Target has long been a place to buy candles, cat litter, lawn chairs, and 15 to 20 other miscellaneous items that you weren’t planning on buying but instantly knew you couldn’t live without. And now, most Target locations also double as grocery stores. Sure, you mostly needed a twin-size set of sheets for the guest room, but why not grab a bunch of bananas, a bag of trail mix, and some really good frozen spring rolls while you’re at it? We frequently include Target groceries in our taste tests and have found some real bangers from brands like Good & Gather and Favorite Day. While this list is sure to grow, here are the best groceries at Target that we’ve tried so far.
Salad kits make a nice, easy lunch (eat ‘em right out of the bag!) or a decently healthy dinner if you top them with some grilled chicken or fried chicken tenders (which you’ll also find on this list). We tasted every Good & Gather salad kit we could find at our local Target store and the Chopped Caesar reigned supreme. The dressing is creamy and tangy, and the crouton crumbles add texture to every bite. This is one of the best Target groceries to always have in the fridge.
These Good & Gather chicken sausages don’t have a lot of heat, but they’re packed with real jalapeño flavor, which we love. It makes them taste fresh and zippy. The cheddar cheese is bold and creamy, and doesn’t get all runny like it does in other brands of chicken sausage. If you’re looking for something less fat laden than a pork brat to toss on the grill this summer, try these! They’d be so good in a hot dog bun with some fresh jicama slaw.
If you love the complex flavor of Thai basil and a crispy-crackly fried spring roll, you’re gonna freak for these Good & Gather spring rolls from Target. The wrapper is light, the filling is meaty, and the Thai basil is super fragrant. We all agreed that if these came to the table at our local Thai restaurant, we’d be pretty stoked. The best groceries at Target groceries will really surprise you sometimes!
Hosting company? Hot tip: There’s nothing classier than a tray full of mini quiches. Granted, these Good & Gather petite quiches are different from other mini quiches in that the filling comes in a filo-like pastry rather than pie crust, but that makes them a little lighter and that just means you can eat more of them. Set these on the snack table and watch them disappear.
Target sells a lot of trail mix and, frankly, not all of it is good. If you want a glorified candy mix, buy whichever bag of Favorite Day trail mix seems like the most fun, but if you want a trail mix that’s actually fit for a hike, buy Good & Gather Simple Trail Mix instead. It’s very much what you expect from trail mix—peanuts, almonds, raisins, and coated chocolate candies—but everything tastes super fresh and it also has sweet-tart dried cherries in the mix, which pushed it over the edge for our taste testers. This is one of those Target groceries that will become a permanent fixture on your shopping list—promise.
We’ve conducted a few frozen chicken finger taste tests, and Good & Gather Crispy Chicken Breast Strips always come out on top. Of all the frozen chicken tenders we’ve tried, Good & Gather’s taste the most like they came from a restaurant. The breading is crunchy and flavorful, and the meat is juicy and fresh tasting. These would be so, so good dunked in some country gravy.
The Sporked Staff tastes everything and anything. They are obsessive about groceries and finding the best of any type of food or drink, from frozen fried shrimp to Dijon mustard to gummy candy. And they're always on a hunt for the best new products. When they aren't eating professionally, they're eating recreationally. And often they're browsing grocery store aisles, just for fun.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!