Our Pros Sampled 6 Brands of Frozen Texas Toast to Find the Best
Updated: Apr. 21, 2023
We love to keep a box of frozen Texas toast on hand for spaghetti suppers. But do you know what garlic toast brand is really best? Our pros sampled six to find out.
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Whipping up a cozy pasta dinner for a night in? We know it’s not complete without some delicious garlic bread on the side. But we don’t always have a loaf of Italian bread on hand. That’s where frozen Texas toast comes in handy.
A box of Texas toast gives us all the flavors we’re looking for—garlic, butter, a sprinkle of parsley—without having to run to the bakery. Just like any product, though, you’ll find some winners and some disappointing options out there. So our Test Kitchen crew sampled as many boxes of Texas toast that we could find so you know what brands to stock in your freezer.
How We Sampled Frozen Texas Toast in Our Test Kitchen
To test these brands of garlic toast, our Test Kitchen crew prepared each brand according to the package directions. We wanted to make toast the way you would at home—no tricks, no special techniques, just the way any home cook would think to pop these slices into the oven. Our crew of samplers judged each slice with these criteria in mind:
- Flavor: How does the Texas toast taste? Is it buttery? Garlicky? Are there any other seasonings worth noting? Does it taste of real ingredients? Is it artificial? What about the bread?
- Texture: What’s the texture of the toast like? Is it crisp on the outside? Is the inside soft or soggy?
- Appearance: How does the toast look? Does it look homemade? Appetizing? Artificial? We eat with our eyes, too, so this is important!
Want to learn more about how our Test Kitchen chooses their favorite products? Check out our testing methods.
Our Test Kitchen Preferred Texas Toast Brands
This round of sampling left our testers craving spaghetti and meatballs like crazy. There were a few brands worthy of supporting this iconic Italian dinner.
Most Homemade Looking: Great Value Garlic Texas Toast
When you buy frozen Texas toast, you often get artificially yellow-looking slices. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that (after all, who can resist movie theater popcorn covered in all that probably-not-butter?), but sometimes you want your frozen foods to look a little more homemade. That’s when you want to reach for a box of Great Value Garlic Texas Toast.
Not only did this toast boast actual butter flavor, the garlic was mild but tasted very real and not overly processed to our testers. The crust was nice and crisp while the center of the bread remained fairly soft. Simply put, this Walmart house brand delivered on a lot of levels and is very much worthy of your next pasta party.
Best for Garlic Lovers: New York Bakery Texas Toast
Are you the type of person who reads a recipe calling for two cloves of garlic and thinks I’ll add four? Then you’ll want to snag a box of New York Bakery Texas Toast next time you’re shopping for frozen garlic bread.
This garlic-forward Texas toast definitely delivered on real garlic flavor as advertised. This brand is also made without preservatives or artificial flavors, so everything you’re tasting is the real deal. Our testing squad also appreciated the other Italian flavors on this bread. These little extras can take a product from ho-hum to yum.
New York Bakery’s Texas toast didn’t bake up as crisply as our kitchen staff hoped, but you can solve that at home by keeping these slices of toast in the oven for an extra minute or two. This just proves that sometimes the package isn’t always exactly right.
Crispiest: Pepperidge Farm Texas Toast
Looking for the right garlic bread to sop up extra marinara or to dunk into your cup of soup? You want something extra crispy; you want Pepperidge Farm Texas Toast.
This brand of frozen Texas toast baked up well: the crust was crunchy and the bread was crisp on the outside with a tender middle. You could easily use these hardy toasts to make mini pizzas and other appetizers.
While this brand wasn’t as garlicky as the rest, it’s definitely worthwhile for serving up alongside your favorite saucy recipes. And you can always give these an extra sprinkle of garlic powder if you’re a garlic fanatic!
Best Bread: Market Pantry Garlic Texas Toast
Now, we’ve been talking a lot about butter and garlic, but let’s not forget that the foundation for any frozen Texas toast is the bread. Our Test Kitchen thought that Target’s Market Pantry Texas Toast had the best base for these extra flavors.
Our testers compared the bread used in the frozen Texas toast to a French baguette or a nice Italian loaf. It had just the right texture: soft but still chewy. This is a feat since bread can often dry out in the freezer (unless you wrap it carefully).
The taste-testing crew did want a little extra garlic taste, but if you’re craving extra flavor here, add a sprinkle of your favorite Italian herbs and seasonings and the problem is solved.
What to Make with Frozen Garlic Bread and Texas Toast
A package of frozen Texas toast is handy to keep in the freezer. It’s the perfect addition to any weeknight Italian supper or a nice side for homemade soup. But you can use Texas toast as an ingredient in recipes, too. Think of slices of Texas toast like an extra-decadent crostini or a shortcut pizza crust. And don’t limit yourself to just Italian dishes—garlic goes well with so many cuisines!
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Note: This blind taste test was performed by our staffers and was not part of a sponsorship. All opinions shared are our own, and have not been influenced by advertisers.
Originally Published: January 17, 2021
