{"id":46350,"date":"2026-02-26T16:31:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:31:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/usa\/i-tried-cheesecakes-from-costco-trader-joes-whole-foods-and-walmart-theres-just-one-id-buy-again\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T16:31:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:31:35","slug":"i-tried-cheesecakes-from-costco-trader-joes-whole-foods-and-walmart-theres-just-one-id-buy-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/usa\/i-tried-cheesecakes-from-costco-trader-joes-whole-foods-and-walmart-theres-just-one-id-buy-again\/","title":{"rendered":"I tried cheesecakes from Costco, Trader Joe&#8217;s, Whole Foods, and Walmart \u2014 there&#8217;s just one I&#8217;d buy again"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/699dfd245b1472b7a25c363e?format=jpeg\" alt=\"Four different cheesecakes on a table.\"\/><figcaption>After trying four different options, I found the best store-bought cheesecake.<\/p>\n<p>Ivy Carbone<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li>I tried cheesecake from Whole Foods, Walmart, Costco, and Trader Joe&#039;s to see which was the best.<\/li>\n<li>Although I&#039;m typically a fan of Trader Joe&#039;s products, I thought its cheesecake was bland.<\/li>\n<li>Costco&#039;s cheesecake was delicious \u2014 dense, creamy, and tangy \u2014 with a classic, buttery crust.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>New York-style cheesecake is a classic dessert known for its dense, tangy cream-cheese filling, typically set atop a graham-cracker crust.<\/p>\n<p>Although I love cheesecake, baking one at home can easily take hours, and a trip to a small bakery isn&#039;t always an option.<\/p>\n<p>So, I picked up four grocery-store versions from Whole Foods, Walmart, Costco, and Trader Joe&#039;s to find out which ones actually deliver that classic cheesecake taste. Here&#039;s how it went.<\/p>\n<p>At first glance, the Whole Foods cheesecake looked the best.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/699dfef9811194d314d8d2d5?format=jpeg\" alt=\"A whole cheesecake topped with whipped cream and berries.\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Ivy Carbone<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The 40-ounce Whole Foods cheesecake cost $27, and had flecks of vanilla bean throughout. It was also beautifully topped with berries and cream.<\/p>\n<p>The crust seemed thin, but the cake itself looked delicious, and I was excited to dig in.<\/p>\n<p>However, I was disappointed by the taste.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/699dff6f811194d314d8d2ee?format=jpeg\" alt=\"A slice of cheesecake on a white plate.\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Ivy Carbone<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Once I took a bite, I thought the filling tasted more sweet than tangy, and it lacked the dense creaminess I expect from a New York-style cheesecake. Instead, it was light, mousse-like, and not at all that cheesy.<\/p>\n<p>The crust wasn&#039;t bad, but it didn&#039;t have a strong graham-cracker taste, either.<\/p>\n<p>Because this cake was the most expensive on a per-ounce basis, I expected more flavor. So, ultimately, this cheesecake was a miss for me.<\/p>\n<p>The Trader Joe&#039;s cheesecake came frozen.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/699e005ddf1f09368aaaacb6?format=jpeg\" alt=\"A whole cheesecake with a graham-cracker crust.\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Ivy Carbone<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Trader Joe&#039;s 30-ounce New York-style cheesecake cost just under $8 and was the only one in the bunch that came frozen. <\/p>\n<p>This was a bit of a bummer because I waited two hours for it to defrost before trying it. However, I was eager to see if this would affect the taste at all.<\/p>\n<p>I didn&#039;t think this cheesecake had much flavor.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/699e00c3df1f09368aaaacc9?format=jpeg\" alt=\"A slice of cheesecake on a white plate.\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Ivy Carbone<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When I took a bite, I thought the flavor was faint at best, with none of the tang or richness that makes New York-style cheesecake so iconic.<\/p>\n<p>I even had other family members try it with me, and they weren&#039;t impressed.  <\/p>\n<p>Plus, I thought the crust-to-filling ratio was off, and there wasn&#039;t enough of the actual filling for my liking.<\/p>\n<p>Even though it was the cheapest option by ounce, I wouldn&#039;t buy it again.<\/p>\n<p>The Walmart cheesecake looked promising.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/699e03d75b1472b7a25c375a?format=jpeg\" alt=\"A whole cheesecake with a graham-cracker crust.\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Ivy Carbone<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I enjoy most of Walmart&#039;s food products, so I was excited to try this presliced 40-ounce New York-style cheesecake, which cost $13. <\/p>\n<p>The filling was pretty good, but I didn&#039;t love the crust.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/699e044f5b1472b7a25c3779?format=jpeg\" alt=\"A slice of cheesecake on a white plate.\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Ivy Carbone<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The texture of the cheesecake filling seemed heavier than the others I tried, and I thought it was a decent option for the price. The flavor was a bit mild, but overall, it was pretty good. <\/p>\n<p>My biggest issue here was the crust. It was thin, floury, and left some visible grease at the bottom of the pan.<\/p>\n<p>Costco&#039;s cheesecake came with frosting on top.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/699e02f2df1f09368aaaad1a?format=jpeg\" alt=\"A full cheesecake topped with white, piped frosting.\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Ivy Carbone<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Costco cheesecake was the only option that came with frosting, complete with a ruffled, piped border. It also came pre-marked for perfect slicing, though it was tricky to get a clean cut.<\/p>\n<p>At only $20 for a whopping 72 ounces of cheesecake, I thought the price for such a massive cake was hard to beat.<\/p>\n<p>I loved how dense, creamy, and tangy this cheesecake was.<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/699e037e5b1472b7a25c373c?format=jpeg\" alt=\"A slice of cheesecake that&#039;s topped with white frosting.\"\/><figcaption>\n<p>Ivy Carbone<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Costco cheesecake was also the only option not specifically marketed as New York-style, but I thought it tasted authentic. It was dense, creamy, and tangy.<\/p>\n<p>The crust also nailed the classic, buttery, graham-cracker flavor. Although it was a little thin for my liking, it held the filling well, which impressed me.<\/p>\n<p>The only drawback was the sugary frosting on top, which felt unnecessary and distracted from the actual cheesecake filling.<\/p>\n<p>However, it was definitely my favorite option overall, and for the price, I thought it was a great value. <\/p>\n<p>Read the original article on Business Insider<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After trying four different options, I found the best store-bought cheesecake. Ivy Carbone I tried cheesecake from Whole Foods, Walmart, Costco, and Trader Joe&#039;s to see which was the best. Although I&#039;m typically a fan of Trader Joe&#039;s products, I thought its cheesecake was bland. Costco&#039;s cheesecake was delicious \u2014 dense, creamy, and tangy \u2014 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-46350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46350\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agooka.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}