6 Costco Bakery Myths Shoppers Keep Believing

Costco's bakery section is hard to resist. In a ranking of its bakery treats, our taste tester stated that the cherry and cheese pastries alone are worth the car ride to your local warehouse. If you're not a cherry-cheese person, you probably have your own favorite sweet or savory staple from Costco's bakery that just keeps pulling you back (we'll take a stab in the dark that it is the Tuxedo cake). 

But, even the most loyal of Costco bakery fans occasionally fall for one of the common myths that surround this popular section. If you thought that returning a slither of pie for a refund was acceptable, or that there is only one way to order a custom cake, then this list is for you. Here, we debunk several of the Costco bakery myths that shoppers keep believing. Now tell your friends and spread the word — everyone needs to know the last entry on this list, especially.

Sorry, and we're going to hold your hand while we say this, but Costco doesn't make all of its baked goods from scratch. According to workers, many of the items sold in the bakery are shipped to the store frozen, before they're baked, packaged, and put up for sale. Fun fact: The bakery counter is split into three jobs — bakers, decorators, and wrappers. The latter are responsible for packaging and labeling everything, while the decorators, well, they decorate cakes, and the bakers work the ovens (among many other important tasks).

And, don't worry, it's not all bad news. The bakers really do bake from scratch in some instances. According to some workers, the muffins, loaves, dinner rolls, cheesecakes, half sheet cakes, and round cakes are all whipped up from scratch in Costco's kitchens. They also add the filling to treats, like Danish pastries, and glaze and top the cinnamon rolls. But, for the most part, items like croissants, bread, cookies, and bagels are shipped frozen, and require little intervention from the bakery team.

Costco is famous for its liberal return policy. The warehouse giant will accept most items back with little explanation required, with some exceptions (like gift cards and precious metals, for example). In fact, you can even return food to Costco, including baked goods.

However, there are rules on perishable food returns. Some stores refuse to take perishable food back after it has left the warehouse, for example, so it's important to inspect your baked goods carefully before making your selection. Other stores won't accept food returns if more than half of the item has been eaten already. This isn't just baked goods, but across all food departments.

According to some Redditors, stores often put this policy in place to avoid people taking advantage of the generous return rules at Costco. Some people really have tried to return the carcass of a turkey, for example, after eating the meat. So don't be tempted to just take a slither of cake back after eating the rest, because they'll probably turn you away.

Food waste from grocery stores is a big problem in the U.S. In fact, together with restaurants and food service companies, grocery stores are responsible for around 40% of all of the food that gets thrown away in the U.S. every year, per Recycle Track Systems. Now, don't get us wrong, Costco is far from perfect in terms of sustainability, but when it comes to reducing food waste, the warehouse chain does appear to have some measures in place.

According to workers on Reddit, they are often told to donate any unsold food, including baked goods, to shelters, food banks, and local churches. This is corroborated by food bank workers, too. "I volunteer at a homeless shelter/food bank, and every Saturday one of our team goes to pick up the Costco perishables," wrote one Redditor in the r/Costco subreddit. "We feed SO MANY people b/c of their donations."

Most Costco bakeries in the U.S. will deliver the same lineup. So, if you've got your firm favorites (our top picks include the croissants, the chocolate chunk cookies, and the Tuxedo Chocolate Mousse Cake, in case you were wondering), you can be fairly certain you'll find them on the shelves at most outlets. But, not all of its bakeries are identical.

In Hawaii or Miami, for example, you might find guava cheesecakes, or in Puerto Rico, you might come across guava sweet rolls. Of course, Costco's bakeries are different in different countries, too. We're eager to try Canada's Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies, for example, as well as Australia's Mud Cake and South Korea's red bean cream buns.

Costco also has seasonal items, too, so bakeries can look different from month to month. At the beginning of fall, keep an eye out for its beloved pumpkin pies, and in the spring, there are often fruitier desserts on offer, like 2026's peaches and cream pastries.

For a long time, customers could only order custom cakes from Costco by actually visiting a location in person and filling in a form. Yes, a real-life, paper form. Remember those? But, in case you missed the update, Costco decided to modernize in early 2026, and officially rolled out a custom cake ordering function on its app. This doesn't just remove the whole paper form element of the process, but it also cuts the number of trips customers have to make to Costco in half. Yes, we're cheering along with you.

If you want to order a customer cake from Costco on the app, there are still a few limitations. You can only order five cakes through the app at a time (which, let's be honest, isn't a problem for most people), you can't order custom cakes for pick up in Canada, and you must place the order at least three days in advance. If app ordering sounds too complicated, don't worry: You can still order your custom cakes the old fashioned way, too.

Listen, we know that the bakery at Costco is never going to be the same as that small, family-run, artisanal bakery you love down the street. It is ultimately a massive warehouse chain, and as we established earlier, many of the goods you'll find there are not baked fresh. However, that said, it's also fair to acknowledge that Costco's baked goods are actually of a pretty high standard.

Take the bagels, for example. At Costco, they're actually water-boiled, reports Food & Wine. This gives them the kind of authentic texture you probably wouldn't usually associate with a grocery store bagel. In fact, many say they're a pretty close second to a classic bagel shop bagel. "Grew up in North Jersey, and now in [the] Midwest. Costco bagels are great for me, because local bagel shops are pretty much nonexistent," said one Redditor in the r/Costco subreddit.

But, it's not just the bagels, of course. Many say that Costco really nails its selection of sweet and savory treats, and is superior to many other grocery store bakery sections. "You could have [a Danish pastry] at a grocery store. It just tastes like 'sweet,'" said another Redditor in the r/Costco subreddit. "But [Costco's] are really good, and they have like fruit in them."