Costco Sweet Heat Snack Mix (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.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
This new-ish Sweet Heat Snack Mix from Costco is really tasty. In fact, it should probably be a controlled substance. It’s not safe to just let this stuff out on the streets, man. There should be some accountability, somehow. The Snack Police. We need consequences. Like, if you eat a whole bag in one sitting, you go straight to Snack Jail.
Probably not enough deterrence. In all seriousness, I had difficulty restricting my portions while eating this. There are supposed to be 24 servings per bag, but I ate the entire package in just a few days. I’m not usually a big nut-eater, so this surprised me.
After foolishly buying a second bag, I brought it to work and offered it to some co-workers. And, upon stuffing literal fistfuls into their mouths, they stared at me with big, big eyes and proclaimed it “very good, very addicting!”
So, there you have it. We’re ready to admit we have a problem and get help. Halp!
What’s in this snack mix?
Here’s what you’ll find in a bag of this degenerate substance:
- Seasoned Almonds
- Seasoned Cashews
- Honey Roasted Sesame Sticks
- Seasoned Honey Glazed Pecans
- BBQ Flavored Cracker Coated Almonds
- Corn Nuggets
What does it taste like?
Costco’s Sweet Heat Snack Mix is waay spicier than I expected (!!!), but I liked it. Probably not for kids. It has a moderate kick that lingers and builds. It tastes strongly of tangy BBQ. The seasoning is thick and bursting with flavor. Smokey, rich flavor. Not overly sweet or salty, but super flavorful. More about the nutrition facts later.
(This snack mix is no where near as spicy as Grillo’s Hot Pickle Spears — you can read my silly review here.)
I appreciate that there aren’t gobs of cheap nuts like peanuts, but rather whole cashews, almonds, and plump pecans halves. In fact, there are almost more cashews than anything else, which is awesome.
These are really big cashews, too, and super tender and flavorful. Mine were almost entirely whole or halves — very few fragments.
Not sure how this happened, but I literally got a “whole” pecan, with both halves! The “Seasoned Honey Glazed Pecans” are nice. They are on the small side, but tasty. They’re coated in a sugary layer, so they’re sweeter than the other nuts. Sort of a brown-sugar praline taste, but with the spicy BBQ over it.
(If you’re curious about other Costco pecans, here is my review of their bulk pecan halves.)
I loved the “Honey Roasted Sesame Sticks,” and wished there were more of them. In fact, IF I could buy a whole bag of JUST the sesame sticks, I absolutely would. Make it so. I found myself picking these sesame sticks out of the mix and eating them first. They’re petite, but gloriously crunchy, and have a great sesame texture and nutty flavor. I want an endless ocean of these sesame sticks!
Not really a fan of the corn kernels, but I don’t hate ’em. They’re small and crunchy, but a teeny bit “hard.” They might taste better if they were puffed more.
The nuts I had the least interest in eating were the almonds, but that’s just a personal preference. They were crunchy and fresh-tasting roasted almonds. I just loved the other stuff more than the almonds. When I “finished” my bag, there was about a cup of almonds in the bottom that I had eaten around. I need to find an unsuspecting almond-lover to take these off my hands.
Here are the “BBQ Flavored Cracker Coated Almonds.” Whew. That’s a mouthful. These are very small almonds wrapped in a thin, crisp, flour coating. They have the same flavor as everything else, to be honest. Nice texture change, though. They’re like little wrapped presents.
This is a fun, zesty, and high-quality snack mix for movie night or entertaining. It would also work well on a charcuterie board or as part of a buffet party spread. The mix is a wee bit messy to eat, due to the heavy BBQ seasoning. Worth it.
