We review the best sunflower seeds using our 5-category process to determine which we think are among the best.
Having played baseball and been around the game for many years, I’ve had my fair share of sunflower seeds. Baseball and sunflower seeds go hand in hand.
Especially for those who prefer to eat sunflower seeds over bubble gum or chew. Kids like bubble gum, some adults like chew, but almost everyone likes sunflower seeds.
At the end of the rankings, check out our ideas for some combo seed flavorings by mixing two bags together for an incredible flavor burst.
Let’s look at the very best sunflower seeds we feel you should try. But first, let’s go over what the rankings are based off.
Best Sunflower Seed Brands:
- Spitz
- David
- Chinook
- BiGS
Best Sunflower Seed Flavors:
- Cracked Pepper
- Sweet & Spicy
- BBQ
- Dill Pickle
- Original
- Ranch
Sunflower Seed Rankings Categories:
- Flavor
- Seed Quality
- Crackability
- Seed Size (not shell size)
- No raw sandpaper tongue or mouth
Contents
The Best 13 Sunflower Seeds
1. Spitz Cracked Pepper
- Perfect seed flavoring. Not too much, not too little. Tastes like fresh crack black pepper
- The actual sunflower is meaty and tasty. It’s a thick and smooth sunflower seed. When side by side against other seed brands, it’s the biggest one
- Crackability is incredibly easy. Takes one little snap with the teeth and it crack right down the middle. Making is very easy to get the sunflower seed out of the shell.
- The sunflower seed itself is huge. When side by side against other seed brands, it’s the biggest one.
- After eating a quarter of the bag of seeds, I did not have a raw tongue at all.
We tested this vs David Sunflower Seeds Cracked Pepper Jumbo. Although David’s version of Black pepper tasted great, the seed size wasn’t even close. Spitz Sunflower Seeds are much larger than David’s. Also with David, the sunflower seed shell has a powdery film on it while Spitz Cracked Pepper Seeds do not.
The flavor of David’s Sunflower Seeds wore off rather quickly and I believe it’s because the powdery flavor doesn’t stick to the sunflower seed shell as well as Spitz.
2. Spitz Spicy Sweet Chili
The flavor of the Spitz Spicy Sweet Chili sunflower seeds is outstanding. It’s long lasting and hits you right away. If you like spicy, this is a must have. It compliments well with the sweet chili so it’s not just pure spicyness. The sunflower seed shell is easy to crack, and the sunflower seed size is solid. It’s not the biggest seed, but the flavor is the reason these win #2.
The Spitz Spicy Sweet Chili is very popular among high school baseball players already and I highly recommend these Spitz Sunflower Seeds to anyone who likes a little bit of spicy with their seeds. Spitz Spicy Sweet Chili is very close to #1, Spitz Cracked Pepper. The reason it’s #2 is that not everyone likes spicy, but most people like cracked pepper.
We tested the Spitz Spicy Sweet Chili against David Jumbo Sweet & Spicy. It was very close.
David Jumbo Sweet & Spicy is very good. A top 10 sunflower seed flavor for sure.
The difference came down to that David’s Sweet & Spicy was mostly all sweet and no spicy.
The flavor great, but it’s not spicy. It’s a big seed though too which is very nice, and very easy to crack. The flavor holds up too and is long lasting.
3. BiGS Dill Pickle
We’re placing BIGS Dill Pickle in third place. It was very close between 3 brands: BIGS, Spitz, and Chinook.
Overall, the reason BIGS won over the other two was the sunflower seeds flavor was just better with BIGS. You can taste the dill pickle flavor more with BIGS than the other two brands.
The other two were brands good but BIGS Dill Pickle checked all the boxes. Flavor, Seed quality, crackability, seed size, and no sandpaper or rough tongue.
The seed size and shell size are the same as Chinook, almost identical. However, Chinook didn’t have a ton of that dill pickle flavor. Spitz had slightly more flavor than Chinook but a much smaller seed size and a little bit more of a rough tongue.
BIGS Dill Pickle sunflower seeds are outstanding. The flavor is incredible and noticeable right away.
They can push for #1 overall if you like dill pickle flavor more than cracked pepper.
4. David BBQ Jumbo
David BBQ Jumbo comes in strong at #4 and could battle for the #3 rank. We tested David Jumbo BBQ against both Spitz Smoky BBQ and Chinook Smokehouse BBQ. All three were very good.
There are great qualities to all three. In the end, David checked the most boxes to win out among these brands for the BBQ flavor. Mainly because the Jumbo version of David matched up in size to Chinook and much bigger than Spitz. David’s BBQ flavor also lasted longer than both Spitz and Chinook.
What I did like about Spitz was the flavor and no sandpaper tongue. Definitely a seed you can eat for a long time.
Chinook also had incredible flavor, much different than David and Spitz. The Chinook BBQ version is a Smokehouse BBQ. Chinook also has a big seed.
The only downfall to the Chinook Smokehouse BBQ was that the wad of seeds in your cheek began to lose it’s crunch quicker than the others which gave it a bit of a weird taste.
