For many Americans, Costco cakes are a staple for celebrating holidays, birthdays, and weddings on a budget. Since 1976, Costco has offered affordable products and services to members without sacrificing quality. Today, millions of members visit Costco locations daily to buy everything from toilet paper to bulk food items, but if you’re looking to feed a small army for cheap, Costco cakes are a must-buy.
In this article, we’ll talk about all the sweet options Costco has to offer in 2024, so you can find a cake that works for your event!
Costco Custom Cake Designs
Depending on your Costco warehouse’s availability, you’ll have a choice between a 10-inch round cake (serves 16) or a half sheet cake (serves 48) – why not try 1 vanilla and 1 chocolate cake to cover all cake preferences for a large family gathering? Costco custom round and sheet cakes are available in only two flavors with matching mousse fillings:
- Chocolate Cake with chocolate icing, filled with chocolate mousse
- White Cake with white icing, filled with vanilla cheesecake mousse
As for ordering time, please allow at least 24 hours for the bakery to create your custom cake from their in-person ordering sheet. Yes, you’ll need to order in-person at your local Costco warehouse (online ordering is not available for custom cakes).Â
| Half Sheet Cake Serves 48 guests | $24.99 |
| 10" Round Cake Serves 16 guests | $15.99 |
Costco Birthday Cakes
Buying a half sheet Costco birthday cake for your child’s birthday party is a wonderful way to make them feel special on a budget. Costco’s bakery department decorates the cake with a special message and design that you can specify using their paper design form (in-store, near the bakery).
Costco offers several birthday-themed cake designs, including:
- Candles
- Costco bear
- Scored
- Rainbow
- Balloons
- All white roses
- Roses – up to 2 colors
The bakery easily customizes your message for free, and you can choose the color they’ll use for the writing. Every sweet-toothed kid will love a decorated buttercream frosted cake, whether you choose vanilla or chocolate!
RELATED: Looking for an ice cream cake instead? Try Cold Stone Creamery Cakes.
Costco Wedding Cakes
Wedding days are memorable for all involved, but they’re SO expensive. One way couples plan to save money on the wedding day is to choose a cheap wedding cake.
However, Costco wedding cakes are limited to Half Sheet Cakes or 10″ round cakes, NO stacked custom cakes. So, if you are looking for a traditional multi-layer wedding cake (like in the photo above), you’ll have to look somewhere else, unless your warehouse offers the 2-Tier Special Occasions cake (serves 24). My local warehouse doesn’t carry this specialty cake, but maybe yours does!
The relevant cake designs for a wedding include:
- White roses
- Roses in up to 2 colors (your wedding colors)
- Scored
- Rainbow
- Balloons
- Cross
We recommend buying a small tiered cake from a local bakery for the wedding couple and wedding party, then serving the guests a Costco half sheet cake, which feeds up to 48 guests. For larger weddings, you can order 2 half sheet cakes to feed 96 guests! With a sweet Costco cake, everyone will be satisfied in a budget-friendly way!
Not sure how to pick out the perfect wedding cake? We cover that on AllCakePrices!
Costco Baby Shower Cakes
The arrival of a new baby is an exciting time for growing families. Friends and family members usually host at least one baby shower for the couple before the baby arrives…and the baby shower cake is a big highlight!
So, why not pick a Costco baby shower cake? They offer sweet baby-themed designs that will fit any shower budget, including:
- Costco bear
- Scored
- Rainbow
- Balloons
- Baby Shower
- Cross
- Roses – White
- Roses – up to 2 colors
Most mothers-to-be will be delighted to have leftovers from a half sheet cake when their sweet tooth kicks in!
You can also hold a gender-reveal party using a Costco cake. We recommend you choose a vanilla cake and then:
- Inject your own sweet filling in a color that indicates the gender, using a piping bag (or plastic bag cut at a corner) and fit a decorating tip inside the bag
- When you’re done adding the gender color inside, fill the outside holes with more white icing and your choice of decorations.
