The Popular Costco Bakery Pie That Ranks Worst On The List Of Treats We Tried

Costco is known for its low prices on staple goods and a truly legendary food court. Another major reason for Costco's continuing allure is the sheer size of its products; everything from jars of peanut butter to egg cartons is supersized compared to your average grocery store. But is bigger always better? Not in the case of Costco's popular pumpkin pie, as it turns out. Tasting Table tried and ranked 15 Costco bakery treats from worst to best, and sadly its pumpkin pie came in dead last. While it will feed even the biggest holiday crowd, this gargantuan pie is majorly lacking on both the flavor and texture fronts. Instead of a balance of warm spices, rich, earthy pumpkin, and a caramelized sweetness, Costco's pumpkin pie was incredibly bland and one-dimensional. 

A non-descript taste doesn't necessarily make something inedible, of course, but the texture of the filling was soft to the point of almost being liquid. The crust was thin and crumbly, which is standard for a pie like this, but we couldn't appreciate it without a congealed, dense filling to contrast it and hold everything together. You can try to make the pumpkin pie passable by pairing this fall dessert with Kirkland bourbon. But that still may not be enough. Despite its behemoth size and exceptionally low price, Costco's pumpkin pie epitomizes the age-old adage that quantity doesn't equal quality. Considering its underwhelming taste and mushy consistency, you'll have to pay your guests to eat it.

Despite some rave reviews, many Costco customers on Reddit weren't the biggest fans of the pumpkin pie. One Redditor even went so far as to call it "trash," stating, "I like so many of [Costco's] products but my brother and I both threw ours [pumpkin pie] in the garbage." Another Redditor pointed out that the dessert is "inconsistently baked, rushed, mushy in the middle and soggy crust," crediting its demise to the negligence of mass production. To that effect, many Reddit users suggested making pumpkin pie at home instead by doctoring up canned pumpkin pie filling and pouring it into a store-bought pie crust. While one Redditor argued that the pie is "comparable to any other store pie," we beg to differ. 

Tasting Table tasted five fresh pumpkin pies from popular grocery stores and Costco's pumpkin pie was the worst there, too. Unless you follow one Redditor's logic that the low price makes it taste better, we'd recommend skipping Costco's pumpkin pie altogether. However, not all of the grocery chain's bakery items should be avoided. Desserts worth buying from Costco include its tuxedo cake, cherry and cheese Danish, and s'mores cookies, to name a few. If you're craving a pumpkin dessert, Costco's newly revamped pumpkin cheesecake has garnered a loyal fan following, and is definitely worth trying.