We taste-tested 11 brands of apple juice you’re likely to find at your local supermarket. To find the very best one, we sampled each without knowing which brand was which. Our winner is Mott’s 100% Original Apple Juice, but we also crowned two runners-up.
Apple juice is more than just a lunchbox staple. Crisp, tart, and refreshing, apple juice is an easy and versatile option, whether you’re mixing it into a cocktail or reaching for it as an alternative to soda. While freshly squeezed apple juice is delicious, not everyone owns a juicer. That’s where the store-bought stuff comes in. The question is: Which brand is worth buying?
To find the best bottled apple juices, our editors taste-tested 11 widely available brands. We opted for products without any added sugar. We chilled and poured each into cups, then sampled them in random order without knowing which brand was which. We then tabulated the results and crowned an overall winner and two worthy contenders that we’d be happy to keep at home.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
The Criteria
Great apple juice should taste like the purest expression of apples: tart and sweet, with a robust depth of flavor. It should be smooth and sediment-free—unless you’re drinking unfiltered apple juice. It should also be golden and clear, not murky or brown. It should be gently sweet and never cloying. And of course, it should not taste watery, overly sour, or artificially candy-like.
Overall Winner
Mott’s 100% Original Apple Juice
This “captured the freshness and natural vibrancy of ripe apples,” wrote our associate culinary director, Laila, who noted that the juice’s slightly thick body helped its flavor linger longer on the palate. Our editorial director, Daniel, appreciated the nice acidity, although our senior social media editor, Kelli, found it slightly too sour for her taste. “Full of personality,” wrote our associate visuals director, Amanda.
Runners-Up
Martinelli’s Gold Medal Apple Juice
For some of our editors, this apple juice struck an ideal balance of sweet and tangy, while others thought it needed a kick of acidity. “Sweet-tart, like a real apple. I approve,” wrote Kelli. Meanwhile, Laila thought it “could benefit from a touch more acidity or dryness to offset the sugar and highlight the fruitiness.” Similarly, Amanda wanted it to be slightly more tart.
good2grow Apple Juice
“This has full flavor and body,” wrote Amanda, who gave top marks to this apple juice. “It’s less sweet than the other samples, which allows more natural character to come through,” wrote Laila, who also appreciated the juice’s smooth, light consistency. Similarly, Kelli enjoyed its apple-forward flavor and also picked up on some floral notes.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
The Contenders
- Apple & Eve Apple Juice
- good2grow Apple Juice
- Juicy Juice Apple Juice
- Market Pantry Apple Juice Beverage
- Martinelli’s Gold Medal Apple Juice
- Mott’s 100% Original Apple Juice
- Nature’s Promise Apple Juice
- Stop & Shop Apple Juice
- Trader Joe’s Organic Apple Juice
- Wegmans Apple Juice
- 365 by Whole Foods Market Apple Juice
Key Takeaways and Conclusion
Most mass-market apple juice is made with the same three ingredients: water, apple juice concentrate, and ascorbic acid, which is the chemical term for vitamin C. Apple juice concentrate is produced by pasteurizing and concentrating fresh, filtered apple juice into a thick, sweet, and syrupy liquid, which is then typically frozen for storage and later thawed and diluted with water to make apple juice or cider.
Ascorbic acid helps preserve color and flavor by preventing oxidation and browning, and adds a mild tartness. Some apple juices also include malic acid, a natural compound found in apples, or citric acid, which occurs naturally in citrus fruits; both can lend sourness to the juice, though their effects differ. Malic acid closely matches the flavor profile of apples, so brands often use it to enhance apple notes. Citric acid, on the other hand, is more readily available and less expensive, giving the juice a sharper, more immediate tang.
Our winner, Mott’s 100% Original Apple Juice, is made with water, apple juice concentrate, and ascorbic acid. Our runner-up, Martinelli’s Gold Medal Apple Juice, is made from just one ingredient: pasteurized apple juice from apples. Besides Martinelli’s, all the juices we sampled include ascorbic acid and apple juice concentrate. Juices with added acids, such as malic or citric acid, were described by our editors as watery, muted, and thin. (Our winner and runners-up did not contain these acids.) This might be because malic acid and citric acid contribute tangy notes rather than the fuller, rounder flavors that our editors preferred.
Our Testing Methodology
All taste tests are conducted with brands completely hidden and without discussion. Tasters taste samples in random order. For example, taster A may taste sample one first, while taster B will taste sample six first. This is to prevent palate fatigue from unfairly giving any one sample an advantage. Tasters are asked to fill out tasting sheets, ranking the samples according to various criteria. All data is tabulated, and results are calculated with no editorial input to provide the most impartial representation of actual results possible.