5. David Original
David Original makes the top 5 because it’s a classic sunflower seeds flavor that you can’t go wrong. The flavor, or lack thereof, doesn’t matter with this one.
The seed is one of the best known, if not the best-known sunflower seed. This seed is one that can be chewed all day every day and never gets old.
My Mom loves the David Original sunflower seed, kids up to adults love it. It’s long lasting, easy to crack, no sandpaper tongue, and highly addicting. Ever since I was a kid, I am used to seeing David Sunflower seeds at baseball fields. They seem to do a great job with brand awareness!
We put David Original up against Spitz, BiGS, and Chinook Original. David won easily. Chinook was good as well, but none compared to David’s Original.
6. Chinook Smokehouse BBQ
Chinook is a very good sunflower seed brand with a wide variety of flavors. In fact, Chinook is very close to winning multiple categories in the top 5.
They have a big seed, easy crackable, and fun flavors. The best part about Chinook is all the seeds are big, and have less salt and no MSG.
However, their flavors don’t last as long as other brands and if you like to have a wad of seeds in your check, they get soft quickly. Meaning they don’t hold the crackability as long.
That said, Chinook Smokehouse BBQ is very good. It’s a unique flavor of BBQ that is much different than both David and Spitz.
It’s more of a sweet and smoky BBQ, which is very nice. If you know Kansas City BBQ flavors, it’s more like that instead of a mustardy BBQ flavor. Give it a try!
7. Spitz Smoky BBQ
Spitz Smoky BBQ is another sunflower seed flavor that can be argued for top 5. David BBQ Jumbo barely beat it out. Spitz Smoky BBQ and Chinook Smokehouse BBQ are basically a tie for #6 and #7.
What I love about Spitz Smoky BBQ is that you can’t go wrong with it. It last long, doesn’t give any rough tongue, and the seeds crack easily.
It’s one that you can munch on all day long
8. Chinook Jalapeño Ranch
The flavor of Chinook Jalapeño Ranch is surprisingly good. It’s got that spicy and sweet to complement each other.
It makes it not an overpowering Jalapeño Flavor because of the ranch added. You can really taste both flavors too. Chinooks seeds aren’t as popular as David’s and Spitz but after trying out many of their flavors I was very impressed with the meaty seeds and the flavor quality!
Chinook Jalapeño Ranch actually gets quite addicting and is a very cool flavor combo.
9. Spitz Dill Pickle
As you can see, Dill Pickle is a popular flavor. Making two brands crack the top 10. Much like Cracked Pepper and BBQ, Dill Pickle is a go to flavor.
Spitz does the Dill Pickle very well is a great all-around sunflower seed.
It doesn’t have as much dill pickle flavor as BiGS version of Dill pickle, but that could be a positive for some who don’t want a burst of the dill pickle flavor, but some.
10. David Cracked Pepper Jumbo
Another Cracked Pepper flavor makes the top 10 with David Cracked Pepper Jumbo.
This sunflower seed is very good all around. It packs a ton of flavor, is a big seed, easy to crack, and no rough tongue.
This is a go to seed if you like simple flavors unlike Dill Pickle or something spicy.
Not as good as Spitz Black Pepper, but still very good. A winner if you are a David fan!
11. David Ranch Jumbo
Ranch is always a go to and solid flavor. David’s Ranch Jumbo Sunflower seed is a very good seed flavor. It has enough long-lasting ranch flavor and isn’t too sweet.
It actually taste the most like ranch of all the pure ranch flavors.
This one would’ve cracked the top 10 but the flavor doesn’t hold up as long as others and Chinook’s Jalapeno Ranch isn’t too spicy to overtake the ranch flavor. David’s Rach Jumbo is a great seed though for you ranch lovers.
12. BiGS Cheeseburger
With a surprise flavor on the list, we have BiGS Cheeseburger. It is a bit shocking but a must try with incredible taste.
Who doesn’t love a good Cheeseburger? The reason BiGS Cheeseburger sunflower seeds make the list is because it tastes exactly like a cheeseburger!
It’s incredible how much it truly taste just like a cheeseburger. You really get the full cheeseburger flavor, like all of it. The meat, cheese, pickle, tomato, and lettuce. It sounds weird but it’s true.
Give it a shot if you like cheeseburgers because this one really hits it out of the park when it comes to tasting exactly like the flavor says.
BiGS Sunflower Seeds flavors are the most creative on the market so be sure to check out their full assortment of options.
Bigs Cracked Pepper are also very good. I put them right up there with Spitz and David seeds.
13. Chinook Parmesan and Pepper
Another surprise flavor combo is the Chinook Parmesan and Pepper Sunflower Seed. Tthese are two great flavors and make sense to put together.
It’s like when the waiter comes around the table and sprinkles Parmesan and Pepper on your pasta or salad at an Italian Restaurant.
The Chinook Parmesan and Pepper tastes just like that. It’s such a great combo and a sneaky flavor combo that no other brand has.
If you can get your hands on a bag of one of these, it’s well worth it!
