Is Frozen Fruit Actually a Good Deal at Costco?

If you peek into my freezer, you'll always find several bags of frozen fruit. My husband makes smoothies a few times a week and enjoys snacking on semi-frozen cherries. Our daughter likes to make mango lassis and nice cream for snacks and desserts. And having frozen fruit on hand makes it incredibly easy to whip up a fruit crisp when we're craving a sweet finale to our day.

The only place I buy frozen fruit is at Costco. In fact, using up the rest of a bag of frozen blueberries can trigger a trip. Not only do the large bags mean I can buy frozen fruit less frequently, but they're also an incredible deal (more on that later). Many of the fruits dietitians recommend eating every week—including blueberries and raspberries—can be found in Costco's frozen food section.

And we should all be eating more fruit! If you've been avoiding it because it contains sugar, remember the sugar in fruit is all naturally occurring, and fruit also contains fiber, vitamins, minerals and water, which can help slow down how quickly our body digests its sugar. Plus eating fruit is associated with improved heart health and maintaining a healthy weight. And frozen fruit can have more nutrients than fresh, as fruit harvested with the intention of being frozen tends to be picked at peak ripeness.

So as a loyal Costco shopper, I blindly assumed Costco has great deals on frozen fruit. But it wasn't until I did the research for this story that I truly understood just how good those deals are. Here's what I found when I used Instacart to compare prices between my local Costco and Hannaford, the major grocery store I typically shop at.

How the Prices Compare

Organic Mixed Fruit (mango, pineapple and peaches)

Costco: $3.20 per pound

Hannaford: $4.66 per pound

Note: Hannaford doesn't have the exact same fruit combination in the frozen section, but they do sell a couple of conventional tropical fruit blends at $4.66 per pound.

Three Berry Blend (raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)

Costco: $4.10 per pound

Hannaford: $4.66 per pound

Organic Triple Berry Blend (strawberries, blueberries and blackberries)

Costco: $3.90 per pound

Hannaford: $7.25 per pound

Note: Hannaford's sells a berry blend that swaps raspberries for strawberries, which could be part of the reason it's priced higher.

Organic Strawberries

Costco: $3 per pound

Hannaford: $5.15 per pound for organic and $4.63 per pound for conventional

Organic Mango

Costco: $2.16 per pound

Hannaford: $3.43 per pound for conventional (they don't sell frozen organic mango)

Organic Blueberries

Costco: $3.13 per pound

Hannaford: $6.40 per pound for organic and $3.59 per pound for conventional

Organic Dark Sweet Cherries

Costco: $3.55 per pound

Hannaford: $5.05 for conventional (they don't sell frozen organic cherries)

Bottom Line

If you have a membership and enough freezer space, you'll save a lot of money buying your frozen fruit at Costco—some of the options are half the price per pound! Not only are their prices lower, but their organic fruit is cheaper than a major supermarket chain's conventional choices.