You're Missing Out On A Totally Free Way To Upgrade Your Costco Pizza

As far as warehouse chain food courts go, Costco's is among the most beloved, with the giant retailer serving up snacks like the $1.50 hot dog combo or $2.50 ice cream sundae. But shoppers absolutely love the Costco pizza, if only for its price (rather than its taste, about which customers are sharply divided). After all, you can purchase the pizza for $1.99 per slice or just $9.95 for an entire 18-incher, a pretty decent price for a whole pie.

The pizzas have seen some variations in the past, like the beloved combo pizza, but ever since pre-pandemic times, the only options have been the two basics: cheese and pepperoni.

Still, humans are nothing if not resourceful, and as soon as club members heard that the chain was bringing back a pre-pandemic topping — the chopped onions for Costco hot dogs — they spotted an opportunity to dress up their pizzas for free. Throwing chopped raw onions on a Costco pizza is a low-effort, no-cost way to enhance its flavor.

The free onions used to be available at the food court via a self-serve hand-cranked metal box, but when the pandemic hit and more extreme safety measures needed to be observed, U.S. Costco locations (at least) did away with them. In 2023, rumors started to abound that they were coming back, and in May of that year, Costco confirmed it was true. However, there was something slightly different about the chopped onions — they were no longer served up via a self-serve box. Now, they're available in little plastic containers with lids that are kept behind the counter, refrigerated.

So how do you obtain the onions for your pizza? When Costco announced their return, it stated the onions would be handed out upon request. So all you have to do is ask the person at the counter, and they'll give them to you for free. More adventurous eaters might also take advantage of other free food court hot dog condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, relish, and, in some locations, sauerkraut. You can top your pizza slice with them or use them as dips.

One user on the r/Costco Reddit thread asked for other users' Costco pizza hacks and, along with "add free onions," they received some pretty genius suggestions. U/OrdinaryBrilliant901 said, "I ask for it uncut and put it in the oven"; u/Breakfastchocolate followed up with, "This and blot the heck out of it to get rid of some oil."

Yes, when you order your pizza you can request they don't use the Costco pizza-cutting contraption to slice it. Take the whole pie home and give it a few extra minutes in your oven. Then, once the crust has reached your desired crispness, you can slice it however you like.

Other users suggested toppings that they have at home, including red pepper flakes or cayenne powder for a little kick, or the chili onion crunch from Trader Joe's. U/Uranium234 dubbed their own creation "kimcheese pizza." It's made by sliding off the cheese, placing kimchi on the crust, and then reapplying the cheese. No matter how you like to doctor up your pie, Costco's free onions are a great upgrade and an excellent starting point for customizing your pizza and making it truly your own.