Are These Costco Bakery Items As Fresh As You Think?

There are many good things that come with being a Costco member. The surprise discoveries, the endless bargains, and the ability to pack your pantry to the rafters with bulk-buy products — what's not to love? Of course, card-carrying shoppers know it's not just about the bottom line: Costco is a sensory experience too. Many people swing by just to pick up one of the chain's rotisserie chickens either to devour or turn into a delicious wrap, but that's not the only tasty odor jostling for your nostrils' attention.

Time it right, and the air can also be filled with the mouthwatering aroma of just-baked bread, Danishes, and pies. Inevitably, customers make their way to the Costco bakery section to find out which goodies, from limited run sweet roll flavors to much-loved favorites, are waiting to be snapped up.

But not everything under those plastic bakery shells is what it seems. While many items like cupcakes, cheesecakes, and muffins are made by industrious staff on-site, other products — which are no less delicious — allegedly aren't. So what comes pre-mixed and pre-made, and which products undertake a much longer journey to get to the shop floor? Here's our round-up of the Costco items that might not be as fresh as you think.

We love a boxed cake any time of the day, but would anyone who uses eggs, flour, butter, and sugar to make a cake consider the boxed version "fresh"? Costco's cakes have been a winner with customers for years. Whether you're a fan of their easy-to-order custom cakes or are a sucker for the range of mini cakes, there really is something for every taste or occasion. But that hasn't prevented them from being the cause of much discussion about how they are made.

A commenter on this Reddit thread from around 2022 claimed a "centralized bakery warehouse" was behind the production of "most" sheet cakes, which were then distributed to individual stores. However, in a separate discussion at around the same time, one Redditor said sheet and round cakes were not pre-made or frozen. "Sheets and rounds and mini cakes are mixed and made in the bakery," they wrote. "There is a base of dry ingredients that gets added to." 

Yet another Reddit comment claimed that Costco bakers use a powdered mix, which comes in 50-pound bags and has oil and water added to it — though it may vary depending on the store. They also said: "We do make cakes and cupcakes ahead of time and freeze them, sometimes we do freeze loaves as well but only before a big holiday like Thanksgiving."

The croissant may be an iconic French pastry but it has its roots in 13th-century Austria, only becoming popular in Paris after 1840. In 1981, the frozen croissant was launched in the United States by Sara Lee and was a huge hit, beginning America's love affair with the flaky pastry. The 12-pack of the flaky snacks from Costco's bakery certainly add to that deep affection.

Costco's croissants are delicious on their own with a coffee, or turned into a sweet or savory bite. They can even help upgrade a boring hot dog. However they're enjoyed, Costco customers can't get enough. But given how time-consuming it is to make from croissants from scratch and the sheer number Costco sells, it's no surprise that they aren't made fresh in store.

According to Redditors, croissants are one of several bakery items that are brought in pre-frozen, a practice that has been going on for at least a decade. A Reddit thread from around 2018 listed croissants as one of several items that were only baked in-store, as did a separate conversation from around 2020. Four years later, another Redditor corroborated this, while yet another Redditor claimed that croissants were among a clutch of frozen products that needed no modifications other than baking. 

Bread is the stuff of life, and while it pays to get the timing right when picking up a loaf or two, it's so versatile that even a slightly stale slice, once, toasted, can still be tasty. Regular visitors to Costco's bakery know there's often a large selection of breads to choose from, and among the most popular are the artisan rolls. They were the subject of a 2024 Reddit appreciation thread which offered a pat on the back to the Costco bakery for the "golden nuggets."

However, at around the same time, other Redditors began talking about a change in the quality of Costco's artisan rolls. "It seems like they spoil quicker," one commenter wrote, while another said both the taste and texture had changed. The possible answer came in a later comment, which claimed that Costco's artisan rolls are not made fresh in store.

A Redditor who claimed to be an employee in the company's bakery said the artisan rolls came into their outlet frozen. "All we do is put them on trays and heat them up for 9 minutes at 380 F then put them in the bags," they said, adding that they had also seen a dip in quality in the rolls, alongside other bakery items. As of 2025, if you want fresh rolls from Costco, choose the dinner rolls, as they're not pre-frozen, according to another Redditor who says they work in a Costco bakery.

