Costco's 8 Absolute Best Snacks To Cook In Your Air Fryer

I don't know about you, but personally, I'm thoroughly convinced that no specialty kitchen appliance is a more ingenious invention than the air fryer. I'll admit to thinking it was gimmicky at first, but after hearing friends and family members swear about it, I knew I had to give it a shot. I wasn't prepared for it to be legitimately life-changing, but it really has revolutionized my culinary game — it's the perfect appliance for heating up quick bites without yielding the soggy effect a microwave can produce. Moreover, it can cook foods in half the time they'd take in the oven, and without emitting nearly as much heat (an important thing to consider during the middle of summer, in an AC-less Pacific Northwest home). 

You can find me constantly using my air fryer to reheat pizza, cook chicken thighs, and even toast some sourdough slices. Most of all, though, the air fryer is an easy snack time solution. Many food producers over the years have recognized the modern ubiquity of the air fryer, and it's not uncommon nowadays to find air fryer instructions on snack packaging. Such is the case at Costco. Since satisfying sustenance is now available at the push of a button, I figured I'd use this as an opportunity to gather some of the best air fryer snacks available at Costco, based on how well they cooked in the air fryer, their overall flavor, and textural appeal.

First up on my list is Del Real's Birria & Cheese Pupusas, which made this roundup by the skin of its teeth. The pupusas did fit all my criteria (though they took a few minutes longer than advertised in the air fryer to fully heat through) — they yielded a good texture and balanced flavor, and made for a filling snack after under 10 minutes of cook time. The flavors here are good, too, with very obvious distinct birria taste and an admittedly somewhat mild cheesiness to it. The image on the box is a bit misleading, and the fillings didn't ooze out quite as much as advertised; nevertheless, the pupusas made for a yummy mid-afternoon bite.

My only qualm comes with the corn masa exterior. It was well-seasoned, but it was pretty thick and dry. Should you grab this snack, I do absolutely recommend pairing it with the guacamole featured on the front of the box, for which there's a recipe on the back. Don't want to make guac? Don't — these would pair just as well with some salsa and sour cream. I appreciated the crispy exterior and the flavors on the inside, so given that my only downside was the slightly dry, thick masa, I still found this snack deserving of a spot in my lineup.

On the other hand, Bistro 28's Pretzel Bites were easily my favorite snack on this list. I have to give a shoutout to the company for including dipping sauce cups in this box — consumers are given two jalapeño cheese dips and one cheddar cheese dip, both of which have a fantastic texture and flavor when warmed in the microwave. Were this a ranking piece, the sauces would have absolutely given this a leg up; as it is, they just support my position that this box is definitely one of the best air fryer snacks at Costco. 

All you need to do to heat up these bad boys is give them a brush of water or melted butter, and sprinkle some of the included salt packet on top. After that, they took only about five minutes to heat through in my preheated air fryer. The result? Insanely good, both in terms of texture and flavor. The pretzel bites had those signature malt notes that you'd expect to find in soft pretzels, and the air fryer cooked them perfectly, yielding a crisp outside and a doughy, pillowy interior. I was glad I only made four — had I warmed up more, it would have been hard to keep myself from eating the lot. If you're a general fan of soft pretzels, I can't recommend these enough, and the included sauces just take this offering to new heights. 

Another offering from the Del Real brand was a shoo-in for this collection of snacks: its Quesadilla Bites. This box was a clear sibling offering to the aforementioned pupusas, though I did think it fared a bit better on the whole. Each quesadilla bite is amply cheesy, and the gooey cheese provided a nice contrast to the corn exterior (which, again, was a bit thick and dry). Nevertheless, the air fryer gave it an impeccable texture — crisp on the outside with a soft, warm interior — and these are tasty bites perfect for an after-school snack or even as a substantial lunch accompaniment.

I'll make the same disclaimer with this snack as I did with the pupusas: You'll probably want to pair it with a sauce to help offset the corn masa casing. However, I didn't think these needed the help as much as the pupusas, so don't be wary of eating these solo. Another pro here was the size of these quesadilla bites — each was a few inches in diameter and amply thick. In my opinion, they're the ideal snack-sized offering, and I'd be perfectly satisfied after eating just a few of them.

Sure, there are numerous tricks you can employ to easily fry homemade taquitos, but may I suggest an alternative? Skip the home frying and, instead, grab a box of El Monterey's Mexican Grill Chicken & Cheese Taquitos from Costco. They don't even take 10 minutes in a preheated air fryer to cook, and the result is absolutely scrumptious — not to mention, it's far less labor-intensive than making your own. 

I honestly didn't expect to like these taquitos as much as I did, and I suspect air frying them has a lot to do with how yummy they turned out. I particularly liked how big they are — I was comfortably full of just two, which really did make for a satisfying afternoon snack on their own. I don't think these taquitos require any type of pairing, but sauces wouldn't detract from them, either. They're plenty flavorful with a slight spice kick to them, the cheese is delicious, and the chicken is tangible but not overbearing. Moreover, the exterior has a delightful crunch to it. I unashamedly loved these taquitos, which came as a pleasant surprise, and they're sure to be in my rotation of freezer-stable snacks going forward.

