The Store-Bought Whipped Cream We Ranked The Hands-Down Best In Our Taste Test

Unlike a lot of store-bought versus scratch-made foodstuff battles, canned and fresh whipped cream each have their own ideal use cases. Even your basic whipped cream recipe is great for dolloping on all manner of homespun desserts (or at least the treats that seem that way), while the aerosol variety is great for creating picture-perfect sundaes and mugs of hot chocolate. And that all works out pretty well in reverse, too. But, choose wrong, and store-bought whipped cream can actually deflate one's confectionary expectations faster than that cocoa can cool. So Chowhound ranked eight whipped cream brands from worst to best for your topping pleasure. And good-old, easily sourced Reddi-wip won the top spot.

If you find yourself struggling to even picture another brand of whipped cream, then that's apparently for good reason. Our rigorous test took texture, flavor (with an emphasis on sweetness in particular), and compatibility with other items into account. Some canned whipped creams were actually too aerated to the point of seeming insubstantial, some tasted too artificial, some were just too sugary, and some we couldn't imagine pairing with enough other goodies to make them very versatile for the money. Only Reddi-wip in the iconic red can with the festive, swoopy script passed with flying colors where those others fell short.

Part of Reddi-wip's edge was its star turn in a supporting role. Absent any aggressively saccharine qualities or super dense consistency, it just seemed the most likely to complement classic accompaniments like apple pie or hot chocolate without overwhelming them. (It can also, of course, hold its own in that other quintessential whipped cream case: straight out of the nozzle in the middle of the night.) It also kept us coming back for more, which might be why it's been dominating grocery store and supermarket shelves for decades.

On the opposite end of the whipped cream spectrum, Target's Favorite Day whipped cream failed to deliver on its promise. At No. 8 in the ranking, it was not our favorite anything. Even the supposedly extra creamy option fell flat, and the limp compound that did hiss out tasted fake. Stop & Shop's house brand didn't fare much better, sputtering in at seventh for similar failings. Back on the bright side, Garelick Farms whipped cream had a decent showing in the second slot. Its real cream formula was freshly apparent and a nice break from the unwelcome chemical notes in some other entries. That its a little less sweet than most folks might expect was a ding in terms of broad appeal. Only Reddi-wip prevailed as ready for anyone and any sweet treat.