I'm a private chef, and I compared croissants at Key Food, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods.
Key Food sold the biggest croissant, but the inside looked more like bread than pastry.
I like Trader Joe's offering, but Whole Foods' pastry was the closest to a fresh croissant.
I like having croissants at home for a quick breakfast for me and my daughter before work or school. They're one of those staples I know will be enjoyed before they get moldy.
As a private chef, I know croissants are a highly technical pastry that requires a lot of time and effort. As a working mom, I don't have either of those.
Fresh croissants from our local bakery can be expensive, about $5 to $6 each, so it's more economical to grab a pack of four to six at the grocery store.
Here's how the bakery-section croissants at Key Food, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's stack up.
Key Food is a staple grocery store throughout the boroughs of New York.
The first croissants I tried were from Key Food, an NYC-based chain with locations across the East Coast. A pack of four was $4.99, or about $1.25 each, which is a great deal.
The croissants were huge β easily the biggest I bought or saw at any store.
They were also slightly flat, with a pale golden-brown color.
When I cut them open, I was unimpressed with the lamination.
The Key Food croissant hardly had any lamination β thin layers created by folding butter into the dough.
There weren't many distinct layers, and it didn't have the crispy, airy texture I expect from a croissant.
I've tried Trader Joe's croissants before.
Trader Joe's croissants are regulars in my shopping rotation because I frequent the chain a lot.
The store sells a three-pack for $3.99, or about $1.33 each. I think that's a great price for the quality.
The croissants were medium-sized and had a nice golden-brown color.
The croissant was fine, but it was missing a textural element.
Trader Joe's pastries have a lovely buttery texture and slightly more lift and airiness than the Key Food ones.
However, they still lack the crackly, messy quality that is so identifiable when it comes to croissants.
I enjoy these from time to time with just some jam, but they're not the crème de la crème.
Whole Foods' croissant looked the most authentic.
The last croissants I tried were from Whole Foods, where a pack of four cost $7.49, or $1.87 apiece.
Despite being the most expensive of the bunch, they were absolutely worth it.
The croissants were the perfect size β exactly as big as my hand β and had nice domed tops that gave me a peek at the layers underneath. The deep-brown exterior was also tantalizing.
Whole Foods had the closest thing to a bakery croissant.
When I bit into the beautifully layered croissant from Whole Foods, I truly felt like I was eating a pastry, not just a piece of bread.
The flavor had a nice butteriness, but there was still that nice, slightly sour taste from the yeast.
For me, the winner was clear.
Whole Foods was my clear and obvious winner. I'd rather have a nice pastry that's so good I'm guaranteed to eat the whole thing than opt for a cheaper version that's unsatisfying.
Without a doubt, I'll be returning to Whole Foods' bakery section for the four-pack. On weeks when I'm on a tighter budget, though, Trader Joe's pack of three is my runner-up.
With other, better options available, I don't think I'd buy the Key Food croissants again.
I'm a professional baker who tried apple pies from the stores Kroger, Whole Foods, and Safeway.
In my opinion, Kroger and Safeway's pies were quite underbaked and didn't taste great.
Whole Foods had the best option, but I'd probably just opt to make my own dessert at home.
I compared apple pies from Kroger, Whole Foods, and Safeway.
Apple pie is delicious any time of year, but it's especially tasty in the fall.
Baking a pie from scratch can require a lot of effort, and sometimes, you may need to take a shortcut.
So I tried options from Kroger, Whole Foods, and Safeway to find the best grocery-store apple pie you can pick up in a pinch.
I purchased a 9-inch toffee apple pie from Kroger.
Kroger's bakery offered a toffee apple pie, and the label said it was freshly baked in the store.
Surprisingly, I didn't see any typical lattice apple pies. The only other option was flavored like brown sugar and maple, so I went with the toffee one.
The pie was underbaked and I thought it had a strange flavor.
The golden apple pie from Kroger looked very good, but cutting into it was incredibly difficult. It was soft and mushy, and it started to fall apart as I removed a slice.
