10 Canned Pumpkin Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

There are countless things you can do with canned pumpkin. This convenient and versatile pantry staple lends itself to both sweet and savory preparations — some expected, like classic pumpkin pie, and some surprising, like spicy pumpkin chili or pumpkin hummus. Most of us don't have the time to carve, scoop, and process the innards of whole pumpkins, so thankfully there are plenty of store-bought cans of pumpkin purée to come to the rescue. As a bonus, canned pumpkin is actually more nutritious than fresh.

While it may seem that any can labeled "100% Pumpkin" will do, surprisingly, there are quite a few differences between brands. Thanks to some pretty vague language from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, products labeled as pure pumpkin can actually contain multiple different types of squash. This accounts for the wide range of canned pumpkin you'll find in stores, and why they vary greatly in color, texture, and flavor. In an effort to find the best canned pumpkin on the market, I tested 10 brands. Read on to find out which you should stock your shelves with during pumpkin pie season and beyond.

When I first started this project, I had assumed that the more expensive organic offerings would be obviously superior in quality. Much to my surprise, that was not the case at all. Field Day's organic pumpkin was the fourth priciest can that I purchased, and it's the one that I'd be least likely to get again. It looked promising out of the can, with a bright orange color and visible moisture. The flavor, however, is where things fell apart.

Any fruitiness or sweetness that may be present is completely overwhelmed by this purée's intensely unpleasant metallic aftertaste. It was so strong that it made me cringe with every bite. I thought that maybe warming up the purée would get rid of it, but it was still there even when heated. The addition of sugar helped a bit, bringing natural pumpkin flavor and sweetness to the forefront, but the metal flavor still crept in and lingered for an astounding amount of time. The oddest part of this bizarre tasting experience was when I added salt to the purée. It took on a flavor quite familiar to me as a sommelier, which is a note similar to a plastic pool toy or garden hose that's often found in riesling wines. Once that aroma and flavor appeared, I couldn't get past it. It did make me pine for a nice glass of riesling, but certainly didn't improve my enjoyment of Field Day canned pumpkin.

Another organic canned pumpkin that missed the mark was from Cadia. Like the Field Day, it also sported an attractive bright orange hue and a similar juicy shine. Thankfully, this one didn't suffer from any strange off-putting aromas or flavors, but it also didn't have much flavor in general. Certainly, canned pumpkin doesn't need to be a flavor bomb, and should taste relatively mellow, for maximum versatility as an ingredient. This purée, however, erred too far into blandness territory. The only thing I could detect was tartness, and since there wasn't much sweetness, earthiness, or vegetal flavor, that acidity stuck out. It made the purée unbalanced, giving a sour overall taste.

Warming the purée did dampen the sour note somewhat, and I found the texture to be rich and creamy without having too much density. However, there still wasn't enough flavor coming through — it just tasted like generic mush. The addition of sugar helped balance the tartness even more, and that was the most successful taste test, moving it from generic mush to sweet mush. Adding salt was less successful, as salt serves to amplify flavor, and there wasn't much of anything for it to enhance. There's nothing too offensive about Cadia canned pumpkin, and the texture is nice, but it's underwhelming, especially as one of the most expensive options.

With Walmart's Great Value brand, while you can always count on affordability, quality can be hit-or-miss in my experience. Its canned pumpkin offering didn't get very high in this ranking, but it is a serviceable budget option. It suffers by comparison, however, to a similarly-priced option that simply blew it out of the water (see the number one spot to find out which one). Out of the can, Great Value's purée had a soft, somewhat loose texture that reminded me of applesauce. There was a nice natural sweetness up front, but unfortunately this was another canned pumpkin that ended up tasting like the can.

The sweetness ramps up, and the metallic taste ebbs a bit when heated, and adding in sugar makes that unpleasant note almost disappear completely — not quite, but pretty close. This definitely seems like a pumpkin purée that's destined for desserts and other sweet baked goods. When I added salt, that metallic note came out even more, and ended up making the whole purée taste sour. This will do in a pinch if you're on a budget, but I wouldn't use it in any savory recipes.

