13 Discontinued Walmart Food Items We're Still Mourning
As the world's biggest retail giant, Walmart is known for its competitive pricing and wide range of private label products, including in its grocery section. For decades, Walmart has been making its own food items that are typically sold under the name Great Value. While these homegrown products were once considered lesser versions of bigger brands, Walmart has upped its game in recent years. Nowadays, Great Value products not only offer better prices, but they also provide equal or even superior quality and often feature unique items and flavors available nowhere else.
Unfortunately, Walmart is also known for frequently changing its available product offerings (stay tuned for other big changes coming to Walmart in 2024). This means that some of its best food items are often discontinued too soon, leaving swarms of disappointed customers grieving over a favorite food and begging for its return. These items might be discontinued because sales weren't strong enough or due to manufacturing issues that made them less than cost-effective. But whatever the reason, just because they were discontinued by Walmart doesn't mean those fast-forgotten foods weren't loved by millions. We've scoured the aisles and found a plate full of Walmart discontinued food items that we're still mourning.
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Great Value Organic Instant Oatmeal Oats And Flax
For some, oatmeal might be an acquired taste, but for others, it's a staple food that makes for an easy breakfast. However, not all oatmeal is created equal, and those that include flaxseed, alongside ordinary oats, are seen by some as an even better option due to the many health benefits of flaxseed. Walmart once offered such a version of its instant oatmeal under its Great Value Organic brand.
In addition to organic ingredients with plenty of fiber, the instant oatmeal oats and flax provided more richness and an earthy flavor that set it apart from the plain variety. Flaxseed also gave it plenty of plant-based protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for increased energy and healthy calories. According to an article in the journal Nutrients, flaxseed also passes along protective effects against cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some cancers. This made the now-discontinued quick breakfast the perfect choice for those looking for a hot meal to start the day off right.
Sadly these days, the best Walmart product for those in search of oatmeal with flaxseed is the Better Oats brand, which is decidedly not for those who are feeling cost-conscious. Alas, it seems the world doesn't feel the need to cater to those simple breakfast folk who like cooked oats in a bowl.
Great Value Tropickles
Our next entry may be a controversial pick, and even considering it for this list put us in a pickle (pun intended). That's because Great Value's briefly sold Tropickles were torn to shreds by many critics when they were first released. A food review by Junk Banter went so far as to call them "abominations." But there are swaths of fans of these odd hors d'oeuvres. Comments online from customers highlighted their distinctive look and quirky flavor, and those who loved them did so as vehemently as those who hated them.
Tropickles are, quite simply, pickles that have been soaked in fruit punch, giving them a notable flavor so strong that it can be smelled as soon as you open the jar. Though many reviews remarked how unpleasant that smell and taste were, it turns out Walmart was simply delivering its version of a traditional Southern American favorite. They arrived in July 2017 when pickles were trending as a popular offbeat snack, with pickle pops and other products releasing around the same time.
Though we'd be hard-pressed to call these award-winners -- they even made our list of foods you should never buy at Walmart -- Great Value's Tropickles deserved a longer time in the sun.
Great Value Red Tornado Red Soda
Soft drink brand Mountain Dew has a cult following that obsesses over new and limited edition flavors, and one of its fan favorites is Code Red. Walmart got in on the action more than a decade ago by releasing its own version of that flavor, which it called Red Tornado and made available under its Great Value brand. For many, it probably seemed like what it clearly was: a knockoff of a national favorite for those looking to save a few dollars.
Well, diehard fans of Walmart became nearly as obsessed with the off-brand Code Red, which offered a distinct spin on Mountain Dew's crimson soda. Unfortunately, the soda didn't last too long on shelves. With the overwhelming popularity of Code Red, it's possible that most casual soda drinkers simply wanted to stick with the official brand. These days, some fans are still craving Red Tornado, even though it's gone, but it seems Walmart has wiped nearly every trace of its existence. Searches online will turn up surprisingly little information on the drink, with the exception of some random mentions of how unhealthy it was due to its high sugar content and use of high fructose corn syrup -- nothing new in the world of sodas.
Of course, there are also the occasional Reddit posts about the drink. Some are even perplexed at how quickly Red Tornado has been forgotten, comparing it to the infamous Mandela Effect.
Great Value Jalapeño Cheese Puffs
Walmart's Red Tornado is certainly not the only product intended to capitalize on the success of a major brand's new, exotic flavor. This approach is actually part of the Great Value strategy: The brand often identifies the hottest, best-selling food snacks and then creates its own versions to sell at a discounted price. Another product introduced, but taken off the market too soon, was the store's take on a snack that gained off-the-charts popularity for a brief period — jalapeño cheese puffs.
Cheetos, Herr's, and other national brands have had success with jalapeño-flavored twists on their classic snacks, and then Walmart did its own version and impressed snackers everywhere. Customer reviews at the Walmart site between 2019 and 2021 describe them as "just the right combination of crunch and heat," "the bomb," and "Absolutely addictive!"