The bottom crust on this pie seemed underbaked, and the streusel topping was doughy. It certainly needed more time to cook. That said, it could've just been that someone took my particular pie out of the oven too soon.Β
The outer crust was good, but the rest of the pie's flavor fell flat for me. I thought the apple filling had an odd artificial taste, and the soft texture was unappetizing.
Whole Foods typically sells halves of 9-inch apple pies.
When I arrived at Whole Foods, the only options were half pies. A bakery employee told me that the pies are baked in the morning, then are typically cut in half.
If you're looking for a whole pie, it's apparently best to call ahead in the morning and ask that one be set aside. I asked for two halves to be put in a box so I could take home an entire pie.
The pie tasted homemade.
The flavor of Whole Foods' apple pie absolutely blew me away. It tasted homemade.
The crust was flaky and buttery. Even though the center wasn't quite fully baked, the filling still tasted fresh and flavorful with a slight crunch.
The apples tasted fresh and had just a touch of sugar and cinnamon to enhance their flavor.
Other than the middle of the crust being a bit soft, it was a very good pie. Maybe the one I got was just taken out of the oven too soon.Β
I snagged an 11-inch apple pie from Safeway.
Safeway sells much larger pies, and I found both lattice and Dutch options. The raw pies apparently come to the store frozen and are then baked on-site.
I bought an 11-inch lattice pie.
Safeway's pie was beautiful, but it was underbaked and too sweet for me.
The apple pie from Safeway was beautiful, with a nice lattice topping. But it was tricky to cut β the slice fell apart as I removed it from the pie dish.
The crust was underbaked and quite soggy in the middle, even though the outer portions had a nice golden look and crispy texture. I wondered if my specific pie was just not left in the oven long enough or not baked at an ideal temperature.
I also thought it tasted fairly bland and was not very flaky. Plus the filling tasted incredibly sweet to me, with an overwhelming cinnamon flavor.
Overall, each option was quick and convenient, but I'm not sure I'd buy any of them again.
It was easy to head into each store and find an apple pie when I visited in September. It was a bit trickier to get a whole one at Whole Foods, but the bakery employee I spoke to was incredibly helpful.
For each store, it's also possible to call ahead of time and ask the bakery to put a pie aside for you.
But I was disappointed that all three seemed to have an underbaked crust. It takes a lot of patience to bake an apple pie β at home, it can take close to an hour β but it seemed like each grocery story didn't leave the dessert in the oven long enough.Β
I thought Kroger and Safeway's pies tasted a bit too artificial, and their crusts did not impress me.Β
If I needed to purchase a grocery-store apple pie again, I'd only consider Whole Foods' option because the flavor was so incredible. But in general, I'd probably just carve out the time to bake my own dessert at home.Β
This story was originally published on October 5, 2022, and most recently updated on November 25, 2024.
I'm a private chef, and I buy all of my family's weekly staples at Trader Joe's for about $60.
I took that same budget to Whole Foods to see how the grocer compared.
I wasn't able to get nearly as much at Whole Foods, so I'll stick to Trader Joe's.
As a private chef, I get Whole Foods delivered for my clients a lot. But the total can often seem too high, so I've stayed away from shopping there for my family of three.
Plus, there's a Trader Joe's just down the street from me, and I can get all our weekly staples for about $60.
After seeing and hearing about the interesting, high-quality brands Whole Foods carries, however, my curiosity got the best of me.
I decided to take my Trader Joe's budget to Whole Foods. Here's a dollar-by-dollar breakdown from my trip.
Milk: $4.39
I always get milk for the house, and no matter where I shop, it has to be organic.
A half-gallon carton was $4.39 at Whole Foods, which isn't too far off from the $4.29 I usually spend at Trader Joe's.
Mandarin oranges: $4.99
Some sort of fruit makes it into my basket on every grocery trip, and when the weather cools off, it's usually citrus.
A bag of mandarins at Whole Foods cost a whopping $6.49, but luckily, I got it on sale for $4.99.
Unfortunately, that's still quite a bit more than the $3.49 bags I usually get at Trader Joe's. I balked at the $3 difference of the regularly priced oranges.
Avocados: $4.99
Avocados go quickly in my house, which is tough because they can be pricey.
