The Best Costco Dips, Ranked From Worst To Best

Costco is the place to go if you're preparing to host a crowd, thanks to the warehouse store's generously portioned grocery offerings. Be it a group dinner, a cocktail party, or a game-day bash (or even if you're just a dip fiend like me and don't need to wait for a special occasion to load up), you've got plenty of options at Costco when it comes to dips that can feed an army. Some traditional, some offbeat, there's a dip for every type of gathering and palate.

As a self-proclaimed dip aficionado and a lover of hosting gatherings, I decided to grab all of Costco's amply sized offerings and put them to the test. To find out which ones would be the biggest hits at the next party, and which ones I might keep on hand all the time for my own personal snacking pleasure, I tasted each in various ways and with various accompaniments, and ranked them from least to most exciting. As a caveat, I will say that all of these dips are tasty and enjoyable, and I'd purchase each of them again. As far as balance, taste, and overall moreishness, however, there were a few that stood above the rest.

One thing I'll say for B*tchin' Sauce's chipotle dip — it certainly lives up to its name. The chipotle pepper is simply a dried and smoked jalapeño, and like a fresh jalapeño, it's got a moderate level of heat, with the addition of smokiness, which gives it a deeper, richer flavor. That flavor and its accompanying aroma are here in spades, along with a vibrant tang and a satisfying spicy kick. This dip is made from all organic ingredients, which is a nice bonus, and it's gluten-free and vegan, making it ideal if you're catering to a group with various dietary needs.

This was a fine dip, but as I was eating it, I got tired of it pretty quickly. It has a homogenous texture, so every bite is the same, and while I liked it, I didn't find myself loving it enough to enthusiastically dive back in for more. I could see this working better as a sauce, perhaps tossed with some chicken and baked, or even poured over enchiladas or nachos. The 24-ounce tub was a great party size, though, and it went nicely with corn chips as well as vegetables like cherry tomatoes and sliced cucumbers.

You're not likely to find a better deal on store-bought hummus than this. A whopping 34-ounce tub of Kirkland Signature's organic roasted pine nut hummus costs just under $6 at my local Costco, and for that reason alone, it's worth a buy. Hummus has been around since at least the 13th century, and its simplicity is no doubt one of the reasons it's been so persistently popular for so long: Chickpeas and tahini are all you need, along with additions like salt, lemon juice, and olive oil. Kirkland's hummus also includes a topping of roasted pine nuts and red peppers mixed with garlic, herbs, and spiced oil.

I've had some hummus in my life that absolutely blew me away with its light, silky texture and perfectly balanced flavors. This one didn't reach those heights, but it's a solid offering for a store brand, especially for the price. The texture is smooth, the topping mix is flavorful, and it's nicely seasoned. There is a slight bitterness that lingered on my palate after each bite, which kept me from loving it, but it wasn't a total dealbreaker.

At 16 ounces, this whipped feta dip from Delve is one of the smallest of Costco's dip offerings, but there's still enough here to keep a cheese-loving party happy. Feta, a brined sheep's milk cheese from the Mediterranean, is the star here, whipped into a base of mascarpone with a host of flavoring ingredients, including bell peppers, garlic, herbs, and spices. The resulting dip is really flavorful, packing a spicy, salty punch balanced by rich creaminess.

The only thing that let me down with this dip was its texture. I expected it to be airy, but it was quite a bit thicker and heavier than I thought it would be. There are little crumbles of feta throughout the dip that can overload your palate with a pop of salt — make sure you have a drink nearby. I found this worked best with vegetables, which counteracted the richness of the dip very well, adding a welcome freshness. It's got a few issues, but overall, if you're looking for a dip with a big punch of Mediterranean flavor, this is it.

Customers have been raving about La Terra Fina's seasonal cranberry and jalapeño dip for years, but I never felt compelled to give it a try. The combo of sweet and spicy doesn't always work for me, and I'm not the world's biggest fan of cranberries, even during Thanksgiving season. But I'm big enough to admit when I'm wrong, and I was very wrong about this dip. From my first small taste, all of my expectations were blown away by a gale of intense flavor.

