The Ultimate Ranking Of Canned Biscuit Brands

Obviously a super fresh homemade buttermilk biscuit is ideal, but canned biscuits still have a time and place. The variety of canned biscuits currently sitting on refrigerated shelves is intense. The nuances are absolutely wild, and not just between the different biscuit brands. The same biscuit dynasty can have various versions of the beloved Southern carb. There's butter, buttermilk, honey butter, Southern homestyle original, and more. That's not the only difference between the various canned biscuits. They also come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. In addition to the traditional buttermilk biscuit, there are jumbos, minis, regular and flaky layers.

Many of them look the same on a plate, but after going through nine types, I can assure you there is a canned biscuit hierarchy. Regardless of the brand, style, or flavor of biscuit you choose, there's no denying that the signature pop of the tube when it opens to reveal the pre-shaped dough is delightful. Straight from the oven with a pat of butter is never a bad decision either. During my hard hitting journalistic research I uncovered an entire catalog of things I never thought to do with canned biscuit dough. There are cobblers, stuffed biscuits, casseroles, bread puddings, pizza bombs, and so many drool worthy creations. Join me for a tour through nine different canned biscuits and I'll give you the low down, from worst to best, of every single bite.

Walmart's Great Value has its very own family full of canned biscuits in the refrigerated section of its stores. Pretty much the only good news about Walmart's Great Value Regular Buttermilk Biscuits is they are adorably sized. Unfortunately, they look like sad little biscuits that need a hug, and there's nothing biscuity about them. While good things do sometimes come in small packages, this is certainly not one of those times. Biscuits, at least good ones, typically come with a rich, comforting, buttery flavor. They are satisfying and just as good eaten plain as they are topped or dipped. Some are better than others, but the Great Value Buttermilk Biscuits are a hard pass for me. 

I do like that the smaller size has the potential to be the perfect little Southern biscuit bite. However, these just don't have a distinct flavor that would make me buy them again. They are also dry and don't have the soft and doughy texture that makes a proper biscuit so special. The best way to explain the Great Value Buttermilk Biscuit experience is that they resemble one of those stingy mediocre dinner rolls you'd likely get at a chain restaurant. You know, the kind of establishment that has carpeting throughout the entire dining room with servers walking around slinging desserts and serenading you with a loud and showy birthday song. That whole meal starts with an unmemorable roll that has an uncanny resemblance to the Great Value Canned Buttermilk Biscuit.

Similar to their tiny counterparts, the Great Value Butter Flavor Flaky Jumbo Biscuits leave much to be desired when you are craving some good old Southern comfort to go with your meal. They are also much too dinner roll-like and not the good kind of dinner rolls either. Everything about them is super generic and disappointing. I was holding out hope that the flaky recipe would prove me wrong about the Great Value brand biscuits in general. They didn't. I wish these emerged from the oven with even a sign of an elegant biscuit finish. Instead they were simply too tough. There's something graceful about the texture of a Southern biscuit and this is not it.

The Great Value jumbos are boring at best and the promise of flaky layers is a flop. The best part about biscuits with layers is peeling off each delectable piece and being sad when it's over. The layers of the Great Value canned biscuits don't pull apart as easily as with other brands. If I'm gonna fight for my life, it's not going to be over splitting apart the layers of a Great Value Flaky Jumbo Biscuit. While these larger canned biscuits are not as dry as the regulars, they are not much better either. The only reason they made it ahead of the Great Value Buttermilk Biscuits is because the butter component gives them a slight advantage. Don't get too excited though because that isn't saying much.

If you are already completely confused, so am I. As I mentioned, there are so many slight subtleties between all of the canned biscuit varieties. Sometimes it's the difference of one word in the name. Not to be mistaken for the Flaky Butter Jumbo Biscuit, we are on to the Great Value Flaky Jumbo Buttermilk Biscuits. By the time I got to this part of the canned biscuit ranking, I had to recheck the other cans to make sure that I wasn't losing my mind. The buttermilk variety is still plagued with the same layer issue as the flaky butter jumbos. They are on the dry side with their Great Value biscuit peers and do not detach gracefully.