At Trader Joe's, a bag of six organic avocados costs me $4.49, or about $0.75 apiece. At Whole Foods, however, they were $4.99 for four, or $1.25 each.
I can't justify that price difference, especially considering that the fruit tends to go bad quickly, making it hard to use it all up.
Seaweed packs: $2.99
Seaweed packs are an essential part of our snack arsenal.
I get individual packs for $0.99 at Trader Joe's, so I was shocked to see the same-sized packs go for $2.99 at Whole Foods.
Gluten-free pasta: $3.19
I like buying the 1-pound bags of organic brown rice and quinoa fusilli at Trader Joe's for $3.49. They're a great gluten-free starch option for any given week.
The only gluten-free pasta option I found at Whole Foods was a half-pound box of organic chickpea shells for $3.19. That's almost double the price I pay at Trader Joe's.
Truffle cheese: $8.51
I love picking up a block of cheese for the week for snacking, grilled-cheese sandwiches, and eggs.
My block of choice is the Trader Joe's store-brand truffle cheese. It comes from Italy, isn't too truffley, and costs $13.99 a pound.
I found a similar store-brand truffle option at Whole Foods. Though the block I picked up was similarly priced to what I tend to get atTrader Joe's, this one went for $22.99 a pound, so it was quite a bit smaller than I'm used to.
Plus, I like the taste of the Trader Joe's brand more.
Tofu: $2.29
I make stir-fried tofu at least once a week. It's a reliable protein source I know the whole family will eat.
A block of Whole Foods organic firm tofu cost me $2.29 β a jump from the $1.99 pack I typically get at Trader Joe's.
Chicken tenders: $11.99
I buy breaded chicken cutlets when I don't have time to prepare them at home. It's easy to crisp them up in my air fryer for lunchboxes and salads, so I'm happy to spend $8.99 for nearly 2 pounds of frozen tenders at Trader Joe's.
At Whole Foods, all I could find was a less-than-1-pound bag for $11.99.
It was a name-brand offering made with a cauliflower coating, so I'm not that surprised it was pricier than a standard store-brand option. I also enjoyed that it was gluten-free, and the meat was a little juicier than my usual Trader Joe's bag.
Still, I'm not sure I'd spend that much again.
Garbanzo beans: $1.39
Garbanzo beans are another trusted source of protein in my house β my daughter will eat them just rinsed out of the can. I also like to get them crispy in a pan with seasonings and some oil.
The $1.39 can of organic chickpeas at Whole Foods was more expensive than I expected, especially since I get the same thing for $1.09 at Trader Joe's.
Tortillas: $4.59
I like having tortillas on hand so I can quickly make cheese quesadillas or breakfast tacos.
Trader Joe's sells a store-brand pack of eight tortillas for $1.99, or $0.24 a tortilla.
The 10-pack I found at Whole Foods from the Vista Hermosa brand was staggeringly more expensive at $4.59, or about $2 apiece. But the quality of the name-brand bag was noticeably better, and I'd buy them again if I had room to splurge.
Butter: $7.39
I stock up on butter each week because I love baking and spreading it on toast.
A pound of unsalted organic was $6.29 at Trader Joe's and $7.39 at Whole Foods. I found them to taste virtually the same, so the $1.10 difference isn't worth it for me.
Cucumbers: $2.99
Mini cucumbers are another must-have in our fridge. My daughter loves snacking on them, and I like them as an addition to any meal.
At Trader Joe's, a pack is usually $2.49, and the same size pack at Whole Foods was $2.99.
The $0.50 jump isn't that much, but again, Whole Foods' consistently higher prices add up.
I'll stick to shopping at Trader Joe's.
I couldn't help chuckling as I walked out of Whole Foods with my $60 haul β the price differences were that staggering.
The same list of groceries would cost me only $48 at Trader Joe's, and I would've been able to grab the frozen dumplings and chocolate-covered pretzels I like without breaking my budget (those items at Whole Foods were too expensive for me to include on this trip).
Plus, that price difference doesn't even take value into account. I got considerably less food at Whole Foods, largely because many of my items cost more for noticeably less product.
