Food

We tried 5 brands of guacamole and the one from Whole Foods came out on top

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Insider tried five brands of store-bought guacamole: Sabra, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Calavo, and Yucatan. Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER
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Any snack lover would argue that a tortilla chip isn't complete without guacamole.

In the interest of finding the guac most worthy of your chips, Insider sampled five different brands: Sabra, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Calavo, and Yucatan.

Prices for each guacamole brand will vary by the grocery store, so we compared the value of each one using Instacart, an online grocery delivery service, as well as checking prices listed online.

Here's a breakdown of each store-bought guacamole, ranked from worst to best.

We bought all five guacamole brands at grocery stores in New York City.

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All the guac we tried. It's a hard life, but someone has to do it. Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

The various tubs of guacamole cost between $3.59 and $7.14.

We paired the guac with multi-grain tortilla chips.

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The brands were revealed to the testers after they finished tasting. Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

Insider's reporters decided to blindly taste each guacamole in an effort to remain unbiased by brand loyalty.

The group quickly came to a consensus that Yucatan had a suspiciously smooth texture and an oddly sour flavor.

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Yucatan guacamole. Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

"It's like they just blended lemon and avocado and said, 'this works,'" one of the taste-testers remarked.

Yucatan was completely lacking in texture — there were no veggies to speak of in the dip.

Plus, we couldn't make out any of the seasonings or spices typically used in guacamole, like cilantro and salt. It was so smooth one of the taste-testers said they thought it might have gelatin in it.

The 8-ounce tub cost $3.69.

We found the Calavo guacamole's flavor to be somewhat sweet and relatively garlicky, although the garlic didn't really taste like it was fresh.

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Calavo guacamole. Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

We honestly didn't feel as strongly about Calavo. Despite being slightly more expensive at $4.99 for a 12-ounce container, it just wasn't anything that impressive to us. Instead, it was something "you would politely eat at a party," one of our co-workers said.

It was also the spiciest out of the five contenders.

Some thought the Sabra guacamole was somewhat bland and could have benefited from a little more spice.

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Sabra's guacamole. Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

Did Sabra's guacamole taste like it came from the grocery store? Yes, it did, but that doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing.

It had a little bit of texture to it, and it was fairly salty — although not so salty that it tasted bad.

It was also the cheapest of the four brands at just $3.59 for 8 ounces. For a cheap option, this brand was just OK.

Trader Joe's guacamole, unlike Calavo's, had a much fresher garlic taste.

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Trader Joe's guacamole. Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

Although its flavor was intense and tasty, it wasn't as textured as some of the other brands we sampled.

At $3.99 for 16 ounces, it was ideal for those who prefer a cheaper guac without veggie chunks.

Whole Foods' guacamole was a true step above the four other brands.

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Whole Foods guacamole. Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

It was everything that guac is supposed to be: textured, refreshing, and well-seasoned.

"You can see the herbs in it like you're supposed to," one of my co-workers said. Another commented on its perfect blend of seasonings, which all complimented each other.

Whole Foods' guacamole, which costs $8.99 per pound or around $7.14 for the amount we purchased, tasted the most homemade, thanks to its chunky texture.

There was also a little hint of spice to it.

If there was one thing we all agreed on, it was that Whole Foods was the clear winner in this contest.

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The tasters were deep in tasting and thought. Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

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Sarah writes for the travel vertical at Business Insider. She graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in magazine journalism and German. She is from Chicago, and currently lives in Brooklyn. 
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Erin McDowell
Erin McDowell is a senior reporter on Business Insider's editorial partnerships team. She covers food, lifestyle, and entertainment for Business Insider and its partner sites, including MSN, Apple News, and Yahoo.She graduated from Elon University in January 2019, where she studied strategic communications and digital art. She has written for V Magazine, Milk.XYZ, OUT.com, Brides Magazine, and more. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.