I tried five dinner roll brands from Aldi to Walmart – two were inedible and the best 'pinch' test -

DINNER rolls are perfect to go with your Thanksgiving feast as a complement to the main dish - but which brand is best?

The Sun tested a handful of them as last-minute shoppers will be looking to buy the baked bread for the holiday.

Dinner rolls can be enjoyed by dipping them into gravy with your Thanksgiving meal or with just butter.

We reviewed five already-prepared rolls from retailers including Aldi, Walmart and Trader Joe’s as part of our weekly series Bang for your buck.

They were judged on three categories including taste, appearance and overall value for the money.

For each one, the dinner rolls were given a score of one to 10, with 10 being the best.

5. Target

Price per roll: 67 cents
Total score: four out of 30

There are some good food finds at Target – but its rolls aren’t one of them.

They can be found under its Favorite Day brand for $3.99, which comes with six rolls.

This was the most expensive per serving at 67 cents.

Right off the bat when we did the pinch test, the rolls also felt hard plus there was a ton of flour on the bottom.

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But worst of all, the outside was hard and the inside tasted stale.

Target got a one for taste, two for appearance and one for overall value.

Instead of its rolls, we recommend shoppers buying these five items at Target.

4. Trader Joe’s

Price per roll: 50 cents
Total score: seven out of 30

Unfortunately, Trader Joe’s wasn’t much better.

There was a lot of flour on the bottom and the inside tasted a little stale as well.

The only big difference was it wasn’t as hard as Target’s.

But still, it’s not an ideal option on the list.

Trader Joe’s sells a six-pack for 50 cents per roll – which was the second priciest amount on this list.

They got a two for taste, three for appearance and a two for value for money.

The Sun reached out to Trader Joe's and Target for comment.

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3. King’s Hawaiian

Price per roll: 41 cents
Total score: 20 out of 30

If you haven’t tried them, odds are you have at least come across King’s Hawaiian rolls before at your local grocery store.

At Target, we found a pack of 12 of the name-brand product for $4.89, costing 41 cents per roll.

When compared to most of the others on the list, the King’s Hawaiian brand’s rolls are smaller in size.

The other thing that stands out is these are on the sweeter side and are much softer.

Hawaiian-style rolls aren’t for everyone and not ideal for certain types of meals but it’s easy to see why people want to supplement these with their meals.

The taste here got a seven, while the appearance and overall value for the money got a seven and six respectively.

2. Aldi

Price per roll: 21 cents
Total score: 21 out of 30

As with the name brand above, Aldi sells Hawaiian-style rolls.

They were both quite similar in terms of softness and sweetness.

However, there’s one big difference that separates Aldi’s L'oven Fresh brand from King’s Hawaiian – and that’s the price.

King’s Hawaiian costs more than double per roll when compared to Aldi.

Plus, the dough in Aldi’s tasted a little fresher when compared to the popular brand.

In our eyes, Aldi is the winner for Hawaiian-style rolls.

We rate Aldi a seven for taste, a seven for appearance and a seven for the value of the money.

1. Walmart

Price per roll: 38 cents (sale)
Total score: 25 out of 30.

Generally speaking, Walmart has the best option overall under its Marketside brand.

They are (just like Trader Joe’s) Ciabatta style rolls, which are described as flat Italian white bread that contains wheat flour, salt and water.

When doing the pinch test, the first thing we noticed was that it had a great balance between softness and dough quality.

While there was some flour, it wasn’t covered in it like Trader Joe’s and Target’s brands.

Most importantly, the taste lived up to the anticipation.

It got the top score on the list because there wasn't a lot of added sugar and they are much bigger compared to the other Hawaiian rolls.

The taste of Walmart’s also blows Trader Joe’s and Target’s out of the water.

Interestingly, they were on sale for 38 cents per roll, down from 54 cents.

But even if they weren’t, we still recommend paying a little more for Walmart’s and putting this on your Thanksgiving table.

Walmart got a nine for the taste, eight for the appearance and eight for the overall value.

Bottom line

There are a few things on this list that are debatable options.

If you value soft and sweetness, King’s Hawaiian or Aldi’s brand will work.

But in our view, those types of rolls may be best suited to have with pulled pork or barbecued food.

If you are looking for a roll to butter up, go with Walmart’s.

For more related stories, a consumer expert reveals how to save hundreds with weeks to go until Christmas.

I tried five dinner roll brands from Aldi to Walmart – two were inedible and the best 'pinch' test

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