The 10 Discontinued Costco Bakery Items We Miss The Most

There is nothing quite like a trip to Costco. Seemingly always crowded, it's a wholesale wonderland that still manages to feel like a personal experience. All those free samples, remember? It's a place that has shelf after shelf of what you want and probably more than you need. With amazing deals on everything from laptop computers to luggage, cookies to fresh mushrooms, clothes to chips and snacks, this billion dollar company never does anything by halves.

Because it is a company that is constantly on the look out for new inventory that its customers will love, there are always a few items that, like it or not, end up being discontinued. More often than not, they are not discontinued because people necessarily hated them or didn't buy them. Sometimes it's because the inventory was seasonal, there were limited quantities or contracts ran out. Costco is always seeking to keep its items new and fresh as well as the most cost effective for its customers as possible.

One place this happens quite often is in the Costco bakery. The Costco bakeries are a busy place and new bakery items are always being introduced. There is always something interesting and tasty to try. But there are a few lost treats that haven't reappeared that will always have a place in our hearts. Here are some bakery items that perhaps we can only hope may return one day.

One of the best loved and most missed of these bakery items is the all American chocolate cake. Though chocolate cake is not an American invention, America saw a huge boost in home cake making with the advent of cake mixes in the 1950s. Betty Crocker's mixes were some of the first to make it easy to bake layer cakes. The nostalgic layer cake that was the Costco version is what Americans remember and love best.

This chocolate cake was huge and heavy with four layers of moist chocolate cake and chocolate fudge buttercream. It was perfectly topped or covered on the sides with chocolate shavings that lent a special touch. It was an absolute delight for chocolate lovers. It was also incredibly affordable which made it very much a favorite among shoppers as it could feed a crowd.

So, what made Costco discontinue such a shopper favorite? You can blame the loss of the All American cake on a number of factors. The Covid-19 pandemic, for one, seemed to have spurred an overhaul of bakery items at Costco. Additionally, it's possible that the rising cost of flour made the cost of a nearly 7 pound cake untenable for the wholesaler. Some on Reddit claimed that the cake simply wasn't that popular. It's a loss that many people hoped would be reversed someday, and five years later, the request for it to come back have been heard. Earlier this year, Costco introduced a new, albeit very similar, chocolate cake.

Another one of the greatly mourned discontinued bakery items are the classic dinner rolls. Because who doesn't love a good dinner roll? Dinner rolls are one of those items that aren't of course always necessary for a good meal, but they do elevate and bring a sense of comfort to every meal they join. With no time necessarily in the modern kitchen to spend waiting on yeast roll dough to rise, these rolls from Costco were super convenient to have on hand.

The rolls were considered perfect in many ways. The recipe Costco used kept the rolls from being neither too heavy nor too soft and they held up well to everyday meals. They were the perfect vehicle to enjoy with butter and jam, with a hearty soup or plain on their own. They also came in massive bags at around 36 count and were known to freeze perfectly. Across Reddit and the world of food media, customers greatly lamented the loss of Costco's dinner rolls. 

No one really knows why Costco stopped carrying the popular and well-loved rolls. Like the all-American chocolate cake, Costco did bring back a new dinner roll, including a version slathered with parmesan butter, but the massive bags of dinner rolls are no longer. 

Just like the all American chocolate cake, the half-sheet cake is another of the greatly missed Costco bakery items that doesn't look like it will ever be returning. However, this particular bakery item may just be one of the hardest losses for most shoppers to have had to deal with. When Costco announced the discontinuation of this size for their cakes, Today reported a wide range of mixed reactions from shoppers, mainly disappointment, disbelief, and frustration.

While many thought the half-sheet cake was perfect for smaller gatherings and special moments, Costco had other, pandemic-related priorities. The cake was discontinued in 2020, and at that time, CNN reported that the decision was an outcome of Costco's attempt to limit social gatherings. In comments to Today, Costco reps also mentioned that the half-sheet cake's replacement — smaller 10-inch round cakes — were "resonating with our members."

Despite these replacement options, the loss of the half-sheet cake is still lamented. It was customizable treat that was also affordable, costing less than $20 total. For some people, it was a tradition to have this cake at special times. Costco does still continue to offer its sheet cakes and the round cakes, but that won't lessen the hole that the beloved size has left on the Costco shelves.

If there is one item that Costco shoppers would love to see make a return to the bakery shelves, it would be the round croissant. After all, croissant making is not an easy task. Croissants are made with layers of laminated dough and often require a cool area or a temperature controlled environment to keep the butter from melting as it's incorporated little by little. It is definitely a bakery item that is easier to purchase than make at home. 

In 2020, Costco discontinued its round croissants. At the time, this classic French pastry was reportedly larger than most croissants found on the market, thanks in part to their round shape. Shoppers who were accustomed to using the old croissants as sandwich bread were agast upon losing them, as the difference between their replacement was noticeable. That's right, Costco does still offer croissants, but they are in a straight shape now. Actually, that makes quite a difference.

Supposedly, Costco removed the round croissants and replaced them with the straight croissants because of a change in the recipe. As a Costco bakery employee shared on Reddit, the straight croissants are now made with all butter, while the round croissant's recipe reportedly contained more oil. So, while we may year for the versatility of the round shaped croissant, its one Costco baked good that we're happier to miss. 

If there is one item that Costco does well in their bakery, it's the muffins. They have an extremely loyal following of customers, too. Costco regularly maintains a rotating list of seasonal muffins, as well as standards like poppy seed, chocolate, and blueberry.