There are times when a snack is needed and only a blend of crispy-yet-soft flaky pastry with fruity, naughtily sweet topping will do. Costco shoppers love the bakery section's mix-and-match boxes of Danish, but they're not as fresh as you might think.

Like the store's other pastry products, Costco bakery Danishes are made at a separate production site and frozen, before being shipped to individual outlets. A Redditor who claims to work at a Costco bakery says that all Danish items arrive this way, and that staff simply add the respective fillings before baking the pastry goodies.

 "[The] cream cheese filling made in house, fruit fill, glaze, and icing comes in pre-made, and almond filling is frozen," they explained. However, they also revealed that the new cherry and cheese braid gets topped with streusel that is made on-site. Social media posts from a few years ago included strudel among the list of products that were shipped frozen to Costco stores.

The internet is always abuzz with discussion about Costco bagels, from why they go moldy so quickly (the general consensus is to slice and freeze them to make them last longer) to why fennel seeds should be included in the toppings of an everything bagel. When the store's supplier switched from Noah's to Einstein's, some weren't happy. There were also mutterings that bagels from Costco tasted different after Einstein's was subsequently ditched in favor of the Kirkland Signature brand.

Around 2023, a Redditor claimed they had learned that the bagels at their Costco were made from frozen dough that was baked in-house after being thawed, saying the bread looked "a bit depressing now." They described them as "much more firm and less airy than the old bagels," and complained they were " basically inedible." Another Redditor claiming to be a bakery employee commented: "I've worked at Costco for 17 years and this has been how they were made the whole time."

Several others in the thread said the same, while another cut to the chase about why things were done this way: "I've never seen a Costco bakery large enough to bake all of their stuff from scratch." In 2025, another Redditor claimed that bagels continue to be brought in frozen before being baked, with nothing else done to them. 

Never let it be said Costco is afraid of stirring up controversy by discontinuing products that are beloved by many shoppers. In 2025, the company slapped a "Death Star" on the much-loved Sprout Creek Bakery packs of cinnamon rolls, prompting calls on social media for people to fill their freezers with them. That axe fell around two years after the bakery's pull-apart version had been reintroduced, albeit offering half the number of rolls for almost twice the price. But it's not the only reason Costco's cinnamon rolls have come under scrutiny.

Posted around the same time as the latest version of the bakery favorite dropped, this Reddit thread from 2023 about how bagels were processed also included an almost throwaway comment about cinnamon rolls: "Were once made from scratch but as money talks, the cost of upkeep the machine and countless man hours it was decided to mass produce off-site."

In 2025, a Redditor claiming to be a member of Costco's bakery staff said that cinnamon rolls were still shipped in frozen but added that they "get a honey sugar glaze on the bottom and topped with fresh cream cheese icing."

You don't have to be much of a bread snob to know there's a big difference between the average store-bought sliced loaf and something that was baked within hours of it being plucked from a shelf. Many Coctco members flock to the bakery section in search of just that. The store's range of daily breads includes the delicious Kirkland Signature baguette: A loaf that's a key component of sandwiches served at iconic Chicago restaurants, and is also a staple for many a home cook. That said, it proved to be a bit tough for one Redditor, who claimed the soft crust on their baguette was "hard as a rock" by the time they got home.

Although it might smell as if the baguette is being baked while you're doing your shopping, it's only half the truth. Around 2020, a commenter on Reddit who said they worked in a Northern California Costco said that baguettes were brought into their store part-baked. They "just set them up on a pan and bake them." In 2025, two Redditors claiming to be bakery employees said that all "fresh" bread sold at Costco — apart from dinner rolls — was delivered frozen before being baked in store.

There is a cookie flavor for every personality and an opinion for every cookie out there. At Costco, shoppers can choose to buy either a cookie from the Food Court (perfect for a tasty dessert hack) or pick up a cookie assortment from the bakery section. While there can be a big difference between the two, from calories to ingredients, as one Reddit thread reveals, it's a mistake to believe the cookies are freshly made in store.

A 2024 post asking about the differences between the Food Court and bakery section cookies sold in Costco, one commenter who claimed to be a former employee said although the two products were both baked in-house, they were not the same. Like many items available to buy in Costco's bakery section, the cookies are made off-site, frozen, and transported to various outlets. A comment in another Reddit thread claims it has been going on for at least four years. According to another, half the staff at the bakery spend their time "panning cookies" among the "other stuff we don't make from scratch."

