The Best Memorial Day BBQ Food You Can Get at Costco Under $50

The best Costco Memorial Day BBQ food for 2026 includes Kirkland Beef Hot Dogs, bone-in chicken thighs, Kirkland bratwurst, Reser’s potato salad, and Kirkland cookies, all of which can feed 15 people for under $50 before tax.

Before anything else: Costco warehouses are closed on Memorial Day. May 25, 2026 is the holiday and the warehouse doors will be locked. Shop on Saturday May 23 or Sunday May 24 instead, and you will also catch Costco’s Instant Savings book, which typically runs from mid-May through early June and drops prices on hot dogs, condiments, and disposable supplies right when you need them.

Now, the actual shopping list.

I put this together because Costco is genuinely the best store in the country for feeding a crowd at a holiday cookout, and most people only scratch the surface of what they should be buying there. The math on certain items is so favorable that it changes what you should be cooking entirely.

Key Takeaways

• Kirkland Beef Hot Dogs at around $0.49 per dog with no fillers or corn syrup is the single best Memorial Day BBQ buy in any store
• Bone-in chicken thighs at $1.29 per pound feed 20 people for about $20, which is the best protein-per-dollar ratio at any retailer
• A realistic hot dog cookout for 15 people from Costco costs under $50 total
• Costco is closed on Memorial Day 2026 (May 25); shop May 23 or 24
• The Instant Savings coupon book typically runs May 14 through early June and discounts hot dogs, condiments, and paper goods right before the holiday

The Meat Picks

Kirkland Signature Beef Hot Dogs: $19.39 for 36 links

This is the lead item and I want to be direct about why. Kirkland hot dogs are made with 100% USDA beef, no corn syrup, no by-products, and no fillers.

At about $0.49 per dog for a full bun-length frank, they are significantly better than most store-brand alternatives and cheaper than Oscar Mayer, Nathan’s, and Hebrew National on a per-dog basis.

Thirty-six dogs feed 30 or more people if you plan two per person, which is plenty for a cookout spread with sides. I keep a bag in my cart every Memorial Day weekend without thinking twice.

Kirkland Original Bratwurst: $8.49 for 14 links

The best value sausage at any grocery store in America, and it is not particularly close. At roughly $2.42 per pound, Kirkland brats are about 42% cheaper than Johnsonville at most supermarkets, and the flavor is genuinely better. The natural casing snaps on the grill the way it should.

Fourteen links feed 7 to 10 people as a main, or stretch much further as part of a mixed grill alongside hot dogs.

Bone-In Chicken Thighs: around $1.29 per pound

This is the crowd-feeding math hack that most people miss. An 11-pound bag of bone-in chicken thighs runs roughly $14 to $20 depending on the pack and region, and it feeds 20 people.

Thighs are the best cut for grilling at a cookout. They stay juicy, forgiving on timing, and they absorb a BBQ sauce or marinade better than any other cut. If you want to feed the most people for the least money, this is the order.

Drumsticks at around $0.99 per pound take it even lower if your crowd is not picky about the cut.

Ground Beef for Burgers: $25.99 for 18 pre-formed patties

The 1/3-pound pre-formed patties are the convenient choice for a burger-forward cookout.

The 75/25 fat blend holds together on the grill better than leaner options and produces a juicier result.

For a budget build, ask the butcher for the 10-pound ground beef chub at around $2.99 per pound, form the patties yourself, and save about $15.

New in 2026: Flat Iron Steak at around $9.99 per pound

Costco quietly added flat iron steak to the meat case in January 2026 and it is worth knowing about. Flat iron is one of the most underrated grilling cuts in American BBQ.

It is tender, beefy, and marbles well. At $9.99 per pound from Costco, it comes in well below what most butchers charge for it. If you want to upgrade one item on the grill for the weekend, this is it.

For anyone who wants a premium steak, Choice ribeye runs around $17.99 per pound, and USDA Prime tri-tip at $11.99 per pound is available at most West Coast locations and worth buying if you can find it.

If you want to bring a BBQ rub that works on everything from chicken to steak, Meat Church Holy Gospel BBQ Rub is in stock on Amazon and is what a lot of serious backyard grillers reach for. One shaker covers every protein on this list. And if you are grilling chicken or beef with a Japanese-style marinade, Bachan’s Original Japanese BBQ Sauce is outstanding and available on Amazon and works as both a marinade and a finishing sauce.

The Sides

Reser’s 5-Pound Potato Salad: around $7.49

At roughly $1.50 per pound, Reser’s is the reliable, crowd-sized potato salad that does not require any prep. It feeds 15 to 20 people as a side and has held its price well through the last couple of years. This is the one I grab when I need something that travels well to a cookout.

The 2025 Costco deli hit that is worth knowing about going into 2026 is their Loaded Potato Salad with russets, red potatoes, cheddar, bacon, and green onions in a 2.5-pound tub. If your location carries it, it is the upgrade version.

Bush’s Original Baked Beans: around $7.69 to $8.49 for 117 ounces

The 117-ounce can feeds 20 to 25 people as a side and requires nothing from you except a can opener and a pot. This is the BBQ staple that most guests expect and that takes zero effort to execute.

At this size and price, there is no good reason to buy baked beans anywhere else for a large cookout.

