Biscuits are a beloved side at many Thanksgiving meals.
Last Thanksgiving, I tried eight different biscuit mixes and doughs to see which was the tastiest.
The original Pillsbury Biscuits and the Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits came out on top.
Thanksgiving is upon us, which means families around the country are preparing their kitchens for a long day of cooking.
Not every dish needs to be made from scratch, though. I decided to test eight store-bought biscuit brands to see which might make it to my Thanksgiving table.
In time for the holidays last year, I tried Annie's Organic Flaky Biscuits, Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits, Trader Joe's Organic Biscuits, Immaculate Organic Biscuits, Happy Belly Jumbo Buttermilk Biscuits, and three different kinds from Pillsbury: its Original Flaky Layers, Grands! Southern Homestyle Southern Recipe, and Grands! Southern Homestyle Butter Tastin'. All brands are still available this year, but Happy Belly has rebranded to Amazon Fresh.
All were delicious but some were slightly tastier — and better value — than others.
Here's how I ranked them, from my least favorite to my favorite.
For me, biscuits are one of the most beloved parts of Thanksgiving dinner.I put eight types of store-bought biscuits (from six different brands) to the test.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
There are a lot of options in grocery stores, so I decided to try all the biscuit mixes and doughs I could find — both in my local store and online — ahead of my Thanksgiving feast.
I was looking for biscuits that were light, flaky, and buttery, with a hint of sweetness. I'm put off by biscuits that are thick and cakey, and seem more like dinner rolls.
In my opinion, a good biscuit will taste delicious without needing butter, so I didn't add any butter to the ones I bought, apart from when the biscuits came with it.
I ended up with seven tubes of dough and one boxed mix.The biscuits ahead of my day of baking.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
I bought bake-at-home biscuits from Annie's, Red Lobster, Trader Joe's, Immaculate Organic Biscuits, Pillsbury, and Happy Belly, which has since rebranded to Amazon Fresh.
The Red Lobster biscuits were the only ones to come in a box, and its recipe yielded six to 10 biscuits. The other types, which were all canned, each contained eight.
For each tube, I had to peel off the wrapper and use a spoon to pop the seam of the packaging.A popped biscuit can.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
I did this seven times, and it scared me every time.
In terms of preparation, the brands were almost exactly the same.Biscuit dough.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
The oven temperatures ranged from 350 to 375 degrees, but that was essentially the only difference between recipes.
I appreciated that the Pillsbury options included directions for using an air fryer, too.
The only baking experience that was significantly different was for the Red Lobster biscuits.My messy hands.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
The recipe required combining the dry mix, water, and cheese. I then had to portion out the biscuits, leaving me with sticky, messy hands.
The biscuits also mostly looked the same before baking, apart from one.Butter Tastin' biscuits.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
Pillsbury's Butter Tastin' flavor, pictured, looked slightly different — it had butter flecks that were visible in the dough.
After a day of baking, I ended up with a platter of golden biscuits and I was ready to compare them.All of my biscuits.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
It took a few hours of swapping out baking sheets in my oven, but eventually it was time to taste them.
My least favorite were the Pillsbury Southern Homestyle Southern Recipe biscuits.Pillsbury Southern Homestyle Grands Southern Recipe.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
The biscuits, which cost $4.99 for eight, emerged from the oven looking golden and smelling delicious, but unfortunately, they tasted dry and cakey to me.
I had a similar experience with the Happy Belly biscuits, now Amazon Fresh.Happy Belly Jumbo Buttermilk Biscuits.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
I thought they were more like thick dinner rolls than light biscuits. But at $2.69, these were nearly half the price of the Pillsbury Southern Homestyle Southern Recipe.
The next three brands in my ranking were all virtually indistinguishable from each other.Annie's, Trader Joe's, and Immaculate biscuits.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
I thought Annie's Organic Flaky Biscuits ($6.49), Trader Joe's Organic Biscuits ($3.99), and Immaculate Organic Biscuits ($7.39) ranked equally.
All three had layers, a similar golden-brown crust, and weren't too heavy.Trader Joe's biscuits.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
Since the Trader Joe's biscuits were the cheapest, I'd recommend them first, but you can't go wrong with any of these three options, if they are the brands available to you.
My third favorite biscuits were the Butter Tastin' Pillsbury biscuits.Butter Tastin' Pillsbury biscuits.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
These cost $4.99 for eight, putting them in the middle of the pack in terms of price.
I was impressed with the subtle flavor.Inside the Butter Tastin' biscuits.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
I was apprehensive that the butter flavoring would be overwhelmingly artificial, but instead, I found there was more of a hint of butter.
My second favorite biscuit was the Pillsbury Original Flaky Layers.Pillsbury Original Flaky Layers.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
These also cost $4.99 for eight.
The Flaky Layers were, indeed, as flaky as any tasty biscuit could hope to be.Pillsbury Original Flaky Layers.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
During the tasting, I described these as the "platonic ideal of a biscuit."
But by far, my favorite biscuits were the Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits, which came with a garlic-herb butter.The Red Lobster biscuits.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
At $2.99, they also cost less than most of the others I tried.
They had the perfect crunchy outer layer and a melt-in-your-mouth interior.Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
Plus, the garlic butter complemented the sweetness of the biscuit.
Ultimately, I had to declare this brand as the winner.A biscuit selfie.
Gabbi Shaw/Business Insider
If you're short on time and are looking for a more classic biscuit, you can't go wrong with the Pillsbury Original Flaky Layers. But if you have any extra time and counter space this Thanksgiving, I'd recommend the Red Lobster biscuits.
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