We Tried 17 Different Kinds of Store-Bought Gravy and You Can Buy the Winner at Walmart

I was born and raised in the deep South, so it's safe to assume that I love gravy and I know more than a few homemade recipes that will blow your socks off. This is the perfect time of year for a good, savory gravy—mashed potatoes, roasts, Thanksgiving turkey and roasted chicken are everywhere and they are all made better with gravy. While homemade gravy is always my favorite, I don't always have time to make it. Thankfully, store-bought gravy is a convenient and affordable backup.

When you're at the store, you'll notice a ton of store-bought gravy options: cans, jars, boxes and rows of gravy packets. But which one is worthy of your table? In honor of Thanksgiving, I wanted to taste my way through all of the store-bought gravies I could find to figure out which one you should reach for on the big day.

During this savory quest, I tried 17 different options to find the best of the best. Read on for the best store-bought gravies, ranked from worst to best.

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How We Tested The Store-Bought Gravies

There are a lot of store-bought gravies out there, so to narrow it down, I stuck with turkey and chicken gravies. I bought eight pre-made gravies (they came in jars, cans and boxes) and nine gravy packets. I divided them into two groups and ranked them from worst to best within each category and then created an overall ranking at the end. I had no preference going into the tasting and I had no opinion on which one I thought would rank the highest or lowest.

Each gravy was judged based on flavor, consistency and how easy it was to make. In the event of a tie, the cheaper gravy won. I tested all of them with no food in two semi-blind rounds. I wrote numbers on the packets and jars, then wrote numbers on scraps of paper and taped them to the bottom of plain white cups. I mixed the cups up after the gravy was placed in them and checked the numbers after the test. After all of that tasting, I needed a big glass of water, but I also had a clear winner. Here's how they stacked up.

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8 Popular Jarred Gravies, Ranked Worst to Best

Pre-made gravies are the easiest to make because you can microwave them! Just open the jar, can or box, pour the gravy in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat it up. You can also portion out the amount you need and save the rest for leftovers. As you can see from the photo below, there was a wide range of colors and textures among the gravies, which was interesting to see. After tasting my way through them all there was a clear winner.

8. Imagine Organic Roasted Turkey Gravy

I found the Imagine Organic Roasted Turkey Gravy at Target and I was excited to try it, but this one was just awful. It's very runny, even after shaking it, and it tastes like watered-down soy sauce. I would not buy this gravy again.

7. Whole Foods Market 365 Organic Turkey Gravy

Whole Foods 365 Organic Turkey Gravy also had a heavy soy flavor, but it was thicker in texture and a little saltier. I wouldn't buy this one again, either, but I did enjoy it slightly more than the Imagine Organic gravy.

6. Campbell's Chicken Gravy

The Campbell's Chicken Gravy came in a can and I was very hesitant to try it, but it wasn't bad. It also wasn't great. It was mild in flavor and I wrote "mid" for the texture- meaning it wasn't the worst I tried, but it also wasn't good enough for me to use at my Thanksgiving dinner.

5. Heinz Homestyle Chicken Gravy

I prefer chicken gravy to turkey gravy, but this Heinz Homestyle Chicken Gravy was just okay. The flavor was mild, which leaves room for you to add your own seasonings, so it would make a pretty decent gravy base. The texture was good, creamy, not too thick, and not too thin. It just didn't keep my attention, which is how it ended up lower on the list.

4. Chef's Cupboard Homestyle Gravy- Roasted Turkey

This gravy was a surprise Aldi Find, so I was excited to give it a try. I enjoyed the flavor of the Chef's Cupboard Homestyle Gravy (Roasted Turkey flavor), but there was a heavy flour aftertaste and it was saltier than the others I tasted. If I were using this gravy, I would add a bit of pepper and maybe some turkey or chicken drippings to counteract the flour flavor. The texture was thick, not creamy or runny.

3. Giant Store Brand Homestyle Turkey Gravy

The Giant Store Brand Homestyle Turkey Gravy was very good. It had a thick consistency and just a hint of flour flavor, so it seemed like it was homemade. This one was also a good base gravy, meaning you could add some more seasoning to it or even a spoonful or two of turkey drippings and bump up the flavor.

2. Heinz Homestyle Turkey Gravy

I was surprised to find that I liked the Heinz turkey gravy this much, but it was so good it ranked second in the jarred gravies for me. It had a homemade taste as if it were made with turkey drippings and flour, and the texture was thick and smooth. I could see this going perfectly with mashed potatoes.

1. Better Than Gravy Roasted Turkey Gravy

The Better Than Gravy (Roasted Turkey Gravy flavor) won the jarred gravy taste test for me. It had a thinner texture than some of the other gravies, but it tasted like it was made from drippings and seasonings. There was no flour aftertaste, it wasn't too salty and it had a great flavor. This would pair well with mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing and more and it would be hard to tell it wasn't homemade.

