Avoid These Costco Kirkland Signature Nuts, They're A Letdown In More Ways Than One

Aw, nuts is a refrain often said by Donald Duck in moments of disappointment, frustration, or discontent. When Donald says it, it's funny. Endearing. It's not, however, a statement you'd want to hear yourself mumble with chagrin after tasting a just-opened bag of snacks. Unfortunately, if you happen to find yourself with a sack of Kirkland Signature's dry-roasted, sea-salted macadamia nuts, it's just the kind of anticlimactic interjection you may end up on. In a recent Tasting Table review of select Costco Kirkland Signature nuts, the macadamias ended up dead last.

What is it that puts these macadamia nuts at the bottom of a head-to-head competition? Seasoning, apparently. While our review wasn't solely based on personal preference, these nuts had too strong of a profile for our taster to ignore. Absolutely swathed in sea salt, the nuts were described as "powdery," which didn't help their cause with the uphill battle they had on the textural front. Some nuts were soft; others were roasted to firm and crunchy. Taken with that sodium sheeting, the end result was a snacking experience that felt incongruent on too many levels. Priced at nearly $20 for a 1½-pound offering, you're looking at spending a pretty penny for disappointing bag.

Fortunately, Tasting Table isn't the odd-one-out in our assessment that these nuts just aren't it. Some Reddit users have compared Costco's other macadamia nut supplier, MacFarms Fresh from Hawaii, with the Kirkland Signature options and decided that the latter just don't hold up a candle. MacFarm's sea-salt, dry-roasted nuts have been described as "more delicate, buttery," while the Kirkland nuts get knocked for having up to six different countries sourcing macadamia nuts. Even on Costco's website, where the nuts earn a 4.6 star ranking, reviewers have commented on there being too much salt, oily consistency, and a generally less-than-fresh taste.

That said, even Tasting Table's tester noted that they have found enjoyment with these particular nuts a time or two. It goes to show that consistency issues can sometimes swing in the favor of consumers, netting a bag that's a little more fresh or roasted just as it should be. As Costco's top reviewers say, you may find yourself going "NUTS about Kirkland Macadamia Nuts !!!"