This site contains affiliate links. Please see Policies for more information.
Dear Costco,
Towards the end of last year, you stopped carrying your Kirkland Organic Peanut Butter. As soon as I saw the asterisk on the price tag, I knew it was time to stock up.
Looking for some delicious peanut butter recipes? I’ve got them!
We stocked up on your organic peanut butter and within a few months you began carrying a new, non-organic peanut butter. I was ok with that, and so were many others that I had spoken to about the peanut butter. We were just happy to have our two ingredient (peanuts and salt) peanut butter back.
Fast forward to two weeks ago. I made my weekly Costco run and found none of your new peanut butter. I asked a nice gentleman where it was, and he assured me that this particular location was just out of it for now.
I did some research.
Awful news:
None of the Costco warehouses in Tucson carry the Kirkland brand peanut butter anymore. It has been discontinued.
Wonderful news:
I had found a few articles about the best natural peanut butter, and some of the brands mentioned had the same two ingredients as my beloved Kirkland brand peanut butter.
I found a replacement. Trader Joe’s Valencia Peanut Butter with Sea Salt is comparable to our favorite peanut butter.
The problem? I shop at Costo weekly, not Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s is nowhere near where I shop.
And?
When I bought 6 jars of peanut butter (plus one jar of peanut butter plus flax seed) at TJ’s yesterday, the cashier asked if I was making cookies. Because maybe other people don’t buy 6 jars of peanut butter at one time?
We eat peanut butter on everything – on waffles and pancakes, on bananas, in my spinach smoothies, on sandwiches, and on fruits and veggies like apples and carrots.
Am I using my blog to whine about your decision to not carry Kirkland brand peanut butter anymore?
Yes.
I’m sorry, but yes.
The other peanut butter choices in your store have too many ingredients, and taste completely bland. You have spoiled me with your awesome product, and now I am ruined.
I’d like to buy Kirkland peanut butter again.
In the big jars.
At Costco.
Please.
PleasePleasePleasePleaseWithABigCherryOnTop,
Your biggest fan and most enthusiastic customer,
Becca
———
Has a company ever discontinued your favorite product? Did you ever find a suitable replacement?
I also love the Kirkland peanuts and salt only brand peanut butter. You eat it like I eat it. I do without the bread and just smear it on my morning banana. I found, a long time ago, before I found Kirkland that Smuckers and Laura Scudders carry peanut butter that is only peanuts and salt, thereby decades ago, spoiling me for all the other peanut butters on the shelves. I don’t want all that junk. ewww. Out here in Oregon I found Adam’s brand at the local stores. When I first got here I ordered Smuckers online. If CostCo isn’t going to offer the product anymore, I have the Adam’s but will start ordering the Smuckers again, I like the taste better. Shame on you CostCo and you’re losing business.
Hey Becca, I am a fellow costco shopper that is obsessive about their Peanut Butter. I completely identify with this blog posting. Just an FYI- I was at my local costco and the Peanut Butter is back!! I was so excited i sent out a pictures to my friends.. lol. Take a look next time you are shopping.
Nas
It was discontinued due to salmonella. The warehouse it was packaged in was shut down due to the filthy environment. My neice who just turned two this year was affected and almost died. She spent a month of her tiny life in the hospital. They are still doing tests to check her organs for damage.
The newest recall from Costco is their organic frozen berries. Exposure to hepatitis A
http://www.azfamily.com/news/health/Hepatitis-A-linked-to-frozen-berry-mix-from-Costco-free-vaccines-available-209925921.html
You should google the recalls for more information. I don’t know what’s more alarming the fact that we can almost die from food supposed to be good for us or the fact that our organic “fresh” food is coming from Mexico..
This PB is awful. I’m not sure what others are eating but the Kirkland Chunky is flat tasting and and runny. I won’t buy this again..Trader Joe’s, yes!
It’s literally peanut butter and salt
I agree with Patrick. Our Costco in Missoula Montana carried Adam’s chunky PB and it was the bee’s knees!
Now they carry Kirkland Natural Crunchy and we don’t care for it. It’s runny and tasteless.
Why is kirkland a PB so runny?
Kathy, because it’s natural. Other peanut butter brands use ingredients to bond their product.
Stir it till well blended. When done turn jar upsidedown and place in fridge for 24 hrs.
