmeg. I hate soybean oil and shortening; I would infinitely prefer butter here. Modified corn starch isn’t my favorite, either.
Price and Servings in Apple Pie from Costco
Currently, the pie costs $12.99 at my local store, although I’ve seen it priced as high as $15. In fact, I watched it jump from $10 to $15 almost overnight. I refused to buy it when it hit that price point. Although this pie is probably worth $13, we won’t babble as excitedly at that price. I hope you’re listening, corporate Costco overlords!
Five pounds is 80 ounces, so if you slice this into 16 servings, each person will still be eating 5 ounces of pie. Per serving, that is 81 cents. That’s significantly more than Aldi’s Apple Pie, which is only 67 cents per serving. And we don’t need a $65 membership fee to shop at Aldi. Ahem. But Aldi apple pie doesn’t taste like Nutmeg. So, there’s that.
This is a Kirkland Signature (Costco store brand) product, and the Item # is: 1408372
Serving Suggestion & Shelf Life
Bake it again at home!
I highly recommend re-baking this pie before serving. It will take a “good” pie to a “great” pie, in just a few minutes. I pre-heat my oven to 350 and remove the aluminum pan from the plastic box. I like to put mine on a sturdy cookie sheet, because the pie is CHONKY, and the aluminum pan is bendy. No one wants a giant, molten pie accident! Put the pie (on the pan) in the center oven rack and bake for 15 minutes or so (depends on whether it was refrigerated first), until it’s bubbly and hot. Let it cool a bit before serving.
You’ll get a crisper, fresher-tasting crust and amazingly fragrant filling if you do this.
Toast a single serving
Not serving the whole pie? I slice individual pieces and bake them (on a plate) in my counter-top toaster oven for a few minutes at 350 degrees. My toaster oven is a hybrid “air fryer” toaster, so you may have to experiment a bit. I watch to make sure the crust isn’t getting too browned — especially along the crimped edges.
Ew, Microwaving
You may be asking, “Can I just microwave a slice instead?” There are no laws against this, but I don’t recommend it. You will get a “warm” pie, but it won’t have that crisp, freshly baked texture.
Refrigerating
I think the longest I’ve managed to keep this pie in my refrigerator was around 10 days. As mentioned, the crust gets soggy in the middle — it turns kinda white and doughy. I don’t like this at all, but it’s quickly fixed by re-baking a single slice (or the whole thing) before serving.
Freezing
I’ve heard numerous people say they’ve successfully frozen this pie whole or as slices. I have not. There is no room in my freezer. But apparently you can.
The Pie Box
Side note: I do really like the plastic pie boxes Costco uses — they seal tightly and make storage easier. I even wash mine and save them for other uses, because I’m a weird little hermit who does that sort of thing.
Dramatic Conclusion
Over the last couple years, I’ve purchased at least 4 of these pies total, which means *whispers* I’ve consumed nearly 20 pounds of Costco Apple Pie. It sounds a little nuts when I say it out loud.
The end.
More Reviews of Costco Desserts You Might Like (or Hate)
Check out these other reviews of Costco bakery desserts I’ve written:
