The Often-Returned Costco Bakery Item You'll Want To Reconsider Buying

Costco's bakery muffins look like an easy win: Hunky in size, with classic flavors like chocolate and blueberry, and hard-to-beat prices that break down to less than a dollar a muffin. But dig into customer reviews and online discussions, and Costco's muffins come up often as an item people frequently say they've returned (or at least thought about it), or regretted buying. (It probably doesn't hurt that Costco has a notoriously lenient return policy that allows people to return even partially eaten food.)

One of the most common complaints is size. Shoppers in the past noted that the muffins were too large to finish before they dry out or go stale. Costco apparently noticed this in 2025 and shrank both the individual muffin size and the number in a package, but there's no pleasing everybody, and some shoppers equally take issue with this reformulation, while others prefer it. Some also complain that muffins can no longer be mixed and matched freely due to inconsistent sizes and quantities across flavors. Some shoppers say this forces them to freeze the extras or risk waste — so, those who don't want to do that can just avail themselves of that generous return policy to offload the extras.

Texture is another recurring issue. Many customers describe the muffins as dry or crumbly, particularly the blueberry and chocolate varieties, with some saying they seem dry compared to earlier versions. Others point to excessive sweetness, saying the sugar overwhelms any actual flavor, making the muffins more like dessert than breakfast.

More generally, some Costco regulars feel that the chain's bakeries are not terribly consistent, with products and formulations appearing to change regularly and the quality of the baked goods being inconsistent. Some also don't love the idea that baked goods are shipped frozen and are only partially prepared in-house. These are more general issues with the bakery's products rather than specific issues with the muffins. However, in the case of muffins, complaints about inconsistency may link back to the early 2025 changes Costco appears to have made to its muffin recipes, with some customers also disappointed that the chain eliminated a number of flavors, including classics like banana nut or poppyseed.

All of this said, Costco muffins aren't universally disliked. Some shoppers find them to offer good value for money, although since recent changes, some argue that they're not such a great deal anymore. Yet, they're still probably cheaper than anything you can buy in a coffee shop, even at cheaper chains like Dunkin'. Opinions on the newer recipe muffins are certainly divided, but some new varieties like cinnamon chip seem to draw positive remarks, and more generally, some argue that while smaller and overall pricier, the new varieties have better ingredients like butter instead of oil.

Overall then, it seems that it's best to approach Costco's muffins cautiously. They don't seem to be to everybody's taste, and if you buy an eight-pack and find that's the case for you, there's always that lax return policy.