The Best And Worst Rated Party Platters From Costco, According To Customers

Costco isn't just a warehouse-style store: it's a retail utopia where shoppers (and their wallets) jump for joy. It's known for its unbeatable savings on great bulk items. The food items Costco offers range from a 72 lbs whole wheel Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to a 2-⅕ lbs. tin of caviar and even a month's supply emergency food kit. The chain will also be there for you when you have to play host or attend social gatherings with plenty of mouths to feed.

Maybe you are hosting a games night or a family member's birthday party. Either way, Costco might just have a cheap, convenient, and delish catering solution for you. In recent years, the Party Platters from Costco have pretty much gotten a personality of their own since they come in such a wide range of flavors, and thanks to that, most of them are bound to please a wide variety of party people.

Some of these platter options need to be pre-ordered two to four days in advance, while others are waiting to be purchased and devoured in Costco's bakery deli, produce, or deli section. Of course, we can't vouch for every platter that Costco has to offer, as some are either not worth it or they just don't taste great. But buckle up as we take a look at some of Costco's best and worst rate party platters, according to you — the internet dwellers.

If you love a good croissant, then you probably already know that Costco's croissants are on point. You'd think that a bulk supermarket store such as Costco wouldn't know the first thing about creating a perfect croissant, but somehow, it has the perfect level of butter, flakiness, and crispiness ... every single time. Costco's Croissant Sandwich Platter was, up until recently, the all-time favorite go-to platter. For better or for worse, there has been an update at Cosco's deli, and the Croissant Platter has been replaced with a Sprouted Grain Sandwich Platter.

The new option is definitely healthier than the all-butter croissant option and still enjoyed by most shoppers, but according to Redditors, it just does not live up to its predecessor.

The sprouted grain sandwiches are filled with roast beef, roasted chicken, or ham, and they are chaperoned with sides of basil pesto, mayo, or Dijon mayo. Yum! This platter serves 18 to 24 people for a price tag of $47.99.

Before Costco's recent deli update, it was just a meat and cheese platter, but with its recent changes, it revised this platter by adding some fruit and created the fruit, meat & cheese platter. It consists of grapes, salami, soppressata, and two regular cheeses — gouda and cheddar. It seems like a great combination that will not only cater to our beloved carnivorous friends, but our vegetarian friends can dig into this platter, too.

The former option served 16 to 20 people, and it was generally well-regarded for its $26.99 affordability. The Fruit, Meat & Cheese Platter serves 18 to 24 people and will set you back $39.99. A lot of Costco-goers have vented online about the steep price increase, and one Instagrammer put it perfectly with: "Whoa!! $26 to $39?! That's a huge jump!! Has it been upgraded?! Bigger portions? Better meats/cheeses? Something better is worth a $13 price increase. That's insane."

It's always a good idea to throw in a healthy or vegetarian/ vegan option when hosting a party. You never know if any of your attendees are following a specific diet, and furthermore, we could always do with a little more plant-based foods in our lives.

These simple yet sufficient veggie trays are produced by Eat Smart, one of the Costco brand's partners, and they include ready-to-eat carrots, beans, cauliflower, broccoli, and peppers, and let's not forget the country ranch dip that Redditors and Instagrammers are raving about. For 4 lbs of veggies and a winner dip, it'll cost you $11.99 or more, depending on your location. Some internet users don't even wait to host a party to buy this tray — they buy it to nibble on something healthy throughout their week.

These veggie trays don't even need to be pre-ordered. You can simply make your way towards the supermarket's produce zone, where you will find them stacked.

Next up, we have Costco's famed Shrimp Platter. These juicy shrimp are served cold with cocktail sauce and lemon wedges. For this 3-½ lbs party platter that serves 20-24 party people, you can expect 31/40 large tail-on-head shrimp to be priced at $39.99, depending on your location. This platter, like the Sprouted Grain Sandwich Platter and the Fruit, Meat & Cheese Platter, are all part of the deli party platters, so they can't simply be bought in-store at the last minute and will have to be pre-ordered in advance.

There has been an ongoing debate about this platter and whether it's worth it or not. On one end of the scale, you have some shoppers claiming that this platter only holds enough shrimp to serve one person (seafood fans, we see you), and on the other side, we have customers claiming that Costco has the best shrimp cocktail around.

Who doesn't love a Costco cookie? This beloved cookie tray comes with 60 cookies, 18 double nut cookies, 18 oatmeal raisin cookies, and 24 of the most cherished flavor — chocolate chunk cookies. Is your mouth watering yet?

This is not a party platter per se but it's a given that these cookies would be devoured by any group of party guests. The 60 soft and chewy on the inside and slightly golden and crispy on the outside cookies sell for $22.99, which comes out at 38 cents a cookie. It sounds like a steal if you ask us. Baking these cookies from scratch will take you a heckuva long time compared to simply grabbing them from the store's bakery section. To the dismay of many shoppers, these cookies were discontinued in 2019, but they made a stark comeback in 2024, and customers couldn't be happier.

