Walmart Brand vs. Name Brand Taste Test (13 Great Value Foods Win!)
We pinned the Walmart Great Value brand against name brand onlinepetitors – the taste results are in!
How great does Walmart’s Great Value brand really taste? 🤔 😋
If you’ve ever reached for Walmart Great Value brand when you were in a pinch and were pleasantly surprised by the taste, we see you. And you’re not the only one! 🙋♀️
No matter how onlineforted we are by household names such as Pillsbury, Nabisco, DiGiornio, and more, sometimes, you just can’t beat that OBVIOUS 50% or higher price difference that’s staring you in the face.
Not to mention, we shared some of the best tips to beat rising food prices, and save money on your grocery bill, and quite frankly, shopping the NON-name brand is one of the easiest to-do’s!
But, like anything else, surely not all of Walmart Great Value brand products are worth sacrificing your taste buds for, so my family and I did a thorough test to see how some of Great Value’s most popular snacks, beverages, condiments, and frozen treats stacked up against name-brand onlinepetitors!
See how your favorite Great Value brand foods fared (#9 will shock you! 😉):
AND, spoiler alert! You’ll shave a nice $18.42 off your next Walmart bill if you stick to our Great Value winners!
1. Great Value Cheese Puffs vs. Cheetos Cheese Puffs
Winner: Great Value Cheese Puffs
- Great Value Cheese Puffs 13.5oz bag $3.12
- Cheetos Cheese Puffs 13.5oz bag $4.48 (regularly $4.98)
Total Great Value savings: $1.36!
Oh Cheetos, it seems you’re NOT the big cheese anymore! Cheetos has such a well-known and distinct taste, would you believe that anyone would choose some knockoff over the real thing??
It’s true. Besides the distinct difference in size, 5/5 family members could barely tell the difference or actually preferred the taste of Great Value cheese puffs! (I did a blindfold test on all 5 of us on our most recent road trip.) So the next time you’re planning for a long drive across the country, spare yourself a few bucks and grab a big bag of Great Value cheese puffs for snacking instead!
And, we’re not the only ones! Several of Collin’s family members actually chose Great Value brand cheese puffs over classic Cheetos as well!
2. Great Value Frosted Brown Sugar Toaster Pastries vs. Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts Brown Sugar
Winner: Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts
- Great Value Frosted Brown Sugar Toaster Pastries 6-Count $1 (17¢ per pastry)
- Pop-Tarts Brown Sugar Cinnamon Toaster Pastries 8-Count $2.56 (32¢ per pastry)
Unfortunately, when reaching for this quick breakfast treat, you’re gonna want to spend the extra cash on the real thing – Kellogg’s original Pop-Tarts brand was the clear winner!
Even my kiddos who almost never eat Pop-Tarts could immediately tell that Great Value toaster pastries had a distinct artificial-y taste, that was quite frankly, just plain gross. 😝
Not to mention the lack of icing and weird ‘spotting’ on the pastry just gave it a less-than-appealing look. If you’re gonna indulge in some empty calories, you might as well enjoy it, so go ahead and reach for the real thing!
3. Great Value Chocolate Pudding vs. Snack-Pack Chocolate Pudding
Winner: Great Value Chocolate Pudding
Total Great Value savings: 9¢!
Chocolate is chocolate. Pudding is pudding and Great Value certainly didn’t disappoint in the flavor of this childhood favorite. Although it doesn’t seem like a huge price difference, if you’re making a cute classroom snack, hosting a party, or bringing after snacks for the soccer team, these small savings would definitely add up!
4. Great Value Classic Chippers vs. Chips Ahoy
Winner: Great Value Chippers
- Great Value Classic Chippers 13oz $2.08
- Nabisco Chips Ahoy! Original Chocolate Chip Cookies 13oz $3.88
Total Great Value savings: $1.80!
