When I hear the ice cream truck jingle drift through the neighborhood in the middle of a sweltering workday, I’m tempted to grab my wallet and run.
Growing up as a child of immigrants, I never got to overpay for the thrill of standing in front of a truck, agonizing over which treat to pick. Instead, I heard things like “The treat is the experience,” and “We have ice cream at home.”
Now, as an adult, I realize I’ve got something even better—and a whole lot cheaper.
Costco Kirkland Signature Ice Cream Bars
- Price: $12.47 for 18 bars (70 cents apiece)
- Why I Love It: The bars taste like a premium ice cream truck treat, but they’re way more affordable and always in the neighborhood.
Simply Recipes / Costco
Why I Love Costco’s Kirkland Signature Ice Cream Bars
Kirkland Signature Ice Cream Bars are creamy, crunchy, slightly salty, and just bitter enough—an impeccably balanced combination that might delight a kid, but takes an adult to appreciate fully.
The Kirkland bars have a real ice cream base—cream, milk, egg yolk, sugar, and vanilla extract—without the thickeners and stabilizers you’ll find in other frozen treats. The ice cream is coated in a thick layer of unsweetened chocolate and studded with roasted almonds for crunch. The first bite has such a satisfying snap!
The bar itself is slightly wider than most store-bought versions, so it has a better ice cream-to-chocolate ratio. That means more chocolate and more nuts in every bite, a feature I didn’t realize I needed until I bought these. And unlike cheaper alternatives, the chocolate coating is free of vegetable oils, so there’s no waxy mouthfeel.
In my area, a box of 18 bars costs only $12.47 plus tax, so each bar clocks in at around 70 cents. I keep a box in my freezer all summer long, and I never feel like I’m missing out on the ice cream truck.
Even diehard ice cream lovers on Reddit’s r/Costco forum have strong opinions, calling them “better, creamier, thicker, and a better value than Häagen-Dazs.” And considering how quickly they disappear from my freezer, I’d have to agree.
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