We Tried 10 Different Brands of Whipped Cream and the Winner Tasted Homemade

I typically don’t buy whipped cream unless it’s during the holidays or if I need it to top a slice of pumpkin pie, an ice cream sundae or a mug of hot chocolate. I grew up with a tub of Cool-Whip in my freezer, and we used that for everything from a poke cake to fruit dip.

If you're not a Cool Whip fan or want something a bit different, canned whipped cream is a handy thing to have in the fridge. It lasts a long time and it comes with a built-in nozzle that will help you make fancy professional-looking whipped cream. rosettes.

For a long time, your canned whipped cream options were limited to plain sweetened cream, but in the last few years the category has expanded. Now you can buy dairy or non-dairy canned whipped cream and the number of flavors continues to grow. There are seasonal flavors, like peppermint, caramel and pumpkin spice, but that's just the beginning. In a quick search on Target's website in late November, I pulled up 11 different flavors—salted caramel, pecan pie, two different options of cold foam—all under the store's in-house Favorite Day brand.

So, with options like this, how do you know which can is right for your dessert? To find out, we tested 10 different kinds of canned whipped cream. To keep the playing field level, we stuck with plain whipped creams, but that's still a ton of options.

After 10 spoonfuls, the testing group struggled to rank the top three, but we were able to crown a winner. Read on for all the rich and creamy details and for the final list of the 10 best canned whipped cream brands, ranked from worst to best.

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How We Tested These Cans of Whipped Cream

To find contenders for this taste test, I went to Aldi, Whole Foods, Target, Walmart and Meijer. I looked for store brands as well as nationally available brands. The most common sizes of the cans were 6.5, 7 and 13 ounces, and the prices ranged from about $2 to $4.

I found five store brands, and the remaining five were popular brands not associated with any store in the Chicagoland area. We were looking for a light and fluffy canned whipped cream that we could pair with a big slice of Dutch apple pie or pumpkin pie. It also needed to hold its shape once piped out of the can. On the flavor front, we were looking for whipped cream with an undeniable vanilla flavor and a balanced level of sweetness.

To hide the brand name, I wrapped each can with kraft paper and marked them with a number. I know it’s easy to get biased about certain brands, so this was an adventure for all of us. I called my husband and two kids over to join me in the tasting, which didn't take too much convincing.

With my notebook ready, I sprayed a few tablespoons of each brand into a disposable paper food boat. We tasted the whipped cream options in chronological order and took a few minutes to share our opinion of each. In the battle of the top few, we had to repeat a few bites to make sure that we were all in agreement.

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10 Canned Whipped Cream Brands Ranked Worst to Best

After a round of tasting and a follow-up test to break the tie for first place, we had our final ranking.

10. 365 Whole Foods Market Whipped Topping

This was an easy no for us. It’s labeled as a “whipped topping,” but it’s made with real cream. The sweetness comes from cane sugar and tapioca syrup. Overall, it was too watery and foamy for us. Even after shaking it to try to redistribute the ingredients, the topping fell apart quickly. It tasted ok, and interestingly, there were hints of coconut, so it could be a good choice for pairing with a tropical fruit salad.

9. Cabot Creamery Whipped Cream

Cabot Creamery is a popular dairy and cheese brand that I found at Trader Joe’s. I chose the sweetened light whipped cream that’s “made with real cream, real vanilla and real sugar.” Despite the super-hip, cow-patterned can, we were disappointed by the taste. We actually hated to rank this one so low because it was the thickest of the 9 brands! Even though it was impressively thick, it tasted so buttery and milky (even like buttermilk) that we couldn’t move it higher.

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8. Best Choice Original Whipped Topping

Best Choice grocery products are found in more than 3,400 grocery stores, including Strack & Van Til, Save-a-Lot, Fairway Finer Foods, Pete’s Fresh Market, Piggly Wiggly and Pic N Save. It's mainly found in grocery stores in the Midwest and South. This brand found itself in 7th place because while it smelled and tasted like vanilla extract, it was extremely foamy and had no volume, which isn't what we're looking for in a whipped cream. Considering that water is the second ingredient after heavy cream, the result makes sense.

7. Favorite Day Original Whipped Dairy Topping

Favorite Day is part of Target’s new sweet and savory line. This was a delight to eat because it was very fluffy but not watery. The vanilla was evident (but not overpowering), and it wasn’t overly sweet. The only reason this didn’t rank higher was because there was a slightly bitter aftertaste, and the topping didn’t maintain its volume. Because of that, we fear that it would melt instantly on a lukewarm dessert.

6. Meijer Original Whipped Topping

Interestingly, this canned whipped topping had zero smell, but it had a faint vanilla taste. Despite that, it had a decent thickness with very little foamy breakdown when we ate it. I was ok, but we wished that it were a bit stiffer and sweeter.

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5. Great Value Original Dairy Whipped Topping

You never know what you’ll get with Walmart’s Great Value brand, but the four of us liked the level of sweetness of this option. There was a faint vanilla scent, but it didn’t taste like vanilla (bummer). After about a minute or two, the whipped topping still held its structure. The only drawback was that it tasted too milky (but better than Cabot).

4. Friendly Farms Whipped Dairy Topping

This canned whipped cream is Aldi’s private-label brand. Like many of the other brands, it’s sweetened with sugar and corn syrup. It was a nice balance of sweetness, but it needed more vanilla flavor. On an aesthetic level, the ribbons of whipped cream were really beautiful. The topping had stiff peaks and didn’t melt in my mouth easily (aka not foamy). This is definitely a solid option for dessert decorations. It just needed a bit more flavor.

3. Lucerne Original Whipped Topping

If you’re looking for a light, fluffy and non-foamy canned whipped cream, this might be the one for you. The only drawback was the lack of sweetness and vanilla flavor. Those latter ingredients just needed to be amped up to reach the top spot. This is definitely a solid option, though.

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2. Reddi Wip Dairy Whipped Topping

There’s a reason why this brand is everywhere—it’s a darn good whipped cream. Our testers had to eat several spoonfuls to decide whether Reddi Wip or Dutch Farms should take the top spot. It smelled and tasted like fresh vanilla, wasn’t too sweet, was fluffy and didn’t leave a milky aftertaste. The only reason this came in second place is because of structure. The whipped cream fell apart less than 15 seconds after dispensing.

1. Dutch Farms Original Whipped Topping

Dutch Farms sells a variety of meat, cheese, deli and dairy products through stores like Mariano’s and Albertsons. The brand is headquartered in Chicago and has the widest distribution in the Midwest, but you can also find it in 40 states across the country. What made this brand number one was its smell, taste and stability. The scent wasn’t overpowering, and it didn’t taste overly sweet. It reminded me of a homemade whipped cream made with vanilla beans. We found it to be fluffy, perfectly sweet and able to hold its structure. I could eat this all by itself. Who’s ready for pie? Me, me, me.

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