Got an uponlineing picnic? Save yourself a little over a buck and switch out the classic Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies for Great Value Chippers and they’ll never notice! 😉
Almost identical in size and chocolate chip count, Great Value chocolate chip cookies were also equally as crunchy and sweet! 😋 Unlike the uponlineing disappointment, you should totally grab these for school lunches, picnics, and other large gatherings.
5. Great Value Twist & Shout Cookies vs. OREO Cookies
Winner: Nabisco OREOS Sandwich Cookies
Unfortunately, if you value the can’t-have-just-one taste of an OREO, you’ll have to skip Great Value and pay the over-one-dollar difference! Great Value Twist & Shout Sandwich Cookies just scream school cafeteria food for me and didn’t even onlinee close to the classic OREO taste. 😝
NONE of my three kiddos, spouse, or I could even finish the entire cookie, so do yourself a favor and don’t try to skimp on this one – or you might just waste more money not eating the pack of cookies at all!
6. Great Value Creamy Peanut Butter vs Skippy Peanut Butter
Winner: Great Value Creamy Peanut Butter
Total Great Value savings: 78¢!
Ever wonder if it’s even possible to mess up delicious peanut butter? Well, rest assured, Great Value surely doesn’t! 😋
BIG peanut butter fans as we are, none of the 6 family members that tried both could tell the difference! 🙌🏼
After the one-spoon test and spreading the peanut butter on a banana, the verdict was unanimous: Great Value creamy peanut butter was nearly identical in taste, texture, spreadability, and consistency!
AND, while the less than $1 savings might not convince you to abandon the Skippy you know and love, Great Value actually has fewer calories, less saturated fat, and lower sodium per serving! 🏆
7. Great Value Hazelnut Spread vs Nutella Spread
Winner: Great Value Hazelnut Spread
Total Great Value savings: $1.26!
If you thought nothing could replace the hazelnutty goodness of Nutella, Great Value Hazelnut Spread will surprise you in the tastiest way! 🍫 AND, it will save you a whopping $1.26!
This taste is SO spot-on, your tastebuds won’t know the difference! It has the same smooth texture you expect from creamy Nutella and that not-too-sweet hazelnutty flavor!
8. Great Value Honey Nut O’s vs. Honey Nut Cheerios
Winner: TIE!
Total Great Value savings: $2.14!
Throughout this taste test, if the two brands were almost identical in taste, we have been selecting Great Value as the winner, obviously, to save you the most 💰!
HOWEVER, in this case, while the Great Value Honey Nut cheerios didn’t necessarily taste better, or the same, they tasted yummy, just like regular cheerios (ya know, the original toasted oat ones). So, in that case, we think it’s worth it to save OVER $2 on classic cereal kids know and love, that’s still pretty tasty! 🙌🏼
9. Great Value Frosted Flakes Cereal vs. Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Cereal
Winner: Great Value Frosted Flakes
Total Great Value savings: $2.10!
By far the biggest shocker throughout this entire taste test was Great Value Frosted Flakes Cereal! 🤯 Without hesitation, both my 21-year-old brother and dad, who have clearly had many-a bowls of Frosted Flakes in their lifetime, admitted GV’s actually tasted better and sweeter!
My kiddos then continued to devour a few bowls and, when given the choice, picked GV’s over the real Frosted Flakes, making this cereal a clear favorite out of the entire Great Value brand foods we tested! 🏆
10. Great Value Mac n’ Cheese vs. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
Winner: Great Value Original Macaroni & Cheese
Total Great Value savings: 57¢!
As you can see by the near-identical images above, Great Value does it again! 👏🏼 The noodles were basically the same in size and shape, generously cheesy, and totally had my kids (& me fooled)!
This is a HUGE deal as you can buy two of the GV boxes for less than the price of just one Kraft box- stock up!
11. Great Value Cheese Frozen Pizza vs DiGiorno Cheese Frozen Pizza
Winner: Great Value Cheese Frozen Pizza
- Great Value Rising Crust Frozen Cheese Pizza 27.5oz $3.98
- DiGiorno Four Cheese Rising Crust Pizza 28.2oz $6.92
Total Great Value savings: $2.94!
