We Hired a Costco Superfan to Try Gameday Snacks: These Are Her Favorites

Whether it's chips, dips, sandwiches, or a hot plate of wings, nothing turns gameday into a celebration more than a good snack spread. From Cracker Jack and hot dogs at a baseball game to pimento cheese sandwiches at The Masters, food is an essential part of the sports experience.

And just as the connection between buffalo wings and football is inextricable, so is the relationship between snack foods and America's biggest warehouse store, Costco. That's why we wanted to connect them.

Earlier this year, in celebration of America's #1 sports holiday, our team at FinanceBuzz went on nationwide search to find the ultimate Costco fan to rate and review Costco's gameday foods. Because we love saving money for shoppers, we wanted an expert to figure out what Costco items were best for a gameday party and which were better left on the shelf. After tasting more than 20 iconic gameday foods, we have our list of winners.

Editor's note: Availability of these items may vary by location.

Last month, our team at FinanceBuzz went on a nationwide search for a new open role on our team: a Sideline Sampler to taste as many gameday snacks at Costco as they could find. After a nationwide search and over 10,000 applicants, we selected our 2025 Sideline Sampler — Tiffany Woo, a public relations specialist from Los Angeles, California.

We selected Tiffany because she's not only a Costco superfan — she's also the party host. "I know firsthand that the snacks can make or break a watch party, and I'm excited to help others navigate the frozen food aisles to build the ultimate gameday menu," Tiffany wrote in her application.

Tiffany's love for Costco runs deep — in addition to weekly trips to the warehouse, Tiffany is an expert in everything Costco snacks. "With my passion for food, football, and Costco, I'm ready to deliver an all-star performance as your Sideline Sampler. Let's make this game day one for the books!"

So which Costco gameday snacks are worth the extra freezer space, and which are better left on the shelf? We had Tiffany rank all of Costco's gameday foods and give her advice.

I prepared these in the air fryer and tried them with tartar sauce. The Crab Cake Minis were disappointing. They were too salty, making them inedible. They were also very fishy-tasting. I recommend saving your money and skipping these.

Kirkland Signature Cauliflower Crust Pizza, Supreme, has a cauliflower crust topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, seasoned sausage, and roasted vegetables. For the Big Game, I prepared one in the oven on normal mode and the other in pizza mode. After taking it out of the oven and taking a bite, it was nothing special. It was my least favorite pizza, and it was also my guests' least favorite.

The El Monterey Mexican Grill Taquitos, Chicken & Cheese, are filled with charbroiled chicken breast and Monterey Jack Cheese. I prepared these in the air fryer, which dried them out, and they were not a favorite appetizer in my game day spread. There is very little chicken filling compared to the size of the tortilla. I served these with the Del Real Combo Salsa and the Avo Crema by AvoFresco. They definitely needed condiments to make them not dry.

The Don Miguel Chipotle Chicken Mini Tacos are corn tortillas filled with chicken breast seasoned with mild chipotle chili. It came with two packs of about 13 mini tacos in each package. The website description describes these as crispy, but they weren't.

They were prepared in the air fryer. They were definitely bland and not a standout for your game day spread. They needed the Del Real Combo Salsa and AvoFresco Crema to amp up the flavor.

The Cuisine Innovations Feta & Caramelized Onion Puff Pastry Bites are a one-bite appetizer. Since they are popular on TikTok, I wanted to try them, but they weren't memorable. They were prepared in the air fryer, and all we tasted was the puff pastry. These aren't a must-have for your game day celebrations, and I don't think I'd purchase them again.

The Siete Grain Free Tortilla Chips are gluten-free, non-GMO, paleo-friendly, and vegan. I served these with the dips and Del Real Salsa. These chips were light, so they definitely needed something added to them. They were crunchy and airy but very plain on their own.

The Del Real Foods Red & Green Combo Salsa came with one of each flavor. I served these with tortilla chips. My guests preferred the Red Salsa that came in this package. You could taste the jalapeños in this salsa.

