Which Charlotte grocer has the cheapest store-brand guac? We checked (+ tasted)
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- The Observer visited nine grocery stores on the morning of May 27.
- Walmart sold the cheapest container at $3.07 for 8 ounces and 38¢ per ounce.
- The Fresh Market guacamole weighed 0.76 pounds and cost $7.59.
Summer is rolling in, bringing good times at home and outside back with it. The Charlotte Observer checked the prices of store-brand guacamoles to help out the party hosts, or maybe just the avocado lovers. (We tasted them too.)
At each grocery store The Charlotte Observer checked, we tried to find the simplest guac – nothing spicy or with a twist, though we did find some other options (combination guacamole-salsa and pineapple guacamole among the more unusual).
The only store-brand guacamole that contained tomatoes was from Harris Teeter. If tomatoes are important to you, but not so important you want to make guacamole yourself, this is the one.
We visited nine grocery stores on the morning of Wednesday, May 27:
- Whole Foods
- Trader Joe’s
- Target
- Harris Teeter
- The Fresh Market
- Food Lion
- Publix
- Aldi
- Walmart Supercenter
We recorded the regular prices for each item, but in-store deals and rewards accounts could change these prices for many shoppers once they’re at the register.
The containers vary in size by several ounces, so we are including the cheapest guacamole overall, and the cheapest guacamole per ounce.
Most expensive
The most expensive guacamole was from The Fresh Market.
The Fresh Market guacamole is made fresh in house each day. The guacamole cooler was empty, and an employee ran to the back to get another — thank you, Autumn! Unlike the other guacamoles, this one was measured in pounds not ounces. The container weighed .76 pounds and cost $7.59, making the unit price $9.99 per pound.
(In a blind newsroom taste test with six participants, this was by far the most popular option, so it may justify its price.)
Cheapest per ounce
The cheapest guacamoles per ounce were from Aldi, Walmart and Target. Aldi’s guacamole was 30 cents per ounce. Walmart’s guacamole was 38 cents per ounce, and Target’s Good and Gather guacamole was 39 cents.
Our newsroom taste test diverged here; Walmart’s guacamole was not popular and even disliked, and Target’s was in the top three. Aldi’s received two votes, placing it fourth.
Cheapest per container
Aldi had the cheapest guacamole by container at $2.99 for 10 ounces. Walmart was the second-cheapest guacamole by container, ringing up at $3.07 for 8 ounces. Target was the third cheapest, at $3.89 for 10 ounces.
Other guacamole costs:
- Food Lion was the fourth cheapest, at $3.99, but at only 8 ounces cost 11 cents more per ounce than Target, at 50 cents per ounce.
- Whole Foods Market 365 guacamole cost $4.49 for 8 ounces, or 56 cents per ounce.
- Trader Joe’s Organic Chunky Homestyle Guacamole cost $4.49 for 10 ounces, or 45 cents per ounce. “Avocado mush” was cheaper, but was not labeled guacamole.
- Harris Teeter hand-smashed guacamole cost $6.99 for 12 ounces, or 58 cents per ounce.
- Publix guacamole cost $4.49 for 8 ounces, or 56 cents per ounce