Pizza fans, rejoice! 🙌🏼 🍕
I was probably the MOST skeptical that Great Value brand could stack up to my picky-pizza-loving-kiddos’ tastebuds, but it ended up being all the melted cheesy heaven we could ask for 🧀
Even the box has you fooled with that DiGiornio melted cheese trying to persuade you, but while the Great Value box cover might not be as impressive, the taste stands up to the onlinepetition!
In fact, the DiGiorno brand even browned a little more than Great Value (which surprised me).
With each bite, I just couldn’t believe that the DiGiorno name we know & love to be cheaper than delivery pizza it’s still almost $7 – for frozen pizza! 😱 Now that I can confirm Great Value bakes up to perfection and tastes just as good, I will definitely be scoring that almost $3 savings every time!
12. Great Value Flaky Biscuits vs Pillsbury Grands! Flaky Layers Original Biscuits
Winner: Great Value Flaky Biscuits
- Great Value Flaky Biscuits 8-Count $1.78
- Pillsbury Grands! Flaky Layers Original Biscuits 8-Count $2.98
Total Great Value savings: $1.20!
It was no surprise that Great Value Flaky Biscuits would win over our official taste test as we often reach for these to save a few bucks onlinee dinnertime!
And, even while these biscuits may look less fluffy before you bake them, they onlinee out almost identical in size and thickness, and are perfectly golden… don’t’cha think?
Great Value Flaky biscuits in butter flavor are absolutely delicious and you won’t be disappointed to save a whopping $1.20 per can!
Need an easy weeknight dinner idea? We used these biscuits to make Lina’s super-easy 4-ingredient Mini Chicken Pot Pies! 😋
13. Great Value Cinnamon Rolls vs. Pillsbury Grands! Cinnamon Rolls
Winner: Great Value Original Cinnamon Rolls
- Great Value Original Cinnamon Rolls w/ Icing 8-Count $2.18
- Pillsbury Grands! Cinnamon Rolls w/ Icing 8-Count $3.68
Total Great Value savings: $1.50!
In my 29 years of life, I would have never imagined that anyone could outdo Pillsbury… but here we are.
My honest-to-goodness truth: Great Value Cinnamon Rolls are actually better.
I don’t know when Pillsbury stopped making their cinnamon rolls NOT in a swirl shape, so there’s that. But I was excited to see Great Value’s rolls in a traditional swirl. (These pulled apart more easily which added to the yummy taste IMO).
And then there’s the icing – another genius Great Value win! The GV icing actually onlinees in a pouch that you can squeeze rather than the classic ‘bowl’ we’re used to from Pillsbury.
Lastly, I would even venture to say the GV rolls were sweeter with more of a cinnamon taste. My kids and I were bummed when there was only one left to eat, and it was Pillsbury. 😂
14. Great Value Apple Juice vs. Tree Top Apple Juice
Winner: Great Value Apple Juice
Total Great Value savings: $1.30!
If your kids are anything like mine and go through juice like it’s nobody’s business 😆, you’ll want to save any way you can (going through a jug a week definitely adds up)! And, Great Value Apple Juice is definitely the answer!
Most of us who sampled couldn’t tell the difference in taste, and my daughter, once again, chose Great Value over classic Tree Top! AND, since they are almost identical in color, you can totally serve up this juice on its own and no one would be the wiser! 😉 Thank you, Great Value!
15. Great Value Garlic Knots vs New York Bakery Garlic Knots
Winner: Great Value Garlic Knots
Total Great Value savings: 90¢!
How irresistible are these garlic knots? If you’re like my family and can’t have just one, don’t bother paying almost a whole dollar more for the brand you’re used to! 😱
Grab this Great Value option instead and you can wolf down as many as you like and not think twice about the cost. They were almost identical in size and just as garlic-buttery as you’d expect!
Did any of our Great Value picks surprise you? How about that $18.42 in savings?! 🔥😱 We’d love to know what Great Value food items you love too!
Looking for ways to save at the liquor store, too? Check out these clever tips!