This moreish pastry snack might look like a croissant in bite-sized form but it has its roots among medieval Eastern Europe's Ashkenazi Jews. Traditionally, rugelach — styled as "rugula" at Costco stores — are made with a cream cheese dough, and fillings include everything from chocolate to nuts and dried fruits. Among Jewish communities, rugelach are served during high days and holidays, but they're also available to buy at Costco's bakery. 

Tik Toker Discovering Costco posted a video of some raspberry walnut and chocolate rugula from a Washington D.C. outlet in 2025, but what they might not have realized is that they would have been frozen just hours before. That's because rugula is another item that is baked but not made in-store, though it wasn't always the case.

One Redditor, who said they worked in the Costco bakery for 10 years up to 2023, said in early 2025: "I can confirm they do indeed bake most things from scratch! But who knows what they do now. Things change fast." They're absolutely right. Although rugula hasn't been the subject of many social media chats, it is likely among the items mentioned by another commenter, who said: "Most things come in frozen but unbaked like croissants, buns, chocolatines, danishes. They get proofed and baked in store though."

Wittily described as an "ever-present, positive force" in a TikTok from thebnoth, Costco's tuxedo cake is an icon. This slab of chocolate cake with white and chocolate ganache rightfully considered a must-have from the bakery section.

It gets lots of love on social media, too. One Redditor posted a warning for people to avoid it unless they were "prepared to eat the whole damn thing yourself in maybe 2 or 3 days. Because you will." All that being said, customers have been curious about the freshness of this chocolatey treat. Around 2024, someone planning an event asked Reddit when the tuxedo cakes were made, and a single commenter replied that they were "made off site and come in frozen."

In 2025, a Redditor claiming to be a Costco employee said that "any bar cake" comes to stores frozen, having been produced off-site. "Nothing goes straight from the freezer to the floor," they said, and bar cakes were among the products that required no modification, so it's reasonable to assume the tuxedo cakes are thawed on site before being put on display.

Never let it be said that Costco's bakery section doesn't reflect the melting pot of cultures that make up the United States: There's a world of tastes and flavors on offer in those piled-high plastic shells. One of the many goodies with overseas origins is the tres leches cake, a mouthwatering sponge that has been soaked in evaporated, condensed, and whole milk, or heavy cream.

This delicious Latin American treat, which also comes in a version with a caramel mousse insert, has created a frenzy among Costco shoppers. But would that change if they knew it wasn't being made on-site, fresh every day? One commenter, who wasn't a fan of the texture, put it down to the tres leche cake being a mass produced item, and specifically made so that it didn't turn to "soup" in transit.

In a separate Reddit post, a commenter who didn't identify themselves as an employee, said that "tres leches are made off site and come in frozen." In 2025, a another Redditor claiming to be an employee said that "Everything but cheesecakes, sheet/round cakes, dinner rolls, muffins, pumpkin pie and key lime pie comes in frozen." 

A 1902 New York Times editorial article opined that "Pie is the American synonym of prosperity, and its varying contents the calendar of the changing seasons. Pie is the food of the heroic." More than a century later, every word still rings true, and Costco ensures its shoppers get their fill with an array of pies from the store's bakery.

In 2025, a Redditor claiming to be a Costco bakery employee claimed that pumpkin pies were made from scratch in-store: "Yes we make the crust as well," they said, though it's not the same story for other flavors. Another Redditor claiming to be a Costco baker in a separate thread claimed that pecan pies were also produced on-site, but not all apple pies were. A third employee commented: "We used to use pre-made apple pie filling but now the apple pies come frozen and we just bake them."

It's the same for cherry pies, which can always benefit from this extra ingredient. One Redditor, who claims to work in the bakery at a Southern California Costco, explained the process in a comment. "These cherry pies come frozen. We take them out of the box, put them on a rack, and leave them in the cooler overnight," they wrote. "Next day we add water, sugar, water, and then bake." Another Redditor — also claiming to be a Costco bakery staff member — corroborated this. "We do a lot of the final baking and occasionally extra prep like proofing or sugaring in-store," they explained.