The best panko breadcrumbs are light, crispy-crunchy and fry up like a dream. Without panko, pork katsu would simply be schnitzel. That won’t do!
What is panko, anyway?
So glad you asked. Panko breadcrumbs are essentially regular breadcrumbs that are made in the Japanese style. This means, at least traditionally, that panko is made from crustless white bread (like milk bread or shokupan), while regular bread crumbs are made with…well, pretty much any other style of bread. Panko also tends to come in slightly larger granules than regular breadcrumbs, which makes it a bit airier, crispier, and less dense. And even though it originated in Japan and is most frequently used in Asian cuisines, it can comes in all sorts of flavors nowadays, from Italian seasoned to parm and herb.
How we performed our panko breadcrumb taste test
Today I tried so many panko breadcrumbs. More breadcrumbs than I have ever tried in my entire life. If I were to switch careers at this point, I think I would be very qualified to go into professional “being a mouse” based purely on my newfound breadcrumb-eating expertise. I tried the breadcrumbs straight out of the bag to assess their level of crispness, their salinity (if they were seasoned), and their overall flavor. I also toasted them in a pan with and without butter to see how nicely they crisped up and browned.
These are the best panko breadcrumbs I found—and, spoiler, the best panko breadcrumbs are ALSO the best gluten free panko breadcrumbs.
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- Kinder’s Parmesan Herb Crispy Panko Blend
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I have to start by warning you that these breadcrumbs are SO salty. Like you took a swig of ocean mixed with ramen packet. That said, if you are breading, say, chicken with this and you put no other seasoning on it, it would probably be a pretty good balance. As for the flavor of these panko breadcrumbs, if you, like me, used to grab a packet of those Sysco croutons in the school lunch line and eat them as a snack, that is the flavor of these once toasted up. They are garlicky, very umami, and would go well with a sweet tomato sauce.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- 4C Plain Panko
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4C Plain panko breadcrumbs are less salty than their gluten free panko counterparts (read on to see where those ranked), and our only complaint here is that they have a bit of a dusty chalkiness that left a film in the mouth after. They are a bit less light and airy than some of the other plain panko options on this list, but these would work in a pinch as a great blank canvas for adding your own seasonings, so we included them.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Kinder’s Italian Herb Panko Blend
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Like the Kinder Parm & Herb offering, with this one, we must also say, look out, here comes saltyman. This is a lot of salt, yes, BUT. The flavor is good and would make great meatballs or chicken parm as long, as you add no other salt source. It is herby and complex, and we liked it a lot once we got past the saltiness (keep in mind we were trying these toasted up in some butter and toasted up without butter, adding a protein would make the salt level come down a bit).
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Progresso Italian Style Panko
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Not many complaints here, this is just a good, solid, middle-of-the-road Italian seasoned panko. It is salty, has a fresh Italian herb taste, and is less oregano-forward than the Great Value Italian herb panko breadcrumbs, which I’ll get to in a sec. So if you are someone who hates oregano (or things that taste like pizza-flavored Goldfish crackers), maybe opt for this instead.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Kooshy Sourdough Panko Plain
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Like Progresso’s panko breadcrumbs, these Kooshy panko breadcrumbs are excellent for what they are: plain panko crumbs. The granules are smaller and a bit less crunchy than our #1 pick, which makes them more like normal breadcrumbs. These are also blander than some of the other options on our list, but…they’re breadcrumbs. They’re allowed to be bland. If you need panko and this is an option, you won’t be disappointed.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Great Value Plain Panko
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Say what you will about Walmart, their Great Value brand does panko right. This plain panko is crunchy and has slightly smaller particles than our top plain panko choice, but larger granules than any of the other plain panko options we have mentioned so far. These panko breadcrumbs are bland but not too bland, and very affordable. These are the crunchiest, best plain panko breadcrumbs if budget is a consideration.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Great Value Italian Style Panko
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These were the best Italian seasoned panko breadcrumbs we tried. They’re salty but not too salty, and they have a strong oregano flavor that makes them taste exactly like pizza-flavored Goldfish. If you dislike that flavor (as I do), you may still like these panko breadcrumbs (as I did), and no, I cannot explain why. Maybe it’s the other herbs in there, maybe my tastes have changed as an adult and I need to revisit pizza-flavored Goldfish, or maybe these are just better than pizza-flavored Goldfish which I know is a crazy thing to say about Walmart breadcrumbs, but hey, I calls it like I sees it. The texture is really close to the next breadcrumbs on the list, our top (non-gluten-free) choice. And you can really see the seasoning in these breadcrumbs; they contain a reddish powder in addition to the little green flecks of dried herbs that all the Italian breadcrumbs have. All in all, what you get in this canister are very standard Italian seasoned panko breadcrumbs—and I mean that in the best way possible.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Kikkoman Panko
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I mean, is anyone surprised by this? Kikkoman panko breadcrumbs are excellent. They taste like those long, thin breadsticks you get at wine-and-cheese shops; they are really crispy-crunchy and ever-so-slightly salty on their own. With butter (or any form of oil and salt), these truly come alive with flavor. The main selling point here is the texture, though, which we thought was airy, light, and perfect. If you’re texture obsessed, these are the best panko breadcrumbs to buy.
Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon
- 4C Gluten Free Plain Panko
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We can’t believe it ourselves, but the best panko breadcrumbs we tried in our taste test are gluten free panko breadcrumbs. The granules are big—the largest granules of any of the brands we tried—and they have a light, airy, crispy-crunchy texture. Because these breadcrumbs are rice based, they taste like a savory Rice Krispies treat in the best possible way, plus, they are more flavorful than any of the other plain panko we tried due to the toasty rice flavor and the hint of salt that they have, even if you aren’t toasting them in salted butter. With salted butter, these were actually addictive. We kept snacking on them after the taste test, and when you can say that about literal breadcrumbs, you know you have a winner.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
Best Parmesan
Best Blank Slate
Saltiest Italian Seasoned
Best Italian Seasoned for Oregano Haters
Best Finer Granules
Best Budget Plain
Best Italian
Best Traditional Panko
Best Gluten Free/Overall
Other panko breadcrumbs we tried
365 Panko Breadcrumbs, Jeff Nathan Gluten Free Panko, Kooshy Italian Breadcrumbs, Progresso Plain Panko Breadcrumbs
