10 Best Grocery Store Cupcakes, Ranked (Now with Red Velvet Cupcakes!)

The best grocery store cupcakes have a few things all the others don’t.We want flavorful, substantial frosting that doesn’t immediately dissolve on your tongue like aerated fluff. The cake itself should be moist, with a balanced density and sweetness. And while a lot of grocery store cupcakes taste like straight-up preservatives, the best store bought cupcakes don’t leave a bad aftertaste in your mouth.. We know, we know—all grocery store cupcakes contain preservatives; they just shouldn’t taste like it. We want to be fooled. Bamboozled. Convince us that a real baker made these in a real kitchen. We’re not asking too much, are we? 

A lot of us have a fraught relationship with grocery store cupcakes. Picture it: You have to be at a birthday party in 30 minutes, so you drop by the grocery store to grab a sweet treat, and you’re immediately crippled with indecision. You’re searching for the best grocery store cupcakes, but what can you do besides go off vibes? Vibes, cupcake aesthetic, and more vibes. 

But now, after a series of taste tests, we can help. We’re freaking grocery store cupcake connoisseurs. We taste tested more than two dozen grocery store cupcakes and found the best chocolate cupcakes, the best vanilla cupcakes, the best vegan cupcakes, and even the best red velvet cupcakes. Here they are, in all their frosted glory.

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Best Mixed Mini Cupcakes

Favorite Day Bakery Chocolate & Vanilla Mini Cupcakes

Target

Here’s something to consider when trying to find the best store bought cupcakes: People are fickle. Maybe one day your pal is a chocolate fiend and the next they can’t get enough vanilla. How are you to anticipate their current dessert mood? Luckily, if you can’t decide between chocolate or vanilla cupcakes, Target’s Favorite Day Chocolate & Vanilla Cupcakes are the yummiest mixed batch of the bunch. The frosting is slightly thicker than typical frosting fluff, the sprinkles are decently sized and crunch nicely with every bite (though they could be more evenly distributed, if you ask me), and the cake is soft and moist. You might notice a slightly artificial aftertaste, but look, we tried so many grocery store cupcakes, and that aftertaste is really hard to escape. We can’t have it all. But we can have some of the best chocolate cupcakes and the best vanilla cupcakes in the same tray, at the very least. —Ariana Losch

Credit: Merc / Target

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best for Oreo Lovers

Two Bite Oreo Mini Cupcakes

Vons

Here’s the deal: If you bite into these Oreo Mini Cupcakes expecting to taste an Oreo cookie in cupcake form, you’re going to be a little disappointed. These don’t taste like Oreo cookies—they do, however, taste alarmingly similar to Oreo O’s. These cupcakes have muted chocolate and vanilla creme flavors, and the frosting almost approximates the sugary flavor of Oreo creme. It’s weird, sure, but it made this list of the best store-bought cupcakes for a reason. It’s pretty damn good—especially if you manage your expectations. —Ariana Losch 

Credit: Merc / Vons

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Vegan Cupcakes

Rubicon Vegan Chocolate Blackout Cupcake

Instacart

The best vegan cupcakes can be hard to find because there simply aren’t a lot of vegan cupcakes to be found. I was concerned we weren’t going to find a decent contender, but then came Rubicon’s vegan chocolate cupcakes. If it wasn’t advertised on the package, you really wouldn’t know these were vegan cupcakes. (I know, because I asked several people to try one without telling them!) These vegan chocolate cupcakes are large and dense. The chocolate flavor is deep and extremely decadent. The cake itself has a thick, fudgy consistency, which gives way to a rich chocolate icing in the middle. If you’re looking for the best grocery store cupcakes to buy for a vegan, look no further. (If you’re in the market for the best vegan mini cupcakes, try Abe’s School Friendly chocolate cupcakes, which we also tasted and liked even if they weren’t the best vegan cupcakes we tried.) —Ariana Losch

Credit: Merc / Instacart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Red Velvet Cupcakes

Just Desserts Red Velvet

Instacart

Red velvet can be a tough nut to crack. They should have a very specific cocoa flavor, one with a little bit of tang, especially if they’re topped with cream cheese frosting. We tried a few brands of red velvet cupcakes, and Just Desserts came the closest to nailing it. First of all this red velvet cupcake is red. Redder than hell! Does the frosting need more tang? Sure, but if you like that mellow cocoa flavor, you’ll like this cupcake. —Gwynedd Stuart

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Wild Card

Just Desserts Classic Carrot Cupcake

Kroger

After putting an oatmeal cookie in first place for our Aldi cookies ranking, I hope some of you at least saw this coming. Yes, a carrot cupcake made our ranking of the best grocery store cupcakes. But it’s seriously so good—rich and dense, like a nice spice cake. That thick cream cheese frosting? Those delicate carrot flakes in the cake? This blew my cupcake criteria out of the water. I know a cupcake that has a vegetable in it is going to turn off a lot of you, and I respect that. But if you’re searching for the best store bought cupcakes that someone without the biggest sweet tooth would really enjoy, you’ve found it. —Ariana Losch