Whole Foods Market's in-house 365 brand offers two types of canned pumpkin: Conventional and organic. While each has its own unique flavor and texture profile, neither one of them was particularly impressive, and both had issues with balance. The prices aren't bad for either one of these — you can save your Whole Paycheck jokes for another time — with the 365 brand offering the least expensive organic pumpkin purée, and the non-organic being the third-cheapest can overall. 

Let's start with the conventional purée, which had one of the densest, thickest textures of any of the purées. This was also one of the sweetest, with a strong fruity flavor but a bit of a sour aftertaste. Warmed up and mixed with sugar, it offered a pleasantly creamy texture, but despite the intense amount of sweetness, that sour finish was still detectable. With salt, it took on a metallic flavor that really clashed hard with its fruitiness. The organic had a slightly lighter color and texture and a milder, mellower taste, and I enjoyed it warmed up. The mixtures with sugar and then with salt were both oddly unpleasant, with the sugary purée coming off as tart, and the salt bringing out a strange umami note that made me think of seaweed. I don't know if anyone else's palate will go on such a wild ride, but mine found both of these somewhat off-kilter.

While Sunny Select's canned pumpkin didn't wow me, it came out of this battle relatively unscathed. I had very little issue with this purée, and it struck me as one of the more versatile options in this lineup. Its orange color is a bit muted, and that quality is echoed in its flavor and texture, both of which are soft and light. Sweetness is subtle but there, mouthfeel is smooth, and there are no hints of any off-flavors or oddities.

This purée tasted nearly identical at room temperature and heated up. Sugar enhanced its flavor just a touch, and salt gave it a pleasant mouthwatering quality. There's not a lot of dimension here — no earthy or vegetal notes, no savory flavors — which keeps this brand from reaching greater heights. However, its relatively simple profile means it'll work well in lots of recipes. This is a good workhorse-style canned pumpkin, and it sits right in the middle of the pack when it comes to price. 

While most of these canned pumpkin brands seem to lean more toward sweet flavors, Signature Select tilts in the other direction. There's not a lot of sweetness here, with a much earthier taste taking center stage. Its deep orange hue and thick, almost stiff texture make it seem like a serious canned pumpkin with no time for any silly, sugary nonsense. It's the priciest non-organic offering by a decent margin, though, which knocks it down the list in terms of value.

Heating this purée did bring out a little bit of natural fruitiness, which I'd hoped would complement the earthiness. Instead, the two flavors seemed to fight each other just a bit — not a wild clash, but not great synergy, either. With the addition of a little sugar, that fight was completely squashed (pardon the pun), and all was brought into balance. Adding salt was less successful, as I found it actually tamped down the earthy flavor, leaving the pumpkin tasting quite bland. If this had just a touch more natural sweetness, and the price was a little lower, it would be a notch or two higher.

Libby's canned pumpkin is the old-school brand you'll find everywhere, and to be honest, with its massive popularity, I expected it to smoke the competition. I was shocked by my experience tasting it up against the others, however, as it didn't make it nearly as high up the list as I'd anticipated based on reputation alone. This purée boasted one of the richest textures and deepest colors. Unlike many brands, Libby's uses only one specific variety of Dickinson pumpkin, rather than an unnamed mélange of various squashes, so you know what you're getting. That, and the price — Libby's was the fourth-cheapest of my purchases — are definite benefits to using this brand.

I found Libby's pumpkin purée to have a strongly fruity, pleasantly sweet flavor up front. There was something going on with the finish, though, that left me less than thrilled. It had a vegetal, almost bitter note, and it didn't lessen with the addition of heat. Salt made it worse, though sugar did add enough sweetness to nearly mask it. I assume most people use Libby's to make the brand's famous pumpkin pie recipe that's right on the can, so perhaps that bitter note doesn't come through among all the spices. Judging it on its own, however, it fell a little short.