However, before too long, they were gone, and fans were left looking for answers. "These were my favorite snack for the longest time, and now none of the Walmarts near me sell them," commented one Reddit user. Any hopes of it being simply a brief sell-out have since been dashed, as they are permanently out of stock.
Great Value Pineapple Dessert Pizza
Walmart's Great Value dessert pizzas hit store shelves in late 2019, but we're only highlighting the one we miss the most. The entire menu, however, was axed, and since then, no replacement has been found that matches what Walmart offered. Other brands just don't come close.
The discount brand offered three flavors: s'mores, cinnamon apple, and pineapple. All three were excellent, but, unexpectedly, the pineapple one set itself apart with its left-of-center topping. The sweet Hawaiian fruit isn't as commonly associated with dessert pastries, and it has a vocal group of detractors when it comes to pizza toppings (even if pineapple wasn't the first fruit to go on pizza). Nevertheless, the Great Value pineapple dessert pizza mixed chunks of real pineapple with a smattering of cinnamon pastry icing (which admittedly never looks as good as it does on the box), all served on a waffle crust. "OMG!! This pineapple dessert is one of the most delicious dessert I ever tasted ... so good," a Walmart customer posted in 2020.
Though the idea might make one wince at first, the pineapple works on a pastry in a way that it doesn't on pizza. This makes it the perfect after-meal food that you never knew you wanted.
Great Value Frozen Cookie Dough
Cookies may be the world's greatest sweet snack, partly because of the wide variety of styles and flavors available. Even better is cookie dough -- you can make your own with our 5-Ingredient Edible Cookie Dough Recipe. But we digress. Walmart outdid itself a few years ago with its frozen cookie dough, which made baking a breeze. It used to sell a few flavors that should have never gone away.
Available in the freezer aisle, Great Value's frozen cookie dough came in triple chocolate, birthday cake, and our unexpected favorite, oatmeal cranberry white chocolate. Sure, oatmeal cookies are polarizing, but mixing them with white chocolate and cranberries is too good a combination not to stand out. Admittedly, these were meant to be baked into cookies, but let's face it: Many of us were just nibbling on the dough right out of the box. Regrettably, Walmart took them away from us far too soon, so if you want oatmeal cranberry white chocolate cookie dough, you'll probably have to turn to more gourmet brands, like Sweet Loren's, which defeats the whole purpose of buying Great Value items to stretch your grocery store budget.
Great Value Breakfast Pizza
Walmart seems to love introducing a savory pizza snack and then snatching it away from customers without so much as an apology. In addition to the Great Value dessert pizzas, there were also pizzas on the other end of the meal spectrum that came and went: Great Value's breakfast pizza line.
More than simply breakfast on a pizza crust, this morning treat didn't use traditional pizza crust or even a bagel. Instead, its four flavors came on one of two different crusts, making even the original breakfast pizza flavor something special. That one was served on a buttery biscuit crust and topped with mozzarella, cheddar, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, and a cheddar cheese sauce.
Walmart's sausage breakfast pizza and bacon blast breakfast pizza flavors were both served on a cinnamon waffle crust and included a packet of maple-flavored syrup. The first boasted breakfast sausage crumble, scrambled eggs, and seasoned potatoes, all smothered in mozzarella and cheddar cheese. The bacon variety doubled down on the crispiness with cooked bacon and seasoned potatoes atop the mozzarella and cheddar cheese. The four meat breakfast pizza, meanwhile, featured sausage, bacon, ham, and sliced beef steak on a biscuit crust along with scrambled eggs and cheese. We're not sure why these breakfast pizzas weren't one of the store's best all-time sellers, but it may take a social media movement to get these back in stores.
Great Value Milk Chocolate Cups
Few would argue that among the most popular chocolate treats in the world is the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, with Reese's offering a variety of shapes over the years along with different flavors, from the Ultimate Peanut Butter Lovers version sans chocolate to the Big Cup Peanut Butter Cups with Potato Chips. Years ago, Walmart offered a similar candy treat as part of a now-discontinued line of milk chocolate cups.
According to some fans, these mini cups, available in peanut butter and caramel flavors, held their own against name brands, and some even thought the peanut butter cups were a touch above what Reese's offered. But the greatest interest among Great Value fanatics was for the caramel cups, which eliminated the peanut butter nougat entirely and offered a caramel and chocolate cup unlike any other — and before you tell us it's just a Rolo, we assure you, it was not.
Great Value Cotton Candy Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ice cream sandwiches are a summertime staple, but tastes can really vary. Some may prefer the more elaborate ones with real chocolate chip cookies encasing gourmet ice cream. However, sometimes there's nothing more satisfying than those simple black and white sandwiches with chocolate wafers and vanilla ice cream. Walmart had its own version of a specially flavored one that we can't believe wasn't in stores longer: Great Value cotton candy ice cream sandwiches.
