H-E-B Turkey: What To Know Before You Buy

For a supermarket corporation, H-E-B stands out from the crowd: It's a company that is largely liked. The business is considered to be the second most popular grocer in America, according to ABC13, beating huge rivals such as Target, Costco, and Walmart. The only one it couldn't quite tackle was Amazon, but there's time yet.

Eater goes as far as to describe this popularity as "loyalty" from H-E-B's customers, which it believes stems from the company's supreme skill in capturing the spirit of Texas  — the state where H-E-B was founded in 1905 — within its business operation.

Perhaps the success of H-E-B — which is also demonstrated by its $34 billion annual sales and 420 stores across Texas and Mexico, according to the company's website — is assisted by its product choices. A search for turkey on the company's website brings back hundreds of results. In fact, H-E-B even has a history of giving away turkey at Thanksgiving, per ABC13. Evidently, turkey is an important product for H-E-B, but, to avoid the confusion of so much choice, let's take a look at how different H-E-B turkey options stack up in terms of nutrition, cost, and comparisons with other brands.

Although freshly farmed turkeys should, in theory, only contain their natural ingredients, manufacturing processes inevitably throw unexpected surprises into the mix. Positively, H-E-B's whole turkey is shown on the company's website to be free of hormones, stimulates, and antibiotics, as well as being reared cage-free at local farms within Texas. Meanwhile, the boneless breast contains expectedly high amounts of protein (21 grams per serving) but also 620 milligrams of sodium, which adds up to 27% of one's average daily allowance.

H-E-B's website confirms that there are few nutritional differences with its sliced turkey variations. A 2-ounce serving of the company's roasted turkey, for example, features 80 calories, 11 grams of protein, and 410 milligrams of salt. It is also said to be free from nitrates and nitrites, as well as MSG. The latter, which stands for monosodium glutamate, is considered by some to cause headaches and nausea, but the FDA deems it safe. You should generally think twice about eating processed meat, but H-E-B's may be the exception to the rule.

Pre-prepared meals pose bigger nutritional issues, however, with H-E-B's website showing one sandwich packed with 430 calories, 1,340 milligrams of sodium, and 13 grams of fat (20% of one's daily fat allowance). Children's meals and salads are similarly impactful. Elsewhere, ground turkey and organic turkey are relatively unremarkable, save for 160 calories per serving in the latter.

H-E-B offers a range of turkey products from other brands, not just its own. H-E-B's website notes many turkey options from different businesses, including Butterball's frozen whole turkey ($19.05 for an average of 12 ½ pounds) and boneless breast (3 pounds for $9.26).

Oscar Mayer's sliced turkey costs $6.77 for a pound, or $0.43 an ounce. It's less expensive than H-E-B's but contains more salt. Butterball's turkey burgers are offered for $8.97 (around the same price as H-E-B's), while Oscar Mayer's turkey sausages cost $3.79 for 10 with fewer calories and less sodium.

A Boar's Head turkey salad costs $6.70, which is pricier than H-E-B's and contains more calories, fat, and sodium. However, the Boar's Head salad is almost twice the size of H-E-B's. A Boar's Head turkey sandwich, on the other hand, is smaller and more expensive than H-E-B's own brand, as well as contains more than double the amount of fat. Meanwhile, an Oscar Mayer's turkey Lunchables meal with cheese and crackers is priced at $1.87. This is cheaper than the turkey kid's meals provided by H-E-B but is also much smaller.