I also noticed that this particular Great Value biscuit does not cook as evenly as the others. Even though I followed the directions like my life depended on it, this was the only canned biscuit that came out of the oven slightly overdone for no good reason. The cook alone was enough to make it stand out from the pack of biscuits, and not in a positive light. The biscuit portion is standard and basically what you would expect from a buttermilk biscuit, but that's it. Usually buttermilk biscuits come with a richer flavor making it hard to grab just one from the pile, so I think Great Value must have missed the memo. You can skip these and you won't miss out.

Another Great Value Biscuit, another let down. Again, you are not seeing things, this is another variety of the same brand's biscuit that is barely discernible from the rest. Like Groundhog Day but make it about grocery chain canned biscuits. The Walmart version of butter flavored jumbo biscuits sadly, but I suppose unsurprisingly, has many of the same issues as its Great Value counterparts. Unfortunately, these carry the hard to ignore Great Value biscuit trait of being generally lackluster in every way. I'm not sure what is going on in the Great Value biscuit division, but please fix it.

The biggest visual difference with this canned biscuit iteration is that you can actually see the pockets of yellow butter flavoring throughout the entire body of the biscuit. I was anticipating sinking my teeth into a delicious biscuit dripping with flavor but was fooled once again by appearances. It's a tale as old as time of the old biscuit bait and switch. Just because it looks like a delicious craveable biscuit doesn't mean it tastes like one. There was no abundance of butter, which is a universal hallmark of a respectable biscuit, canned or otherwise. Once again Great Value delivers another biscuit that's way too bland. The overall texture is decent but only compared to the others already ranked. At the end of this canned biscuit saga, the Great Value Butter Flavor Jumbo Biscuits are nothing to write home about.

If you have not already given up hope on the state of canned biscuits, we are finally making our way into better territory. It's no secret that Pillsbury is the canned biscuit darling. After a trail of repeated disappointment left by all of the Great Value biscuit options, the tides finally took a turn. The way I was genuinely excited for this first Pillsbury biscuit cannot be emphasized enough. Pillsbury Grands Flaky Layers Honey Butter Biscuits appear to have major game. They're a standout canned biscuit option since the honey butter touch is a nice departure from regular butter or buttermilk. A flavor profile shift could not have come at a better time in this canned biscuit ranking.

The bad news is that after so many biscuit fails, I think I built the Pillsbury Honey Butter Biscuit up in my head way too much, because I was definitely disappointed. The little whisper of honey butter sweetness is kind of odd and has a weird aftertaste. It also didn't necessarily scream honey butter. If you blindfolded me and made me guess the flavor, I doubt I'd come up with it. I'd rather have a plain biscuit and slather it in actual honey butter than this one from Pillsbury. It feels like a miss, but nevertheless, the overall quality of the biscuit is still superior to any of the Great Value biscuits from Walmart. I'd take it over those.

Okay, now we are talking. If ever there were a famous canned biscuit, it would be the Pillsbury Grands Southern Homestyle Buttermilk Biscuit. She's like the Beyoncé of canned biscuits. I would imagine anyone who had family dinners featuring a basket of freshly baked canned biscuits likely enjoyed these. The Southern Homestyle Grands is the canned biscuit pioneer that laid the entire foundation for all of the others to follow. It's easy to see why. Even if you enjoy making your own biscuits at home, these are great to keep on hand. There's a long list of must try Southern comforts and biscuits are just one treasure. 

Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuits puff up far better in the oven than the rest of the contenders in the canned biscuit playoffs. They're always consistent in that way. This variety also has many of the canned biscuit traits that make them worth buying when you have biscuits on the brain. The inside of the Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuit is delightfully fluffy. When you break it open you are immediately met with a ton of visible airy pockets throughout the entirety of the dough. The Pillsbury Grands OGs bake up perfectly golden without drying out at all, and the texture is great. Finally, I can also confirm from personal experience that they are great vehicles to use for the ultimate breakfast sandwich.

