{"id":1940,"date":"2024-07-15T06:27:13","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T06:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/?p=1940"},"modified":"2025-12-31T20:48:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T01:48:37","slug":"costco-pecan-halves-kirkland-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/2024\/07\/15\/costco-pecan-halves-kirkland-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Costco Pecan Halves (Kirkland) Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Author\u2019s note: I wasn\u2019t paid (or compensated in any way) to write this review, and I have no affiliation with Kirkland or Costco<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beware the soulless nuts.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pecans are one of my favorite quick noshes \u2014 I love having a little handful in the afternoon or before bed. Yes, I like them raw<\/em>, and not salted or roasted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been happily buying Fisher brand pecan halves from Amazon<\/a> for a number of years now, but I decided to give Costco’s store-brand Kirkland pecans<\/a> a try. Gotta put that $65 Costco membership fee<\/a> to work! Oi.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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At first, I was not very happy \u2014 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I always expect a few<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I eventually realized is that these pecans are MUCH better for baking<\/em> than for snacking<\/em>. 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(By comparison, I was much happier with Costco’s Walnut Halves; here’s my review<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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(I did, of course, throw out the especially awful-looking nuts). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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What did I make with my pecans?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gosh, what DIDN’T I make? I used my pecans in a Cranberry-Dill Chicken Salad \u2014 made with Costco Rotisserie Chicken and served on Costco Croissants (I swear Costco isn’t paying me!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behold, the crunchy splendor:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, tasty nuts did not save my pie from looking ugly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And I baked chopped pecans into this phenomenal <\/em>Butter Pecan Cake (seriously the BEST cake I’ve eaten in a while! You can find the recipe from Sugar Spun Run here<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This recipe requires the pecans to be chopped very finely, which was a bit of a chore with Costco’s stiff, obstinate nuts \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But seriously, I will be making this cake again. And again. And agaaaaaaain. It is excellent:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(If you’re looking for more baking supplies, check out my review of Aldi’s store-brand Yellow Cake Mix<\/a>. Surprisingly good!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More about walnuts<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Side Geekage:<\/strong> Did you know that pecans are a very recently domesticated crop? Pecans were first grown commercially in the US in the 1880’s<\/a>, and commercial processing didn’t start until the 1920’s.<\/a> Unsurprisingly, Georgia is the top-producing pecan state.<\/a> The pecan tree is the state tree of Texas<\/a>, and the only major nut tree to grow natively in North America<\/a>. Pecan trees can yield a crop for 50 years or more.<\/a> The United States produces 275 million pounds of pecans<\/a> annually. Whew.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Nutrition Facts in Costco Kirkland Pecan Halves<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Nutrition<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ingredients in Costco Pecan Halves<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Ingredients<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here are the ingredients from the label:<\/p>\n\n\n\n