7 Walmart-Brand Groceries To Avoid, According To Shoppers

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Who hasn't stood in a grocery store aisle comparing ingredients and prices, debating whether it's worth shelling out the extra bucks for a name brand item? Sometimes, when the product is familiar or has emotional significance, the answer might come easily. If you've bought Charmin toilet paper all your life, for example, it might be difficult switching over to a cheaper, private-label brand of questionable quality. 

Walmart has several in-house brands, with two of the largest grocery brands being Great Value and Bettergoods. The latter is a relatively new addition and specializes in higher-end food items, which is perhaps why its products appear to receive fewer customer complaints than Great Value's. Either way, according to shoppers, several products sold under each of these brands are best left on the shelves.

Below, you'll find some of the most notoriously bad store-brand items at Walmart. Because customer product ratings on Walmart's website are generally skewed high (4.5 stars and above), they weren't used as the main benchmark. Instead, this list was curated primarily using customer feedback shared on third-party websites like Reddit and Facebook. You can find more information on methodology at the end of this article.

Whether you have a fever or a stuffy nose, it's natural to turn to soup to support your immune system, helping it fire on all cylinders. Sure, you could throw together a pot of simple chicken noodle soup, but it's probably easier to buy a can from the grocery store if you're feeling under the weather. The question is: which brand should you buy?

When Tasting Table tasted and ranked store-bought chicken noodle soups, the Great Value version received a below-average score. While the broth was very tasty, the near-complete lack of chicken and vegetables was disappointing. Plus, when prepared according to the packaging directions, this soup was too watery. Shoppers generally agree that Great Value soups are not worth the money. Many of the negative reviews critique the high sodium content, but this could be forgiven, considering other brands also tend to add boatloads of sodium to their soups. But the criticism doesn't stop there. One Redditor noted that while they didn't mind the Great Value soup, they preferred the texture of Campbell's, while others lamented Great Value's bland flavor. A few customers even reported finding unappetizing chunks of meat — like chicken skin — in their broth. 

Ultimately, if you don't want to make your own, buying a name brand soup from Walmart is the better choice. Campbell's soup may cost a little more, but it's a reliable option that many shoppers use as an affordable benchmark.

Pasta can be a great no-fuss meal, but if you stir a jar of Great Value pasta sauce into your pot, you might receive some complaints. To be clear, you could get away with using Great Value dry pasta, but you'll want to pick a better pasta sauce brand if deliciousness is your goal.

When made well, spaghetti sauce should taste mildly acidic and slightly sweet from the ripe tomatoes, and have a substantial amount of savory flavor from fresh garlic, onions, and herbs. However, one Redditor shared that while they usually have to pinch their pennies, the Great Value spaghetti sauce was so disappointing that they now spring for name brands, like Ragu or Hunt's. Speaking of pennies, another commenter said that while many Great Value items are comparable to their name brand equivalents, the pasta sauce tastes like the little copper coins. A Walmart employee agreed that despite always trying to save money, the Great Value spaghetti sauce does not have enough merit to make their shopping list.

You can take the risk out of the equation by preparing homemade Italian pasta sauce. Invest just 10 minutes of prep time, and you'll be rewarded with a lip-smacking sauce that can also be batched or frozen — if you don't devour it on the spot, that is.

Once you've become familiar with a few different almond milk brands, it's not hard to distinguish between them in a blind taste test — each tends to have a unique texture and flavor. For example, in our experience, MALK almond milk tastes extraordinarily close to homemade almond milk, while Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze has a watery consistency. So, when Bettergoods Almondmilk came onto the scene a few years ago, it was exciting to see how it measured up against its numerous competitors. 

The product — which comes in original, unsweetened, vanilla, and chocolate varieties — replaced the Great Value almond milk range, which had already received its fair share of bad reviews. According to customer reviews, however, you might be better off sticking to your current brand. As soon as the Bettergoods Almondmilk range was released, some customers began noting that it was not as good as its predecessors, while others believed it was the same milk in different packaging. One Redditor stated that Bettergoods Almondmilk tastes similar to soy milk, and that they couldn't finish the carton. "If I could give this a negative 10, I would," expressed one reviewer on Walmart's website.

Flavor aside, customers also lamented the higher price of Bettergoods almond milk compared to the discontinued Great Value version. If you're already having to cough up the extra cash, you're better off buying name-brand almond milk with a better reputation.

