10 Food Products Costco Shoppers Turned Their Backs On In 2025

You know what people love about Costco? It seems to never change. The retailer's cavernous supermarkets and food courts all feel as though they're stuck in time, and that no-frills, consistent nature is what gives it a real sense of comfort. However, take a closer look at its product line, and you'll not only see its items are in a state of constant rotation, with new and old goods being swapped out on the regular, but also some of the products that are continually available can alter at the drop of a hat. Just like any other retailer, Costco's food items are prone to sudden changes in quality — and in 2025, a lot of the most popular Kirkland Signature products have gone from being fan favorites to being left on the shelf.

So, why have so many of Costco's food products suddenly deteriorated in quality? While it's hard to be sure, it's difficult to escape the feeling that the rocky economic climate has a lot to do with it. Due to a combination of inflation, tariff fears, and the lasting impact of COVID-19, supermarkets have had to reassess suppliers and how they make their items — and this has meant some fan favorites have suddenly felt less appealing. Costco's bacon, chicken, fresh produce, seafood, and food court items all seem to have been affected, according to shoppers. 

Costco's muffins used to be a thing of beauty. Like everything else in the store, they were massive, with each purchase giving you 12 hulking servings (in two packs of six) that came generously studded with blueberries or sprinkled with sugar. Despite this, they weren't too sweet, and their combination of ample proportions and a surprisingly mature taste meant that they were the perfect breakfast item.

However, 2025 has seen Costco usher in a new muffin era, and people really don't like it. The store has shrunk its muffins, with eight muffins now coming in each box. It's safe to say that customers are not only displeased with the new size but also with the quality. Folks have reported that Costco's current muffins are prone to falling apart and can go bad very quickly.

Exactly why Costco decided to change up its muffins for the worse is unclear, but it could have to do with its supply chain. A widespread drought in Peru, which is one of the largest exporters of blueberries in the world, may have affected Costco's ability to be as generous with its blueberry muffins as it once was. As a result, the company might have reduced the size, while also changing the recipe for its blueberry muffins — and it couldn't exactly leave the other muffins the same size, right? Regardless of the reason, it's fair to say this change has been for the worse.

Costco used to be a reliable place if you needed a lot of bacon. Selling its Kirkland Signature Sliced Bacon in a multipack of four 1-pound packages, the retailer promised a lot of meat in one go. However, in recent years, Costco shoppers have noticed that its meat — specifically its bacon — has gone downhill. Some people have designated the decline of its protein as occurring post-COVID, but there's been a definite shift in the quality of Kirkland Signature slices in 2025, which customers now report is thin and stringy. "The last pack I opened had the structure of Halloween decor cobwebs. BOOOOOO," said one customer on Reddit, clearly getting into the spooky season's spirit a little early.

Admittedly, this issue does seem to primarily affect Costco's regular Kirkland bacon. When it comes to its Kirkland Signature Thick Sliced Bacon, things tend to be a little more positive, and the product is usually better quality (and, of course, provides more per bite). Having said this, even its thick bacon isn't safe from criticism. It could be time to start buying your bacon somewhere else entirely.

Costco isn't afraid of making some big swings when it comes to its product line, and now and again, it'll bring in a new Kirkland Signature food item designed to invigorate its offering. It did just that at the end of 2024 when it introduced its Kirkland Signature Variety Dessert Bars. In each tray, customers would get an assortment of 32 different cake bars, with such creations and flavors as the Wildberry Macaroon and Pecan Caramel Brownies. It all sounds pretty good, right?

Well, customers didn't think so — and almost as soon as they debuted, Costco shoppers were walking away from them. "We thought they were terrible — the kids wouldn't even eat them," said a customer on Reddit. "I brought them back (which I rarely do with food) and they said it was the 5th pack they had gotten back that day." Others said that while they look good, they have an overt sweetness which makes them off-putting. The cost of the bars is also an issue: A pack will set you back $20, which shoppers think is just too expensive for what you get.

Let's light a candle for the food court chicken bakes at Costco. It's okay, we miss them too. This item has been available for a while in Costco food courts (although for some time it was nowhere to be seen), but something's definitely changed, which is putting customers off in 2025. The Costco chicken bake was a staple of any pre-pandemic shopping trip, but when the world shut down, the retailer quietly removed it from its menu, and it briefly became one of those retired food court items. As the food courts opened back up in mid-2020, the chicken bake was nowhere to be seen, due to Costco prioritizing its most popular items during that strange transitional period.

Costco's chicken bake was reintroduced in September 2020, and for a good few years, people were overjoyed. However, in 2025, it seems like something's not quite right. Shoppers have begun to notice that the chicken bake has barely any filling in it, and instead of having satisfying chunks of meat, it seems to now contain a kind of chicken slurry. Costco may have also quietly changed either its pastry or its cooking process, as the chicken bake is now overly crispy. People who haven't tried the chicken bake in a while have been left very disappointed with what they've ended up with, and we're not sure when Costco will listen and make things better.

