7 Grocery Store Cinnamon Rolls Ranked, And The Results For This Popular Brand Are Disappointing
Cinnamon rolls should be one of the safest bets in a grocery store. You’d think it’s hard to mess up, right? But our taste tests say otherwise.
Some rolls collapse into dry bread with sugary paste on top, while others have a fake butter flavor that tastes more like frosting than breakfast pastries. One especially famous brand turned out to be far less impressive than its reputation suggests.
Aldi Bake Shop Bakery Cinnamon Rolls
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Aldi’s cinnamon rolls are cheap and easy to grab, but the low price comes with compromises. The rolls have a distinctly packaged taste that never quite shakes the feeling of coming from a commercial bakery. Even after warming, the dough remains chewy instead of soft and fluffy. The cinnamon flavor doesn’t stand out, and the glaze tastes more like a basic powdered-sugar topping.
Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls With Original Icing
Pillsbury helped make canned cinnamon rolls a household staple, so this placement might be a little surprising for some. The biggest issue is that the rolls don’t deliver the layered cinnamon-roll experience many people expect. It bakes like sweet bread with cinnamon sprinkled throughout. The filling isn’t rich, and the rolls never develop much flavor beyond basic sweetness. The icing doesn’t help much either.
Trader Joe’s Cinnamon Buns With Cream Cheese Frosting
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Trader Joe’s usually wins people over through its snacks, but its cinnamon buns fall short of that standard. The buns are packed tightly together and form a single mass that must be separated before serving. While the cinnamon sugar is distributed throughout the layers, the dough is dry, and the cream cheese frosting lacks the rich, tangy flavor that usually makes this style of icing so appealing. They’re not completely awful, but they’re also hardly purchased when better options are available.
Kroger Bakery Fresh Vanilla Iced Cinnamon Roll
Kroger has an unremarkable cinnamon roll. The dough is soft, the swirl is evenly filled, and the overall appearance looks exactly like what most shoppers expect from a grocery store bakery. The problem is that none of the flavors leaves a lasting impression. The vanilla icing tastes similar to store-bought canned frosting, and while the cinnamon filling is present, it’s not the star of the pastry.
Meijer Glazed Cinnamon Twirls
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Meijer’s cinnamon twirls feel the most homemade of the group. The tightly wound spirals, generous cinnamon flavor, and lightly glazed finish create a classic cinnamon roll experience that focuses on the dough and spice rather than overwhelming sweetness. Every bite delivers a warm cinnamon flavor without relying on excessive frosting. The only drawback is the texture. Even when warmed, the rolls can become a little crumbly.
Walmart Marketside Cinnamon Roll
Walmart’s Marketside cinnamon roll comes surprisingly close to the top spot. The aroma alone sets it apart, thanks to cinnamon crumbles baked into both the center and the topping. The rolls have two layers of sweetness: a cinnamon drizzle and a creamy frosting that spreads easily across the surface. The dough is soft, rich, and exceptionally tender. Despite the generous toppings, the sweetness never becomes overwhelming, which allows the cinnamon flavor to remain front and center.
Whole Foods Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls
Whole Foods took the biggest swing and ended up with the best cinnamon roll in the lineup. The exterior has a flaky, buttery quality that almost resembles a croissant, while the center remains soft, tender, and unmistakably cinnamon-roll-like. The cinnamon-sugar filling develops a deep flavor without becoming bitter. The cream cheese icing is rich, smooth, and generously applied, so it tastes closer to the frosting on a well-made cake.