The priciest pumpkin purée on this list, O Organics nevertheless made a strong enough showing to somewhat justify its higher cost. Right out of the can, it was balanced in both flavor and texture: Light but rich in taste, subtly tart and sweet, with a creamy yet airy texture. Warmed up, its sweetness deepened, and the heat brought out an earthy dimension that gave the pumpkin lots of complex character.

With sugar, this purée seemed to take on a lighter, brighter quality, with lots of juicy fruitiness that I don't normally associate with pumpkin. Salt, on the other hand, enhanced the purée's earthy side, taking it into the savory world without losing its inherent pumpkin-ness. O Organics makes a fantastic canned pumpkin, but you'll definitely feel the financial hit, particularly if you do a lot of pumpkin-based cooking and baking during the holidays, or any time of year. If you're looking to splurge, O Organics canned pumpkin will definitely add quality to your dishes, but you can save a little cash by opting for one of the next two brands instead.

This may be a divisive pick, but I have to give the canned pumpkin from Farmer's Market a lot of credit for being the most interesting and unique purée that I tried. Nothing else tasted even close to this one. Its bright, vibrant orange color was inviting, and it had a looser texture than any of the others, which could be a benefit or detriment depending on your preference or what you're using it for. Personally, I liked the extra moisture, and found it had the smoothest mouthfeel of the bunch. 

What really set this brand apart was its flavor, which had an intense nutty quality that I didn't find in any of the others. I detected strong notes of pistachio and walnut along with a green vegetal aroma and flavor that made me think of walking through a pumpkin patch. Warmed up, with a little of the liquid evaporated, the texture became uniformly smooth and creamy, reminiscent of light peanut butter. Both sugar and salt additions were successful, bringing various flavors to the forefront while maintaining a strong pumpkin character and great balance. The third priciest can, this may not be an everyday canned pumpkin, but it's definitely worth checking out — I'm excited to try it in lots of sweet and savory dishes.

Just edging out Farmer's Market for the top spot is Target's Good & Gather brand, which offers two canned pumpkin options, conventional and organic. The conventional purée is among the cheapest, only a few cents more than Walmart's, and well worth the few extra pennies. While Good & Gather's organic pumpkin sports the second-highest price tag, it checks every box, giving you excellent quality and versatility for your money. Together, both of these canned pumpkin purées make Target the place to go when you're in a pumpkin culinary mood.

The conventional Good & Gather canned pumpkin is less exciting than its organic counterpart, but it's still a wonderful option. Light and bright in color, texture, and flavor, it's mellow and juicy and tastes fresh. There's no hint of anything metallic or sour, and both sugar and salt brought its fruity sweetness to the forefront while maintaining balance. The organic version has a darker and richer auburn shade, and a deep, almost roasted pumpkin flavor that immediately sent my mind spinning into the savory atmosphere with visions of ravioli and risotto. Both Good & Gather varieties should have all of your pumpkin purée bases covered, regardless of budget or recipe, which gives this brand the canned pumpkin crown. Don't forget that canned pumpkin can easily be frozen for future use, so stock up to your heart's content.

I shopped around at all of my local grocery stores to find as many brands of pumpkin purée as I could, keeping it narrowed down to pure pumpkin, omitting any that had more than that one single ingredient. Once I had my products, I tasted each purée in multiple ways. First, I tried it straight out of the can at room temperature. Then I heated a small bowl of it in the microwave for approximately 15 seconds and tasted it warm. Lastly, I divided the warmed purée into two small bowls, adding a dash of salt to one and a sprinkling of sugar to the other.

For each preparation, I took note of the pumpkin purée's color, aroma, flavor, and texture. I looked for a pumpkin purée that took well to both salt and sugar, so it would work in a wide variety of dishes. I also looked for a smooth, uniform texture with good moisture, not dense or watery, and a natural fruity sweetness. The purée had to also lack any off-flavors or odd textures to rank highly — although simmering pumpkin can improve the flavor, the best purées shouldn't require this extra step. Value was also a key factor. If a brand had both organic and non-organic options, I ranked it based on the average quality of both.