I'm no stranger to shumai, though I won't pretend to be well-versed in the bite-sized Japanese dumplings. I was a little surprised (but very happy) to see that Ajinomoto's Japanese Style Shumai had air fryer instructions on the package. Most similar offerings I come across require some combination of microwave steaming and pan-frying preparation, so a version of the snack that I can easily heat up in the air fryer is appealing for obvious reasons. 

As with the previous selection, I didn't expect to enjoy these pork shumai dumplings as much as I did (and, once again, I was glad I only heated two pieces of the snack). The air fryer again yielded impeccable textures — a crisp exterior gave way to a sumptuous, juicy interior, making for a really delicious dumpling that didn't even need any sauces to amp it up. Of special note were the bamboo shoots, which gave a light crisp and bright, earthy flavor whenever I stumbled across one. Of course, if you want to add more flavor, this won't clash with your favorite sauces. A standard sweet-and-sour sauce or even a soy glaze would complement it nicely. 

I couldn't have compiled this list without including french fries, one of the most obvious air fryer snacks. Still, I was open to Kirkland's Extra-Crispy French Fries not earning a spot here. Frozen french fries can vary pretty widely in quality, and I've had enough lackluster options to last me a lifetime, but Kirkland's wasn't one of them. In fact, Kirkland's may be among my favorites now. Is that just because I made them in the air fryer? I doubt it, though I certainly won't count out the possibility.

You know those ultra-crispy french fries that definitely have some sort of coating on them? These fall under that umbrella, and they were simply delicious. Many frozen french fries I've tried just yield potato-heavy sticks, but these could have easily come straight out of a food truck fryer. I liked that they weren't overly salty, which leaves plenty of room for the consumer to season them as desired. Plus, unlike other frozen fries, I didn't feel the need to drizzle any oil to yield a crisp texture. The potato interior was soft and fluffy, but the fries retained enough structure to easily be turned into elevated loaded fries should you need a heartier snack.

To continue with the potato theme, how could I not include Ore-Ida's Crispy Tater Tots in this lineup? Depending on who you ask, tater tots are french fries' superior sibling — in the case of this bag, I'd have to agree. The air fryer once again comes to the rescue when making these snacks. I haven't had Ore-Ida's frozen tater tots in a while, but I do remember heating them up in the microwave for a quick snack, a process which rendered a far less satisfying product than what I tasted this time around.

The air fryer cooked these as expected, which is to say they were wildly appealing. Air frying a single layer only took about eight minutes (I shook the basket halfway through), and the resulting snack was delightful — golden and crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside. I ate them sans ketchup, and honestly, I found them flavorful enough to not necessarily need a condiment (making them perfect for picky kids). Fortunately for tot fans, Costco sells this selection in a whopping 8-pound bag, which you're unlikely to run through anytime soon.

Last, but certainly not least, who would I be if I didn't include Petite Cuisine's Mozzarella Sticks on this list? I'm intimately familiar with frozen mozzarella sticks — I've previously ranked seven frozen mozzarella stick brands, and had Petite Cuisine's been on my list, they'd have easily made it somewhere in the top three. Along with french fries, mozzarella sticks are among the top snacks I'm convinced the air fryer was made for. If you share my opinion in that regard, go grab this box of nearly 100 mozzarella sticks stat.

My only complaint is that the box doesn't also come with marinara sauce. I don't expect the sauce to be a standard offering (most boxes of the snack don't include it), but it's always a pleasant surprise when it shows up. But that's a small con in the grand scheme of things, and overall, these cheesy sticks made for a lovely snack. I mean, look at the cheese pull in the above picture — does it get any better than that? Moreover, the exterior was pleasantly seasoned (though not excessively so that it would turn off some consumers) and the cheese boasted that rich, full flavor associated with fresh mozzarella. Overall, these sticks were a solid snack that shouldn't need to be vouched for, but I'll shout praises from the rooftops all the same. 

Snacks eligible for a spot in this lineup of some of the best Costco air fryer snacks had to be intended for air fryer preparation. Each has air frying instructions on the packaging, and I prepared each in preheated air fryers, according to the package directions. I looked for a few things when judging whether an item could make this list; fortunately for me, every item I tried passed. 

First, it had to get fully heated in the air fryer (I was okay giving an extra minute or two to the cook time, as air fryer power can vary). It also had to have the intended textures which, for most of these snacks, meant that they'd render a crispy outside and soft interior. Lastly, it had to taste good. I kept flavor as the tertiary criterion here, because palates vary and there's a plentitude of ways to dress up most of these snacks. Some are appealing enough on their own (like the pretzel bites and tater tots) while others, like the pupusas, could do with some sprucing up.