The Best Store-Brand Milk Isn't From Costco, Walmart, Or Trader Joe's

There are a shocking number of ways a person can shop for milk at the supermarket or grocery store, once you break it down — and we're only talking about dairy milk, separate from the ever-growing list of plant-based alternatives. For every person who chooses a milk based on size, there's another who's fastidious about fat content, not to mention your expiration date obsessives who reach way back into the refrigerator case to find the longest possible shelf life. Those who fall into any combination of these three groups might not pay much attention to the brands that one can choose from, but plenty of big box shops peddle their own house labels, and they are not created equal. So, Chowhound set out to find the crème de la crème in a veritable sea of cow juice.

Our ranking of the seven best store brand milks awarded Lucerne whole milk by Safeway (or Albertsons, the two stores are owned by the same parent company) the No. 1 spot. Lucerne's overall quality, flavor, and texture ultimately rose above the rest. It even approximated more luxe milk products, but with the lower, private label price that shoppers prefer.

It wouldn't have been fair to test one store brand's rich, creamy whole milk against another's thinner, fat-free variety, so we stuck to the former for this evaluation. Whole milk also gave us more to account for in terms of body and flavor versus the typically milder varieties. Lucerne, as you might have guessed by now, was the richest, creamiest, and smoothest of them all. It even seemed like a suitable dupe for something from a more expensive dairy, landing it on the opposite end of the spectrum from Walmart's offering.

Walmart Great Value whole milk took our last place spot at No. 7 due to an absence of the qualities that practically leapt from the Lucerne glass. Would it be fine in your coffee or cereal? Probably! But should you require a top-notch milk pour to pair with your favorite cookie, or to sip alongside a slice of fudgey chocolate cake, Great Value is anything but. Sipped unadorned, it was notably thinner than its competition, and with a slightly sour aftertaste to boot. We wouldn't exactly dump it out (not to mention that milk is among the items you really shouldn't pour down the sink), but we'd never buy it a second time if Lucerne is also available. Should you shop in an area without a Safeway or Albertsons, our second and third choices, 365 by Whole Foods Market and Sprouts, are also better bets.