To be fair, some basic items were fairly close in price, and this was ultimately only comparing one list on one specific shopping trip. The things you buy every week may be a different story.
There are even a couple of higher-quality items I'd go back to Whole Foods for every once in a while. For a casual essentials run, however, Trader Joe's is still much more economical for my family.
I'm a professional baker and I tried 10 desserts from Whole Foods' bakery section.
I was really impressed by the chain's tres leches and chocolate-eruption cake.
The brownies and macarons were disappointing for me and the berry Chantilly cake was just OK.
Whole Foods is known for its quality food and a wide selection of specialty, natural, and organic ingredients.
Its salad bar and hot buffet are great for lunch, but it also has a large bakery section with a variety of items, from breakfast pastries to decorated cakes. Its cult-favorite berry Chantilly cake even recently went viral when the chain tried to change its recipe.
As a professional baker, recipe developer, and former bakery owner, I always prefer home-baked desserts, but I recognize that sometimes you need a quick fix or an easy pick-up-and-go treat for a special occasion.
So, I shopped for a range of treats from my nearest Whole Foods store to see what's really worth buying.
The berry Chantilly cake was on display in the bakery case.
First, I tried the beloved berry Chantilly cake.
This treat has had a longtime cult following and is probably the most popular bakery item at Whole Foods.
According to its ingredients list, it consists of vanilla cake, Chantilly icing and frosting, cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, raspberry syrup and puree, and a mixture of fresh berries β including strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries.
I got a 6-inch round of it for $30.
I don't think the cake lives up to its hype.
I've tried this cake before, and now for a second time, I still don't feel like it lives up to the hype.
Is it better than many other grocery-store-bakery cakes? Yes. It's also wonderful that there is real, fresh fruit in the cake. But I was still longing for something a bit more for it to live up to its fame.
The cake layers are pretty dry. However, the addition of the smooth Chantilly cream helps to make up for that. Though the ingredients list mentions raspberry syrup and puree, I couldn't seem to taste or find any of it.
A few berries were added to the layers, with a thin layer of cream between each. Before owning my own bakery, I was a grocery-store cake decorator, and I can certainly understand how tricky these layers would be to stack with chunks of fresh fruit.
Overall, the flavor is excellent, without the cake being too sweet β I just wish the texture of the actual cake layers were a bit more moist.
The store had New York cheesecake in rounds and slices.
Whole Foods sells whole New York cheesecakes in its bakery case, but individual slices are also available in the cold case.
I grabbed a slice for $5.
Every bite of this cheesecake was very rich.
To me, a good cheesecake should have a flavorful, textured crust balanced by a smooth, rich filling.
This cheesecake slice was almost there but had a few shortcomings. The crust was soggy and reminded me of a sugar cookie. I'm a graham-cracker-crust fan, so this was a bit of a drawback for me.
The texture of the cheesecake filling was wonderfully smooth and rich, and the flavor wasn't too sweet. However, it was pretty overwhelming. It had a very robust cheese flavor, and I wished for a bit more balance.
I only tried one bite because I found it too overpowering, but I could see it being an excellent choice paired with a fruit sauce or fresh berries.
I was told the chocolate-eruption cake is a crowd favorite.
A store employee told me that the chocolate-eruption cake is another customer-favorite dessert (alongside the berry Chantilly cake, of course).
I had a 6-inch cake boxed up from the bakery display cake for $27.
This cake delivered on excellent chocolate flavor.
I'm still thinking of this chocolate cake, which means it was a top winner for me.
The cake itself was stunning with a ganache drip, piped details, and chocolate curls to spruce it up even further. The three layers of chocolate cake were wonderfully moist and tender β and pairing them with a chocolate-mousse filling made it even much better.
As the name suggests, it was incredibly chocolaty, but it wasn't too rich. It was well-balanced for a chocolate lover to enjoy every bite.
I was intrigued by the tres leches.
Packaged up and ready to grab out of the cold case, the family pack of tres leches looked quite unassuming.
The plain-looking piece cost me $14.
This was easily my favorite dessert.
What this dessert lacks in appearance, it certainly makes up for in flavor. Talk about finding a hidden gem!
