How Costco Food Court Pizzas Are Assembled In Under 3 Minutes

No matter if you are stopping in for a couple of items or checking off a long grocery list with a full cart, one thing Costco customers can count on is a reliable experience at the food court. At the heart of that experience for many customers is a hot, fresh slice of pizza, which still only costs $1.99 for a single slice of cheese or pepperoni pizza or $9.95 for a whole pie. For the record, Costco's classic pepperoni pizza is one of our favorite items on the entire Costco food court menu. But just how are these pizzas made so fast?

One of the biggest reasons Costco's pizza remains a favorite for many is because of its uniformity. These pies are made quickly, assembled in just three minutes (not including the cooking process) the same way every time, so each customer can have the same pizza-eating experience. It's a combination of pizza-specific machinery that automates much of the process, and the manual work of employees helps take exact measurements or quantities of each ingredient.

As the YouTuber NiuTown reveals, very Costco pizza starts with New York-sourced dough that's flattened perfectly with a pizza press machine before it's stretched across a pizza pan for an 18-inch pie. Costco employees use perforated pans to prevent the dough from bubbling while it bakes. Then, another machine called an "auto saucer" distributes 10.5 ounces of sauce in a tight spiral evenly over the dough before the cheese is added.

While there's no doubt that Costco makes its pizzas quickly, the whole process takes a little longer than three minutes. After the shredded cheese is weighed to an exact amount (14 ounces for pepperoni pizza, 24 ounces for cheese pizza) and spread out over the sauce, an employee puts down pepperoni in a specific 4-3-2-1 triangle pattern. This ensures that each pizza contains the same amount of pepperoni (60 slices per pie). From there, the pizza is put in the oven.

Once the pizzas are baked, a special screen helps employees cut them into six even slices. Whole pies are cut into 12 slices, so each massive sixth-of-a-pizza single slice is the equivalent of two regular-sized pizza slices. While quicker doesn't always mean better with some recipes, Costco pizza is a clear exception. You could try to cook Costco pizza at home, but it just wouldn't be the same. Hungry customers looking for a quick bite don't want to make hard decisions in a food court line, and the warehouse's tried-and-true pizza method ensures an easy decision every time for those craving a slice.