I ranked 5 white cheddar popcorn brands from Canadian grocery stores and it was almost a tie
Popcorn is a classic movie snack, and sometimes it’s also a nice way to satisfy cravings when you’re craving some junk food but don’t want to dive into a bag of potato chips.
While butter may be your favorite at the theater, white cheddar popcorn is the most abundant flavor in the grocery store aisle and it can be difficult to know which one to choose.
Many of us were introduced to white cheddar popcorn years ago thanks to Smartfood (and I know I was), but many other brands have followed suit and made their own versions of the snack.
After a recent grocery store trip to the Real Canadian Superstore, Thrifty Foods and Walmart in Victoria, British Columbia, I came across five brands that contain white cheddar popcorn.
These brands are Great Value, Smartfood, SkinnyPop, Compliments, and Orville Redenbacher, and I decided to put them all to the test to see how they compared in terms of flavor.
For me, when I think of popcorn, I want it to be light and fluffy, but also crunchy in every bite. It should also taste like your chosen flavor, in this case white cheddar.
In this comparison, I’ll rate each brand out of five in terms of how much I enjoy the popcorn.
Here’s how it went.
Compliments of kettle corn with aged white cheddar flavor
Compliments of white cheddar flavored popcorn.
Asimina Kantorovic | Narcissism
price: $4.29 for 190g
Price of 100 grams: $2.26
I’d never tried complimentary popcorn before this taste test, and I can safely say I wasn’t missing much.
The popcorn has a nice crunchy taste with the popped kernels but that’s about it.
If I were to eat this blindfolded, I’m almost certain I wouldn’t be able to tell it’s white cheddar-flavored popcorn because that’s not what it tastes like.
I can’t even explain what it tasted like, but I can confirm that I didn’t like it.
evaluation: 1.5/5
SkinnyPop White Cheddar Flavored Popcorn
SkinnyPop White Cheddar Flavored Popcorn.
Asimina Kantorovic | Narcissism
price: $5.29 for 125 grams
Price per 100 grams: $4.23
SkinnyPop popcorn is the healthiest white popcorn on the list, and by healthiest I mean it has the lowest amount of calories per cup, no sugar, and no artificial colors and flavors.
Although I appreciate having a healthy snack while watching a movie at home, it was difficult to compare this brand to others because of how subtle the flavor is. Again, if you blindfolded me and asked me to tell you the flavor of popcorn, I probably wouldn’t say white cheddar.
If I wasn’t comparing this to other bags of white cheddar popcorn, I wouldn’t mind the lack of cheese because the popcorn itself has a nice crunch and is good popcorn overall.
If you are looking for a healthy popcorn option similar to BOOMCHICKAPOP, I recommend SkinnyPop.
However, if you want flavored popcorn with a distinct cheese flavor, this is not the case.
evaluation: 2.5/5
Great value white cheddar flavored popcorn
Great value white cheddar flavored popcorn.
Asimina Kantorovic | Narcissism
price: $3.27 for 190 grams
Price per 100 grams: $1.72
The great value popcorn, which can be found at Walmart, is made with real cheddar cheese and I noticed the difference right away when compared to Compliments and SkinnyPop.
Each popped kernel is filled with white cheese powder and is honestly so delicious.
But my problem with this brand is that the popcorn is a bit soft for me and almost tastes stale compared to how crunchy other brands are.
However, if you don’t mind less crunchy popcorn, you might really enjoy this!
evaluation: 3/5
Orville Redenbacher White Cheddar Flavored Popcorn
Orville Redenbacher White Cheddar Flavored Popcorn.
Asimina Kantorovic | Narcissism
price: $4.79 for 190 grams
Price per 100 grams: $2.52
Orville Redenbacher is a big name in popcorn and is my favorite when it comes to making the snack at home in the microwave.
Although I’ve never tried this brand’s white cheddar flavor before, I wasn’t surprised that it was good.
Every bite was full of flavour, and the cheese was very bold and made a big impact.
I really enjoyed this popcorn and know I will pick it up again.
The only thing I had a bit of an issue with was when I noticed that it had a lot more sodium than other brands (600 milligrams of sodium per 50 grams of popcorn). In other words, it’s too salty.
evaluation: 4.5/5
Smartfood popcorn with white cheddar flavor
Smartfood popcorn with white cheddar flavor.
Asimina Kantorovic | Narcissism
price: $3.97 per 200g
Price per 100 grams: $1.99
When I think of Smartfood, I think of it as white cheddar flavor (at least when I was growing up in Ontario).
I remember being a kid and going through a whole bag because once you start, it’s hard to stop.
I haven’t had it in a long time, and honestly, it’s as good now as it was then.
This popcorn has so much flavor and is a great balance of butter and cheese, something other brands don’t have.
Again, it was hard to stop myself from finishing the entire bag because it’s so addictive.
This popcorn has been popular for a long time and it’s easy to see why!
evaluation: 5/5
Honestly, picking a winner in this taste test was tough, and I kept going back and forth between Smartfood and Orville Redenbacher.
If you prefer white cheddar popcorn with a buttery finish, Smartfood is the perfect solution, but if you want a bolder, cheesier snack, you may prefer Orville Redenbacher. Either way, you can’t go wrong!
Movie night isn’t just about popcorn, the more variety of snacks you have, the better.
If you like potato chips, you might want to read Sarah Rohman’s comparison of salt and vinegar chips or Mira Nabulsi’s take on the ketchup chips found in Canadian grocery stores.
If you have some friends over and need some finger food options, I also recently compared five brands of chicken nuggets and four types of pierogi.
These prices are confirmed at the time of publication, but are subject to change at any time. Taxes and fees may not be included.
(tags for translation) Smart Foods Popcorn