This dip seriously nails the balance of every element to create a satisfying, complex combination of flavors and textures. The cream cheese and sour cream base is both rich and tangy, the cranberries add little zippy pops of sweetness and acidity, and the jalapeño heat simmers in the background. The texture has a nice airiness to it that, along with the vibrant flavors, keeps it from feeling heavy. The heat level is listed as medium, though I found it quite mellow, perhaps tempered by the creamy cheesiness and fruity cranberry bites. This 31-ounce tub is less than ten bucks, making it a delicious and affordable addition to any holiday gathering.

Having spent most of my life in both northern and southern California, I've eaten an ocean's worth of salsa, and I'm fairly picky about it. Many store-bought brands that I've tried have an unpleasant goopy texture and stale-tasting tomatoes. That couldn't be further from the case with Casa Sanchez's salsa two-pack available at Costco. Including a bright salsa roja and a deeply flavored fresh roasted salsa, both styles come in 15-ounce containers and boast a medium heat level. 

The ingredients couldn't be simpler. Both include tomatoes, peppers, water, sea salt, garlic, and citric acid, and the salsa roja additionally has onions and cilantro. The two styles are equally delicious in very different ways — the salsa roja is so fresh and zesty, it tastes like it was just made, and the fresh roasted salsa has a rich, savory intensity. Both give just the right kick of heat. The bright and punchy salsa roja will wake up your every taste bud, while the roasted version is smoky and smooth. These are true salsa lovers' salsas.

Right off the bat, I fell hard for La Terra Fina's artichoke and jalapeño dip. Cream cheese and mayonnaise make up the base, which is somewhat thinner than the cranberry dip from the same company, making it seem lighter. Monterey Jack cheese is mixed in, too, adding its mellow flavor and soft texture that offsets the tanginess and heat from the main ingredients, artichokes and jalapeños. The resulting dip is beautifully balanced. The heat level on the package says mild, but I found the jalapeño kick to be stronger in this dip than in the cranberry version, possibly because it lacks the fruity sweetness to temper the heat. It packs a nice punch without overwhelming the other flavors.

The dip comes in two 17-ounce containers, letting you conveniently keep one unopened so it stays fresh longer. The versatility of this dip is a point in its favor. It's fantastic chilled, and can also be heated, which turns it into a different product altogether. With a quick zap in the microwave, the cheese melts, and the base softens to a smooth and silky, sauce-like consistency. The tang and heat are still present, but slightly mellowed. I loved this dip both ways, and found it worked with just about any dipper you could throw at it — chips, crackers, toasted bread, carrots, celery, you name it. 

Guacamole might just be my favorite dip to make, partly because I find pre-made and store-bought versions mediocre at best. It's tough to ensure avocados keep their freshness and flavor, and more often than not, purchased guacamole doesn't cut it. Kirkland Signature's organic chunky guacamole is — and I don't say this lightly — the best store-bought guac I've ever tasted. Costco ingeniously sells its impressively tasty dip in 16 separate containers, each two and a half ounces, the perfect size to pack into a lunch box or grab for a quick snack. Since the tubs are separately sealed, you don't have to worry about the mashed avocado browning and losing freshness and flavor.

This is a classic, simple guacamole made with high-quality organic ingredients, so you get a lot of flavor from each element. The avocados have a wonderful texture, smooth but not completely puréed, so there's still some rusticity, making it seem homemade rather than industrially produced. The diced tomatoes have a fresh, acidic pop, along with lime juice, which brightens every bite. Jalapeños, garlic, onions, and cilantro create fresh and savory layers of extra flavor, and there's just enough sea salt to enhance the other ingredients. That's it — no spices, no dairy, no off-the-wall additions. This is pure, fresh, and pretty close to perfect guacamole.

Since I was a kid, I've loved dips. When David Puddy, on an episode of Seinfeld, wondered why people don't have dip for dinner, I had never felt more kinship with a sitcom character. These decades of dip enjoyment proved to be a gateway to a deeper exploration of the culinary arts, but dips are still one of my favorite types of food, so you can trust that I took this taste experiment quite seriously. To pick which dips to include, I shopped at my local Costco and chose what I felt was a varied and wide-ranging selection of styles.

For each dip, I initially tasted a small sample of each on its own to get a pure idea of its flavors and textures. Then, I tried each with what I figured most people would enjoy it with — tortilla chips for the guac and salsa, veggies with the feta dip, crackers with the hummus, for example. I then mixed and matched the various dipping accompaniments and assessed how successful the combinations were. In the end, what the order came down to was ranking them in order of how likely I am to buy each dip again, either for gatherings or just for myself.