5 Walmart Great Value Frozen Desserts (Beyond Ice Cream), Ranked Worst To Best

Last month, Walmart released several new frozen desserts under its Great Value brand. While several have proven elusive, at least in my area, I was so impressed with the Great Value ice cream selection that I found myself wondering where its less ice-cream-based desserts stood. While I struggled to find the banana pudding dessert bars and caramel apple blossoms, I had managed to find some new frozen desserts that looked worth trying. 

I'd seen slices of cheesecake for sale while browsing through the freezer aisle on past occasions. However, it's not like me to pick up a premade pie or cake. I've even been known to refer to that part of the frozen section as the "I could have baked that myself" section. The only times I find myself there are when looking for an easy dessert to serve at a party or take to a friend's as a last-minute treat. However, being able to make it myself doesn't automatically mean the one from the freezer aisle is bad.

Putting my ego aside, I searched several local Walmart locations in search of its new products and a few of its classics to see just how much of a value these two-portion dessert packages were. I wouldn't buy them all again, but I can't say that any of them were inedible. From chocolate cake to baked pastries, I was ready to see who came out on top.

Of the five desserts I managed to get my hands on, my least favorite was the Great Value Double Chocolate Dessert Bar. While described on the package as "decadent," I can't help but feel it doesn't quite live up to that name. Honestly, even the decision to call it a "bar" seems a bit of a misnomer. 

Each box contains two squares of soft chocolate cake topped with a mellow frosting of the same flavor. As a slice of cake (because, again, I really don't think "bar" is the right word to describe this dessert), it's passable. The chocolate flavor is rich, and the cake has a wonderfully light texture, though perhaps it's a touch dry. I can't tell if it's a side effect of being frozen or a natural aspect of the cake, but the outside of each slice is just slightly hard to the touch. 

While the cake itself is a solid six out of 10, the frosting is really impressive. The box describes it as a "chocolatey melting sauce," but while the sauce does melt a bit and get really soft, it doesn't exactly drip down the edges like in the photo. I'm actually happy about that. Perhaps I didn't heat it long enough, but it's hard to deny the frosting is perfect as is. Light, fluffy, and reminiscent of a whipped cream frosting, the lightly sweetened frosting is a perfect accompaniment to the relatively plain cake.

As I stated before, the frozen slices of cheesecake in the Walmart freezer aisle aren't completely new to me. But when it's so easy and quick to make cheesecake at home, this was the first time I found myself in a position to try them and judge whether or not they're as delicious as they look on the box. 

Despite several sampler packs being available, I chose the two varieties that came in packs of two slices as a small attempt to remain consistent. My first thought upon sliding a piece onto my plate was how small it was. I know that food costs more these days, but even then the tiny slice in front of me seemed more meant for a child than it did for an adult. Thankfully, its general texture and flavor are more satisfying than the image of it in front of me would lead you to expect. 

While the filling is soft and velvety, with a lightly tart cream cheese flavor, the crust is a bit too dense along the sides, though thinner and more balanced underneath. The swirls of strawberry filling, which added a welcome fruity and tart punch, are good, but seem to be more of an unnamed berry flavor than a strawberry-specific taste. The quality of the cheesecake itself is quite good, but I would look elsewhere for a dessert that really highlights the strawberries if that's what I wanted.

The Great Value Strawberry Shortcake Dessert Bar is, once again, more a slice of cake than a dessert bar. Perhaps my expectations are awkward, but I usually think of a bar as something you can hold. A candy bar, or even a delightful beer and pretzel cookie bar, is a perfect example. Once again, this dessert bar is decidedly a slice of cake, and I imagine it would fall apart easily if you tried to eat it with your hands.

The incredibly moist and tender cake is far more pleasing texturally than the chocolate one. While it may be a result of the wet fillings, it's the first thing I noticed upon taking a bite. The supple cake is an impeccable vessel for the fluffy mousse filling and sweet ribbons of strawberry sauce. The balance of sweet sugar, creamy filling, and tart fruit flavor works beautifully, and the small bits of white chocolate on top add a textural component that helps make each bite a bit more special. 

The strawberry flavor comes across more strongly here than in the cheesecake, but there's still a lightly generic flavor to it. It reminds me of the thick, red, syrup-like sauce that surrounds the cherries in a can of cherry pie filling. It's delicious, sweet, tart, and tough to identify without explicitly having it pointed out to you. Despite its shortcomings, I could eat another slice right now.

After trying the strawberry version, I was excited to try the Great Value Turtle Cheesecake. The combination of chocolate, nuts, caramel, and rich cream cheese called to me as I looked over the package. Unboxing a slice, once again, left me with the impression that the portion is a bit too small, but at roughly $1.50 per slice, it's hard to complain too much.

Just like the strawberry version, there's no doubt that the cheesecake itself is wonderful. The thick and creamy filling is soft and melts across the tongue in a pleasant way as you chew. The bits of chocolate chip, pecans, and chewy caramel add both texture and flavor, which helps elevate the experience. The nuttiness of the pecans is especially noticeable — a surprise to me, because there aren't actually that many present in each slice.

The crust, while more flavorful and delicious than the plain graham cracker one, is still a bit too thick along the side in my opinion. While the same issue of a dense layer of crust is present here too, the rich cocoa flavor makes this version of the crust a pleasure to eat, rather than the grainy chore that deflated the experience of the strawberry version. If I were to choose between the two options, I'd pick up the turtle cheesecake for its depth of flavor, but I can't deny that the strawberry was a bit lighter and still enjoyable.

It's just my luck that I couldn't find the Great Value Caramel Apple Blossom, because if it's even half as good as the apple berry version, it's a must-have. While the Great Value Apple Berry Blossoms are the only ones of Great Value's new frozen desserts that require baking, they're also the best of the bunch. This will also be the first box I look for next time I need a small dessert that's quick to prepare while still looking homemade. At less than $1.70 per blossom, I don't even think I could make them from scratch for much cheaper than that.

Not only did the confection fill my home with the alluring scent of fresh pastry and sweet berries as it baked, but its professional look impressed me all on its own. My mouth watered as it baked, and I found myself hovering in the kitchen, willing time to move more quickly as I waited impatiently for it to finish heating. 

Thankfully, every moment was worth the wait. The pastry crust is buttery and flaky with a beautiful crunch. My fork broke through the shell easily, but without causing it to fall apart into a crumbled mess. The filling is bright, sharp, fruity, and lightly spiced in the most splendidly balanced way. The flavor of apples comes through as a clear background to the more tart berry flavors that blend together into a mouthful of pure summer. If you try one non-ice cream Great Value dessert, make it this one.

When it comes to dessert, flavor is key. Texture matters, of course, but a good dessert is all about taste. First, it has to be sweet but not cloyingly so. Nothing ruins a dessert more than so much sugar that any point of contrasting flavor is smothered by a tooth-destroying level of sweetness. 

Alongside a balanced level of sweetness should be both richness and depth of flavor. A chocolate dessert should feel deep and indulgent. The richness should come across in the cocoa flavor, and the sweetness should balance the natural bitterness of the chocolate. A fruit-forward dessert should balance the natural acidity of fruit while still letting it shine. For each of these desserts, I began by looking at the taste through these lenses. 

As I tasted each, I asked myself several questions. If there is fruit flavor, did that flavor stand out and taste genuine? If there is chocolate, does it taste rich and deep with both sweet and bitter notes? By judging the success and enjoyability of the flavors, I was able to make my preliminary judgments. From there, I simply took into account the texture of each dessert and how satisfying it was to eat.