The simple cake-layer base is soaked in cream and sweetened condensed milk and finished with a whipped topping. The texture was incredible with an excellent balanced flavor.
Every bite contained subtle notes of coconut and caramel that weren't too sweet or overpowering.
It's perfect on its own, but there's certainly room to dress it up at home if you plan to serve it for a special occasion. A few sliced strawberries on top will go a long way.
Sampling a chocolate-chunk cookie was a must.
There are plenty of cookie options in the Whole Foods bakery, but I chose something classic with a slightly elevated twist.
I picked up a pack of four brown-butter chocolate-chunk cookies for $7.50
These are excellent for curbing a craving.
Perfectly chewy and packed with flavor is the best way to describe these tasty cookies. I loved that they had chocolate chunks rather than chips β and there were plenty of them!
Thanks to the brown butter and vanilla extract, the flavor of this cookie was slightly enhanced compared to a typical chocolate-chip cookie.
Overall, excellent in every bite.
There were multiple flavors of macarons to choose from.
I found several flavors of Parisian macarons in the bakery display case. I chose one vanilla, one chocolate, and one salted caramel.
Each macaron was $2.
Each flavor of macaron was disappointing.
I will always get macarons if they're offered at a bakery. I'm a forever fan, and I had high hopes for these offerings.
I tried three different flavors, and although each tasted decent (especially salted caramel), their textures were a bit off.
The interiors of the macarons were chewy, but the exteriors were far too crunchy and dry to me.
Whole Foods had individually-wrapped brownies and packs of them.
Brownies are a classic, and every bakery should offer a great version of this treat.
Whole Foods sells brownies in packs of four, or you can grab individually-wrapped ones for $2.75 each.
The brownies fell flat for me.
It's hard for me to believe that a grocery-store bakery would produce a lackluster brownie, but I think Whole Foods has.
The top of the brownie was surprisingly dry and crackly, yet underneath there was actually a wonderful cakey-meets-fudgy balance.
Unfortunately, the dry top detracted from that.
In terms of flavor, I expected a wonderfully balanced, chocolaty brownie β but I thought it was relatively bland and disappointing.
I was surprised by how many pie flavors there were at Whole Foods.
The Whole Foods bakery had several flavors of pie, from pecan to four-berry to apple.
To get a taste for the crust and fruit filling, I chose a 9-inch cherry pie for $15.
This was a decent pie for the price point.
Even for seasoned bakers, putting together a homemade pie can feel like a lot of work. For $15, this is a decent option if you aren't up to the task of making your own.
The not-too-sweet flavor was excellent. However, the crust wasn't one bit flaky or buttery and seemed a bit soggy, like it had been pulled out of the oven a few minutes too early. Still, I may have just gotten a dud.
Overall, I wished for a better pie crust, but it's a decent option in a pinch.
The shortbread cookies I found were too cute to pass up.
Among the bakery's cookie selection, I found shortbread shaped like little Scottie dogs that were partially dunked in a chocolate coating.
The cookie four-pack cost me $5.50.
I wished these adorable cookies tasted better.
I hoped for an adorable cookie that also tasted fantastic, but I ended up disappointed.
These were definitely an impulse buy based on the cute shape and design of the cookie, but biting into one let me down.
The texture was fine, but the flavor was oddly artificial to me. I don't think they tasted balanced or buttery, and the hint of vanilla I was expecting didn't come through.
The tiramisu cake looked beautiful in the display case.
Whole Foods sells tiramisu dessert cups, but there's also a whole tiramisu cake available in the bakery display case.
I got a pretty 6-inch tiramisu cake for $27.
This is a great dessert for a special occasion.
Making tiramisu isn't necessarily difficult, but it requires a few steps. If you want to skip them and buy it premade as a cake, this one from Whole Foods is a worthy option.
The two-layer dessert had terrific flavor thanks to the vanilla cake paired with a creamy, coffee-flavored filling. The top was dressed up nicely with even more piped cream, a dusting of cocoa powder, and chocolate curls.
I think it's a bit pricey for what it is, but a good option if you need to pick up a showstopping dessert for a special occasion.