The Popular Costco Bakery Item That's Almost Half The Price Of Other Grocery Stores

It's one thing to discover a new favorite grocery store item that's delicious, but it's another thing entirely when that item is also totally, almost shockingly, well-priced. Such is the case when it comes to the Costco croissant, according to a study conducted by Cash Net USA's StudySpot, which recently found that the popular breakfast item costs 49.3% less at Costco, per ounce, than it does at other grocery stores — including Target, Walmart, and Kroger. The croissants join several other breakfast items at the big box chain on a list of great discounts, with other items being a few popular cereals, Eggo waffles, and a 24-pack of eggs.

The 12-pack of croissants is priced at around $7 depending on location, while comparative options at Target (a four-pack for $5.29) and Walmart (a six-pack for $4.98) are all priced lower. But both of these packs also include fewer croissants, and generally smaller sized ones as well. Comparatively, 12 croissants at Target — or three boxes of four — would run you $15.87 before tax, and at Walmart, the same number of croissants would cost $9.96. So with equivalent numbers, both are more expensive than the Costco offering; hence, why the study assigned savings potential on a per ounce basis. For additional fairness, the study also notes that they input the same ZIP code for each store where they were analyzing price points given the propensity of prices to change across state or county lines even among a chain grocery store. This way, the comparison was as fair and accurate as possible.

If the croissants are starting to go stale, you can microwave them for a short time (five to seven seconds) to soften them up. But if you're still struggling to get through the whole pack before their time of bready freshness is up, we've got plenty of ideas for how to use them. Of course, the flaky, sweet rolls can be eaten plain for breakfast, or smeared with jam or Nutella. But their use in your meal prepping doesn't stop there — the jumbo pastries are also great for layering up a lunchtime flaky croissant sandwich, since their large size makes them easy to slice in half horizontally and plenty big enough for a filling stack of sandwich toppings. The croissants will stay good for a couple of days on the counter, or longer in the fridge or freezer if you're willing to take the time to warm them up. And if they do go stale? Cut them up, toast them, and use your stale croissants as delicious croutons to top a salad. 

But let's talk beyond the chain's version of this well-known French pastry. If this news has you planning an urgent trip to Costco for an epic and totally in-budget meal, you'll be thrilled to hear that the chain was also found to be on top of the price saving game when it came to raspberries, rolled oats, and pancake mix. Costco's muffins weren't officially on this list of price savings, but regardless of the cost, this is another must-buy in the pastry section of the store as it is, hands-down, one of Costco's best pastries, no matter whether you're talking about the triple chocolate chip flavor or the lemon raspberry. In fact, we ranked these world-famous muffins second, beat only by — you guessed it — its affordable croissants.