Great Value Vs Betty Crocker: Who Makes The Better Boxed Scalloped Potatoes?

Welcome to Dupe Detective, a column where I'll be reviewing a name brand food product's competitor product to find out how well it compares to, or even beats, the original.

Before she was one of the chefs who left Food Network behind, Sandra Lee hosted "Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee," showcasing recipes that utilized a combination of raw ingredients and premade grocery store products. Sometimes that semi-homemade approach is what's needed to keep Thanksgiving dinner — or any other meal for a large group, really — manageable. If, say, a whole turkey is taking hours of prep, a box of scalloped potatoes is just the sort of easy-to-make appetizer or size that will taste great without requiring much extra time in the kitchen.

Betty Crocker makes at least eight boxed items that make Thanksgiving dinner easier, among which its Scalloped Casserole Potatoes can safely be included. Competing directly with Betty Crocker is Walmart's proprietary Great Value Scalloped Potatoes. I picked up both products from my local Walmart Neighborhood Market near my home in the suburbs of Las Vegas and tried them back-to-back. Ahead is a brief rundown of each item, before my thoughts on which version of boxed scalloped potatoes is superior, be it for a quick weekday meal or as part of a semi-homemade Thanksgiving dinner.

Before preparing either of my boxes of scalloped potatoes, I noticed there were a couple of significant differences in their respective instructions. Whereas Betty Crocker required one cup of water, Walmart called for two. Plus, Walmart suggested 15 minutes on the stove as opposed to Betty Crocker's 25 minutes. More water combined with less stove time seemed like a recipe for watery potatoes. Fortunately, after those short 15 minutes, the sauce on my Walmart Great Value Scalloped Potatoes ended up pretty thick, lacking excessive liquid entirely.

Cream of mushroom soup is one ingredient that can make any scalloped potatoes recipe better, and I found my Great Value Scalloped Potatoes similar to cream of mushroom soup not just in texture but flavor too. That element was a bit of a double-edged sword though, because, while I got an ample dose of umami, I felt that the flavor of cheese — pretty important in scalloped potatoes — was lacking. I also noticed the slightest bit of excessive firmness in some of the potato pieces. Clam chowder is, notably, a solid topping that can spruce up a baked potato, so the fact my Great Value Scalloped Potatoes were akin to potato in a creamy soup was ultimately a good thing. However, slightly softer potato slices and a bit more of a prominent cheese flavor would have made for an even better experience.

Betty Crocker's Scalloped Casserole Potatoes suggest more time on the stove and less water than Walmart's recipe. Paradoxically, I found that the final product ended up with a little too much sauce, and that the sauce was waterier than I would have liked.

While my Betty Crocker Scalloped Casserole Potatoes were texturally inferior to Walmart's Great Value Scalloped Potatoes, they had one particular leg up on their Walmart competition in the flavor department — prominent in the Betty Crocker version was rich cheddar. If Walmart's product made something akin to a cream of mushroom soup or a chowder, Betty Crocker's scalloped potatoes were like a vegetable-less broccoli cheddar, a famously delicious soup that went in the first round of The Takeout's fantasy soup draft. 

With that said, that aspect was a bit one-note, lacking really any other prominent flavors that might have complemented the cheese. Plus, the excess of liquid sometimes watered down that cheese flavor, resulting in some bites being less cheesy than others. Occasionally, Betty Crocker's potato slices were too firm, just like Walmart's.

Picking the superior boxed scalloped potatoes between Walmart's Great Value brand and Betty Crocker was a little difficult, and that wasn't because the products were similar to one another. Whereas the former was thick and chowder-like, the latter was extra cheesy but a little watery. The more I ate of each of them, however, the more I realized it was Walmart's I wanted more of, whereas it didn't take long for Betty Crocker's scalloped potatoes to get a tad old.

Betty Crocker did pretty well in The Takeout's ranking of 13 instant mashed potato brands — in other words, Betty Crocker knows how to make pretty decent instant potatoes. With nothing to compare them to, I probably would have liked its scalloped potatoes overall. However, the thicker texture of Walmart's dupe was one major quality that set the two products apart. 

Furthermore, I rapidly lost interest in the simple flavor of my Betty Crocker potatoes, which were defined by cheese and not much else. The flavor of my Great Value Scalloped Potatoes wasn't really anything special, but it did, at least, offer a more dynamic blend of umami, cream, and zesty spices. I even got the slightest hint of the parsley flakes visible in its sauce. So, while both takes on scalloped potatoes will do a serviceable job as a quick and easy side dish, Walmart's Great Value brand ultimately deserves a spot on the Thanksgiving table over Betty Crocker.

At my local Walmart Neighborhood Market, located in the suburbs of Las Vegas, a box of Great Value Scalloped Potatoes costs $1.28. It makes one serving. That same store sells a two-pack of Betty Crocker Scalloped Casserole Potatoes for $3.08. Per-serving, then, Betty Crocker's scalloped potatoes are $1.54 — more expensive, but just nominally so.

Nutritionally, a half-cup of Great Value Scalloped Potatoes, when prepared per their instructions, totals 140 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 460 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbs, 1 gram of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein. A slightly larger ⅔-cup serving of prepared Betty Crocker Scalloped Casserole Potatoes equals about 170 calories, 7 grams of fat, 4 grams of which is saturated fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 575 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of carbs, 2 grams of fiber, and 1 gram of protein. For what it's worth, Betty Crocker only lists percentages of recommended daily values for the prepared product, so those numbers were all reverse engineered. Ultimately, accounting for the difference in serving size, the two products are pretty nutritionally comparable.

I bought both Great Value Scalloped Potatoes and Betty Crocker Scalloped Casserole Potatoes from the Walmart Neighborhood Market closest to my home in the suburbs of Las Vegas. A couple days later, I prepared them simultaneously, per their respective stovetop instructions. Great Value also offers oven directions whereas Betty Crocker provides a microwave method, so I opted for stovetop to create an even playing field.

Since the Great Value scalloped potatoes required 10 minutes fewer on the stove, I tried those first. Around the time I had noted down all my initial thoughts, the Betty Crocker scalloped potatoes were ready. I tried those while likewise recording my first impressions. I then proceeded to eat about three-quarters of each bowl, alternating bites so I could compare the two products more directly to one another. All of my impressions are based entirely on this experience, and not any past thoughts I may have had on the featured products or brands.