10 Overpriced Sam's Club Bakery Items You Should Skip

Is there anything better than a delicious treat from the bakery to make one feel better about life, the universe, and everything? Perhaps, if that bakery is the one in Sam’s Club. 

Just because it’s bigger doesn’t mean it’s better — or cheaper. Save money on groceries at Sam’s Club by buying in bulk, but you’ll want to make sure it won’t go to waste.

Learn which Sam’s Club bakery items are stinkers that you probably want to skip.

Editor’s note: Prices and availability are subject to change and may vary by location.

Price: $36.98

The sticker shock of the price tag wears off a little after doing the math on 72 ounces of cheesecake, but it’s still not much bang for your buck. The sampler package includes a total of 16 slices in flavors of New York style, chocolate marble, strawberry swirl, and turtle. 

Comparatively, a nearly identical 16-ounce version is available at Aldi for $5.45, so buying five would give shoppers 80 ounces for $27.25 — a better deal all around.

Price: $16.98

Even folks who generally like carrot cake voted Sam’s Club as the worst option. The icing is advertised as cream cheese; however, some customers say it’s more like a whipped topping that lacks the thick, creamy texture. 

Then there’s the mold issue, which gives the 38-ounce cake a very limited window of time for consumption — a few days before it starts growing a fuzzy layer.

Price: $19.98

Folks who love Sam’s Club admit the sheet cakes aren’t very good, either, and recommend Costco instead. 

A simple half-sheet cake serves 36 to 48 people, but if you’re planning an office birthday or other gathering of friends, you’ll want to spend a few extra dollars and go with a better quality cake.

Price: $17.98

The price for these individually-sized cheesecakes works out to $2.25 each, but the main problem with these little treats is the heavy punch they give the recommended daily food values. 

They’re rated the least healthy bakery item at Sam’s Club by The Daily Meal and contain more than the recommended amount of both saturated fats and added sugar for an entire day.

Price: $57.98

The cost of a two-tier cake is all over the board, so the low price point on a Sam’s Club fancy double-decker cake makes it appealing — but a little research into local bakeries could score a much higher quality taste experience for just a little bit more money. 

It’s also likely to be of better decoration quality, as many grocery store cake decorators are not trained in cake decorating techniques.

Price: $16.48

Going strictly by price, these cupcakes seem like a good deal — but for cupcakes that really stand out in flavor, the best place to go is a local bakery. 

That can get pricey for those accustomed to grocery store pricing; however, Aldi cupcake options include Kimberly’s Bakeshoppe brand, which is top-notch for grocery cupcakes. 

They run $4.99 for six, so getting 30 to equal the Sam’s Club deal would cost $24.95.

Price: $28.46

If you ask the Sam’s Club bakery for extra frosting, be prepared to have 13 lbs. of icing tossed in your shopping cart. 

This works out to $2.19 per pound, which is pretty reasonable if you specifically love Sam’s Club frosting. 

Frosting from Aldi costs $1.75 for a much more reasonably sized one-pound container, though, so there are better deals on icing.

Price: $6.98

Everybody’s favorite autumnal baked good is only available seasonally, but shoppers may want to skip the Sam’s Club pumpkin pie. 

It was rated as the worst pumpkin pie by Eat This, Not That due to the overwhelming use of nutmeg spicing and bland crust. It looks good but doesn’t hold up to competing grocery chains like Costco or even Wegmans.

Price: $32.63

Is there anything worse than biting into a perfect chocolate chip cookie just to discover it’s a lie made of raisins and oatmeal? You can gift that experience to 144 people with Sam’s Club ready-to-bake oatmeal raisin cookies. 

BJ’s Wholesale Club will get shoppers a tub of proper Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie dough for $13.99, which bakes 76 cookies — an all-around better deal.

Price: $18.74

The new “colossal cupcake” bakery offering at Sam’s Club is really just a regular-sized chocolate peanut butter cake, and according to Redditors, it’s not worth the price tag. 

Those who taste-tested it say the cake part is dry and the peanut butter frosting is too rich, so even those who enjoyed it could only eat a small sliver without risking a stomach ache. 

Additionally, the frosting covers the wrapping, holding it in place, so customers have to saw through the paper to cut a slice — making the “cupcake” gimmick even more annoying.

Wholesale clubs like Sam’s Club and their competitors can offer bulk buying deals that help lower a household’s monthly grocery budget, but that works best on items used frequently and quickly. 

Baked goods aren’t always the best fit for bulk buys on a family-size scale, and sometimes, the best way to save money is by knowing what not to buy.