Perfect for parties and late-night munchies, pizza rolls are another one of those foods that are loved by all ages. They're easy to heat, delicious to eat, and a fabulous vehicle for dips and sauces. Based on customer reviews, however, you'd best not pull out your wallet for Great Value pizza rolls. Available in pepperoni and sausage and pepperoni varieties, it seems that Walmart cut too many corners on these.

As one Redditor put it, "The [Great Value] pizza rolls taste like the box they come in." Another was repulsed by their aroma, which they likened to burnt rubber. Meanwhile, on Walmart's website, several customers have complained that the amount of filling was inconsistent, typically ranging between minimal and non-existent.

Some customers are of the opinion that Aldi's Pizza Snacks are a much better alternative due to their larger size, extra crispiness, and better affordability. Meanwhile, others prefer Totino's. Because these rolls have received such a backlash, we recommend following in the footsteps of the Redditor who banned them from their household. Go for one of the aforementioned alternatives, or make easy DIY pizza rolls using store-bought wonton wrappers instead.

There's no two ways about it: Crafting a knock-off candy bar that pleases customers who have been eating the name-brand counterpart for years is tough. How could it be simple, considering many of us are flooded with warm waves of nostalgia when we remember cataloguing our Halloween hauls of Reese's Cups, Snickers, and Butterfingers?

Nevertheless, it's understandable that shoppers on a budget turn to private label alternatives in the hopes of conserving money. Great Value offers a few knock-off versions of popular candy bars, including Kit-Kat, Snickers, Milky Way, and Twix. The first two have received a smattering of praise here and there, but when it comes to the brand's cookie and caramel bars, the general feedback tends to be pretty negative. Meant to serve as an alternative to Twix, they contain several of the same ingredients as the original, such as milk chocolate and wheat flour. But there are also numerous differences; for instance, while Twix bars are sweetened with corn syrup, sugar, and dextrose, Great Value's version contains a concoction of fructose syrup, glycerin, glucose syrup, and sugar.

The distinct recipes result in two noticeably different products. Customers say that the chocolate is a tad underwhelming, while the cookie element has come under fire for being too grainy. Customers are often dissatisfied with the aftertaste, too. While you could enjoy these bars in the name of saving money, do yourself a favor and spring for the real deal every once in a while.

Pop-Tarts are such a sensation that it's easy to forget other toaster pastry brands exist. In fact, while Pop-Tarts is a trademarked name, most customers use it to refer to toaster pastries in general, including Great Value's offering. These breakfast staples (or are they desserts?) cost about a dollar less than Pop-Tarts, but if that price difference doesn't bother you, go ahead and spring for the name brand.

Why? Customers report that Great Value toaster pastries are particularly thick, and while some folks like that, others have pointed out this also makes them much drier. One Redditor said they prefer Great Value toaster pastries as they have more filling, but they seem to be alone in their praise. 

"They taste like cardboard with jelly," summarized a Walmart employee, explaining how they only bought them to save a few dollars. If you do end up with these in your pantry, consider using them to make ice cream sandwiches.

Soup, chili, cream cheese, peanut butter, and oysters have one thing in common — they go splendidly with saltines. Except, perhaps not with Great Value saltine crackers. Sometimes the simplest foods require the most precision and craft because customers detect faults more easily. According to customer reviews, Great Value has missed the mark.

Saltines, otherwise known as soda crackers, capitalize on basic ingredients like white flour, yeast, baking soda, and salt. They are clearly more than a sum of their parts, because while the resulting crackers are dry, crispy, and neutral in flavor, they are the ideal vehicle for all kinds of toppings.

Unfortunately, reviews indicate that Great Value saltines don't hold up well against their competition. One Redditor, who usually prefers buying Great Value products to save money, reported that they nevertheless avoid these saltines. Another said that the quality of these crackers is inconsistent, and when compared to brands like Publix and Market Pantry, reviewers describe Great Value saltines as thin, crumbly, and lackluster in appearance. While you could turn these saltines into savory treats with the help of melted butter and a few spices, you're better off skipping them in the first place.

The products on this list were using customer reviews posted on third-party websites like Reddit and Facebook. While we did examine reviews on Walmart's website, they didn't serve as our first point of reference. Most products on the website are rated 4.5 stars or higher, which made it difficult to ascertain which truly fell short. 

Common reasons that customers recommend avoiding these products include inconsistency, blandness, abnormal aromas, unpleasant aftertastes, and disappointing textures. The quality of some private-brand items is highly debated, with a significant portion of customers swearing by them, even while others despise them, so these were omitted from our list. The quality of some items, like dairy products, may vary from region to region, so these were also excluded.