Ranking Five Store-Bought Puff Pastry Brands from Worst to Best

Ah, the art of the puff pastry. The seemingly humble dough is used as a flaky base for all number of bakes, from pot pies to turnovers, tarts, and even beef Wellington. But don’t let its simplistic appearance deceive you — there’s a reason you’ll find the pastry sheets in the freezer section at your local grocer. 

Making puff pastry from scratch is a laborious, time-consuming process that involves layering dough and butter, repeatedly folding it over and rolling it out (and refrigerating in between) to yield impressively thin layers alternating dough and fat. The result, however, is stunning: When done right, baking it will yield a crispy, perfectly risen pastry dough peppered with thin, buttery layers throughout.

There’s certainly merit to making your own puff pastry dough from scratch (you could even do my favorite thing and cheat the system by making a “rough puff” pastry), but sometimes it’s not practical, especially when you can get a perfectly good puff pastry at the store. As a lifelong home baker, I’ve had ample reason to use puff pastry in my kitchen, and I don’t hesitate to grab a frozen package when I’m running short on time. I figured it was high time to put some popular puff pastry brands to the test and see how they hold up based on their texture, structure, and flavor profiles. I was actually quite surprised at how different each was from the next. 

I wanted to like Sweet Loren’s gluten-free, dairy-free puff pastry a lot. I’m a fan of the brand’s pre-made, refrigerated cookies, and though that’s the only other selection I’ve had from the brand, I figure my expectations for this product were reasonable. Unfortunately, the old saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” rings especially true when it comes to this product. Don’t be fooled by its cute packaging — I struggled to be impressed by any aspect of this pastry, and though I can let some of that slide due to its allergen-friendly nature, I still can’t recommend it.

Upon taking it out of the oven, I was excited to dig in. The top had achieved a nice, even, light golden-brown color and the pastry square puffed up significantly in the oven (though not as much as a standard puff pastry would). My hopes were dashed at first bite. Despite boasting some good airiness, there were very few internal layers to speak of, and the pastry as a whole didn’t have the light crisp I was looking for — the bottom remained thick and rather doughy. 

My bigger problem, though, was with the pastry’s flavors. Something about how it tasted was distinctly off, and I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I have a feeling it has something to do with the combination of rice flour and palm oil the company uses. Regardless, unless you’re both gluten- and dairy-free and this is your only option, I don’t advocate for it. 

In my humble opinion, the better option for a frozen gluten-free puff pastry comes from Schär; though it doesn’t specifically mention being dairy-free, the dough is lactose-free, a definite plus for some consumers. Unlike with the previous pastry, my expectations weren’t high for this dough. Despite allowing ample time for the dough to thaw, the frozen puff pastry sheet cracked in many spots when just trying to unroll it, which didn’t bode well for a great bake — you can see in the picture above where the middle of the dough had cracked. 

Before I laud it too much, this puff pastry was still far from perfect (I even thought it would get last place before I tried Sweet Loren’s). It didn’t puff up very well at all, and though I imagine it would still make for a fine crust in something like a pot pie, this dough won’t give you a large, airy turnover. That said, it had a nice crisp on top and did boast some flaky layers throughout its interior. 

It’s visually unappealing, but the biggest reason this didn’t get last place is because its flavors far supersede that of my last-place pick. I wouldn’t have been able to tell this was made with alternative ingredients, but I certainly could with the previously mentioned pick. 

You may already know of Pepperidge Farm’s ubiquitous cookie selections, but did you know the brand also supplies frozen puff pastry? I’d warrant a bet that, if you’ve ever looked for pre-made pastry, this is the brand you’ve used — it’s been a staple in my house since I would bake with my mother as a child, and it’s the only store-bought puff pastry I’d tried before this taste test. I figured Pepperidge Farm’s selection would be the best brand, as it’s been in the game a long time and offers immediate sight recognition when walking by it in the aisle. However, the flavor gap between this and the following pastry options was actually surprisingly large. 

Texturally, this puff pastry is great, and it could have scored a spot higher or two if I were only judging it based on structure and appearance. It had light, airy layering throughout, and it puffed up the most out of all the pastries I tested. But once I took a bite of it, I was unexpectedly disappointed. It tasted very neutral, bland, and even slightly stale — not something I look for when I’m trying to craft a delicious pastry. 

If you want your puff pastry to take a back seat to whatever you’re serving it with, I suppose this could be a fine choice. But if you can get your hands on either of the following selections, they’re undoubtedly better choices. 

365 is a great brand, from its wide selection of snacks to canned goods, everyday staples, and — yes — its puff pastry. I didn’t have very high expectations for Whole Foods’ store-brand puff pastry, but I should know better by now, as the 365 brand is generally a solid choice. And no, this Whole Foods purchase isn’t a “whole paycheck” buy; it was only slightly more expensive than some other options and cost me nearly $6 at my local store. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this puff pastry. As you can see, it did indeed get nice and puffy, with a pretty even golden-brown exterior. It held up on the inside, too, with thin and airy layers throughout and a distinct delicate crisp on either side. It stuck slightly in my teeth, but I hardly minded given its other good qualities. The flavors present in this puff pastry were decent, and though I still wasn’t stunned, this dough tasted far superior to any of the previous picks in this ranking. 

If you have access to a Whole Foods, I can recommend this puff pastry wholeheartedly. However, if you can stretch your budget a bit further, my next choice should be your go-to. 

Dufour Pastry Kitchens’ puff pastry dough cost me a whopping nearly $10 for just 14 ounces of dough, but I can safely say this will be the only frozen puff pastry dough I buy from here on out. I found it at my local Whole Foods, though I’ve also seen it at other health-conscious, slightly price-gouged grocers in my area. While you can get away with using 365 (or even Pepperidge Farm) in a pinch, Dufour is the best pick for any bake where you want the pastry itself to shine.

The only negative (if it even is a negative) thing about this pastry is that it’s slightly oilier than the rest. Other than that, it’s incredibly hard to find fault with this pastry. It had distinctive light layers throughout, though I’d recommend baking it for slightly longer than you think — the high butter content lends itself to a thick bottom when under-baked. It was soft and crispy on the outside and flaked apart just as I’d expect a pastry to. 

More stunning, though, was the flavor of this bad boy. Talk about buttery — I may not have known the meaning of the word before trying this puff pastry. It’s sure to shine in both sweet and savory bakes alike, and is undoubtedly the best choice for even the casual baker wanting to up their pastry game. 

To make each of these doughs, I chose to bake them straight, with nothing but a whole egg wash on top for color. I thawed each pastry sheet in the fridge rather than on the countertop, as countertop thawing can cause the layers of butter to melt and yield a less puffy dough. Fortunately for me, four of the doughs called to be baked at the same temperature for roughly the same amount of time; the fifth (Sweet Loren’s) was baked separately at its box’s designated time and temperature.

I judged each based both on flavor and structure. To get high marks, the pastry had to have light, paper-thin layers throughout, as well as a buttery flavor. Only my top two choices satisfied these requirements, and Dufour Pastry Kitchens was an easy top-spot choice because its flavor blew me away. Sweet Loren’s, on the other hand, doesn’t have much going for it unless you’re plagued by food allergies, so it had to get the bottom spot.