Trader Joe's Vs Costco: Which Store Sells The Best Cheesecake?

As a savory dessert lover, it feels like cheesecake was invented just for me. The welcome tang that comes with a well-made cheesecake balances out its mild sweetness; not to mention that it's tailor-made to be garnished with an endless variety of toppings. Cheesecake — particularly lemon or amaretto cheesecake — is one of my favorite desserts to make and to eat, and since a recent taste test of some top-ranked Cheesecake Factory cheesecake flavors left me wanting more, I jumped at the chance to try and compare this popular dessert from both Trader Joe's and Costco. 

I have admittedly high standards for cheesecake. I look for a crisp, crumbly, graham-cracker crust; a smooth, light texture that makes me want another bite; and that undeniable tang that any quality cheesecake possesses. All of these factors came into play when deciding which store has the better cheesecake, but I also took some more practical matters into consideration, such as the size of the confection and each cheesecake's price. My Trader Joe's pick was its frozen New York Deli Style Cheesecake (though Trader Joe's Japanese soufflé cheesecake was also an option), and I got a freshly made, refrigerated cheesecake from Costco's bakery section. 

In regard to each cheesecake's availability, I can't attest to every branch of Trader Joe's and Costco carrying an ample supply of these desserts. However, I have seen the iconic blue box that houses Trader Joe's New York-style cheesecake pretty much every time I've been to any store location, so it's safe to say that many (if not most) TJ's sites carry this product. The 30 ounce frozen cheesecake at my location in Oregon was priced at $7.99, which is the same price the company lists on its website, and the cost breaks down to approximately 27 cents per ounce. 

When I headed into my local Costco in search of cheesecakes, I easily found them in a refrigerated case in the baked-goods section. There were over a dozen cheesecakes available at my Costco, so I had plenty to choose from. I can't guarantee that every Costco will always have cheesecakes available, so you may want to call your usual location before heading in to buy one. I paid $18.99 for a cheesecake that weighed 72 ounces. This makes Costco's cheesecake comes to about 26 cents per ounce — so both this cheesecake and the Trader Joe's option are priced about the same for the amount you get.

I wasn't expecting either of these cheesecakes to boast a simple list of ingredients, so it wasn't surprising to be confronted with a list as long as my arm when consulting each label. However, I was pleasantly surprised to at least recognize most of the ingredients used in each cheesecake. Both varieties list cream cheese as the first ingredient, which is a good sign; however, while the next two ingredients in Trader Joe's cheesecake were sugar followed by sour cream, the Costco's cheesecake ingredient list features sour cream as the second ingredient and sugar as the third — and this difference was definitely palpable during my taste test. 

The Trader Joe's cheesecake packs 400 calories per 122 grams of cake, while Costco's version has 420 calories per 128 grams, so they're relatively similar in this respect. In fact, there are only a couple noticeable nutritional differences between the two confections. Firstly, Costco's cheesecake contains a whopping 18 grams of saturated fat per serving (comprising 90% of your recommended daily intake), while the Trader Joe's dessert has 15 grams per serving, which is 74% of your suggested daily total. Costco's single serving also has 38% of your recommended daily cholesterol per serving, compared to 28% in a serving of Trader Joe's cheesecake. Keep in mind that these numbers will change if you decide to, say, top your cheesecake with canned pie filling to jazz it up a bit.

The Trader Joe's cheesecake has a slight advantage here purely because it's frozen, so you can buy it and keep it frozen until you're ready to thaw and eat it. After you thaw it, it will last up to five days in the refrigerator. Costco doesn't give any specific guidelines on how long its dairy-rich confection will stay good if kept cold, but according to general guidelines about how long cheesecake will last in the fridge, you can count on safely snacking on it for up to seven days. 

When you put cheesecake in the fridge, make sure to store it in an airtight container to keep it fresh for as long as possible. Costco's cheesecake packaging makes this convenient, as it already comes on a tray with a resealable plastic lid. On the other hand, the simple plastic wrapping and cardboard box for the Trader Joe's cheesecake makes it a bit harder to store in the fridge after thawing. You may want to slice it first and store the pieces in individual containers. 

Costco's cheesecake was, for some reason, hard to cut — as you can see in the photo, the topping cracked as I was trying to get my slice. However, that's a minor inconvenience that I'd gladly endure again for the pure pleasure of taking another bite of Costco's cheesecake. This dessert was incredible, and it checked absolutely every box on my cheesecake list. Given that I tend to eschew store-bought cheesecakes in favor of a homemade version, I was stunned by how much I genuinely loved this cheesecake.

The first thing that hit me was the cheesecake's pleasant tang, and the fact that it wasn't too sweet, which is a major downside to many other commercial cheesecakes that I've tried. Then I was floored by the texture. It was impeccably smooth, without the slightest hint of graininess that I detect in some other store-bought cheesecakes. Finally, the frosting on top — which one Reddit user suggests is a mixture of sugar and sour cream — is a delicate yet scrumptious finishing to a nearly perfect cheesecake. The flavor of the crust was incredible, though I did wish it had a bit of a crunchier texture. 

Being frozen may be an advantage of the Trader Joe's cheesecake in terms of its longevity, but I thought the process of defrosting cheesecake took a while longer than desired ... although I'm generally impatient when it comes to cheesecake. Unfortunately, the defrosting annoyance proved only to be the tip of the iceberg in terms of things that vexed me about this Trader Joe's cheesecake. 

I was actually quite disappointed by this dessert, especially considering how much I tend to love the Trader Joe's brand. The only aspect of this cheesecake that equaled Costco's was the texture — it was very pleasantly smooth. Visually, it's not nearly as pleasing as Costco's, and the TJ's confection is considerably smaller. 

This would have been permissible if only the flavor had been passable, but regrettably, the Trader Joe's cheesecake didn't even come close to hitting the flavor mark for me. It was entirely bland compared to Costco's dessert, and I had to go hunting for the cheesecake flavor after taking a bite. The only redeeming quality of the Trader Joe's cheesecake was its crust — it boasted a thick, crispy crust that I enjoy in a cheesecake. 

Though I'm sure that the Trader Joe's option isn't the worst frozen store-bought cheesecake out there, it simply paled in comparison to Costco's cheesecake. In my eyes, the two aren't even comparable, even though they cost about the same per ounce. Aside from looking miles better than the cheesecake from Trader Joe's, Costco's cheesecake had an intensity of flavor that blew the TJ's dessert out of the water. 

The only thing comparable about the two cheesecakes was the texture, and unfortunately, that's not enough to save Trader Joe's from inarguably being the worse of the two. I'd happily eat slice after slice of Costco's cheesecake, while I didn't even finish the one slice of Trader Joe's cheesecake that I cut out for this taste test. Even though this Trader Joe's cheesecake can be kept for a while in the freezer before you're ready to eat it, I don't think it's worth buying it far in advance when you can get an excellent cheesecake from Costco a day or two before your next soiree.