Credit: Merc / Kroger

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Fruit Flavored Cupcakes

Private Selection Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Sprouts

This isn’t really a strawberry cheesecake cupcake—let’s get that out of the way right off the bat. There really isn’t any “cheesecake” flavor in the mix, but that didn’t stop us from thinking this was one of the best grocery store cupcakes we tried in our most recent taste test. You get strawberry flavor times two: There’s an artificial strawberry sauce swirl in the frosting—think Nesquik strawberry syrup—but then inside of the vanilla cupcake, there’s a dollop of wonderfully fresh tasting strawberry jam, seeds and all. The cake is moist and fresh tasting, but the strawberry filling is the star. Yes, they should have called these “strawberry shortcake” cupcakes, but we’ll forgive them for the misnomer. —Gwynedd Stuart

Credit: Merc / Sprouts

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Chocolate Cupcakes

Publix Bakery Fudge Iced Chocolate Cupcakes

Publix

If you want the best chocolate cupcakes, book a trip to the South, because the Publix bakery simply can’t be beat. These Fudge Iced Chocolate Cupcakes (emphasis on fudge iced) blow literally every other brand of chocolate cupcakes we tried out of the water. Why? Because most grocery store cupcakes plop a bit of oily fluff on top of their cupcakes and call it a day. Not Publix. Their whipped fudge icing is rich, thick, and oh-so decadent—and since these are big cupcakes (not mini), there’s a lot of icing to savor. The chocolate has a bold cocoa flavor. Really, Publix chocolate cupcakes are impossible to fault…hence the top four best store bought cupcakes earning 10/10 Sporks! (I won’t apologize for the truth.) —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Publix

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Best Assortment

Publix Bakery Buttercream Assorted Cupcakes

Publix

“Of course the Floridian ranked two Publix cupcakes in the top three,” says you, probably. I get it. You don’t trust me. That’s okay. Let me explain what makes these buttercream cupcakes from Publix so darn delicious—but first, do you want to guess? Hint: It’s pretty much the same reason we loved Publix’s chocolate cupcakes. Just like the fudge icing on the chocolate version, the buttercream frosting sitting neat and pretty on top of these mixed chocolate-vanilla cupcakes is simply immaculate. It’s so rich and dense, with a sugary, slightly granulated texture and irresistible vanilla sweetness. Also, the fact that the frosting is dyed green to match the Publix brand colors? Cute touch, Publix. —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Publix

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Best Tasting Mini Cupcakes

Bakery Fresh Cookies & Creme Mini Cupcakes

Ralphs

These cupcakes from the Kroger bakery are pure bliss. The delicate, spongy chocolate cake and vanilla swirl frosting blend together in perfect harmony, carrying just the right amount of sweetness with every bite. The frosting is dusted with cocoa powder, allowing the flavor to permeate from top to bottom. They may seem like Oreo cupcake dupes, but these taste closer to cookies and cream ice cream. While I’m personally more of a full-size cupcake fan, I can’t deny that these two-bite guys are easily some of the best grocery store cupcakes you can find. (On both coasts!)  Don’t live near a Kroger? Well, you just might live near a Kroger-owned grocery store. If you do, seek these out! —Ariana Losch

Credit: Merc / Ralphs

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Marketside Vanilla Cupcake filled with Vanilla Frosting

Walmart

When we sat down for our most recent taste test, we all agreed that when it comes to the best grocery store cupcakes, moisture is key. Well, what we have here is just about the moistest cupcake I’ve ever had the pleasure to eat. Don’t worry; it’s not, like, wet. I compared the texture to bread pudding. The vanilla flavor in the cake is terrific, too. Plus—and this is important—there’s a dollop of frosting INSIDE THE CUPCAKE. And it’s even creamier than the frosting on top of the cupcake. This is a big boy, too—big enough that they package them individually for people who’ve had a really bad day but don’t want five more cupcakes around when they start having a better day. Whether you buy it in a six pack or solo, Walmart’s Marketside vanilla cupcake rules. —Gwynedd Stuart

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other store bought cupcakes we tried: Bakery Fresh Goodness Strawberry Mini Cupcakes, Bakery Fresh Goodness Mini Vanilla Cupcakes, Bakery Fresh Goodness Mini Chocolate Cupcakes, Kimberley’s Bakeshoppe Vanilla Flavored Filled Gourmet Cupcakes, Kimberley’s Bakeshoppe Chocolate Filled Gourmet Cupcakes, Marketside Red Velvet Cupcakes Filled With Real Cream Cheese, Marketside Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes, Sprouts Two Bite Vanilla Cupcakes 12 Pack, Vons 6 White & 6 Chocolate Cupcakes, Vons Two Bite Cupcakes Vanilla, Vons Two Bite Cupcakes Chocolate, Sweet P’s Vanilla Cupcakes 6 ct., Sweet P’s Mini Chocolate Cupcakes, Pavilions Cupcakes, Publix Carrot Cupcakes, Marketside Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes, Abe’s School Friendly Chocolate Mini Cupcakes, Overjoyed Chocolate and Vanilla Mini Cupcakes