Ingredients in Sweet Heat Snack Mix from Costco
Boy, is this a list! Here are the ingredients from the label:
SEASONED ALMONDS (ALMONDS, PEANUT OIL, SEASONING [SUGAR, SALT, TOMATO POWDER, MOLASSES POWDER {SUGAR, MOLASSES}, VINEGAR POWDER {MALTODEXTRIN, VINEGAR SOLIDS}, ONION POWDER, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, GARLIC POWDER, PAPRIKA EXTRACT {COLOR}, HABANERO CHILI PEPPER POWDER, NATURAL SMOKE FLAVOR, SPICES, MALIC ACID, MUSTARD, NATURAL FLAVOR]) SEASONED CASHEWS (CASHEWS, PEANUT OIL, SEASONING [SUGAR, SALT, TOMATO POWDER, MOLASSES POWDER {SUGAR, MOLASSES}, VINEGAR POWDER {MALTODEXTRIN, VINEGAR SOLIDS}, ONION POWDER, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, GARLIC POWDER, PAPRIKA EXTRACT {COLOR}, HABANERO CHILI PEPPER POWDER, NATURAL SMOKE FLAVOR, SPICES, MALIC ACID, MUSTARD, NATURAL FLAVOR]), HONEY ROASTED SESAME STICKS (ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR [WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID], SOYBEAN OIL, SESAME SEEDS, HONEY COATING [SUGAR, HONEY, WHEAT STARCH], BULGUR WHEAT, TACK BLEND [MALTODEXTRIN, XANTHAN GUM], SALT, BEET POWDER [COLOR], TURMERIC [COLOR]), SEASONED HONEY GLAZED PECANS (PECANS, SUGAR, SEASONING [SUGAR, SALT, TOMATO POWDER, MOLASSES POWDER {SUGAR, MOLASSES}, VINEGAR POWDER {MALTODEXTRIN, VINEGAR SOLIDS}, ONION POWDER, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, GARLIC POWDER, PAPRIKA EXTRACT {COLOR}, HABANERO CHILI PEPPER POWDER, NATURAL SMOKE FLAVOR, SPICES, MALIC ACID, MUSTARD, NATURAL FLAVOR], HONEY, PEANUT OIL, SEA SALT), BBQ FLAVORED CRACKER COATED ALMONDS (ALMONDS, RICE FLOUR, TAPIOCA FLOUR, POTATO STARCH, SEASONING [SUGAR, WHEY POWDER {MILK}, SALT, ONION AND GARLIC POWDER, TORULA YEAST, BROWN SUGAR, TOMATO POWDER, YEAST EXTRACT, SPICES, NATURAL FLAVOR, NATURAL SMOKE FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID, PAPRIKA EXTRACT {COLOR}, PAPRIKA], CANOLA OIL, SUGAR, SEA SALT, ROSEMARY EXTRACT, ASCORBIC ACID), CORN NUGGETS (CORN, CANOLA OIL, SEA SALT), SEASONING (SUGAR, SALT, TOMATO POWDER, MOLASSES POWDER [SUGAR, MOLASSES], VINEGAR POWDER [MALTODEXTRIN, VINEGAR SOLIDS], ONION POWDER, AUTOLYZED YEAST EXTRACT, GARLIC POWDER, PAPRIKA EXTRACT [COLOR], HABANERO CHILI PEPPER POWDER, NATURAL SMOKE FLAVOR, SPICES, MALIC ACID, MUSTARD, NATURAL FLAVOR).
There’s an allergen statement: “Processed on equipment that also packages products that may contain peanuts, other tree nuts, soy.”
Nutrition Facts in Kirkland Sweet Heat Snack Mix
There are 24 servings per bag of 1/4 cup each. A serving has a modest 160 calories. There are 11 grams of fat and only 3 grams of protein per serving, plus 12 grams of carbohydrates. Although there are 3 grams of sugar per serving, there are also 2 grams of healthy fiber. For a salty snack, there is only a modest 9% of your daily value of sodium. The Salt Police shall promptly rejoice.
There’s a pound and a half of snack mix in this bag. Just saying. JUST SAYING. If you eat it all in one sitting, just remember that. A pound and a half. Remember: I warned you.
Price and Shelf-Life for Costco Sweet Heat Snack Mix
In less than a six months, this snack mix has gone from $8.99 to $9.49 for 24 ounces. I still bought it. But I grumbled.
Price Per Serving
Each serving costs 40 cents, which is a fair price for the quality.
This is a “Kirkland Signature” (store-brand) product, and the item # is: 1732802.
Where do the ingredients come from?
The bag lists a dizzying array of countries: Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Togo, USA, Vietnam.
Whew. Maybe it would be easier to list the countries the ingredients DON’T come from!
Best-By Date
The “best-by” date on my package allowed me approximately 10 months to consume.
Dramatic Conclusion
I bought this snack mix twice, so I must have really liked it. Two bags is 3 pounds total. Yikes. *pats stomach* This is good stuff, but addicting. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
The End.
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