Costco Just Brought Back a Beloved Comfort Food—But It’s Sparking Controversy

Food is known to bring people together. Whether it's sharing a communal meal with family, making a big pot of soup and taking a container of it to a neighbor, or prepping meals to bring to the new parents in your life, food provides an opportunity to connect with others and spread love. But certain foods can be divisive, from their origins to their acceptable ingredients or uses. 

In the age of social media, that divisiveness has never been more in our faces. Take chili, for example. There are dozens (if not hundreds) of chili recipes here on Allrecipes, and many of them are beloved by our community and highly-rated. Like snowflakes, no two chili recipes are exactly the same. Chili recipes vary from region to region, state to state, and even family to family. Here at Allrecipes, we’re big fans of all chilis.

Yet, some people are very territorial about chili and dig their heels in about what can and can’t be included in the dish. When Costco recently brought back its prepared chili (that’s perfect for these recent brisk fall evenings), some people took to social media to declare that what the warehouse club calls "chili" is not, in fact, authentic chili. 

Should Chili Contain Beans?

This week, when the Costco fan account @Costcohotfinds posted on Instagram that Costco’s seasonal chili had returned in the store's prepared food section, many of the account’s followers were excited. 

“Been waiting for its return!,” one follower exclaimed. “We love their chili! We serve it over rice and our family of 5 eats it for 2 meals,” another wrote. 

The heat-and-eat chili costs $3.50/pound and is full of ground beef, beans, tomato sauce, and seasonings, all topped with shredded cheese. However, the inclusion of beans is what makes it controversial to some people. 

“That's not chili that is bean soup with cheese,” grumbled one commenter. “Real chili has no beans here in Texas,” declared another.

And while it’s true that what’s known as Texas Chili does not typically include beans, it seems silly to assume that no one in Texas is adding beans to their homemade chili. It also seems naive to think that a chain like Costco that caters to the entire country wouldn’t carry a chili that has a little bit of all chili traditions.

As far as we see it, there was just one commenter who had a legitimate gripe—the chili had yet to arrive at their local Costco, despite carrying cornbread.

“They had some killer cornbread in our Costco bakery in MN—but no chili!! JUST WRONG!!!”

We have to agree: chili and cornbread make for a fantastic combination, one that's good enough to unify those on both sides of the chili debate. And if you can get them both on your next Costco run, consider your next dinner decision done.