4 Store-Bought Burger Brands To Grab And 2 To Avoid

The great thing about burgers is that you can eat them year-round. Sure, they certainly feel like a summer staple that you grill outside, but you can cook them in a pan in the dead of winter, too. That's why store-bought brands are so convenient to keep on hand. Pop them in the freezer until you're ready to eat. However, with the rising cost of beef, you might not feel like buying any ol' brand to test it out. After all, there's always a chance it has major flaws in flavor and texture. 

We went through past Tasting Table taste tests, articles, and other reviews to point out the brands worth adding to your cart and the ones that should stay exactly where they are. The ones to buy have a drool-worthy beefy taste, juicy, even textures, and generally seem high-quality, with minimal ingredients. The avoidable picks, though, have some major problems that no amount of condiments, buns, and toppings could cure; you won't want to waste money on them.

Aldi has a range of reliable options, from affordable, healthy snacks to prepared foods to snag out of the fridge. However, the Unseasoned Cattlemen's Ranch Black Angus are among the best foods at the discount store — not just that, but they are among the best store-bought hamburgers, too. They have an incredibly rich, beefy taste without any filler ingredients that would distract from the flavor – Black Angus ground beef is the lone ingredient here. Each pack comes with six burgers, totaling 2 pounds of meat with 19 grams of protein per burger, and yet the slender box means it doesn't take up much space in the freezer. 

It's a delicious staple that you can enhance however you want, whether that's with basic salt, a full grill seasoning blend, or nothing at all. These were deemed the best frozen beef burgers in a previous taste test, where our writer called them an "instant winner, outshining the rest." They are considered dependable, almost diner-like burgers with a perfect texture that doesn't seem overworked or rubbery. They don't curl or shrink much, so it still feels like you're getting a hearty portion. These are worth a trip to Aldi alone, but we're sure you'll find other amazing options to pop in the shopping cart while you're there.

If you have more space in your freezer or plan to cook for a larger family or crowd, then Kirkland Signature Ground Beef Patties are a must-have. They're a fantastic option when you want high-protein frozen food with 24 grams of protein per burger — and the 6-pound pack comes with 18 burgers to ensure you'll be set for protein for a while. They are made solely from ground beef, so you can season them as desired. The beef is 75% lean and 25% fat, which offers a rich mouthfeel in every bite. 

The Kirkland patties are thin enough to help them cook evenly, and have a homemade quality that makes them perfect to pop on the grill or stove. To some, the specific patties in the blue bag have been deemed the best burgers Costco offers, beating the ground sirloin and grass-fed patties. "Best tasting by far ground beef patties," said one Redditor in a post that amassed over 1,000 upvotes and many people commenting their agreements. Another person chimed in that they grill daily and wholeheartedly agree. Look out for them on your next Costco run.

Flanders Classic Beef Patties were the last-place meat in the aforementioned frozen burger ranking because they had a seemingly endless list of problems. Each 4-pound pack has 16 burgers, but you won't be able to finish them. To start, the aroma from the seasonings is particularly strong; some say the burger smells like burnt plastic when you take it out of the packaging. Then, the added ingredients give the patties a dubious texture, which our writer said reminded them of salmon or crab cakes. The burgers might look fine after cooking, but they are very delicate and can't stay together. 

The textured soy flour takes away the classic chew you'd get from the beef; they essentially just fall apart as you bite into them, and each burger only has 17 grams of protein. They also contain beef hearts, which can be fine alone, but one Redditor explains it best: "Beef hearts are good when properly prepared, but not really the kind of flavor I would want from a burger." Our writer said they couldn't even eat it because it suffered from too many major issues, and the sentiment is mirrored on Reddit, where they were called an "abomination" and "nasty." Other reviews say they're gross, with an almost rancid taste, and wouldn't even feed them to their dogs. It's safest just to avoid them entirely.

If you want a flatter, thinner patty, then the Smashed Original Bubba Burger is worth a spot in your cart. The brand easily came in first in a smash burger taste test because of the incredible beef taste. The burger cooked up wonderfully because of the quality USDA Choice chuck and thin patties with even scoring all the way across; the exterior develops a complex, caramelized, almost nutty profile, while the interior remains perfectly juicy. The USDA Choice chuck beef is the only ingredient, so every bite brings beef and beef alone; it doesn't need a bunch of added ingredients to make it taste good. 

Other reviews rate it 5 out of 5 for good taste and quality, while people call out the amazing flavor and love the smashed burger's thinness because it cooks easily. People think they're some of the best burgers out there, or are their go-tos. The 2-pound package has eight patties, so they're lighter than the previous ones we've talked about, but that's expected since they are thin. Just note that they have a slightly square appearance, though that doesn't impact the exceptional flavors.

Grab a box of Holten's Chop House Certified Angus Beef Steak Burgers when you want a store-bought burger that could pass as homemade. They are absolutely loaded with flavor, partly thanks to the beef itself, but there are also some basic seasonings for convenience. You'll find certified Angus beef, salt, black pepper, and natural flavor, but nothing that interferes with the overall taste of the meat. These patties are ideal to pair with toppings if you want to load up on burger essentials like tomato, onion, and lettuce — or perhaps a jammy fried egg with loads of cheese.

Other reviews share that they are the most amazing burgers they've had or that they'd never have guessed they were frozen because they seem farm-fresh — that's about as high a compliment you can get. Some point out that they are consistently juicy and tender, so you know you can rely on them. They stack up similarly to Cattlemen's Ranch with 2 pounds of meat and six patties, but they have 27 grams of protein each.

We love Publix, don't get us wrong. Many of its bakery items are phenomenal, and there are plenty of outstanding options that first-timers need to try. But the Publix All Natural Beef Patties are not worth purchasing. The texture and overall quality are very poor; they have a tough exterior but are mushy on the inside. Worse yet, there might be bone fragments in your patty (at least that was the case for our writer). Unlike the Flanders burger, where the ingredients play a big part in why the burger was subpar, Publix uses 100% beef-only patties. 

However, multiple burgers in the box of eight had these issues, so it wasn't a one-burger problem. Previous reviewers didn't have as bad an experience, but mentioned there's a slight funkiness to the burger flavor, almost like it's dry-aged. They noted that it's okay, but not among the best – Sam's Club and Costco's Kirkland burgers were considered better, so you might as well go to one of those stores instead. One box has eight patties with 2 pounds of meat, so the 24 grams of protein makes sense for a quarter-pounder. The risk of getting bone bits isn't worth it, though, so just avoid getting these.

We consulted previous Tasting Table articles and taste tests, and other public reviews to identify the best burgers from the worst. The ones worth buying ranked very high in a previous ranking (or were positively mentioned in a roundup article) and were praised for their deep flavor, excellent texture, and overall quality. 

The ones to avoid suffer from one or more of those qualities and are therefore ranked very low or last by our writers. We back up the writer's findings and opinions with other reviews and online sentiment. We mention weight, number of patties, and protein per patty to help you compare and determine whether it's something that fits into your nutritional needs.