Costco Kirkland Microwave Popcorn Review
Author’s Note: I have no affiliation with Costco. These are my own crunchy opinions. Not a paid or sponsored review, as always.
“I did it for the fiber.”
I just bought 9 pounds of microwave popcorn. So now you have to hear all about it. There is no escape.
Spoilers: this popcorn is not at all what I expected.
Story time!
There are 44 packets of popcorn in this box. 110 servings. I question my life choices every time I have to reach my spindly little arms up to the top shelf of my pantry to haul down this ridiculously heavy box of popcorn. Urrrghhh. No need to buy a gym membership, I guess?
There is only one stomach at my house; why did I think this much popcorn was a good idea?
Well, why did you buy it?!
I don’t know what happened. I think it’s been a solid 15 years since I’ve had microwave popcorn. (I’m serious.) I usually make my own on the stove with melted butter tossed in at the end. If you’ve been reading my reviews, you know I prefer natural foods.
Out of the blue, I had an intense craving for absurdly fake-butter-flavored popcorn. I wanted the most disgustingly thick coating of nasty flavor powder known to mankind. Obnoxious butter flavor — yellow and greasy — and as artificial as an aging pop star.
I can’t explain it. I tried to ignore the craving. But it persisted. No, I am not pregnant. Finally, somewhere in the cavernous snack aisle at Costco, I caved to my temptation. And, boy did I cave!
This is not what I expected.
This is very good popcorn. But I think calling it “Movie Theater Butter” is slightly misleading. It’s super lightly flavored. And lightly salted. It has a delicate, natural taste. The ingredients are a million times better than I expected (more about that later). This is a relatively wholesome snack.
I wanted something unhealthy. I didn’t get it. Am I mad? Not really! I like what I got.
Popcorn texture
The kernels are exceptionally airy and crisp, with minimal hard bits. Most kernels popped thoroughly, too. There’s just a scattering of un-popped pieces at the bottom of my bowl. Behold:
“Buttery” coating
Although there is butter in the mix, most of the fat here is Palm Oil. The popcorn appears to be very evenly and lightly coated. It’s a barely-there flavor. It doesn’t feel “greasy,” and there are no unflavored pieces.
Microwaves reliably
The directions say to microwave on HIGH for 1 minute and 45 seconds. This works pretty well, although I got more kernels to pop at 2 minutes. It doesn’t fully finish popping before the timer goes off. But it develops a slight burnt taste if I cook it past the 2 minute point.
I’ve now eaten half the 9-pound box (keep your judgey thoughts to yourself!), and every bag popped dependably. This is a reliable product.
Ingredients in Costco Kirkland Microwave Popcorn
Here are the ingredients from the label. Which are much more impressive than I expected:
- Whole Grain Popcorn
- Palm Oil
- Salt
- Natural Flavors
- Rosemary Extract (to preserve freshness)
- Ascorbic Acid
- Butter (cream, salt)
Butter is the very last ingredient. So, there can’t be very much here. It feels like a token ingredient, to sound nice. But, whatever. I appreciate the natural preservatives, like rosemary extract. And I prefer palm oil over hydrogenated sadness, by far. Not a huge fan of “natural flavor,” but I’ll survive.
More information from the label:
- Gluten Free
- Kosher (Dairy)
- Made in the USA
Nutrition Facts
A serving is about 5.5 cups of popped corn and contains 190 calories. This is a pretty decent snack nutrition. You get 12 grams of fat (6 grams of saturated fat) and 2 grams of protein. There’s 17 grams total carbohydrates per serving, of which 2 grams are fiber and 0 grams are sugar. There’s just 14% your daily value of sodium per serving.
If you eat a whole bag (like I did), you’ll be getting 5 grams of fiber. Not saying you should do that. But, if it happens? Then… fiber! Just tell yourself you did it for the fiber.
Practice saying it in a mirror, to sound more convincing.
Price and Servings
The 9 pound box cost $15 at my local Costco. Since there are 44 packets per box, each bag costs 34 cents. If you get the recommended 2.5 servings per bag, each serving would cost about 14 cents. It’s hard to beat this price for a snack. Even if you eat the whole bag, like I do.
This is a “Kirkland Signature” (Costco store-brand) product, and the item # is 9555.
Shelf Life
I was momentarily bummed when I realized my ginormous box only allows about 1 year to consume. I figured I would never be able to eat all 44 bags of popcorn in a year. But, at the rate I’m going, that will NOT be a problem. Whew. Still, something to keep in mind. Clock’s ticking. Eat that fiber!
Dramatic Conclusion
While not the disgustingly abominable “Movie Theater Butter” experience I was hoping for, this is very good popcorn. It’s much healthier and natural-tasting than I expected. I love the light, crisp texture. It pops reliably, and has a gentle saltiness without any greasiness. There is fiber! I would buy it again. For the fiber. Of course.
On my highly scientific “Awesome-o-Meter,” this popcorn rates a greedy “Yaaas.”
The End.
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