11 Must-Have Items for Your First Publix Shopping Trip

All large supermarket chains have regular customers. But Publix –- a Florida-based chain with over 1400 stores throughout the southeast U.S. –- not only has customers, but superfans. Sure, it’s a reliable place to get paper towels, pantry staples, and even prescription medications and flu shots. But shoppers also look forward to visits to the store’s well-supplied deli and bakery, where a few treats not on their shopping lists will somehow make their way into their carts.

Having lived in Florida for close to two decades, I’ve memorized the layout of my local Publix by heart. And I’ve tasted many of their offerings, which are common and much-welcomed items on potluck spreads down here. And while not Michelin star material, Publix deli and bakery goods are way better than they have to be. As a former professional baker, I’m an admitted carb snob –- I’m rarely tempted by mass-produced cakes and pastries, but the ones at Publix are surprisingly solid. Unlike most supermarket cakes, theirs look like they were decorated by trained adults, and they’re actually pretty tasty. But pretty cakes aren’t the only thing Publix does well –- here are some other must-trys if you’re shopping there for the first time.

Time-strapped Floridians know that if you need to feed a bunch of people in a hurry and you want them to be in a good mood when they see you, the first thing you must do is head to the deli section of your nearest Publix. While you’ll find respectable rotisserie chicken, ribs, and other prepared meats in their hot display, the real crowd-pleaser is the fried chicken. With its ruggedly crunchy, intensely seasoned crust and juicy meat, it’s everything you want and expect fried chicken to be –- nothing more, nothing less.

You can also tailor your choice of chicken to the tastes of your guests. It comes in both regular and spicy versions, and in pretty much any cut you can imagine, from nubs of popcorn chicken to boneless tenders to wings and meal-sized breasts and thighs. If you’re in a hurry, you can pick up a pre-packed box from under the heat lamp, but you can also order your own bespoke selections of pieces. You can also pick up a cold box of fried chicken from the refrigerator case, but if you want your guests to be happy, heat it up before you serve it.

While Publix carries all the big-brand breads and rolls you’d expect a big store to have, our personal favorite is the house-made hoagie rolls from their bakery. Sold in bags of four, each roll is about 8 inches long; thus, big enough for a hearty sandwich or a couple of good-sized pieces of garlic bread.

What makes them perfect for sandwiches is their texture, reminiscent of an old-school French baguette -– a thin, shatteringly crisp crust (when heated, at least), with a tender, fluffy interior that’s just sturdy enough to support a good-sized pile of filling. The result is a sandwich that’s crunchy on the outside, yet easy to bite through. While we love the ruggedly crunchy crust and chewy insides of rustic artisanal baguettes, they can be a battle to eat in sandwich form. These tender-crisp hoagies cook into beautifully crisp paninis in a sandwich press, and split and heated, they’re the perfect, true-to-style base for a Vietnamese-style banh mi. And it’s no accident either that Publix uses these hoagies to make its own famed subs.

When most of us think of supermarket cakes, the first image that comes to mind is the garish sheet cakes from children’s birthday parties or boring office parties –- greasy, sickly-sweet day-glo icing, fake-tasting flavors, and a flotilla of cheap plastic decorations strewn across the top. And somewhere near the middle of the cake, the birthday kid’s (or office VIP’s) name will be inscribed in bakery gel by someone with a shaky hand and terrible penmanship. In short, they’re not something any serious dessert lover would look forward to serving or eating.

These same dessert lovers, however, do have respectable options at Publix. A popular option for grown-up birthday parties and other celebrations is its pretty Raspberry Elegance cake. A simple confection of vanilla cake layers, tangy raspberry filling, and cream cheese icing, it’s elegant, restrained, and not too sweet. It’s also pretty in a grown-up way, with a monochromatic ivory color and lacy swirls of icing  that add texture and visual interest. This cake is popular enough to have inspired numerous copycat recipes. But if you want one, plan ahead –- you have to order it 24 hours in advance.

Among the most popular items from the Publix deli are its made-to-order subs, affectionately known as Pub Subs. These hearty, filled-to-bursting sandwiches can be had with a range of fillings, from hot to cold and meaty to vegan –- so whether you’re in the mood for tofu, meatballs, or a classic Italian sub filled with salami, ham, cheese and veggies, you’ll find something that suits you. You can also choose from a range of house-baked rolls (white, whole wheat, or Italian five grain) and a range of sauces and toppings.

You can’t really go wrong as long as you order something you’re in the mood to eat. But if you’re undecided and visiting Publix for the first time, the chicken tender sub is their most popular item and allows you to sample two of the store’s best products –- its fried chicken and its house-made rolls –- at the same time. And if plain chicken tenders sound a bit bland for you, the sandwich comes with several variations, including a chicken parmesan sub with marinara sauce and cheese, a chicken bacon ranch sub, and a buffalo chicken sub, in which the tenders are doused with hot buffalo wing sauce.

If you’ve stumbled into Publix because you’re traveling through Florida, you owe it to yourself to enjoy some quintessential Florida treats. For instance, if you’re looking for breakfast pastries, seek out the guava turnovers –- they’ll be right next to the apple and berry versions. And if you’re looking for dessert, go for Florida’s all-but-official dessert, key lime pie.

As its name suggests, key lime pie has its roots in the Florida keys, and it was originally made with a local citrus variety called the key lime. What sets key limes apart is their flavor, and the fact that they turn yellow, not green, once ripe. But because real key limes are hard to come by (not many farms cultivate them), almost all pies served today use regular green limes. Regardless of the lime used, the tart-sweet treat, with its creamy filling and sweet graham cracker crust, remains a classic, and its cool tanginess makes it a refreshing way to end a meal on a stifling Florida summer night. And while it’s easy for proficient home cooks to throw together, an even easier option is to pick one up at Publix –- serious key-lime-pie fans say the store’s pie is not only easy to find, but an exemplary version of the classic dessert. 

