7 Bob Evans Store-Bought Sides, Ranked

Bob Evans is a country-style restaurant that serves one of the best breakfasts you can get, according to one of our previous head-to-head rankings. Despite serving breakfast all day, it also offers a range of other comfortable country dishes, including savory meats and scrumptious side dishes for lunch or supper. And, if you're a big fan of those dishes but don't live in one of the 18 states with a Bob Evans location (or just don't feel up to dining out if you do), there's great news. You can purchase some of Bob Evans sides in your local grocery store to cure that craving and make supper easier.

Of course, an unfortunate truth is that not all store-bought variants of restaurant foods turn out as delicious as the dishes they're trying to replicate. Finding out which do or don't live up to standards can lead to a lot of frustration, wasted money, and ruined meals. The good news is that you can skip the trial and error with these store-bought side dishes because I had the opportunity to try seven options and report back my findings here. To do this, I used my more than 15 years experience in the food industry, previous food rankings for Daily Meal, and previous visits to Bob Evans to fuel my decisions.

Ready to discover which Bob Evans store-bought sides are most worthy of gracing your kitchen table? Here are seven options, ranked from worst to best according to taste, smell, and texture.

Sweet potatoes are a versatile fall vegetable that happens to be one of my absolute favorite things. From sweet potato casserole to loaded sweet potatoes and beyond, I will devour them. So, obviously, I was excited to try these Bob Evans Mashed Sweet Potatoes — in fact, it was the thing I was most looking forward to trying. Unfortunately, they also turned out to be the thing that most disappointed me during this taste test.

During cooking and plating, there wasn't a huge smell to these mashed sweet potatoes. If anything, there was the lightest of earthy scents if I put my face as close as possible to the plate. Since I highly value the smell of my food, this was a little bit of a letdown, but not necessarily a dealbreaker. What was a dealbreaker was the weird texture I experienced when I took my first bite. It had a mouthfeel almost like marshmallows, but with a distinctive chalky tone that was incredibly off-putting. Truthfully, I wanted to spit this into the trash can immediately, but I persevered for the purposes of this taste test.

My perseverance was rewarded with an all-consuming taste of chemicals laced with chalk. It was as though I were being served diluted cleaning products instead of the delicious sweet potatoes I was expecting. I felt a little sick to my stomach after my bite and, as such, will definitely not be buying this again nor can I recommend it in good faith.

The Bob Evans All Natural Homestyle Classic Mashed Potatoes turned out to be a massive letdown. I really wanted to like these because they're supposed to be more natural and organic than alternative options, which I usually prefer. The idea may have been great, but unfortunately, the execution was seriously lacking.

The first problem with these pre-made mashed potatoes was evident before I even truly started the taste test, and that was that they smelled really bad. The smell was obvious when I peeled back a corner of the film. It stuck around through cooking, and didn't disappear as I plated the dish. It's a hard smell to describe, but it was kind of reminiscent of low-quality dehydrated flakes that had been soaked in stagnant water — obviously not a pleasant experience.

Texturally, this was again a nightmare. There was an uneven, almost grainy texture that provided a weird mouthfeel that caused me to gag ever so slightly from the moment I spooned some into my mouth. The taste was chalky with strong notes of butter that faded into a starchy, buttery aftertaste that wasn't terrible, but also wasn't exactly desirable. I won't be purchasing again and I wouldn't eat these if they were served to me by someone else. Definitely skip out on these in favor of better-ranking Bob Evans mashed potato options.

When I eat in the restaurant, I usually enjoy the mashed potatoes, so I expected to enjoy this store-bought Bob Evans Original Mashed Potatoes. While it wasn't as much of a letdown as some lower ranking options, it just didn't do it for me, and a big part of that was (once again) the general taste profile.

For starters, this didn't have any strong distinguishing smell during cooking. Even after plating and putting it up closer to my face, there wasn't really a smell at all. I've already mentioned my strong ties to the way my food smells, but this dish's lack of smell wasn't exactly unpleasant (like the previous mashed potatoes). Rather, it was just confusing. I mean, the dish should at least smell like potatoes, right?

The texture here was fine. It was a little dense and heavy, but it was predominately smooth with only a little grit to it. That grit wasn't enough to seriously take away from the experience. Even the initial taste was okay — it tasted like well-seasoned mashed potatoes with a little bit of butter. Nothing spectacular, but nothing bad, either ... until that initial taste started to fade away, leaving behind a soapy aftertaste that I found incredibly off-putting. It was reminiscent of having my mouth washed out with soap as a child. I will not be purchasing this again and can't recommend it.

Like the original variant, the Bob Evans Garlic Mashed Potatoes weren't the worst thing I've ever eaten, but they were far from the best and had a few distinct problems. However, the fact that this option didn't taste like I'd swallowed a bar of Ivory Soap helped to it to just slightly pull out ahead of the original.

