The Absolute Best Costco Groceries You Can Buy for Thanksgiving This Year

Costco members adore this bulk warehouse for stocking up on everyday pantry staples, frozen dinner shortcuts, trash bags, and more. If you haven’t stepped inside a Costco in a while, you might not know that this store is also the ideal one-stop shop for Thanksgiving — and not just for the essential ingredients and cleaning supplies (though it absolutely has all of that). The warehouse is brimming with holiday must-haves, like low-lift appetizers, fresh baked desserts, budget-friendly bottles of wine, and more. 

Here’s our very thorough guide for making Costco your one-stop holiday shop this Thanksgiving.

Costco is typically closed on Thanksgiving Day and will continue that tradition this year. This means that if you want to have a Costco-ified Thanksgiving, you’ll have to plan ahead. To make it a little easier on all of us, the warehouse has extended its operating hours. Stores will be open a few extra hours during the week and on weekends from now until the end of the holiday season (January).

• Monday to Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.  
• Saturday: 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m
• Sunday: 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m  

Costco has a unique advantage over other one-stop shops in that it has a massive freezer section, generous cheese cases, and some prepared foods in the deli section. You can easily pull together an impressive cheese plate to keep guests occupied while they wait for dinner or warm a frozen appetizer or two for a more filling first course.

• Build the Ultimate Costco Charcuterie Board: Choose your favorite packages of cured meat and cheese (like this Kirkland Signature BellaVitano), or snag multipacks, when variety and not quantity is the main objective. Use the same strategy when it comes to nuts and dried fruit. You’ll save some money by buying a mixture rather than individual nuts, dried fruits, and seeds and impress guests with a photo-worthy charcuterie board.
• Swing by the Freezer Section: There are dozens of fantastic frozen appetizers to choose from. Not sure where to start? Patty, our resident Costco expert, serves this Marin French Cheese Co. Brie en Croute, a ​​buttery, flaky puff pastry filled with gooey Brie cheese that’s under $10 (score!). Round out your first course with Feta & Caramelized Onion Bites (36 bites for less than $15) or even these Mushroom & Filet Mignon Beef en Croute (24 bites for $25) if you’re feeling fancy.
• Pick Up a Party Platter: Costco also sells large trays of premade sandwiches, and precut meats and cheeses and fruits and vegetables that only need to be opened to serve. Some are ready-made and sold near the deli section, while others require a short preorder period. (Check your local Costco for specific details.)

Costco sells both frozen and fully cooked turkeys ahead of the big day, along with a variety of other meats (who doesn’t love options). Here’s what you can expect to find in stores right now. 

• Butterball Frozen Turkeys or Turkey Breasts: The frozen turkeys are currently around $1 a pound, depending on where you live. Having the option to buy just turkey breast to roast alongside the main event is incredibly helpful in ensuring leftovers even when feeding a crowd.
• Kirkland Signature Oven-Browned Turkey Breasts: These fully cooked breasts are seriously delicious just reheated or as a reserve for turkey sandwiches the next day.
• Not into Turkey? Costco carries fully cooked honey hams, beautiful beef and pork tenderloins, as well as prime rib, salmon, and more that are equally great centerpieces and ideal for feeding a crowd.

Whether you’re planning to have all the Thanksgiving sides or a select few, Costco makes buying side dish ingredients (and shortcuts) in bulk a breeze.

• “BTS” Basic Ingredients: In the produce department, you’ll find hefty-pound bags of green beans, onions, and russet potatoes, along with already-peeled and chopped butternut squash, plus plenty of “behind the scenes” ingredients like butter, eggs, cheese, flour, and plenty of spices in bulk throughout the store (grab the Kirkland Signature cinnamon!). 
• Classic Shortcuts: Snag time-saving staples for your favorite side dishes like Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing, containers of candied pecans, and oversized bags of crispy onions — the small can only gets you so far.
• And Even Ready-Made Sides: you can load up on premade mashed potatoes (and mashed sweet potatoes), macaroni and cheese, scalloped potatoes, green beans, and bread galore. All you’ve got to do is warm them up in your favorite casserole dish. 

Dessert may come last (unless you like to pregame the turkey with a slice of pie), but it’s one of the most important parts of the meal. The majority of Costco’s pies are over 3 pounds and baked from scratch in the store bakery. They average between $6 to $10 each and easily 12 to 15 people. 

You can also easily round out your pies-giving with more desserts from Costco’s bakery as well as cookies, chocolates, and frozen sweets displayed throughout the store.

• Kirkland Signature Pumpkin Pie: Spiced with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg, this legendary pie is ever so creamy (and easily freezable, just begin thawing the day before). 
• Kirkland Signature Apple Pie: Weighing in at more than 4 pounds, this apple pie is one of the best grocer store pies we’ve ever tasted. The filling is packed with hearty bites of fresh apple in a not-too-sweet syrup flecked with warm cinnamon, and if you serve it like Patty, it’s actually two desserts in one. Costco also carries a more traditional Lattice Apple Pie that pairs delightfully with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, along with Peanut Butter-Chocolate Pies, Pecan Pies, and more (depending on region).
• More of Our Bakery Favorites: Along with rows of pies, you’ll find festive sweets, like Pumpkin Rolls (that don’t require any reheating) and a variety of 16-ounce cakes like the newly launched Kirkland Signature Maple Butter Pecan Bar Cake as well as chocolate and caramel varieties. Costco round- and half-sheet cakes can also be preordered and customized ahead of Thanksgiving. 

No holiday Costco trip is complete without a stroll through the wine section. The bulk warehouse’s strength is high-quality wines in classic styles, and it continues to overdeliver while keeping prices the same, explains our go-to wine expert, Diane. 

Not sure where to start? We’ve sampled dozens of bottles over the years to narrow down our list of top 12 Costco wines. Here are just a few feast-worthy favorites.

• Bodegas Luis Gurpegui Muga Rioja: A full-bodied red without the full-bodied price, this under-$10 bottle hails from Spain’s most famous wine region and features ripe plum and black raspberry fruit topped with a sheen of vanilla and tobacco. It’s ready to level up those meaty mains.
• Apothic Red Blend: At just $8 this blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes, is smooth and full of fruit notes. No wonder an entire family has been loyally sipping on it each and every Thanksgiving for the past decade. 
• Kirkland Signature Barolo DOCG: While a $20 bottle of wine isn’t exactly the cheapest option, the key here is that this wine would sell for twice the price if it wasn’t under the Kirkland Signature name. Despite its discount price, its classic aromas and food-friendly acidity more than stand up to famous producers in Italy.

As thrilling as the Thanksgiving savings are at Costco, the day after promises even more bargains. While there are a few early deals ahead of the holiday, the warehouse’s official Black Friday Sale kicks off at — you guessed it — 8:30 a.m. on Friday. Members can score major discounts on nearly every category: electronics, toys, furniture, decorations, and more. 

While the exact hours of operation may vary depending on your local warehouse, Costco typically keeps its doors open for Black Friday shoppers from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on November 29. Given the massive demand for deals in year’s past, it’s recommended to plan ahead and get there early. 

Are you having a Costco Thanksgiving? Tell us about it in the comments.