The best deli meat doesn’t have to come from a fancy butcher shop. Sometimes, it’s prepackaged and ready to grab, no human interaction necessary. Other times, it’s nestled in a lovely glass case at your grocery store’s deli—some human interaction necessary. At Sporked, we’ve tasted through enough deli meats to make most vegetarians very uncomfortable. But now we know the best deli meat brands—including the best veggie deli meat, so the vegetarians can relax a little. From the best bologna to the best pepperoni, here’s all of the best deli meat we’ve tried in our taste tests.
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- Dietz & Watson Sliced Black Forest Smoked Turkey Breast
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Dietz & Watson makes some of the best deli meat, and this smoked turkey breast is no exception. It tastes like it was actually smoked, not just pumped with liquid smoke. And it’s not wet. Why is deli turkey always so wet?? You’ll be sneaking to the fridge at midnight just to nibble on a few slices of this stuff.
Read the full ranking of the best deli turkey
Credit: Liv Averett / Vons
- Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh Blackened Chicken Breast
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Oscar Mayer’s pre-sliced blackened chicken has a lot going for it. Perfect sturdy thickness? Check. Delightfully savory without being too salty? Check. A slight char on the edges that lend a touch of spice without overpowering the chicken breast flavor? Check, check, and check. The slices aren’t so thin that they fall apart, but they aren’t thick enough to be cumbersome and chewy. If you’re sensitive to that weird sweetness many cold cuts can have (like me), you’ll be pleased with this pre-sliced deli meat.
Read the full ranking of the best deli chicken slices
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- Boar’s Head Cooked Uncured Ham
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When it comes to the best deli meat, Boar’s Head is frequently part of the conversation. Their uncured ham is beautifully marbled, and is sweet and salty in equal measure. It even has a snappy rind. Pile this ham onto a sandwich or even enjoy it for breakfast with a fried egg and American cheese on an English muffin.
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- True Story Uncured Wildflower Honey & Maple Ham
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True Story is one of the best deli meat brands if you’re looking for something at the grocery store that tastes a bit artisanal. We love their prosciutto (it came in near the top of our best prosciutto taste test), but their honey ham is spectacular. It really tastes like thinly sliced spiral cut honey ham. It’s head and shoulders above the other honey ham brands we tried. It’s worth the extra scratch.
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- Danola Lower Sodium Premium Ham
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The best deli meat is often packed with sodium—but that’s not always the case. Danola makes a damn good lower sodium ham. It still manages to be super savory and seasoned, even though it only has 320 mg of sodium a serving. You really won’t be able to tell the difference between this ham and other, non-lower sodium brands.
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- Primo Taglio London Broil
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The best roast beef should be juicy, well seasoned, and a touch pink—we’re not talking rare, but it shouldn’t be dry and gray. This Primo Taglio roast beef is perfectly cookeds, plus it has a nice layer of fat for extra richness. It’s the best deli meat to have in the fridge when you’re craving a steak sandwich but don’t have the energy to actually cook and thinly slice a steak.
Read the full ranking of the best roast beef
Credit: Sarah Demonteverde/Vons
- Boar’s Head Corned Beef Top Round
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Too often, sliced corned beef replaces flavor, depth, and seasonings with a boatload of salt. That’s simply not the case with Boar’s Head. Like freshly baked corned beef, the texture of the meat itself is already crumbly and a little bit fatty—but it’s the zesty, savory corning spices that really bring every slice to life. When you order Boar’s Head fresh from the deli, you can also decide how thick you want your slices. You’ve got options, my friend. Don’t settle for less than exactly what you want!
Read our full ranking of the best deli corned beef
Credit: Liv Averett / Ralphs
- Boar’s Head Original German Recipe Bologna
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Boar’s Head makes the best bologna, hands down. Managing editor Gwynedd Stuart swears by it and insists you order it sliced very thin from the deli counter. (Yes, you do need to talk to an actual person to get this bologna, but we promise it’s worth it!) It’s like the bologna of your youth but with more flavor.
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Credit: Merc / Ralphs
- Foustman’s Hot Toscano Salami
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If you like your meats to bring the heat, this salami is the best deli meat you can buy. It really tastes like Calabrian chiles—fruity and tangy and peppery—and it packs a spicy kick. It’s on the smaller end, so it’s better suited for snacking than piling onto a sandwich. But it would certainly be at home on a charcuterie board or even in a pasta salad.
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- Appleton Dry Cured Ham Prosciutto
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Save your money, because this very rectangular prosciutto is practically as good as the freshly sliced stuff that’ll cost you a heck of a lot more. While some pre-sliced prosciutto can taste a little off or a little gamey, this one tastes fresh. It’s savory, meaty, and a sweet in that porky kind of way. Pile it onto an Italian deli-style sandwich with fresh mozzarella, sliced tomato, and pesto.
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- Battistoni Cup & Char Style Pepperoni
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You won’t do better than this pepperoni. Yes, this is the best pepperoni for pizza (they cook up crispy, just like pepperoni should). But it’s also the best pepperoni for snacking. It’s spicy and meaty with just the right amount of fat. Go ahead and make yourself a pepperoni sandwich with Battistoni’s peps.
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Credit: Sarah Demonteverde / Amazon
- Yves Veggie Bologna
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Gwynedd said it best: “Bologna is the best deli meat to vegan-ify.” Since it’s already pretty processed, the homogenous texture of regular bologna is already a step removed from deli meat. Yves Veggie Bologna is yummy on its own, packing all the seasonings typically found in bologna (like allspice, black pepper, celery seed, coriander, and myrtle berries), but as a vegan deli meat, you can barely tell it apart from other bologna. Seriously, meat-eaters could easily be fooled by this stuff.
Read the full ranking of the best vegan deli meat
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Best Deli Turkey
Rating:
10/10
Sporks
Best Deli Chicken
Rating:
10/10
Sporks
Best Deli Ham
Rating:
8/10
Sporks
Best Honey Ham
Rating:
9.5/10
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Best Lower Sodium Ham
Rating:
9/10
Sporks
Best Deli Roast Beef
Rating:
8.5/10
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Best Deli Corned Beef
Rating:
9/10
Sporks
Best Bologna
Rating:
10/10
Sporks
Best Salami
Rating:
9.5/10
Sporks
Best Prosciutto
Rating:
10/10
Sporks
Best Pepperoni
Rating:
10/10
Sporks
Best Vegan Deli Meat
Rating:
10/10
Sporks
