Costco Bakery Pretzel Bagels Review
Author’s note: Not a paid or sponsored review, as always. I have no affiliation with Costco.
Stylish pleather jackets.
They smell like pretzels. And they look like bagels. But they taste like bread.
The Costco Bakery had these “new” Pretzel Bagels. So, I tried ’em. They’re bigger than the Publix Greenwise Bagels I previously reviewed. And maybe a tad fresher.
Costco’s bagels have more of a “steamed” texture than a “boiled and baked” texture. There’s a flexible outer skin that is more soft-chewy than crisp. It’s almost like a shiny, rubbery coating. Each bagel has it’s own pleather jacket? Stylish.
There are also fashionable scores on top that create aesthetic “puffs” of dough. Very pretzel-like. These remind me a bit of Aldi’s Bavarian Soft Pretzel Sticks.
The bagel innards are soft, with a fine crumb. It’s less dense than typical bagel varieties. More like, umm, bread. Fluffy, rather than chewy. It also lacks the yeasty-moistness of a pretzel. It’s much closer to “pretzel bread.” But in a bagel shape.
I personally think these bagels need more saltiness to taste right. It’s a bit unnerving eating something pretzel-like that doesn’t have pops of concentrated salt. It messed with my head.
Size-wise, these are BIG fellows. They’re not very thick, but they’re a good 5 inches wide. Close to four ounces. This is an entire meal, once you butter it up.
Serving the Pretzel Bagels
I sliced mine in half and pan-toasted them in some melted butter. This makes the pleather jackets a bit stiffer, but not fully crunchy.
I also tried spreading MyThreeSons Tuscan Sun Dip/Spread over my bagels. It was OK. The texture and flavor isn’t similar enough to cream cheese to taste quite right. But I did like the basil/tomato flavor with the pretzel bread.
Ingredients in Costco Bakery Pretzel Bagels
Here are the ingredients from the label:
- Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid)
- Water
- Canola Oil
- Contains 2% or less of the following: Yeast, Wheat Gluten, Salt, Malted Barley Flour, Cultured Wheat Flour, Vinegar, Ascorbic Acid, Enzymes.
This is a pretty impressive list. Much more natural than I expected.
(I’m unusually happy. I don’t know what to do with this unexpected sentiment.)
Nutrition Facts
Inexplicably, my bag was COVERED in Nutrition Facts labels. One for each of the Costco Bakery bagel flavors. But not a single one was for the “Pretzel” flavor. Hmph!
(There was also a label stuck over two of the Nutrition Facts, which couldn’t be removed without tearing the plastic badly enough to partially prevent reading. Who was in charge of this?! “You had ONE job.”)
Anyway, to get as close as possible, here are the Nutrition Facts for Costco’s “Plain” Bagels:
A serving is 1 bagel and contains 300 calories. You get 1 gram of fat (0 grams saturated fat) and 11 grams of protein. There are 62 grams total carbohydrates, of which 2 grams are fiber and 7 grams are sugar (5 grams “added sugar”). You get 26% your daily value sodium and 0% your daily value cholesterol per serving. Plus a staggering 20% your daily value iron.
Price and Servings
An 28 ounce package of bagels costs $4.99 at my local Costco Bakery. Since there are 8 servings per bag, each bagel would cost about 63 cents.
This is a “Kirkland Signature” (Costco store-brand) product, and the item # is: 2062075.
Other bagel flavors in the Costco Bakery include: Parmesan, Cinnamon Raisin, Everything, Toasted Sesame, Blueberry, and Plain.
Shelf Life
The “sell by” date on my bagels was dated for 1 day after purchase.
HOWEVER, I stored mine in the refrigerator and ate them over 8 days. They stayed surprisingly fresh tasting. Maybe because they aren’t pre-sliced. Mine had very little change in texture. But I did heat them before serving for maximum freshness.
Dramatic Conclusion
These are reasonably tasty bagels, although the inside is more bread-like. I love the natural ingredients. But, they aren’t quite the satisfaction I expect from either soft pretzels or bagels. They exist in a weird in-between gray zone.
I’m not sure I would pick these pretzel bagels over a more classic variety (like sesame or plain). But they’re fun to try.
The Awesome-o-Meter rates them a “Maybe.”
The End.
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