Kirkland Hamburger Buns: $3.49 for 24 count

About $0.15 per bun, which is as cheap as buns get at any store that does not require you to buy 100 at a time. Hot dog buns run $3.99 to $4.49 for 24. Both are solidly made and hold up on the grill side better than discount alternatives.

Frito-Lay Variety Pack: around $19.89 for 54 bags

One bag per person, no serving required, no bowl to wash. The variety pack covers every preference in a mixed crowd and is the easiest chip solution for any outdoor event.

Costco periodically runs this on Instant Savings closer to Memorial Day, sometimes dropping it below $16.

The Desserts

Kirkland Gourmet Chocolate Chunk Cookies: $9.99 for 24

About $0.42 per cookie, these are my go-to Costco baked good. They travel well, they do not require serving utensils, and they are reliably good. For a 15-person cookout, 24 cookies is the right amount.

Costco Half-Sheet Cake: around $27.99

This one belongs in the budget conversation because it feeds up to 48 people for $28. That is $0.58 per slice and there is no supermarket bakery in the country that competes with it at that volume.

Order it from the Costco app at least 24 hours ahead. If you are hosting a large group, this is the dessert decision that earns the most compliments per dollar spent.

The Drinks

Kirkland Water 40-Pack: $3.99

About $0.10 per bottle, which beats every major competitor including Target, Walmart, and Kroger. This is not a close comparison. For a Memorial Day cookout in warm weather, water is the most important thing to have in quantity, and this is the cheapest place to buy it.

LaCroix Sparkling Water 24-Pack: around $6.99

About $0.29 per can, which is roughly half what Target charges per can on smaller packs. The variety pack covers multiple flavors and gives adults a non-alcoholic fizzy option that is not soda.

Kirkland Hard Seltzer Variety 24-Pack: around $20.69

The Kirkland hard seltzer is 5% ABV at 100 calories per can and comes in mango, black cherry, grapefruit, and lime. It costs roughly $8 to $12 less per 24-pack than White Claw or Truly at most retailers. I cannot name a more honest deal in the drinks aisle for a summer cookout.

The Supplies

Kirkland Charcoal Briquettes: around $18.99 to $21.99 for a 40-pound twin pack

If you are grilling with charcoal, Costco’s twin pack beats Kingsford at most stores by roughly $6 per pack. The H-shaped brick design from the Kirkland charcoal lights well and holds heat the way a briquette should. Buy it before Memorial Day weekend because these sell out.

Propane: Costco offers propane refills at approximately $2.10 to $2.67 per gallon, which means a 20-pound tank refill runs $10 to $12. Blue Rhino exchanges at Walmart run $22 to $25 for a partial 15-pound fill. If you have a gas grill, stopping at the Costco propane station is one of the most straightforward ways to save money this weekend.

A few things that make the grill go smoother

If you are firing up a charcoal grill, a chimney starter is the one piece of equipment that makes the whole process faster. The Weber Rapidfire Chimney Starter has coals ready in about 15 minutes and is the reason I stopped messing with lighter fluid entirely.

A bristle-free grill brush is also worth having so you are not dragging wire bristles across the grate that might end up in someone’s food. The GRILLART Bristle-Free Grill Brush is the one I reach for and it handles both gas and charcoal grates. For chicken kabobs or any skewered situation, these flat metal kabob skewers are reusable, do not catch fire, and lie flat on any grill grate.

The Under-$50 Memorial Day Cookout for 15 People

This is the hot dog-forward build that keeps the total under $50 and feeds a real crowd.

Kirkland Beef Hot Dogs 36 ct at $19.39, hot dog buns 24 ct at around $4.49, Reser’s potato salad 5 lb at $7.49, Bush’s Baked Beans on sale around $5.99 to $7.49, Kirkland water 40-pack at $3.99, and Kirkland cookies 24 ct at $9.99.

That puts you around $51 to $53 before any Memorial Day Instant Savings discounts on the beans or condiments. With sale pricing on one or two items, which is typical for this Costco sale period, it clears $50.

The chicken build is actually the cheapest route. Bone-in thighs (~8 lb, $10.32) and drumsticks (~5 lb, $4.95), hamburger buns for those who want a sandwich, potato salad, beans, chips, and cookies all total around $48 with room for a bottle of BBQ sauce.

One Important Reminder

Costco warehouses are closed on Memorial Day. That is May 25, 2026. Costco.com stays open, but if you are shopping in-store, Saturday May 23 and Sunday May 24 are your windows. The Instant Savings book should already be live by then, so it is actually the better time to shop anyway.

For more Costco buying guides, the best Costco foods right now for April 2026 covers the full current inventory, and the Costco graduation party food guide has the crowd-feeding math for an even larger event.

If you are still on the fence about whether the membership is worth it, the Costco membership value breakdown walks through the exact calculation.

Worth Every Trip

Costco Memorial Day weekend is one of the two or three times a year when the store is doing exactly what it was built for: helping you feed a large group for less than you would spend anywhere else on significantly smaller quantities.

The hot dogs, the chicken thighs, the potato salad, and the cookies are the four items I tell everyone to anchor their list to. Everything else builds from there. If your budget is tight, the chicken build wins on pure value. If you want the crowd pleaser, the hot dogs are the answer.

Shop Saturday or Sunday. Check the Instant Savings book when you walk in. And pick up the charcoal or propane while you are there because both will be gone by Friday afternoon.

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