Costco has a new SPAM variety pack on shelves, and this one is a lot more interesting than another bulk box of Classic.
The limited-edition 8-pack is currently $27.99 at many Costco warehouses, although we’ve seen prices as high as $28.99 depending on location. Inside are two 12-ounce cans each of Teriyaki, Hickory Smoke, SPAM with Real HORMEL Bacon, and Gochujang. At $27.99, that works out to about $3.50 per can.
The flavors themselves aren’t all brand-new, and that’s actually useful here. They’ve been around long enough for shoppers to have opinions — sometimes very different ones. We dug through taste tests, ratings and Costco shopper discussions to get a better idea of what you’re actually getting before committing to six pounds of flavored SPAM.
Price: $27.99–$28.99
Size: 8 x 12-ounce cans
Price Per Can: About $3.50–$3.62
Costco Item #: 2063705
What’s Inside: 2 cans of each flavor
Availability: Limited time, while supplies last
Here’s what stood out.
1. SPAM Teriyaki
What It Tastes Like: Sweet, salty and soy-forward, especially once it’s browned.
Teriyaki sounds like the safest flavor in the box, but this turned out to be one of the more interesting ones to research because people don’t agree on it.
Some professional tasters have knocked it for being too sweet or having a softer texture than Classic SPAM. Others came away with almost the opposite opinion. In a more recent taste test, the teriyaki flavor became noticeably stronger once the meat was seared, with enough savory flavor underneath the sweetness to keep it balanced.
Regular shoppers seem considerably more enthusiastic. Teriyaki SPAM has accumulated hundreds of consumer reviews with strong overall ratings, and musubi comes up repeatedly as one of the best ways to use it.
That makes sense. SPAM’s own ingredient list includes soy sauce powder, and even the brand specifically points shoppers toward using this variety for musubi.
How We’d Use It: Cut it into relatively thin slices and let them get properly browned. Those caramelized edges should work much better with the sweeter seasoning than thick, lightly cooked pieces.
Best For: Musubi, rice bowls and fried rice.
Worth Trying? Yes. Just don’t judge this one cold out of the can. Everything we found points toward Teriyaki being considerably better after a good sear.
2. SPAM Hickory Smoke
What It Tastes Like: Familiar SPAM with an extra smoky, almost breakfast-ham character.
Hickory Smoke doesn’t stray nearly as far from Classic as Teriyaki or Gochujang, and that may actually be its biggest advantage.
The ingredient list is fairly straightforward: pork with ham, chicken and hickory smoke flavoring. What gets interesting is how differently people perceive that smoke.
Some professional reviewers think there isn’t enough of it. One recent tasting found the hickory note fairly subtle and ultimately a little underwhelming. Other tasters have gone in the opposite direction and found the smoke much more dominant.
Shoppers, however, seem to like this variety considerably more than some critics do. Consumer reviews frequently pair it with eggs, toast and other breakfast foods, which feels like exactly the right lane for it.
The important thing is setting expectations. Don’t open the can expecting something that tastes like pork coming out of a backyard smoker. It’s still unmistakably SPAM — just pushed in a smokier direction.
How We’d Use It: Slice it thin, fry it until the edges crisp and treat it like breakfast meat.
Best For: Eggs, breakfast sandwiches, hash and grilled sandwiches.
Worth Trying? If you already like Classic SPAM, probably. This feels like the least adventurous jump in the box.
3. SPAM with Real HORMEL Bacon
What It Tastes Like: Classic SPAM with extra savory richness and a subtle bacon note.
Of all four cans, Bacon sounds like the one that needs the least explanation. SPAM plus bacon seems pretty self-explanatory.
There is one thing worth knowing, though: there really is bacon in it.
The recipe contains cured bacon along with rendered bacon fat, so this isn’t simply regular SPAM sprinkled with artificial bacon flavor.
Just don’t expect it to suddenly taste like a crispy strip of bacon.
That distinction comes up in reviews. The familiar salty SPAM flavor is still doing most of the work, while bacon adds another layer in the background. Some tasters have actually wished the bacon came through more strongly.
Consumers seem much less bothered by that distinction. This variety has built up thousands of shopper ratings with overwhelmingly positive feedback, and people use it for everything from eggs and breakfast sandwiches to fried rice and musubi.
Of the four flavors Costco chose, this is probably the easiest one to figure out.
How We’d Use It: Thin slices, cooked until properly crisp, then tucked into an egg sandwich. If there’s one variety in this box begging for breakfast, this is it.
Best For: Breakfast sandwiches, eggs, fried rice and ramen.
Worth Trying? Yes. This looks like the safest crowd-pleaser of the four, particularly if the more unusual flavors aren’t normally your thing.
4. SPAM Gochujang
What It Tastes Like: Sweet, savory and mildly spicy with a fermented edge — but much gentler than actual gochujang.
This is the can we’d open first.
Not necessarily because it’s guaranteed to be the best, but because Gochujang is easily the most interesting flavor in Costco’s box.
SPAM describes it as combining spicy, sweet, salty and umami notes inspired by Korean cuisine. The company has previously sold Gochujang SPAM by the eight-pack at Costco, which means there’s also a decent trail of actual Costco shopper feedback to dig through.
And shoppers are divided.
Fans describe it as mildly sweet with subtle soy and gochujang flavors. One Costco shopper specifically recommended cubing it, air-frying it and serving it with rice and eggs. Other fans use it for fried rice, ramen and musubi.
Then there’s the other camp.
Some Costco shoppers have complained that it isn’t particularly spicy, the gochujang flavor isn’t strong enough and the texture can feel softer than regular SPAM after pan-frying.
Professional tasters have noticed something similar. Rather than tasting like a spoonful of bold Korean chile paste, some pick up more of a tangy, fermented character.
That’s probably the most important thing to know before trying it.
If you’re expecting fiery, funky gochujang in every bite, you might be disappointed. If you’re expecting SPAM first with some sweetness, chile and Korean-inspired seasoning behind it, the flavor makes considerably more sense.
How We’d Use It: Cube it or cut it thin, get plenty of browning on the outside, then pair it with rice, eggs, kimchi or fried rice.
Best For: Rice bowls, musubi, ramen, eggs and fried rice.
Worth Trying? Definitely — but this is the wildcard. You’ll probably know after the first few bites which side of the Gochujang SPAM debate you’re on.
So, Is Costco’s $27.99 SPAM Variety Pack Worth It?
For $27.99, you’re getting eight full-size cans — two each of four flavors — which comes to roughly $3.50 per can.
More importantly, Costco picked four varieties that are different enough that this doesn’t feel like eight cans of essentially the same thing.
Bacon is probably the safest place to start. Hickory Smoke stays closest to familiar SPAM territory. Teriyaki makes the most immediate sense with rice and musubi. And Gochujang is the wildcard we’d be most curious to try.
Don’t expect all four to be universal winners. That’s actually what makes this pack interesting. Existing taste tests and shopper reviews disagree quite a bit — particularly when it comes to Teriyaki and Gochujang.
Buying eight cans of one experimental flavor is a commitment. Getting two cans each of four different ones for $27.99 is a much easier way to find out which one deserves a permanent spot in the pantry.
Just don’t wait too long if you want to try it. The Costco-exclusive SPAM Variety Pack, item #2063705, is a limited-time release, and SPAM says availability will vary by warehouse while supplies last.