Costco has so many types and flavors of muffins that you might not even notice when one flavor disappears for good. But for dedicated shoppers, the absence of the cinnamon coffee cake muffin from the bakery shelves right before the Covid-19 pandemic was incredibly clear. The cinnamon coffee cake muffins joined a long line of discontinued muffins which include the likes of apple cinnamon, bran, and banana nut. However it was still a surprise for shoppers as many considered it a standard muffin. 

We may never know why this particular muffin got discontinued, though it might have been just part of the regular rotation of muffins that happen in the Costco bakery. Costco did try to offer some condolences by bringing out its own version of cinnamon coffee cake. This product is wonderful in its own right, but many still miss the muffin version.

Who doesn't love a good piece of warm garlic bread alongside their pasta or pizza? Well, we can all thank the Italian American immigrants for this amazing gift to American cuisine. Spreading garlic on bread with oil has long been a Venetian culinary tradition. However because butter was much more available in America than oil from their native country, many Italians had to learn to adapt. 

If you enjoy Italian food and once kept Costco's roasted garlic parmesan bread on hand to go with your meal, you were probably sorely disappointed when Costco stopped making it. According to the U.S. Sun, the bread — loaded with herbs, lots of butter, and garlic — completely left store shelves in 2023. (Some bakers on Reddit report it going extinct in some locations as early as 2019.)

One thing that made this loaf bread so lovable was that rather than coming pre-sliced, it instead had all the ingredients baked into it, making an easy grab-and-go bread. With its versatility and flavor, customers were reasonably confused and unhappy when the roasted garlic bread disappeared from the Costco bakery without a good explanation. Many claimed it was the best bread ever. There have even been multiple and ongoing requests to Costco to bring it back but without any hope so far of seeing it return.

A favorite dessert in European countries, the apple strudel has been around and beloved for a very long time. The word "strudel" comes from the German word meaning whirlpool, a homage to the way the dough is swirled and shaped. It has many versions throughout Europe with unique variations from each country that makes it and enjoys it. Some use a thinner dough while others add raisins or nuts to the apple filling. Regardless, it's an elegant pastry and a fitting dessert for a special meal.

Costco bakery's version of the dessert featured layers of buttery dough, cinnamon-laced apples and sugar crystals sprinkled on top, but the filling could be hit-or-miss to some shoppers. A little known loss to all but those who remember and loved it well, the Costco braided apple strudel began to disappear with little fanfare in 2018, but remained regionally available into 2023. Anecdotal evidence suggests its even still for sale at Costco Canada.

Strudel can be a time-consuming and labor-intensive treat to make. Like croissants, the lamination of the dough requires time and attention. Knowing this, you might assume the decision was made by Costco to cut this product in order to simplify things in the bakery. Yet, staff bakers on Reddit have reported that the pastry used to arrive to stores frozen, so it's hard to say why it was really axed. Regardless, we miss seeing a pastry with this much finesse available at the local Costco, even if there was a seasonal bite-size apple strudel this past fall.

France is a country known for its many and varied types of bread. From the classic croissant to the crisp baguette to brioche to fougasse, the culture prides itself on good bread and traditional styles. Which is why many countries the world over try to copy and sell their amazing products.

Costco's take on the country French bread was different than a long baguette, and was instead a rustic-style country loaf bread with a soft crumb and firm crust. A shorter ingredient list aided consumer confidence, and it the bread developed a reputation for making great sandwiches, bread crumbs, and more. Until 2024, when it was dropped from the bakery section's offerings.

At the time of discontinuation, customers report being told by store staff that the French country loaf, which was sold in a two-pack for $5.99, was going to be replaced by a rosemary Italian loaf. The substitute is now sold in one-loaf packs. We miss the value and quality of the French country loaf, and would trade the French baguette in their place, anytime. 

You might not think that the loss of a cookie would be such a cause for sorrow, but if you knew the Costco half-iced shortbread cookies you might understand why it's one baked good we wish could make a comeback.

Sold in a clear container and as a seasonal product around Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. The cookies were cut differently depending on the time of year. Sometimes they came heartshaped, other times they were round. Half of the shortbread was half-dipped in vanilla or chocolate icing, so it allowed you to enjoy the flavor of the cookie without too much sweetness from the icing. They were not only a delicious treat but also a thoughtful gift.

Because these cookies were seasonal, once they disappeared, it took a few years before customers started to realize that the shortbread cookies weren't coming back. Costco had already stopped production by early 2020. To try to replace these delicious cookies, it instead began to instead offer classic red or pink sugar cookies, according to staff bakers on Reddit.

In Mexico, every torta is a sandwich, but not every sandwich is a torta. The filling, salsas, and even the bread vary by region. There is the baguette-esque bolillo roll for example, or the soft-crumbed telera bread. At one point in history, Costco's bakery sold torta rolls believed to be sourced from Nancy Silverton's La Brea bakery. It was ideal.

Unlike the more popular Costco bakery items to be discontinued, the torta rolls have been quicker to fade to obscurity. Likely, that's because they disappeared before the pandemic, around 2018. La Brea bakery's torta rolls were akin to telera, and held up perfectly right down to the size and fluffiness. You could load them with chicken, carnitas, carne, milanesa; add beans, lettuce, avocado, mayo, jalapeño; grill them or not, they held up. Best of all, they were bulk, coming in large plastic bags similar to the dinner rolls. 

In Costco's defense, the torta's discontinuation didn't technically leave us lost for options. Instead, the bakery released a new sandwich style bread, dubbed the artisan roll. It does have a different recipe, and comes pre-sliced. Some say it freezes better than the original torta, but not all customers are happy. Of the replacement, folks have often used descriptions such as "inferior" to describe the roll.