Feature Photo and design by Brian Kachejian
There are very few cookies in American history with the cultural power of Oreo. The black-and-white sandwich cookie has been a lunchbox staple, a late-night snack, a movie companion, and one of the most recognizable products on grocery store shelves for more than a century. That is exactly why this taste test became so fascinating, because Aldi’s Benton’s brand was stepping directly into the ring against one of the most dominant snack foods ever created.
This was not a casual side-by-side comparison where I already knew which cookie was which. I did this blind. Two cookies went into each cup; I mixed them up, and I had no idea whether I was eating Oreos or Benton’s with each bite. Then I repeated the entire process using Double Stuf Oreos to make the matchup even fairer.
What happened next honestly surprised me. Aldi’s Benton’s cookies won both blind taste tests.
There is something really fun about putting giant national brands up against cheaper store brands because most people assume the famous product is automatically better. Oreo has dominated the chocolate sandwich cookie market for generations, but Aldi’s Benton’s brand has quietly developed a loyal following because of its lower price and surprisingly strong flavor.
In this review, I compared the two cookies based on sweetness, cream filling, texture, crunch, overall flavor, and value. The results turned out to be one of the biggest surprises I have had while doing food reviews.
In the video below, I put Aldi Benton’s cookies and Oreo cookies through two separate blind taste tests to determine which chocolate sandwich cookie actually tastes better.
The History of Oreo
Oreo was introduced in 1912 by the National Biscuit Company, later known as Nabisco. The cookie quickly became one of the most successful snack products in American history because of its simple but addictive formula: two chocolate wafers surrounding a sweet cream filling.
Over the decades, Oreo transformed into a global powerhouse. The cookie became famous not just for its taste, but for the ritual itself, twisting the cookie apart, eating the cream, dunking it in milk, and debating favorite flavors. Oreo eventually expanded into dozens of varieties, including Double Stuf, Golden Oreo, Mint Oreo, Birthday Cake Oreo, and countless limited edition releases.
The cookie’s cultural impact became enormous. Oreo moved far beyond being just a snack and became part of American pop culture itself. It remains one of the best-selling cookies ever created.
The History of Aldi and Benton’s Cookies
Aldi traces its roots back to Germany in the early twentieth century before eventually becoming one of the fastest-growing discount grocery chains in the United States. The company built its reputation around lower prices, smaller store footprints, and private-label products designed to compete directly with major national brands.
Benton’s became Aldi’s primary cookie and cracker brand, offering products intentionally designed to resemble famous national snacks at significantly lower prices. Benton’s chocolate sandwich cookies clearly entered the market as a competitor to Oreo, from their dark cookie appearance to their cream center to their overall packaging style.
That similarity eventually created legal conflict. Mondelez International, the company behind Oreo, filed lawsuits against Aldi in multiple countries over packaging designs and branding similarities involving several Aldi products, including cookies that resembled Oreos. The disputes centered on claims that Aldi’s packaging could confuse customers due to visual similarities in colors, layouts, and product presentation. Aldi has faced similar trademark and packaging disputes with numerous major food companies over the years as part of its private label business strategy.
Why These Cookies Feel So Similar
The comparison between Oreo and Benton’s works because the cookies are clearly targeting the exact same audience. Both use dark chocolate wafers with white cream filling. Both aim for that crunchy outside and creamy inside balance. Even the visual presentation immediately reminds shoppers of the Oreo formula.
The difference comes down to subtle details involving sweetness, texture, cream filling, and mouthfeel. Those small differences became much more obvious once the blind taste test started.
Blind Taste Test Round One
For the first round, I placed two Oreos in one cup and two Benton’s cookies in another, without knowing which was which. That was important because I did not want branding to influence the results.
The first cookie immediately tasted familiar, with that classic Oreo flavor profile. But when I tried the second cookie, something stood out right away. The cookie tasted creamier, slightly lighter, and less aggressively sweet. The texture also felt smoother overall.
When the reveal happened, the better-tasting cookie turned out to be Aldi Benton’s.
Honestly, that surprised me.
Blind Taste Test Round Two
Some people would immediately argue that the comparison was unfair because the Bentons’ cookies appeared to have more cream filling than standard Oreos. So I decided to bring Double Stuf Oreos into the competition to level the playing field.
I mixed everything up again and repeated the blind test completely fairly.
The result shocked me even more the second time.
Benton’s won again.
The cookie tasted richer, creamier, and more balanced overall. The sweetness level also felt smoother without becoming overpowering.
Price Difference and Value
One of the biggest takeaways from this test was the price difference. The Benton’s cookies cost roughly $2.19 while the Oreo package was closer to $4.59 during this review.
That makes the result even more fascinating because the cheaper product not only competed with Oreo, it actually won both blind taste tests.
For shoppers trying to save money without sacrificing flavor, that becomes a major deal.
Final Verdict
This turned into one of the most surprising food battles I have done so far. Oreo remains one of the most iconic cookies ever created, and the brand still deserves enormous respect for its history, consistency, and influence on snack culture.
But in this particular blind taste test, Aldi Benton’s simply tasted better.
Twice.
The creamier filling, smoother sweetness, and overall richer cookie experience gave Benton’s the victory. Sometimes the cheaper product really does outperform the legend.
This was actually the second straight blind taste test in which Oreo was knocked off by a store-brand cookie. Earlier, I put Oreo cookies head-to-head against Wegmans’ version in another surprise showdown, and once again, the cheaper competitor came out on top. After seeing Benton’s beat Oreo twice in this review, it is starting to feel like these supermarket brands may be catching up faster than most people realize. You can also check out my full Wegmans versus Oreo taste test right here: Wegmans vs Oreo Blind Taste Test Review.