By being creative with the filling, you’ll save money and still enjoy the party!
Costco Graduation Cakes
Graduations are a milestone for students and their families. After the stressful period of final exams, most students want to relax and party (not necessarily in that order).
Costco graduation cakes are a great way to show your kid how proud you are and cheaply turn a normal family gathering into a party. Costco’s in-house bakery offers several customizable messages of love and congratulations that will make a graduation party memorable for your child.
Designs suitable for graduation include:
- Graduation (specify up to 2 school colors)
- Balloons
- Roses – All white
- Roses – Up to 2 colors
Suggested Read: Halloween Cupcakes
Holiday & "Just Because" Sweet Treats
We find that cooking is usually the most stressful part of the holiday season. In addition to hosting holiday meals for families, many people attend holiday parties that require guests to bring an item. So, instead of spending hours baking for family, friends, and coworkers, just buy fresh, pre-made Costco cakes.
You can order holiday cakes at Costco, including a custom cake for the Fourth of July (try the American flag design for a festive cake). Just drive by their store, order at least 24 hours before the party, and you’ll have a sweet custom cake for your party.
Or, if you need something NOW, take a look at Costco’s quick pre-made cake selection in person or online. You’ll find the greatest selection in-store, but options will vary by club and by availability.
Here are a few of the pre-made cakes I found at my local warehouse recently (ranging in price from $15.99 to $18.99):
A Costco cake or baked goodie is the perfect way to treat your family to a delicious, inexpensive treat any day!
Note: While I was taking these quick photos, my kids were begging to take home one of the tuxedo chocolate mousse cakes…I gave in and we’re having it for dessert for the next few nights!
Let’s see what Costco has to offer right now and see how little a well-crafted dessert will cost you.
| Mary Macleod's Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies Assortment - 8-Boxes | $39.99 |
| David's Cookies Brownie and Cookie Combo 18 Servings | $29.99 |
| David’s Cookies Chocolate Fudge Birthday Cake Serves 16 | $64.99 |
| David’s Cookies Variety Cheesecakes 28 slices total | $69.99 |
| David’s Cookies Mile High Peanut Butter Cake Serves 14 | $72.99 |
| David’s Cookies 10″ Rainbow Cake Serves approximately 12 people | $72.99 |
| David’s Cookies Premier Chocolate Cake Serves 14 | $74.99 |
| Ferrara’s Bakery New York Cheesecake - 2 cakes 24 Servings | $99.99 |
| Ferrara’s Bakery Tiramisu Cake - 2 cakes 24 Servings | $99.99 |
| Ferrara’s Bakery 24 Large Cannoli 12 Plain Filled and 12 Hand Dipped Belgian Chocolate | $129.99 |
| Classic Cake Limoncello Quarter Sheet Cake - Pre-Sliced Serves 14 | $89.99 |
| The Cake Bake Shop 8" Round Carrot Cake Serves 16-22 | $159.99 |
| The Cake Bake Shop 8" Round Chocolate Cake Serves 16-22 | $159.99 |
| The Cake Bake Shop 8" Round Pixie Fetti Cake Serves 16-22 | $159.99 |
Final Thoughts
We love Costco cakes for our family events: from birthdays to baby showers to graduations to other holiday celebrations. They’re budget-friendly, can feed a lot of people, and best of all – we don’t have to cook them ourselves!
What’s your favorite Costco cake or sweet? Share your thoughts and experiences with Costco cakes and sweets in the comments, or contact us to share your Costco cake stories.
Author: Laura K
Mom of 3 and Founder of All Cake Prices: This choosy mom was looking for a fast, under-budget cake without slaving away in the kitchen all day, so she started All Cake Prices to connect bakeries with budget-conscious families who need a quick cake solution. Today, she enjoys decorating cakes with her kids, but she still happily leaves the cake baking to Costco, Sam's Club, and other local bakeries, preferring to build creative conversion cake memories with her family!