Not Libby's: The Best Canned Pumpkin Comes From This Grocery Chain

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When autumn hits, pumpkin lovers' imaginations begin to whirl with delicious ideas. Savory pumpkin cakes, moist breads, decadent pies, and even martinis can all benefit from the vibrantly hued squash that conveniently enough, comes in a can. So, we hunted down 10 canned pumpkin brands, ranking them from worst to best, and one stood out among the pack: Target's Good & Gather brand pumpkin purée.

Only 100% pumpkin purées were tested since, interestingly, other versions of firm, golden-fleshed squashes can be included by food producers in their purées. But both the Good & Gather and fan-favorite Libby's varieties are purely pumpkin, although the latter uses a proprietary varietal called a Dickinson, which is actually more closely related to a butternut squash than a jack-o'-lantern. 

Target's in-house brand offers two pure pumpkin purée varieties, regular and organic. Both outranked all of the others in terms of texture, flavor, and that lovely, rich orange hue. While the best-selling canned pumpkin in America is Libby's, we found that the tastiest wasn't this longstanding stalwart.

Our methodology included tasting the pumpkin right from the can, heating it up, and adding sugar and salt to it (separately of course). Density had to be uniform, not too watery or too thick. Any off-putting flavors or aftertastes affected our ranking, as did value for money. Both the conventional and organic cans from Good & Gather tasted like fresh pumpkin with no odd odors or tangs, unlike others we tested. They were flavorful, well-balanced, and just juicy enough. The organic version was slightly richer in flavor and color, tasting a bit like roasted pumpkin. Conversely, Libby's presented well initially, with an enjoyable, sweet, and fruity flavor. However, it finished with an almost bitter, vegetal taste that wasn't alleviated when heated or salted, although sugar helped a little bit.  

Looking at both pumpkin products on Target.com, it seems reviewers feel similarly. Each has just over 2,000 reviews at the time of writing, but Libby's comes in at 4.3 stars while the regular Good & Gather pumpkin purée has 4.7 stars. As one impressed shopper noted of the Target take, "Thicker than the name brand at half the cost and only 1 ingredient — pumpkin. No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives," notably adding, "My go to after using the L brand my whole life." Another shared, "Love the good & gather pumpkin. It worked perfectly in my pumpkin bread and is less expensive than the name brand!" Decide for yourself, but while there are 14 mistakes everyone makes when cooking with canned pumpkin, naturally, we don't want buying the wrong brand to be one of them.