During cooking, there was a faint garlic scent that wasn't bad, per say, but nor was it particularly mouthwatering. Remarkably, the smell of the potatoes and butter once again didn't shine through, which I found to be an unexplainable oddity.

Texturally, there was something a little off about these garlic mashed potatoes. Although they were fluffy with a medium mouthfeel, there were slightly chalky tones throughout that detracted from the experience. It wasn't as though I were eating a stick of children's sidewalk chalk (thank goodness), but more like someone had sprinkled a tiny bit of baby powder along the top during cooking. That chalkiness carried into the taste in the form of a powdered garlic flavor accented with what seemed to be a little onion, overlaying a faint starchy potato profile. Overall, I'm not impressed. I won't be buying this again and recommend skipping it in favor of a better ranked mashed potato on this list.

As a full disclosure, I'm not usually a fan of pre-made macaroni and cheese options — in fact, I barely tolerate the boxed versions and vastly prefer homemade mac and cheese. That being said, I didn't expect to enjoy Bob Evans' version in the slightest (despite enjoying its in-restaurant version), but am happy to report that I was proven incredibly wrong.

A strong smell of cheese became evident as the container heated up in the microwave. Truthfully, the cheesy smell was a little overwhelming because it didn't have any other notable scent tones interspersed through it. While I was dishing up the macaroni and cheese, I noticed the pasta held together quite well and the sauce was thick yet creamy.

From my first bite, it was obvious that this macaroni and cheese was a cut above the rest of the store-bought options I've tried in the past. The pasta was soft but not mushy, while the sauce provided a smooth, slightly weighted mouthfeel. And, the sauce itself tasted great, although there was a somewhat strong gluten taste to the pasta that mildly detracted from the overall experience. My only other complaint was that this was a bit salty. Overall, I really enjoyed Bob Evans Macaroni and Cheese, and might purchase it again. I recommend it to anyone looking for a good cheesy pasta side dish that requires no real effort to prepare.

Bob Evans Glazed Apples are my favorite side dish when I visit one of its physical restaurant chains, so I was both excited to try out the store-bought version and a little worried it wouldn't hold up to my standards. However, I needn't have worried because this is one dish on this list that I can say tastes exactly the same as the in-store option it seeks to replicate.

During cooking, a sweet and spicy smell that was predominately spiced apples filled my kitchen. Once I began plating and sitting down to eat, this smell increased in strength and made my mouth water. This started the taste test off on an excellent start. The texture, too, turned out to be fantastic once I took a bite. The glaze sauce is a little stickier than I would have preferred, but it had a nice thickness and smooth texture that I appreciated.

Taste wise, these glazed apples lived up to all of my expectations. They offered the perfect balance of sweet and tart, accented by notes of spicy cinnamon that pulled everything together. Best of all, the apples didn't turn to mush during cooking and remained firm without being challenging to eat. I will definitely be purchasing these again and highly recommend them to anyone who enjoys a sweet side dish.

The Bob Evans Sour Cream and Chives Mashed Potatoes were the second option I tried, right after the "all natural" variant that ranked so low. Truthfully, I found myself a little hesitant after having such a bad previous experience, but I'm happy to report I didn't need to be anxious. These potatoes were everything I could have asked for in smell, taste, and texture, which is why they easily took first place in this ranking.

There was a distinct smell of tangy sour cream and earthy chives overlapping a very starchy potato smell during cooking. Not only did I find this enjoyable, but it offered promises of a very balanced flavor profile — and those promises were delivered on. Each ingredient in these sour cream and chives mashed potatoes contributed subtly to the overall flavor profile, along with very light notes of butter and just a hint of salt. There was a creamy richness one would look for in mashed potatoes, paired with a medium mouthfeel that created an overall excellent experience.

I will definitely purchase these again, regularly, and I highly recommend you try them for yourself. I paired mine with baked ham and sautéed broccoli, which it worked well for. Once you try this version of Bob Evans mashed potatoes for yourself, you'll have no doubt as to why it took the top spot on this ranking of the brand's store-bought sides.

I chose Bob Evans store-bought sides for inclusion in this ranking based on their availability at my local Shoprite in Vineland, New Jersey. All relevant options available to me were included. I ranked each dish based on taste, texture, and smell, with taste being given the most weight. To ensure the fairest ranking and the most truthful reporting, no alterations were made to the side dishes before they were tasted — this includes forgoing any butter, seasonings, toppings, or similar. Each option was heated up in the microwave exactly as the box instructed.

To make my determination, I predominantly relied on more than 15 years of experience in the food industry, during which time I crafted countless side dishes, many of which are similar to those featured in this ranking. My previous experience creating many rankings for Daily Meal and numerous visits to Bob Evans restaurants also contributed. Although personal preference played a role in this ranking, I aimed to be as unbiased about product quality as possible.