Ghirardelli Vs Nestle: Who Makes The Best Chocolate Chips?

A lot of the time, the quality of a recipe comes down to the ingredients used. This is especially true for chocolate chips, which can make or break a tray of warm brown butter cookies or gooey chocolate crookies. Luckily, there are some great chocolate chips available in U.S. grocery stores, with Nestlé Toll House and Ghirardelli being among the most popular brands on offer. But which one is better? Well, the answer is a little complicated.

In our expert taste test of 15 chocolate chip brands, Ghirardelli slightly edged ahead of Nestlé in terms of taste, texture, and baking quality. Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips are made in California using high-quality cocoa beans sourced through the company's sustainable farming program. They offer a rich, subtly sweet flavor that makes them good enough to eat right out of the bag, and they hold their shape perfectly during baking. However, Nestlé Toll House Semi-sweet Chocolate Morsels also fared well in our ranking, but offer a different flavor profile that has its own place in the kitchen.

Toll House morsels are an American classic that's bound to stir up nostalgia for the many bakers who grew up using them. They're creamy, comforting, and will transport you right back to your childhood from the second you see their iconic yellow packaging. Although they taste slightly more artificial than Ghirardelli's chips, Nestlé claims to use 100% real chocolate and only natural flavors. Break that down, and the ingredients are actually sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin, and other unspecified natural flavors.The Ghirardelli version contains virtually the same ingredients (cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, soy lecithin, and vanilla extract), so it's probably the different chocolates and ingredient quantities that make the taste different.

The Nestlé version are the chips you're sure to find at any store, and are often available in bulk, which is handy for frequent bakers. Some prefer the less complex taste of Nestlé chips, which are slightly sweeter and creamier than Ghirardelli's.

According to online discussions, Ghirardelli chips are better for cookies and pancakes, as their wider shape creates larger chocolate pockets when melted, while Toll House morsels work better for melting and dipping. Overall, we think Ghirardelli makes the best store-bought baking chocolate, but Nestlé will always have a place in our hearts. At the end of the day, it's all about personal preference so why not try out some chocolate chip cookie recipes and buy a bag of each to do a taste test for yourself? Both brands are available on Amazon via these links: Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and Nestlé Toll House Semi-sweet Chocolate Morsels.