Pro Picks: The Best Orange Juice Brands
Updated: Apr. 01, 2024
Complete your breakfast spread or weekend brunch mimosa with the best orange juice. Our pros sampled 10 to find the bottles worth buying.
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A glass of orange juice is almost as integral to the start of the day as coffee. OJ gives your breakfast added zip and brightness. Top it off with a little champagne, and it transforms your brunch into a special occasion.
While fresh-squeezed is the best way to enjoy a glass of OJ, a carton from the grocery store is where most of us get our fix. Check out which brands make the best orange juice so you can build a better breakfast.
Most Like Fresh Squeezed
365 by Whole Foods Market Florida Orange Juice
If you don’t have time to break out your juicer each morning, you can still get that fresh taste with 365 by Whole Foods Market Florida Orange Juice.
“You really get that natural, fresh-squeezed flavor of orange,” explains Ellie Crowley from the Test Kitchen. “It has the perfect amount of sweetness which makes this one shine.”
What also makes this juice stand out is the rich orange color. You can tell it’s delicious before you even take your first sip.
Best Organic Orange Juice
Uncle Matt’s Organic Orange Juice
If you’re looking to incorporate more organic products into your breakfast routine, be sure to snag a bottle of Uncle Matt’s Organic Orange Juice.
While the organic label may draw you in, Josh Rink in the Test Kitchen says that’s just the start: “It has a lemony sparkle; light and bright in flavor with balanced sweetness.”
“This one is just a very happy OJ!” says Josh.
Best Pulp-Free Orange Juice
Florida’s Natural Orange Juice
Our team sampled all kinds of orange juice—with and without pulp. For those that like a smooth OJ experience, our Test Kitchen recommends Florida’s Natural Orange Juice.
Some pulp-free juices still have some fibrous notes, but not this one! According to Ellie, “this juice has a very smooth consistency.” And it’s perfectly sweet with good orange flavor. Overall, this is a great juice to stash in your fridge.
Best Orange Juice for Mimosas
Tropicana Orange Juice
For many, brunch just isn’t brunch without a mimosa. Besides picking up a good bottle of bubbly, choosing the right OJ is key for this cocktail. If you ask our Test Kitchen, the brand to reach for is Tropicana.
“This one has a good balance of sweet and tangy,” explains Josh. This along with the smooth, pulp-free texture makes it the perfect mixer for sparkling wine. Our Test Kitchen also wouldn’t turn up a nose at adding a splash to a screwdriver or tequila sunrise.
Why You Should Trust Us
The Taste of Home Test Kitchen team has expert taste buds. They’ve tried hundreds of foods in various flavors and work to find the brands worthy of suggesting to readers. You can trust them because they’ve tasted the food. Beyond yummy drinks and bites, they also test kitchen gadgets and cleaning tools to help round out every room in your home.
How We Tested Orange Juice
For this taste test, our team of culinary pros sampled 10 brands of OJ. We sampled big brands, store brands and organic brands. Each was tried without revealing the brands so our team could avoid any biases. Each was sipped and judged according to our standard criteria:
- Appearance:Â Orange juice should be opaque with a vibrant, sunshiny hue. Juice that looks dull or artificially orange isn’t a go in our Test Kitchen.
- Texture:Â Pulp or no-pulp, our team wanted orange juice with a pleasant consistency. It should be a joy to sip and not feel too viscous or thin.
- Flavor:Â Even though it comes from a bottle or carton, store-bought OJ should taste fresh and tangy.
Check out which brands earned the right to be called Test Kitchen-Preferred.
Check Out More Test Kitchen-Preferred Products
Our Test Kitchen is constantly testing food, kitchen gadgets and cleaning gear, looking for brands that deserve the right to be called Test Kitchen-Preferred.
If you want to fill your pantry and fridge with the best products, check out these tests:
Originally Published: March 07, 2023