According to one professional baker on Business Insider, Costco's cookies fared the highest for tasting like they are the most homemade when compared to several other supermarket cookies. Some Redditors have even gone as far as comparing these cookies to crack, thanks to how seemingly "addictive" they are.

The Okami sushi platter is not as big as the other options on this list, but thanks to some unhappy Costco-goers on Reddit, we thought it deserved a mention. This 1 lb 9 oz party platter consists of a variety of 25 sushi pieces, and it's priced at $8.99. The tray includes California rolls, wasabi crunch rolls, spicy supreme California rolls, spicy Sriracha rolls, and classic California rolls with avocado. Wasabi, ginger, sweet sauce, a dynamite sauce, and bits of onion crunch also accompany the rolls.

It looks good on paper, but some internet users have questioned the quality. Yes, the price seems like a steal, but according to a food reviewer on YouTube and a couple of Redditors, the rice tasted mostly hard and uncooked. Since sushi only contains a handful of ingredients, it's probably best to make sure that each and every ingredient is edible for it to be a winner, and when it comes to the main ingredient, rice — it's probably the most important aspect of the sushi that has to be on point.

The Okami sushi may be a hit or miss, but the Kirkland Signature Sushi Platter tells a different tale. This deli item needs to be pre-ordered 24 to 48 hours ahead of collection, and it is made of up to 4-⅗ to nearly 5 lbs of Maki rolls of various flavors. You can expect spicy tuna, vegetable tempura, smoked salmon, and crispy chicken maki rolls with accompanying wasabi and soy sauce. This platter is loved for its variety of flavors that cater to various tastes, including the growing vegetarian community.

The price is dictated based on the weight of the final product, and you can decide if you want 24, 32, 34, 42, or 50 pieces, depending on your catering needs. For 24 pieces, the starting price is $36.99, which is another reason that this platter item is so well-liked, and Costco customers claim that it's great value for money.

This platter may not be the best performer when compared to its counterparts, but it's ideal if you'd like to add a bit of variety to your next social gathering.

Costco's rotisserie chicken might just be one of the chain's most viral items to date. For a more shared-style poultry option, they have the Cooked Party Wings Platter.  If Kirkland chicken wings are done well, they can be a real crowd-pleaser, but at the same time, they can be a massive downer if the seasoning or texture is a little wonky.

Costco's Cooked Party Wings Platter is the perfect snack at any social gathering as they are ready to eat, and they don't even need to be pre-ordered — you can simply find them under the heat lamps in Costco's deli section. The damage for a weighty 32 lbs tray comes to around $20.77, depending on your location.

According to one Redditor, these wings don't match the labeled flavor profile as they have a slightly fishy taste — yikes! Other critics have claimed that they are a bit on the soggy side, which probably arises when hot, steamy wings cool down in the plastic container. As a minor inconvenience, this platter will need to be reheated in a heat-safe dish if you want to serve hot wings for your party people.

Next up is the Assorted Hye Roller Platter. The 36 neatly arranged rolls are priced at $39.99, but smaller packages are also available. These rollers are composed of soft, thin flatbread filled with either Chicken Caesar (minus bacon), Sriracha Chicken, or a Vegetarian patty with hummus and fire-grilled peppers. Each roller has been carefully crafted to render a variety of flavors and textures.

This platter may not be available in the States, but those in the U.K. or Australia may be lucky enough to find it at their local Costco. The closest thing readily available in the United States is the Roasted Chicken & Swiss Roller Tray, although you will only be able to get 12 rollers in one container for a reasonable $16.93. Among the predominantly five-star reviews on Costco's website, one of the customers noted that the roller platter was: "Fantastic value for money and so tasty, better than I thought, would definitely recommend."

Last and maybe even least, on the list is Costco's fresh cut fruit tray. This tray is made for those who want a healthy option without the fuss of preparing anything. It seems that most consumers don't wait for a special social gathering to purchase this platter. Much like the vegetable tray, shoppers will also buy this fruit tray to have healthy snack options during the week. It consists of a variety of fruits, including yellow and green cantaloupe, strawberries, pineapple, and grapes, although this makeup may change depending on the season and location.

For 3 lbs of fruit, you can expect to pay from $9.99 to $14.03, depending on where you live. This fruit bowl looks succulent at first glance, but after doing a little digging, we discovered that most customer reviews could not disagree more.

This platter managed to get the most upvotes on a Reddit post for the items that people "DON'T" buy at Costco. This pretty much speaks for itself. On one side of the spectrum, we have shoppers claiming that the fruit tastes mildly fermented and noticing white granules a day after purchasing, and on the other side of the spectrum, we have unripe fruit that is too hard to enjoy.

Our quest to explore and bring you the best and worst-ranked party platters from Costco involved assessing a few key elements. Our analysis took into consideration each item's value for money, freshness, and, at times, ability to serve various taste buds. Most importantly, we explored online platforms such as Reddit, Instagram, YouTube, and wherever we could possibly get honest reviews about the texture, taste, and freshness of each Costco party platter.