The Royal Asia Crab Rangoon are a Chinese and Thai takeout staple at many restaurants, but now you can have them at home with this item from Costco. They are filled with real Canadian Snow Crab and cream cheese.

Prepare the crab rangoon in the conventional oven or air fryer.

These are frozen and raw, so you need to cook them in order to fry the wonton wrapper. At first taste, they are exactly like you think they'd taste. They turned out very crispy, but the only thing I would change is for them to have more filling.

The Custom Made Meals Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers are stuffed with cream cheese. I prepared them in the air fryer but made sure to watch them to avoid overcooking the bacon. Don't let the jalapeño scare you — these are deseeded, so there was no spice in the batch that I purchased. These were delicious and looked like they took much time to prepare.

The Kirkland Organic Hummus in 2.5 ounce single-serve cups is the perfect party dip for guests to dip vegetables and chips. Since they are individually wrapped and don't require clean-up, they're great for guests worried about germs.

The Kirkland Signature Gourmet Chocolate Chunk Cookies, found in Costco's bakery section, are a grocery staple any time of year. They are perfectly served out of the container or can be warmed up for a couple of minutes in the oven. They are chewy and have a good ratio of chocolate to cookie dough.

The Bibigo Vegetable Spring Rolls are filled with edamame, carrots, cabbage, onions, and leeks. They are bite-sized finger food with real vegetables. Pair these with the Korean-style soy ginger dipping sauce.

These were prepared in the air fryer. The real veggies in this spring roll were enjoyable. Guests at my gameday get-together thought these came from a restaurant because of the high quality. This is a great vegetarian appetizer option.

The Bistro 28 Pretzel Bites includes approximately 50 pretzel bites, two jalapeño cheese dips, one cheddar cheese dip, and pretzel salt.

I prepared these in the air fryer. They taste how you would expect soft pretzels to taste: pillowy soft with a crispy outside. I served them with the cheese sauces, but they tasted good without them as well. These would also be great served with mustard on the side.

The Kirkland Signature Snack Mix, Honey Mustard, is a large bag with honey mustard and onion-seasoned pretzel pieces, seasoned almond poppers, honey-roasted almond splits, and savory chickpeas. I served these by pouring them into containers for guests to help themselves. This snack mix tastes like honey mustard and is perfect for mustard pretzel lovers. It is a great crunchy mix that isn't too salty, which is a plus.

The Kirkland Signature Sweet Heat Snack Mix includes seasoned and BBQ-flavored cracker-coated almonds, seasoned cashews, honey-roasted sesame sticks, seasoned honey, glazed pecans, and corn nuggets. This snack mix is definitely sweet and salty. Don't let the word "heat" scare you because it's not spicy. The mix is a delicious snack, but it is a little salty, so make sure to have a beverage handy.

The Calbee Takoyaki Balls are a crunchy, sweet, savory, umami-flavored version of Japan's favorite street food — grilled octopus puffs — but in a corn puff that can be found in Costco's chip aisle. No preparation is needed; just open the bag, and you're ready to serve.

These Calbee Takoyaki Balls are a great-tasting snack that will surprise guests because they aren't cheese balls. They aren't fishy, so don't let the word "octopus" shock you.

The Kirkland Combo Pizza that's missing from the Costco Food Court is now available in the prepared foods section of Costco, but you need to take it home to bake. I baked this pizza in the conventional oven. It tastes just like the one that's missing from the food court. I'd definitely add this to my regular purchases on my Costco runs.

The Kirkland Signature Tempura Shrimp has a crispy tempura batter on the outside and firm and flavorful shrimp on the inside. It comes with a soy dipping sauce. To sample this item, it went from the freezer to the air fryer. It turned out just as the description said, and it's like the tempura from your local sushi spot at home.

The Kirkland Burnt Ends Beef Brisket is smoked and seasoned beef, but it doesn't come with BBQ sauce, so before eating, I added Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce, which can also be found at Costco. The way I chose to prepare these was in the microwave. These taste like the Burnt Ends you'd get at a BBQ restaurant. They are easy to prepare. Besides just eating them with BBQ sauce, other ways to serve them for game day get-togethers would be on sliders with King's Hawaiian Rolls and as a macaroni and cheese topper.