Everyone has their theories on what makes a stellar Southern biscuit. The Pillsbury Grands Southern Homestyle Butter Tastin' Biscuit is not that different from the buttermilk version. The distinction is slight enough that without seeing the cans they come in, you might mistake them for each other. Honestly, the ranking could have gone either way with this version and the previous Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuit. The Butter Tastin' Biscuit took the better spot by a hair solely because it is marginally tastier. The addition of butter is enough to move it up a rung on the biscuit ladder. There are many methods to make biscuits at home, but canned biscuits are easy and low effort.

If you want a solid canned biscuit, the Grands Southern Homestyle Butter Tastin' Biscuit is your gal. She's got a more standout flavor than the Great Value canned butter biscuit, setting it ahead of the Great Value game. You can see the buttery bits in this biscuit before it goes in the oven, and this time, the inside matches the outside. This is how you set realistic expectations for a biscuit tasting. They fared much better in the oven than the Great Value doppelgänger with the bake being much more even and golden while remaining springy. Bottom line — you can't go wrong with the Pillsbury Grands Southern Homestyle Butter Tastin' Biscuit.

This is the canned biscuit trajectory I was hoping for. With the Walmart canned biscuits in the rear view, it's sunny skies from here on out with Pillsbury at the wheel. The Butter Tastin' canned biscuits from Pillsbury are good and you'll enjoy them. However, the version with flaky layers is better in my opinion. Listen, both are solid canned biscuit contenders. I just happen to fancy the flaky layers more. It adds a different texture and changes the whole biscuit experience. If biscuit layers are done right, they practically melt in your mouth every time you peel one off to enjoy. It's like the same dopamine surge one would get from dissecting a stick of string cheese. Don't pretend you don't love pulling off threads of cheese one by one.

I was ready to commit to this Pillsbury canned biscuit being my number one. The flavor, texture, and bake all delivered proof of a truly rad biscuit that I would happily allow to grace my table anytime. If you are a layer lover as well, Pillsbury's Butter Tastin' Flaky Layers are absolutely worth the buy. Had the biscuit tour ended here, I would have put my head on my pillow at night knowing it deserved the win. However, it was not the end because there was one last canned biscuit to go. 

I'm not going to pretend I saw this one coming. It shocked me. I thought for sure that one of the Pillsbury canned biscuits would lead the pack by a long shot. Pillsbury has all the canned biscuit street cred and is like the varsity athlete others are trying to emulate. The cute little dough boy has been gracing biscuit tubes for years and is an undeniable icon. Of course, there are many easy ways to pull off your own delicious homemade biscuits. Pillsbury just offers an out and you know what to expect when you purchase any of the brand's canned biscuits. So, I was not expecting much when I popped open Annie's Organic Flaky Biscuits.

I was shook when I peeled off the very first layer and tasted it. Annie's layers are noticeably more delicate and lighter than any of the other flaky biscuits in this ranking. The flavor is simple, buttery, and totally delicious. I would buy these whether they were organic or not, that's how tasty they are. It just goes to show how quickly a plot twist can occur when ranking food items. I would have bet money against Annie's being buried by Pillsbury's legacy, but she came out on top like a buttery little super star.

I purchased nine different types of canned biscuits for this review and ranking. It was challenging to find a huge variety of brands because Pillsbury pretty much dominates the canned biscuit category. I baked a biscuit from every can in the oven according to the directions on the label. Each one was sampled fresh from the oven without any condiments. They were judged on flavor, texture, and overall quality in order to come up with the final ranking. 

As a side note, after going down a delicious rabbit hole of recipes using canned biscuits, I was inspired. So much so that I made bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwiches using the Pillsbury Grands Southern Homestyle Buttermilk biscuits. Since they were a little too thin to hold everything once cut in half, I sliced off the top and bottom of two and then used those slightly smaller versions for the sandwich. I'm nothing if not a problem solver and highly recommend this canned biscuit delicacy.