- As part of an ongoing taste-test series, Insider tested four brands of stuffing.
- We sampled four popular brands that are easily available at most grocery stores: Pepperidge Farm, Kraft, Pacific, and Trader Joe’s.
- In order to get a taste for all the varieties out there, we tried herb-flavored stuffing, as well as cornbread stuffing and gluten-free stuffing.
- We liked Kraft’s stovetop savory herbs stuffing mix the best because it was the easiest to make and was also the most flavorful, moist, and buttery.
Stuffing is one of those Thanksgiving sides that most people wish they ate year-round.
In its simplest form, stuffing is basically seasoned breadcrumbs cooked with lots of butter – who wouldn’t love that?
There’s no shortage of stuffing types to choose from at the grocery store, which is why we put four varieties to the test to see which one tastes the best. The brands we tried include:
- Pepperidge Farm herb seasoned classic stuffing
- Kraft stove top savory herbs stuffing mix
- Trader Joe’s cornbread stuffing mix
- Pacific gluten-free stuffing
If you’re looking for more recommendations for your Thanksgiving dinner, check out some of our other taste tests. We’ve also tried cranberry sauces, pie crusts, canned green beans, and instant mashed potatoes.
Keep reading to see the results of our stuffing experiment.
We tested a few different kinds of stuffing in an effort to get a taste for all the different varieties that are available. We bought all four brands at NYC grocery stores, spending anywhere from $2.99 to $6.99.
We followed all four recipes pretty closely, although we left the onion and celery out of the Pepperidge Farm and Pacific stuffings (the only two brands that called for those ingredients). We did this in the interest of saving time, and wanting to focus solely on the stuffing itself. We also wanted to keep all contenders as equal as possible.
Both Pepperidge Farm and Pacific called for chicken broth — Kraft and Trader Joe's called for water.
We were curious if the broth would make the stuffing more flavorful than the recipe's that just called for water.
For Pepperidge Farm, we brought the broth and some butter to a boil and then added the bread pieces, which absorbed the liquid and turned into stuffing in no time.
It quickly became fluffy and dense in no time.
We loved how quickly Pepperidge Farm's stuffing cooked, but it was immediately apparent that this stuffing could have benefited from a little more moisture and some vegetables.
While we enjoyed this stuffing's overall flavor, we learned that its recipe calls for onions and celery for a reason. Without these add-ins, it feels like something is missing. You feel like you're eating bread that has the texture of stuffing instead of actual stuffing.
Had we followed the directions and included the vegetables, we probably would not have had that complaint. However, we did feel like this stuffing could have used a little more chicken broth. It was slightly dry.
Price: $2.99
Pacific's stuffing mix looked different than the three others we sampled. Instead of the smaller bread pieces, this mix was made of larger croutons.
The crouton-like bread had us questioning if this stuffing would end up moist or hard.
The butter and broth mixture we cooked the croutons in was similar to what we used to cook the Pepperidge Farm stuffing, but Pacific's stuffing took significantly longer.
Even after simmering the stuffing for the required 10 to 15 minutes, it still looked fairly liquidy. Once we removed it from the heat and let it sit though, it started to look more like stuffing.
Pacific's instructions required us to heat the broth and butter to just under a boil, then pour that mixture over the croutons and simmer with the lid on for 10 to 15 minutes. After the croutons finished cooking, we had to stir them gently, remove the pot from the heat, and let it sit until all the liquid had been incorporated.
It was hard to know when the stuffing had been "cooked," though. After 15 minutes, there was still a fair amount of liquid in the pot, so we left the mixture on for a few minutes longer.
After sitting for a while, the stuffing finally absorbed most of the liquid — but the original croutons still retained their general shape, meaning that the mixture never achieved the mashed texture that most people expect of stuffing.
This stuffing had a strong herb flavor to it, most notably that of rosemary. And while this isn't exactly a bad thing, we would have liked the flavor to be a little more subtle.
It is worth noting that had we not known this stuffing was gluten-free, we wouldn't have been able to guess that from its taste. It didn't taste fake; in fact, it had a very authentic bread texture. That said, we still would have liked this stuffing better if it had been more mashed as opposed to chunky.
Price: $6.99
Trader Joe's stuffing was the only kind that came with a packet of seasoning. We added this packet to a mix of water and butter...
The seasoning mix smelled festive and strong right off the bat.
... and then added the actual stuffing.
It also appeared more crouton-like than bread.
After bringing the seasoning, butter, and water to a boil, we removed the pot from the heat and folded in the bread pieces. It turned into stuffing almost immediately.
We didn't get the cornbread taste we were expecting from this stuffing. Instead it tasted somewhat bland and a little like celery.
Considering this is cornbread stuffing, we thought it would be sweet and would have a bold corn flavor. The stuffing had neither of those, though. It was pretty underwhelming; flavor-wise it tasted like something was missing.
Its texture was spot on, though.
Price: $3.99
The instructions for Kraft's stove top stuffing were almost identical to Trader Joe's — minus the seasoning mix.
We poured the entire package in and waited patiently.
Unlike Pepperidge Farm, Kraft didn't call for chicken broth, which made this brand one of the easiest to make. After boiling butter and water and adding the bread pieces, the stuffing came together in a minute.
This recipe is perfect for anyone who isn't very experienced in the kitchen. It was simple and definitely easy.
You'd never know that this stuffing is only made with water and butter. It was by far the most flavorful out of all the brands we sampled, and it was particularly moist and buttery.
Admittedly, we were skeptical of this stuffing. We thought it wouldn't taste like the real thing, but we couldn't have been more wrong. Had we eaten this at a Thanksgiving table, we wouldn't have guessed it came from a box.
The savory herb flavor was strong - but not too strong - and unlike the Pepperidge Farm stuffing, this one didn't need any additional veggies or moisture. It was delicious as is.
Price: $2.99
We were pleasantly surprised by Kraft's stove top stuffing. It didn't require any cooking skill or additional ingredients (besides butter and water) to make, and it tasted the best.
If you're looking for a stuffing that tastes homemade but doesn't require a ton of work, Kraft is your answer. It was classic, easy, and definitely had the best flavor. When it comes to Thanksgiving cooking, this is the best choice that the entire family will love.
