We Found the Best Kimchi at the Grocery Store

The best kimchi is tangy, crunchy, and salty.  In all honesty, the best kimchi comes from your local mom-and-pop Asian grocery store. Or if you have an H Mart nearby, you’re in luck! Close your laptop, head over there, and pick out something delicious. But people in certain parts of the U.S., finding delicious kimchi can be a little more complicated, but hey, that’s where the professionals come in. 

How we sourced the best kimchi brands

Thankfully, good kimchi has become much more accessible in recent years. If you’re not familiar, kimchi is a Korean condiment made of fermented veggies, usually napa cabbage. More Korean brands are hitting the shelves at nationwide grocers like Kroger and Walmart, and even some American brands are finally starting to get it right. (Not you, Simple Truth. Please take your kimchi back to the drawing board.)  What we have here is a list of the best store bought kimchi brands that don’t require an hour drive to the nearest East Asian market. 

What we looked for in the best store bought kimchi

Kimchi, as anyone who’s ever tried it would tell you, carries an intense flavor profile. With a pungent, bold blend of sour, salty, and umami flavors, not everyone loves it the first time they try it. And that’s okay—but the best kimchi brands shouldn’t pull any punches to suit milder tastes. The best kimchi should have a sharp acidity (that isn’t too harsh) and a bubbly, sizzly brine that you’ll want to add to any stir-fry. The napa cabbage needs to be crunchy and fresh. No wilted, soggy veggies here, please. 

Whether you’re making kimchi pancakes or just looking for some banchan to accompany your attempt at homemade K-BBQ, these are the best kimchi brands at the grocery store.

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Best Salty

Nasoya Mild Kimchi

Instacart

Albertsons

Nasoya Kimchi makes this list by the skin of its teeth. Yes, I’m going to be harsh here, because this has some pitfalls that need to be addressed. First, the cabbage slices are smaller, and sometimes a little soggy—which is a natural part of kimchi, but ideally I’m looking for a little more crunch. Second, the flavor is, overall, just fine, not mindblowing. It’s salty and acidic, but the fermentation and heat taste a little more mild. Now, all of that said, I’m including it among the best store bought kimchi because I lived off of this stuff for years, and was none the wiser about consuming a less-than-incredible product. In fact, it was the only brand I could find at Kroger that I actually enjoyed eating. If you’re stuck in the same situation I was, Nasoya is a perfectly acceptable option. —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best for Cooking

Mother In Law’s House Napa Cabbage Kimchi

Amazon

Instacart

If you don’t know much about kimchi but have picked it up at the grocery store in the past, this is probably the kimchi you bought. Mother In Law’s Kimchi was one of the first kimchi brands I remember seeing all over the place, and they make a great product. In my opinion, their “house” napa cabbage kimchi is the best store bought kimchi we tried for cooking. The kimchi comes in big pieces that made me want to dump out the entire jar on a cutting board and hack away at it. It would be so easy to pull one big bunch of kimchi out of this jar and cut it up with scissors directly into a pan to make kimchi fried rice or the Korean stew budae jjigae. All that said, we tried Mother In Law’s Spicy Everyday Kimchi during our latest taste test, and it was a far cry from this. If you’re buying Mother In Law’s, right now we really recommend sticking to the house reserve napa cabbage version. It’s the brand’s best kimchi product, as far as we can tell. —Jordan Myrick

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best White Kimchi

Lucky Foods White Seoul Kimchi

Walmart

For those who don’t know (like me, before this taste test), white kimchi is basically kimchi made without chili powder. In other words—no spice. If you have a hard time tolerating spicy foods, you don’t have to forego all kimchi. Lucky Foods White Kimchi is truly incredible. It has a clean, sharply fermented flavor that’s tingly and sizzly without being spicy. The napa cabbage pieces are thick, fresh, and crunchy. The brine bubbles all the way to the top. I love spicy kimchi, but this stuff is so good, you don’t even feel like you’re missing out. —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmartt

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Mild

Sunja’s All Natural Medium Spicy Kimchi

Amazon

Whole Foods

If you prefer a milder kimchi, Sunja’s All Natural Medium Spicy Kimchi is the way to go. It’s still salty and flavorful, but tastes super fresh and light. Surprisingly, this kimchi is vegan too, and the jar also brags that it’s low in sodium, unpasteurized, non-GMO. I think this would be the perfect jar of kimchi to have in the fridge since it could please all different diets and palates. —Jordan Myrick

Credit: Liv Averett / Whole Foods

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Bulk

Jongga Kimchi

Costco

You think you’ve seen it all, and then you go to Costco and lock eyes with a massive tub of kimchi, staring at you like a final boss daring you to eat it all in one sitting. As someone who once ate way too much kimchi in one sitting and paid the price, uh, don’t do that. Buy this for its intended purpose: longevity. Jongga’s family-sized kimchi may be a commitment (and a fridge-filler), but you won’t regret it. The flavor is bold, complex, and just a little funky, thanks in part to the addition of fermented shrimp, which gives it a rich, umami depth that tastes like the sea…in a good way. Jongga also has a shellfish-free version that uses anchovies instead, we just haven’t tried it yet. (If you have a shellfish allergy, pay attention to the labels!) If your family goes through kimchi too fast, buy this. It’s easily one of the best kimchi brands we’ve ever had. —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Costco

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Cabbage

Sinto Gourmet Spicy Red Kimchi

Sprouts

Sinto Kimchi comes in a cute resealable bag instead of a jar, which I know has no bearing on the product itself, but it definitely made it stand out immediately in our taste test. Personally, I loved everything about this brand. The cabbage slices are big, fresh, and super crunchy. The flavor has that sizzly fermented quality that all the best kimchi brands should have. It’s a great heat level, too. I’d add the brine to my noodles, eggs, rice, veggies…really, just about any East Asian dish that needs a kick. —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Sprouts

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best Vegan

Lucky Foods Original Vegan Seoul Kimchi

Walmart

Target

The fishy funk of kimchi is one of my favorite things, so I’m just as shocked as you are that a vegan kimchi took the runner-up spot. It really is that good, though! When you crack open the jar, it bubbles. It’s tangy and spicy, but won’t blow out your palate.  would eat this from the jar with chopsticks or serve it over hot white rice. Keep it vegetarian and use it to make spicy cold kimchi noodles or pair it with pork and make some mandu (Korean dumplings). You can’t go wrong because this is the best store-bought kimchi. —Jordan Myrick

Credit: Liv Averett / Target

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Lucky Foods Spicy Seoul Kimchi

Instacart

Yes, Lucky Foods makes a great non-spicy white kimchi—but they also make the best store-bought kimchi that really brings the heat, too. It’s not crazy hot, but just hot enough to satisfy your craving for something spicy. Much like the original vegan version, it’s so fermented and bubbly. The juice is super flavorful and would be wonderful mixed into a bloody mary or drizzled over fried rice. If you’re of the opinion that kimchi is better with a seafood element packed into the jar (this contains both shrimp and fish), grab this kimchi! —Jordan Myrick

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other Products We Tried: Trader Joe’s, Simple Truth, Cleveland Kitchen Classic Kimchi, Cleveland Kitchen Mild Kimchi, Mother In Law’s Kimchi Spicy Everyday Kimchi, Wildbrine Korean Kimchi, Local Culture Ferments Organic Garlic & Ginger Small Batch Handmade Kimchi, Ocean’s Halo Organic Shelf Stable Kimchi