9 Popular Gravy Packets, Ranked Worst to Best

Packet gravy is affordable and easy to store, but they do require more work than jarred gravies because they have to be cooked on the stove. When making the packet gravies, I had to make sure the contents fully dissolved and that there were no lumps, and then I had to keep stirring so the gravy mixture didn't burn. It also wasn't easy to portion out the mixture, so I ended up cooking the entire packet.

I immediately noticed that the chicken gravies were lighter in color than the turkey gravies, and the turkey gravies were more aromatic. I was curious to see which bird would win this showdown.

9. Simply Organic Chicken Flavored Gravy Mix

If you like runny, flour-flavored gravy, the Simply Organic Turkey Flavored Gravy Mix is the one for your holiday meal. I don't care for runny gravies, and I prefer that they have a flavor other than flour, so this gravy mix ranked low for me. It was weak and the texture was closer to water than gravy.

8. McCormick Turkey Gravy Mix

I was very surprised that a McCormick gravy ranked so low because they are a popular mix, but the McCormick Turkey Gravy Mix tasted like flour and meat drippings and nothing else. I was not impressed with this at all and I had to gargle with water to get the taste out of my mouth.

7. Simply Organic Turkey Flavored Gravy Mix

Like the jarred organic gravies, the Simply Organic Turkey Flavored Gravy Mix also had a heavy soy taste. It was runny and any other seasonings were weak. I definitely did not get a turkey flavor from this one!

7. McCormick Chicken Gravy Mix

After the other McCormick ranked so low, I was hesitant about the McCormick Chicken Gravy Mix, but it wasn't too bad. It tasted more like a sausage gravy than a chicken gravy and had a homemade-gravy vibe. It also had a thicker texture which was pleasant. This would be great for biscuits!

5. Stonemill Chicken Gravy

For some reason, the Stonemill Chicken Gravy seemed more sweet than salty. There was something about the flavor that I just couldn't put my finger on, like the seasonings were competing with one another. It was also very runny. Overall, it wasn't the worst of the packet mixes, but I would not recommend it unless you like a sweeter gravy.

4. Knorr Roasted Turkey Gravy Mix

For some reason, the Knorr Roasted Turkey Gravy Mix seemed more like a chicken broth than a gravy. It wasn't the consistency of gravy, although I would say it was a little thicker than most chicken broths. It was sort of bland, but had enough salt to give it some flavor. I ranked this one higher on the list because even though it didn't impress me a lot, I see it has great potential for being dressed up. I could easily flavor this and thicken it into a gravy that resembles homemade.

3. Pioneer Roasted Turkey Gravy Mix

The Pioneer Roasted Turkey Gravy Mix was the most involved to make and it also produced the most gravy. It had bits of crunchy onion in it and smelled absolutely amazing when I was mixing it together. The texture wasn't runny, but also not too thick, but the flavor was a bit off-putting. It tasted too much like poultry fat to me, but if that's a taste you enjoy, this gravy is perfect for your Thanksgiving table!

2. Kinder's Roasted Turkey Bone Broth Gravy Mix

If you like a gravy that has a thinner texture, the Kinder's Roasted Turkey Bone Broth Gravy Mix is the one for you. To me, this was almost like straight turkey drippings and the flavor was phenomenal. It wasn't too salty, there was no flour taste and it left room for adding your own flair to it. I would have preferred it to be thicker, but it was easy to prepare and I was happy with it.

1. Stonemill Turkey Gravy

Stonemill Turkey Gravy from Aldi was one of the cheapest packets on the list, and it was the clear winner for me! It was salty, earthy (almost mushroom-like) and it had a texture that was more like homemade gravy than any of the others. This is one of those gravies that could go well with mashed potatoes, turkey or roasted chicken or ham. The next time you're at Aldi, it's worth picking up a few packets.

All 17 Store-Bought Gravies, Ranked Worst to Best

After I was done ranking the jars and cans and the packets, I took another jog through the options to see how I would rank these store-bought gravies if they were in one mega taste test. Here's my final ranking.

17. Imagine Organic Roasted Turkey Gravy

16. Simply Organic Chicken Flavored Gravy Mix

15. McCormick Turkey Gravy Mix

14. Mix Simply Organic Turkey Flavored Gravy Mix

13. Whole Foods 365 Organic Turkey Gravy

12. McCormick Chicken Gravy

11. Stonemill Chicken Gravy Mix

10. Campbell's Chicken Gravy

9. Heinz Homestyle Chicken Gravy

8. Knorr Roasted Turkey Gravy Mix

7. Chef's Cupboard Homestyle Gravy (Roasted Turkey flavor)

6. Pioneer Roasted Turkey Gravy Mix

5. Kinder's Roasted Turkey Bone Broth Gravy Mix

4. Giant Store Brand Homestyle Turkey Gravy

3. Stonemill Turkey Gravy Mix

2. Heinz Homestyle Turkey Gravy

1. Better Than Gravy (Roasted Turkey Gravy flavor)

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