The Costco Food Court Mashup That's Perfect For Hot Days

Have you ever met a Costco food court hack that you didn't like? From stuffing a hot dog into a chicken bake to rolling a frank inside a slice of pizza, there are an abundance of fun ways to flex your creative muscles and maximize those calories. One such food court mashup that's perfect for hot days is to combine a cup of soda with a scoop of ice cream to make a cooling budget ice cream float.

To make your ice cream float, you'll need to order a cup of vanilla ice cream at the food court, which costs $1.99. Then you're going to order two soda cups at 69 cents each and fill them halfway to ¾ of the way up with your carbonated beverage of choice from the drinks station. The best ice cream and soda pairings for the perfect float are a matter of personal taste, but Coca-Cola is an awesome place to start. Finally, take a spoon and share the ice cream out between the two cups to create a pair of identical ice cream floats. Depending on how much ice cream your server gives you, you could even split it between three sodas to make a trio of floats, costing under $5 in total. Alternatively, seeing as the sodas are refillable, you could eat your way through one float, fill up your cup again, and add in the remaining ice cream for a double serving.

The awesome thing about this Costco hack (aside from its value) is that you can switch your variety of soda to customize your float. Consider trying Sprite or Fanta, or stick to root beer to create a classic spicy and sweet root beer float. You can also order chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla if you prefer or ask for a chocolate ice cream sundae, which includes a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Just bear in mind that the syrup will make your float taste even sweeter when combined with the sugar in the soda.

Another Costco food court hack involving ice cream is to crumble up a $2.49 chocolate chip cookie into your cup and swirl it through. This "cookies and ice cream" combo is delicious and you can try it with both the vanilla and chocolate ice cream on offer. This hack used to feature churros, but Costco eliminated these fried dough sticks from the menu in early 2024, switching them with the cookies. Huge and loaded with heaps of chocolate, Costco's food court cookie is really worth the hype, so give it a try if you haven't ordered one before or go a step further and order two to create an ice cream sandwich.