HI Becca, Just read you first article…good to know i am not the only one who loves Kirklands PB. I have previously tried organics peanut butter from Safeway, Brads organic PB from Costco and lastly when i tasted the Kirkland organic creamy PB I couldn’t resist my self from eating it over n over. Today I went again to fill up my PB stock and i looked everywhere they did not have it in store anymore. Isn’t that funny now I am addicted to it and I liked the taste …my taste buds were drooling when I entered Costco today but I end up buying non organic version which I am not sure if i want to eat or not. In my last visit to Costco I did not buy enough PB to fill my stock because it was a new thing to me. Oh well!! I would love to try TJ PB since its organic..also I have never eaten a peanut butter with more than 2 ingredients no wonder they’ll taste like crap.
My husband accidentally got the non-organic kind last time he went. Totally not the same :-/
I LOVE the Safeway organic one, as well! I’ve started to purchase peanuts at Costco and make my own peanut butter with our Vitamix. It’s really good :)
It’s super easy to make your own nut butter – I use a Vitamix, but any similar high powered blender will do the job.
Hi Becca – I stumbled upon the organic peanut butter at Costco this week. Do you recommend refrigerating it? The reason I ask is because the organic pb exhibited oil separation similar to the Laura Scudder’s peanut butter I recall having as a child, which we would always refrigerate. Thanks!
Whole Foods Crunchy Peanut Butter – only peanuts and salt. Delicious!
I’m still living on a bottle of Kirkland Organic PB per week. They still carry it. It’s not discontinued in the northwest. Sometimes it’s oilier than others – that’s just nature. Leave it out and use some of the organic peanut oil for other things if it’s too liquidy.
As an alternative, many health food stores have a PB maker: bin full or organic peanuts that, when you push the button, go through a very good grind on the way to the jar you brought from home. It’s not expensive (here), fun to watch and it comes out WARM! I never knew warm PB was so yummy. It’s not exactly smooth but it’s closer to smooth than chunky. It only has tiny pieces of peanut. AND you don’t have to stir it – just refridgerate or freeze to stop the separation!
Easiest and best way to stir Kirkland’s? Scrape out of jar into large wide bowl. Use unbreakable spatula or wooden spoon to get all the oil-less PB all mixed up. Pour into your own glass jar and use a spatula to get every luscious bite (or lick the bowl)!
~leslie
“Understand your food”
That’s probably a really good idea. I finally stopped buying this peanut butter as no matter how much i thought I stirred the top had no salt and the bottom was too salty to be edible. I finally gave up and stopped buying it.
I buy stir peanut butter so I can pour off the top oil — I don’t like Peanut Oil!! I eat the peanut butter down to the very stiff stuff and add unflavored Olive Oil. My question is: Where can I purchase Kirklands or Trader Joe’s Organic Valencia Peanut butter and have it shipped at a reasonable price — Amazon’s prices are outrageous:?.
I like to eat only peanut butter without additives, as well. Does anyone have a recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies using the Kirklands Organic Peanut Butter???
I’m a Laura Scudders fanatic. Last night I met a shady guy behind the Pizza But to buy some. The little 16 oz jars of chunky. I took it anyway. 6 jars should last till the online order gets here…
The “Naturally More” Organic Creamy Peanut Butter at Costco is identical in ingredients and tastes like the Kirkland Organic Peanut Butter Costco previously carried. It has a white cap and is even cheaper than the original for 2 same-size jars.
Have you tried it though? It’s awful. Terribly runny even after mixing and refrigerating and just tastes off/bad.
The reason for the VALENCIA peanut butters unavailability is due to the short crop of valencia peanuts. They simply ran out! The producer is Jimbos Jumbos in NC. I’ve been buying wholesale from them for decades. It’ll be back in November. Most peanut butter is made from a variety of peanuts called “Peanut Runners”. The Valencia is a richer tasting peanut for my taste. Arrowhead Mills used to carry it. I would say that Costco knocked them out of the peanut butter business. Joe
Does anyone know if there is a warehouse stash of the Kirkland PB? It is, indeed, the Valencia peanuts that make the difference—I have made some on my own but the peanuts themselves are getting scarce…AAAAAAAARGGGHHHHHHHH!
David in SF
The most important part about using Valencia peanuts is that there is MUCH LESS MOLD compared to regular peanuts., even organic regular peanut butter.
This mold, even in small amounts, can create some very nasty pathogens inside a human.