If you’re like us and you break a sweat hiking through the aisles of Costco, then you might find the refrigerated produce room particularly refreshing. But if you’re hanging out in there to cool off for too long, you might become tempted to throw things into your cart that will wind up molding before you can eat them — ahem — strawberries and raspberries. Say no to some, but don’t pass up on smart produce purchases, like the ones we’ve listed below. (Not a Costco member? You can apply here.)
Related: Don’t Miss These Perks of Costco and Sam’s Club Membership
1. Bananas
Plenty of people complain about Costco’s bananas, claiming that since they come in 3-pound bundles, they turn brown before they’re able to eat them all. However, if you find a bunch that’s the just-right combination of green and yellow, you can get more out of it. Not to mention, you can freeze bananas to use them in smoothies or use them to bake banana bread if they become overripe. At $2 for a big ol’ bundle, these are on our list every single time.
Related: Reduce Food Waste With These 6 Top-Rated Overripe Banana Recipes
2. Mini Sweet Peppers
Mini sweet peppers are such an underrated produce item. You can snack on them raw or use them to create a crowd-pleasing appetizer. Costco typically sells 1.5 pound bags of these little peps for around $5, and since they hold up for a while in the fridge, they’re one of our personal favorites.
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3. Sweet Potatoes & Russet Potatoes
Costco is not slacking one bit in the potato department. Stop by the section just outside the refrigerated produce room and you’ll find a rainbow of taters from red and yellow to little baby potatoes. The only ones we recommend grabbing, though, are russets and sweet potatoes since both of those giant bags will last a while in your kitchen.
4. Brussels Sprouts
You can grab a 2-pound bag of organic Brussels sprouts at Costco for around $8, and to be honest, you’d be hard-pressed to find something similar at another grocery store with the same price tag attached to it. With a bag this size, you should be able to squeeze at least two side dishes out of it, and these won’t wither quickly in your fridge, adding to their allure.
5. Organic Gala Apples
For just $5, you can get a 3-pound bag of organic Gala apples at Costco. Do we even need to go further into detail to convince you that that’s a screaming deal? Galas are some of the best snacking apples around and while we haven’t calculated things out exactly, we know that 3 pounds of apples would stretch to quite a few snacks for only 5 bucks.
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6. Garlic
Buying garlic in bulk is never a bad idea, and Costco is the prime place to do it. Since garlic has a super long shelf life, there’s no risk of buying the 2-pound bag of this stuff, and you’ll only spend around $6 for it. Sold!
7. Carrots
Unless you’re juicing, we can’t imagine a 5-pound bag of organic carrots is ever really on your radar. Still, since carrots are another veggie that lasts a long time when refrigerated, and they only cost about $7 for 5 pounds at Costco, they’re worth buying.