A possible reason some shoppers are so fond of Publix is the store pays attention to busy home cooks and their needs. In the entryway of each store, you can find free recipe cards featuring the store’s products, and very often, all the components of a featured recipe will be organized together in a dedicated refrigerator case along with nearby recipe cards.

And while you can buy an entire hot meal ready to serve from the Publix deli, you can also find preparations that will make your DIY projects easier. A favorite choice, for instance, is the store’s pre-made fresh pizza dough. Available either in balls or pre-rolled, the dough freezes well, so you can keep it around for whenever a craving for pizza strikes. It tastes and behaves like handmade dough, which means you’ll have to give it time to rise before you shape, top, and bake it. So make no mistake, it’s not as quick or convenient as a frozen or take-and-bake pizza. However, if you enjoy cooking but have limited time, it offers the best of both worlds –- the convenience of not having to make your own dough and the reward of creating a pizza exactly the way you like it.

Store-brand products such as sodas and ice cream flavors often get a bad rap. Historically, they were seen as last-resort, bargain-basement knockoffs of the big brands. Common sense said that if you wanted quality, you’d choose a name brand –- the store brands were reserved for the unlucky souls for whom saving money took priority over pleasure.

This is not the case, however, at Publix. A peek in the store’s ice cream case will show that their store-brand offerings are surprisingly diverse, and not just limited to generic chocolate and vanilla. Indeed, the flavors seem intentionally designed to go head-to-head with Ben & Jerry’s and Jenni’s. Their offerings rotate with the season, and fans know to look out for these limited-time offerings. During the winter holiday season, for example, you can find flavors such as pumpkin pie and Marshmallow Candy Cane and Cookie Blast, and summer brings surprises such as Boston Cream Doughnut and Southern Banana Pudding. Store brand it may be — but it’s far from generic.

Dried fruit aren’t something we tend to think about a lot, except when we’re sourcing ingredients to revive fruitcake that’s been sitting for years, or maybe for homemade granola. For this reason, most of us aren’t terribly picky about its quality -– if all you’re going to do is soak it in rum and mix it with a dozen other super-sweet ingredients, who will notice if the fruit is tasteless or a bit tough?

And because we’re so used to settling for mediocre dried fruit, we rarely think to eat it out of hand. This is too bad, since it can be a tasty, convenient, and non-messy snack, with more vitamins than a bag of chips. So for those who enjoy snacking on dried fruit, quality matters –- that three-year-old box of raisins in the back of your pantry won’t do. Instead, smart snackers have discovered a reliable favorite at Publix:  its store-brand dried mangos. Sold under the Greenwise label (Publix’s house brand for organic goods), the mangos come unsweetened, but fans find they’re just sweet enough -– not too sweet, not too tart. So if you’re looking for a more healthful snacking option at Publix, seek these out.

Publix carries all the national name-brand products and basic meat and produce you’d expect to find in any North American supermarket. But if you look closely, the store’s –- and its customers’ — Southern roots become apparent. In the refrigerated section, you can find pre-made regional favorites such as pimento cheese, and in the deli, the hot food selection may include another item you’re less likely to find in a supermarket in, say, California: fried pickles.

If you’re not familiar with them, they’re exactly what they sound like –- sliced rounds of tangy dill pickle, battered and deep fried. This so-bad-it’s-good treat is widely believed to have originated in Arkansas, at the Duchess Drive-in, during the early 1960s. The restaurant was located across the street from a pickle factory, and the restaurant’s owner took advantage of the easily available pickle slices by frying them in the batter he used for catfish. The Publix version stays true to this formula –- the slices come battered, then fried, and for an even more decadent treat, you can order ranch dressing on the side for dipping.

Somewhere out there, you’ll almost certainly find someone who doesn’t like mac and cheese, but you’re going to have to look pretty hard. Creamy, savory, and filling, a good batch of mac and cheese can please both the pickiest kids and the snootiest epicures. This is why it’s a staple at grocery store delis. Managers know these places exist for time-pressed people who need a hot meal at home in a hurry, and on these days, they’re going to want comfort –- and that means mac and cheese.

The menu planners at Publix understand this, which is why you’ll find not one, but two versions of mac and cheese among its hot deli selections. You can also find their mac and cheese chilled in the refrigerated section if you want to pick some up to eat later. The store’s basic cheddar version is exactly as advertised –- a straightforward, well-made version of the mac and cheese we all remember from childhood. For a more grown-up version with additional zing, many shoppers go for their cheddar gouda mac and cheese –- it’s sharper and a bit richer, and just different enough to stand out while retaining the creamy comfort of the original.

Another possible reason some shoppers are so loyal to Publix is the store cultivates their loyalty early -– long before they’re able to take out a credit card or even read or write a shopping list. While Publix doesn’t actively publicize it, its free cookies for kids program is an open secret among regular Publix shoppers as of this publication. Per the policy, kids 12 and under accompanied by a parent can claim a free cookie at the bakery counter.

This deviously brilliant program has proven to be win for everyone involved: Parents get happy kids who don’t moan about how boring shopping is, kids get a fun little snack, and Publix gets generations of young people conditioned to look forward to trips to its stores. And while the cookie giveaways were discontinued during the height of the COVID pandemic, they quietly resumed in May 2021. The cookies themselves, according to most online commentators, are nothing to write home about (if you’re a competent home cook, you can make better ones yourself), but the good will they represent counts for a lot. And if you’d rather your kids eat something healthier than cookies, fear not: Publix also offers a free piece of fruit (usually a small apple, banana, or orange) to kids accompanied by their parents in select markets.