If you Google “America’s favorite cookie,” the first result is the chocolate chip cookie, and everybody knows you can’t put something on the internet if it isn’t true. While, of course, there might be something irreplaceably special about grandma’s secret recipe, and it doesn’t necessarily take a degree in French pastry to bang together a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough at home, there is absolutely nothing wrong with baking up a batch of store-bought cookie dough. Premade cookie dough saves you the mess and hassle of mixing, but still lets you perfume your kitchens with the smell of vanilla extract, brown sugar, and chocolate chips. And, in the end, the cookies you make with premade cookie dough are still freshly baked cookies!
But which premade cookie dough reigns supreme? We tried a bunch of store bought cookie dough to let you know which is the best chocolate chip cookie dough to buy. We baked the cookies according to package instructions, and tried them at room temp, sans milk. It was really tough for us.
Here’s the best store bought chocolate chip cookie dough we found in our incredibly taxing job of taste testing premade chocolate chip cookie dough (gluten free chocolate cookie dough and vegan chocolate chip cookie dough, too).
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- Sweet Loren’s Less Sugar Dough
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If you told the child version of me that I would actually actively prefer the version of a cookie dough that advertised “less sugar,” I’d have laughed at you. Now, I look back on that version and say “tsk tsk tsk,” because this less sugar premade cookie dough is divine. I wasn’t super excited by the dough itself, which tasted muted. But while it baked it somehow transformed into a Chips Ahoy doppelganger. It certainly makes a crunchy cookie instead of a chewy one, but it’s incredibly tasty—especially when you consider the fact that it’s gluten-free, vegan, and free of major allergens. If you are going into a potluck and you suspect the crowd might be a veritable minefield of allergies, this is definitely the best cookie dough to buy. — Hebba Gouda
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Immaculate Gluten Free Chocolate Chunk
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Gluten free cookies made with the best gluten free chocolate chip cookie dough don’t have to get all weird and grainy in your mouth as you eat them—this Immaculate Gluten Free Chocolate Chunk cookie dough is proof. This stuff is so good! This dough puffs up quite a bit in the oven, resulting in sort of tall cookies, but don’t let that turn you off. They’re moist and chewy and absolutely packed with chocolate chips. It’s not only the best GF cookie dough we tried, it’s also some of the best chocolate chip cookie dough, period. — Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Immaculate
- Simple Truth Plant Based Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
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If the test of good vegan chocolate chip cookie dough is that it could easily pass for non-vegan chocolate chip cookie dough, this is the stuff. Kroger’s Simple Truth Plant Based Cookie Dough comes in pre-measured little squares that you just plop on a baking sheet. They come out of the oven chewy, but crisp up around the edges a bit as they cool, which makes them seem buttery even though they obviously aren’t made with dairy butter. The vegan dark chocolate chips are flavorful but not overpowering—you can still taste the dough itself. This is the best place and bake cookie dough if you don’t eat eggs or butter, but I think everyone will like it. An absolutely stellar vegan product. — Gwynedd Stuart
Credit:Liv Averett / Ralphs
- Private Selection Sea Salt Caramel Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough
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This premade cookie dough from Private Selection (another proprietary brand sold at Kroger-owned grocery stores) isn’t the very best chocolate chip cookie dough simply because it’s not straight-up chocolate chip cookie dough, but I gotta say, this was my personal favorite. If you want chocolate chip cookies with a little extra decadence, you have to try this stuff. You can see caramel start to create gooey pools atop and beneath the cookies as they cook in the oven. It’s downright pornographic. Once they’re done baking, the cookies have excellent chew, as does the caramel—and there’s a lot of caramel. That said, these are definitely still chocolate chip cookies. There’s plenty of chocolate chunks—not chips, CHUNKS, i.e. rectangular morsels rather than little kisses. This is the best cookie dough to buy for the cookie swap. Truly, no one will care that you used premade cookie dough. — Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Ralphs
- Great Value Ready to Bake Cookie Dough
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If you’re like me and you’d rather eat five little cookies than one big cookie, you’re going to love this chocolate chip cookie dough from Walmart. Great Value doesn’t advertise these as miniature cookies, but they’re much smaller than most place and bake cookies. I tasted these head to head with the Toll House cookie dough that is intended to make mini cookies, and I liked these just a touch better (plus, this cookie dough is from Walmart, so it’s cheap). You can actually taste a little bit of salt in the dough, which I love. If you want to go the small cookie route, this is the best chocolate chip cookie dough to buy. — Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Pillsbury Eat or Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
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If you’re looking for the best cookie dough to buy by the tube so you can scoop out as much or as little dough as you need, this is the premade cookie dough for you. Bonus: You can eat it raw as well as baked! It has a surprising amount of salt—but all that salt does is elevate all of the other flavors and cut through the sweetness. The balance of salt and sugar is perfect, and perfectly interrupted by lots and lots of chocolate chips. The dough bakes up a little flatter than I was expecting, but it delivers a cookie that’s just right for those who can’t decide between crispy and chewy. The result is a cookie that’s half crunchy, half soft, all delicious. — Hebba Gouda
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Nestlé Toll House Chocolate Chip Lovers
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Tollhouse looms large in the chocolate chip cookie game, and it’s easy to see why. We actually did two rounds of taste tests on doughs led by completely different tasters, and this dough came out on top both times. It doesn’t have that unpleasant, unnatural preservative flavor you’ll find in a lot of other premade cookie dough. And the cookies made with this premade cookie dough bake up chewy and gooey and absolutely stacked with chocolate chips. This is the best chocolate chip cookie dough for real chocolate chip cookie fans. — Gwynedd Stuart & Hebba Gouda
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
Best Allergy Friendly
Best Gluten Free
Best Vegan
Best with Caramel
Best Two Bite
Best Tube of Dough
Best of the Best
Other cookie dough brands we tried: Miss Jones Grain Free, Sweet Loren’s Chocolate Chunk, Amazon Fresh Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!