Exactly as the name suggests, these sandwiches consisted of soft, vanilla-flavored cookies holding a solid brick of ice cream with a distinct cotton candy flavor and bits of confetti candy pieces mixed in. With their splash of dazzling color, these frozen treats also stood out and practically begged you to pick them out of the store freezer. It's true that Walmart offered a different version of its Great Value cotton candy ice cream sandwiches in some regions -- those also appear to be discontinued. But even visually, those differ so much that they're practically an entirely new item, featuring a Neapolitan-like color scheme that makes little sense and isn't nearly as appealing.
Great Value Margarita Ice Sherbet
We've seen Walmart discontinue some beloved frozen desserts, including a couple of different excellent ice creams. But the best of them all might be a special flavor that one doesn't normally associate with kid-friendly frozen desserts: margarita. It's the perfect marriage of summer flavors, appealing to the child in all of us while bursting with a classic adult beverage taste.
Of course, it's not really an ice cream; it's actually a sherbet. But that's just another way this one sets itself apart from everything else on the shelf. It does, however, use milk in its recipe, making it something in between a sherbet and an ice cream. But how often is it that store-bought sherbets come in such offbeat flavors? Customer reviews were through the roof, with fans of the flavor declaring its uncanny resemblance to a frozen marg, with others saying that adding even just a touch of tequila sent it through the stratosphere.
Ironically, a comment from 2020 urged the store to never stop carrying it, while the next reviews from less than a year later were begging the retailer to bring it back. The good news, though, is that even if Great Value's margarita iced sherbet isn't for sale anymore, it's something that anyone with a well-stocked liquor cabinet can recreate at home with a gallon of vanilla ice cream.
Great Value Kettle Cooked Burnin' Hot Potato Chips
Over the last decade or so, it seems there's been a war over potato chips as companies like Lay's and Herr's compete to offer the weirdest and most unique chip flavors ever seen in the grocery store. Does anyone even remember Lay's Southern biscuits and gravy chips? One of the biggest battles in the ongoing chip wars has been over who can make the hottest chip, with Frito-Lay firing its shot with Flamin' Hot potato chips and Utz responding with red hot potato chips. Then, Walmart entered the fray with Great Value's Kettle Cooked Burnin' Hot potato chips, a clear take on the Flamin' Hot recipe.
These potato chips offered a solid mix of spicy, smoky, and sweet flavors, with reviews highlighting their strong, toasted chili flavor. However, fans also say that a replacement flavor more recently made available just isn't the same as the original, which was taken out of stock. The newer Burnin' Hot flavored potato chips aren't available these days either. More frustrating than the chip flavor being discontinued is that other hot flavors didn't get the axe. The brand's Kettle Cooked Jalapeño flavored potato chips are still being sold, for example, and some fans online aren't happy about it. But with the explosion of the red-hot potato chip craze, Walmart may have simply decided that it wasn't worth trying to compete in a battle it couldn't win.
Great Value Organic White Baking Chips
It's only recently that vegan options have become commonplace, and there are still many restaurants and grocery outlets that don't do much to cater to a vegan diet. So, you can imagine just how livid plant-based eaters were when Walmart discontinued its Great Value Organic white baking chips, which were made with no dairy and no eggs.
These white chocolate chips were perfect for making vegan cookies, cakes, and other goodies, according to several fans. They were also great for casual snacking -- sometimes there's something impossibly good about baking chips on their own, as anyone with a sweet tooth can attest.
Lost forever, Great Value Organic white baking chips are just one of many discontinued food items that caused outrage among fans. Their disappearance from stores in 2023 caused an immediate outcry, with consumers wondering how to replace them. "It is impossible to find vegan white chocolate chips anywhere," one Walmart customer wrote online. Another said, "These were the only delicious tasting dairy-free white chips! My allergy kid is soo sad!" A customer said on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Vegan white chocolate is already so hard to find. Helpppp."
World Table Frozen Pizza
We definitely want Walmart to bring back its breakfast pizzas and dessert pizzas, but we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the retailer's dinner pizzas, too. Once sold under the private label World Table, these pizzas were a cut above most store-bought pizzas, and we want them back, gosh darn it.
World Table didn't just offer plain, boring pizzas either; there was an entire line of Italian-inspired ingredients and snacks, too. This included Four Cheese & Jalapeño Flatbread Crackers, Roasted Tomato Chipotle Roja salsa, Taste of the Mediterranean Hummus Snack Chips, and even gourmet cookies. But its pizzas were the best of them all, available in standard flavors like Pepperoni with Fresh Mozzarella, but also in unique specialty flavors like Fiesta Barbecue Thin Crust, Margarita, and even Philly Cheese Steak.
In 2011, the private label's creators told Supermarket News that the line was crafted with the consumer experience in mind, determined to get it right by spending time with shoppers and getting to know their tastes more personally. "We didn't create foods that people couldn't pronounce or anything that's too far out there," Mike Walters, then managing partner of Sterling-Rice Group, said at the time. "The foods are familiar but also offer a unique or special taste experience." Unfortunately, they didn't last forever, and though you can still get plenty of frozen pizza at Walmart, it just isn't the same as World Table.
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