The La Vie Gourmand Baked Custard Tarts are a bestseller for a good reason. These tarts have a flaky puff pastry shell and decadent egg custard filling. I prepared these in the air fryer. They come pre-cooked, which is why the custard was already brown when I opened the box. If you're looking for sweets to serve at your game day party, this should definitely be one of the ones you serve.

Since there are four in the box, I cooked two thin-crust pepperoni pizzas to try this item. I used the conventional oven on normal bake mode and the other on frozen pizza mode. Either way, this pizza was a hit because it was easy to eat and kept well, staying crispy while out for my guests. The crust was like a cracker. It is your classic thin-crust pepperoni pizza that doesn't taste like it came from the freezer aisle.

This "healthy" soda is a new version of the 1980s classic. It features prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics. These are more expensive than Coca-Cola or Pepsi, but they were worth the price tag. This tasted better than other "healthy" sodas on the market, and you could taste the citrus flavors.

If it's within budget and your guests are more health conscious, it wouldn't hurt to splurge on these "healthier" sodas.

The Snack Factory Organic Original Pretzel Crisps are the perfect potato chip alternative. These taste great right out of the bag and are sturdy enough for dipping. They are not too salty and taste like pretzels. Serve them with Costco's many dips in the prepared meal fridge section.

Jackson's Sweet Potato Chips are a great, healthier, and limited-ingredient option for game day. With only three ingredients (sweet potatoes, avocado oil, and sea salt), these are real chips that are great to snack on or use as a dip in your food spread for your get-together. They are crispy, and you can taste the real sweet potatoes.

The Summ! Pork Lumpia Rolls are Filipino egg rolls filled with a pork mixture that includes carrots, cabbage, and onions. I prepared these in the air fryer and ate most of the package myself. They are filled with enough filling, crispy, and taste homemade. They are great with or without the sweet chili sauce it comes with.

The Kirkland Signature Extra Crispy French Fries are frozen French fries. I prepared these in the air fryer. They are a must-have and will have you skipping the drive thru. These would be great for any game day party served on their own, turned into garlic fries, or as a base for a chili cheese fries bar.

Foster Farms Take Out Crispy Chicken Wings with Classic Buffalo Style Sauce. These were prepared in the air fryer for an additional 5 minutes for crispy wings.

These were one of the first things to run out during my gameday get-together. They tasted just like chicken wings should, but they definitely had a spicy kick at the end.

The Authentic Motor City Pizza Co Detroit-Style Deep Dish Pizza, Double Pepperoni has 2 pizzas in the box. I prepared this in the conventional oven and it didn't disappoint. There's a good reason that it is often sold out and has the "popular item" badge on Instacart. It lives up to the hype. I devoured this pizza as someone who usually doesn't like pizza crust. The crust has a pillowy soft texture, meanwhile the top of the pizza is crispy. This was the best pizza out of all the ones sampled.

Pulmuone Crispy Potato Corn Dogs, Mozzarella Cheese and Potato Korean-style corn dogs blend mozzarella cheese, crispy breading, and potato cubes. They are individually packaged, which makes it easy for guests to air fry themselves to enjoy fresh or cook and set out on the snack spread. This interesting twist on a traditional corn dog had a lot of cheese pull and were perfect out of the air fryer.

Foster Farms Take Out Crispy Chicken Wings, Sweet Chipotle BBQ. If you're not a fan of spicy food, these are the wings for you. I prepared them in the air fryer. The BBQ sauce is sweet but not too sweet. You can control the amount of sauce you'd like to add when preparing these. This was another popular item during my game day hosting!

Costco is almost always your first stop for your next gameday party, but we all know how pricey things can get in bulk. Though we won't have an expert available to walk you through all your grocery purchases, there are some things you can do with your budget to save money.

On your next shopping trip, be sure to use one of the best credit cards for buying groceries to rack up rewards while shopping. By using a budgeting app for your financial needs, you can also make sure your Costco hauls fit your budget so you can reach your financial goals faster.

Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.