Man, Costco's cucumbers have had a serious fall from grace. It used to be the case that the retailer's cucumbers were fairly good quality, and while Costco's fresh produce has never been considered the best, it managed to get its cukes right. In 2025, though, Costco's cucumbers seem to have gone the way of so many of its other fresh items. Its cucumbers now seem to perish the instant you buy them, with customers now stating they'll only purchase them if they know they're going to be eating them within the next 24 hours. If they don't, then they turn to slime in a day or two. We don't know about you, but that's not exactly a great advertisement for a supermarket.

The problem with its cucumbers seems to stem from a rethinking of where they're kept in Costco stores. Nowadays, they're kept in the open air, as opposed to the refrigerator section. This lack of refrigeration, however, means that they go bad more quickly. You're better off going somewhere like Sprouts Farmers Market, Whole Foods, or The Fresh Market for your produce, all of which are considered some of the best supermarkets to buy produce from.

We've got a lot of questions about Costco's chicken. It used to be the case that its Kirkland Signature chicken was the top of the pack, with customers praising how good its quality was when compared to other stores. Throughout 2025, however, shoppers have noticed a definite shift in its chicken's quality. Reports of woody, chewy chicken breasts have become commonplace, and what was once tender, succulent poultry is now almost hard to eat.

Although Costco's regular chicken breasts have come under the most fire, its other chicken products have also been dubbed as being lower-quality across the board in 2025. Folks who have switched to its organic chicken breasts have pointed out that they still get woody chicken breasts every now and again, although the issue is less pronounced than with its non-organic meat. Its chicken thighs have also been criticized for deteriorating in quality, and having way more fat than they used to have, as well as an unpleasant gamey flavor. We don't know what's going on with its supply chain, but it's clear that Costco's been dropping the ball this year on its meat.

We'd put good money on Costco making a change to its farmed Atlantic salmon in the last 12 months. It's Kirkland Signature Farmed Atlantic Salmon used to be a winning product. Not only was it a reasonable price for what you get, but it was the kind of thing you could fill your freezer up with, and have a steady supply of fish on hand for weeks, if not months. Plus, it tasted pretty darn good, making it a regular purchase for customers.

This year, though, everything seems to have changed. "Used to be great for a great price there, but the last 4 times we got salmon from both of the Costco locations near us, we opened it and it smelt rotten," said a Costco customer on Reddit, one of many that has reported this issue. "So many people on here said to bring it back for a refund but could not even stomach having it in a Ziploc in the car, so in the dumpster it went each time." Others have pointed out that the salmon now has a mushy texture and a laughably small shelf life; you have to basically cook it on the same day you buy it, if you stand any chance of enjoying it. Shoppers have questioned whether the chain has changed its suppliers, which wouldn't surprise us. For now, at least, this salmon seems to be off-limits; go for its other Kirkland frozen fish instead.

What do you have to do to get a good avocado around here? Apparently, you have to avoid Costco. It didn't always used to be this way. Customers used to love these avocados, and they were once praised for their ability to last way longer than other avos from different stores, thanks to the application of clever technology by Apeel Sciences that helped to extend their shelf life. In 2025, however, it feels like they'll either last forever without ever becoming edible or they're mushy by the time you get them home from the store. Customers have complained that the avocados are now astonishingly hard, and they never seem to develop the soft, smooth flesh that we all crave from these fruits. If they are soft when you buy them, they're basically rotten.

Interestingly, this doesn't just seem to be a problem at Costco stores in the United States. Shoppers in Canada have also noticed their avocados are poor quality and have a tendency to rot and turn black in a day or two. Costco has never been especially forthcoming about its suppliers (although some clever people have figured out the brands behind a lot of Kirkland products), so it's unclear whether it's changed where it buys its avocados from. But whatever's happened, it's not good.

This one is hard to swallow, guys. Costco's rotisserie chicken is, of course, the stuff of legend, and has been praised again and again for its excellent taste and its reasonable price. In 2025, though, it seemed like something shifted — and not in a good way. People have begun to notice that the retailer's most famous poultry product has gone downhill in quality. Its flavor now seems off, its skin is frequently torn, and it's usually sitting in a pool of its own juices instead of having a crispy, taut underside.

The decline of Costco's chicken seems to have been slow and steady, with some people noticing issues as early as 2023. However, 2025 has been the year that people have truly begun to realize it's not worth it anymore. Some shoppers have attributed its shift in quality to Costco's infamous decision to change its packaging and introduce bags, during which it may have also quietly adapted its recipe. It may have taken a while for people to notice the difference, but now that they have, they're not pleased.

Costco's chicken pot pie has long been a favorite of customers, not least because of its absolutely mammoth size. Sadly, though, in 2025, shoppers have been looking elsewhere for their pot pie fix. People have observed that, all of a sudden, it tastes totally different — and not in a good way. "I used to love the pot pie. Years ago I would buy a pot pie for myself and it would be gone over the course of a day," said a customer on Reddit. "Then almost overnight, it became overly salty. Another Costco product that they've ruined." 

That saltiness has also been matched with a dryness, with some shoppers noting that it's now got a cardboard-like crust that's frankly difficult to chew through. All of this adds up to poor flavor and texture that no longer passes the test. When you consider that this pie now costs roughly $24, it's a lot of money to spend on a product that doesn't taste good.