I Tried 8 Canned Whipped Creams, and the Best One Was a Total Shocker
And now I have a new favorite.
Allrecipes/Qi Ai
Whipped cream is more than just a topping; it’s a nostalgic, versatile delight. Whether it’s gracing a slice of pie, adding charm to a bowl of berries, or going straight from the can into your mouth during a midnight snack, whipped cream delivers joy. But with so many options lining the shelves, which one should you choose? Is there a single can that reigns supreme across all desserts? Spoiler: there is—but most options have their strengths and weaknesses.
For instance, pie is already sweet enough, so overly sugary whipped cream can overwhelm the palate. I prefer whipped cream to bring a touch of freshness and lightness to dessert, not compete with it. While sweetness was a factor, this ranking focuses on taste and versatility, ensuring the results are as balanced as possible. Let’s dive in, from the least impressive to the absolute cream of the crop.
How I Tested the Canned Whipped Creams
Each can was shaken, swirled onto a plate for texture assessment, and then tasted with a spoon. Identical tests were repeated five hours and one day later. Despite similar ingredient lists—some with corn syrup, some without—the flavors varied significantly. For the record, I’m team no corn syrup in my milk and cream (just like I prefer real maple syrup on my pancakes), but I recognize that isn't important to everyone, so this ranking is based solely on taste and versatility, not ingredient preferences.
Writer's Note:
The lovely thing is that for seven out of eight of these whipped creams, I wouldn't be upset at all if these were the choices set out on the dessert table. Even with the last place falling so short, I may not choose to “add to cart” again, but I can say with absolute honesty that none of these options are awful. And that is truly saying something since it’s such a rarity in these taste tests.
The Best Canned Whipped Creams, Ranked
8th Place: Target Favorite Day Original Whipped Dairy Topping
Allrecipes/Qi Ai
Verdict: Too sweet to handle.
Like so many Americans, I sure do love Target—which is why I'm sad to report that I don’t love the store's whipped cream. Corn syrup is listed too high on the ingredient list, noticeably affecting the taste. Each bite feels like taking a shot of frothy powdered sugar to the face or eating a ball of cotton candy. It’s brash, it’s brazen, and I would not care to try it again.
If you’ve got a bowl of berries begging for whipped cream, this will do, but there are better options out there in this sweeter category. It has a lovely creamy texture (I’ll give it that), but good grief, I get a cavity just thinking about this atop a sundae or hot chocolate.
7th Place: Walmart Great Value Original Dairy Whipped Topping
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Verdict: Greasy and overly sweet.
Walmart’s brand jumps out of the can, eager to greet your banana split. It looks a little more separated than the other brands, and there’s a noticeable greasiness in the mouth after sampling. It’s slick and sugary sweet in an odd way that’s tough to describe. The Great Value whipped cream is nearly identical to the one in 6th place, but because I spent a decent amount of time wondering if I was imagining a strange aftertaste, this one landed in a bottom spot.
6th Place: Aldi Friendly Farms Whipped Dairy Topping
Allrecipes/Qi Ai
Verdict: A step up, but still thick and greasy.
Aldi’s brand is fluffy and nearly identical in every other way to Great Value's. It’s a little less greasy, and the finish is nicer, so it comes in one spot higher. The texture is a bit too thick, though, like marshmallow fluff coming out of a can, especially when squeezed into a spiraled mound. But really, I'm nitpicking here, and I was impressed with Aldi’s offering.
5th Place: President French Style Gourmet Whipped Creme Original with Madagascar Vanilla
Verdict: Decent, but underwhelming vanilla flavor.
The first taste almost landed this one in last place. It tasted cooped up, like the cream committed a crime and had been locked up for years. But hours later, it had improved by leaps and bounds. So, if you go with this one, get rid of the stuff sitting just under the nozzle, then let it sit in the fridge until you need it.
I perked up a bit when I read “Madagascar vanilla" on the label, but my excitement fell flat after discovering the vanilla flavor doesn’t come through as strong as I would want it to. Overall, this is still a good product, especially when paired with anything chocolate, like a chocolate tart, hot cocoa, or chocolate cake.
4th Place: Kroger Original Dairy Whipped Topping
Allrecipes/Qi Ai
Verdict: Smooth and silky, but not super versatile.
Kroger’s brand wins the title for smoothest and silkiest appearance. And for an option that contains corn syrup, it manages to start out tasting pretty fresh before melting into the expected sugary syrup. The "real cream" designation didn't really come through, more aptly living up to the “whipped topping” specification.
It’s great on its own but doesn’t excel across all applications, landing it in fourth place. This would be best on something like fresh berries (maybe that’s why there’s a berry on the front of the can).
3rd Place: Cabot Premium Natural Sweetened Light Whipped Cream
Allrecipes/Qi Ai
Verdict: Homemade taste in a can.
The can says “tastes like homemade,” and it's not lying. Cabot’s whipped cream is light, fluffy, and genuinely tastes like you put a bunch of heavy whipping cream in a stand mixer and let it rip. You could put this on anything. The only negative is that it’s not very exciting when eaten on its own—it really tastes like milk and nothing else. But again, if you’re not tasting it against seven other options, you would think, “Wow, this is really good whipped cream.”
2nd Place: Original Reddi Wip
Allrecipes/Qi Ai
Verdict: The nostalgic runner-up.
Ah, the bright red can we all grew up with. At the beginning of this taste test, I thought, “Oh, that’s easy! Reddi Wip will win!" But that wasn’t the case. Turns out, my nostalgia bias was overthrown.
That said, Reddi Wip still ranks the highest of the cans that choose to include corn syrup. (Doing this test was the first time I found out corn syrup was in here!) It comes out of the can in a satisfying way, and even through the sweetness, you can taste the real dairy in there. Reddi Wip just does whipped cream really, really well. There’s a reason it’s a household name.
1st Place: Kroger Private Selection Extra Creamy Whipped Heavy Cream
Allrecipes/Qi Ai
Verdict: The ultimate whipped cream.
Kroger’s premium brand hits all the marks: fresh, fluffy, and lightly sweetened. It’s versatile enough to complement anything from pie to pudding, yet delicious enough to squeeze the whole can right into my mouth (over time, of course, I’m not an animal).
This is everything you want in a whipped cream. If you’re looking for perfection, this is it.