Honorable Mention Sunflower Seed Flavors:
BiGS Sizzlin’ Bacon (great for the kids and for two pack combos)
BiGS Buffalo Wing (a personal favorite flavor or mine and great for two pack combos)
David Jalapeno (very long-lasting flavor of Jalapeño. Might be too spicy for some)
Chinook Dill Pickle (Almost as good as Spitz and BiGS but not as much of the dill pickle flavor we want)
David Sour Cream and Onion (taste just like having chips and dip!)
Crazy two-pack seed Combos:
Here are some great ideas where you would mix two bags of sunflower seeds together. Open both bags and pour one into the other then shake it up!
BiGS Buffalo Wing and David Ranch Jumbo
This is like having Chicken Wings dipped in ranch. An American Classic. This is such a good combo. David has a Buffalo Style Ranch Flavor in its own bag but it doesn’t taste at all like buffalo. Mix these two brands and flavors together and you have yourself restaurant-style buffalo wings and ranch.
BiGS Cheeseburger and BiGS Sizzlin’ Bacon
Who wouldn’t want to add some bacon to their cheeseburger? Another American Classic.
David Jalapeno Jumbo and David Spicy Queso
Try this if you love spicy like I do. This taste like having a plate of Nachos!
BiGS/Spitz/Chinook Dill Pickle and BiGS Cheeseburger
Although the BiGS Cheeseburger Flavor already has a nice hint of pickle to it, add some more dill pickle seeds to your BiGS Cheeseburger bag to get a little extra pickle.
Spitz/David/Chinook BBQ and Cheeseburger
Another Cheeseburger combo. This time BBQ making the combo so you have yourself a Western Style Cheeseburger.
Go the extra step and make it 3 flavors! Add in BiGS Sizzlin Bacon to the BBQ and Cheeseburger flavor seeds. That will get you a Western Bacon Cheeseburger!
BiGS Sizzlin’ Bacon and David Ranch Jumbo
This is just a solid two pack combo of two flavors most people love. You get a little of that smoky bacon flavor and sweet ranch flavor in one.
Sunflower Seeds Ranking Criteria
Flavor
The first thing everyone looks for when they go purchase a bag of sunflower seeds is the flavor. Today, there are a wide variety of flavors compared to years past; when there were only a handful of options.
Now we have everything from sweet to spicy or even actual food as flavors. Choosing the best sunflower seeds simply off flavor is very subjective. When we rank here based off flavor, it’s more about the quality of the flavor on the sunflower seed.
Does it taste like the flavor labeled on the bag?
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- There might be a bag labeled as something like BBQ but it doesn’t taste like BBQ at all.
- Is one brand’s flavor better than another brand with the same flavor?
- This is where we put multiple seed brands head-to-head with the same flavor. Who does it best?
- Is the flavor enough? Too much? Too little?
- Is the flavor overbearing or not enough? Does it leave you wanting more flavor or is the flavor so good, you can’t get enough if it?
- Does the flavor last long enough or go away quickly?
- Does the seed pack a punch of flavor early but then it fades away quickly like fruit-striped gum or does it last while you have a wad of seeds in your mouth?
Seed Quality
The next category in our rankings is seed quality. Not the shell portion of the seed but actual sunflower seed itself. We want to know if the seed tastes good and is “meaty”. Some sunflower seeds taste too raw or too thin. We want a nice thick seed with a good crunch to it.
Crackability
We put it to the test how well or how easily a sunflower seed shell can be cracked. Some people like to consume their seeds one by one. Where they crack each seed using both their hands and their teeth. Other, like me and most baseball players, like to put a handful of sunflower seeds in their mouth and pack them in one side of their cheek. And then use their tongue and teeth to crack them one by one. This is where a good sunflower seeds ability to crack comes into play along with how well the flavor holds up in your mouth.
Seed Size
It’s nice to have a good size sunflower seed once out of the shell. We aren’t basing this category off the size of the sunflower seed shell that you can see through the bag when purchasing. Rather the actual size of the sunflower seed once out of the shell. It needs to be big enough to actually feel like you’re eating something. And if you crack them with your tongue and teeth, if needs to be big enough to pick it out of the shell without a ton of effort.
No raw sandpaper tongue or mouth
One knock we have on some seed brands or flavors is the feeling of a raw tongue. Also known as sandpaper tongue. This is usually a result of way too much salt on the seed or the seed flavoring being overbearing. This can happen to both one by one seed crackers or cheek-to-tongue seed crackers. The flavor just sits there and makes your tongue feel raw. We don’t want that.
Flavors we’d love to see made:
- Sriracha
- Honey Mustard
- Wasabi
- Garlic Fries
- Creole
We think it would be cool and popular if some of these brands tried making new flavors. These are the top 5 flavors of sunflower seeds we’d like to see made next. I’m positive that these would become best sellers, and some might even make our Top 13 Sunflower Seeds List.
Final Word on Sunflower Seeds
There are so many great Sunflower Seed Brands and Flavors that make for the perfect snack. Most are great, especially if you stick to the main flavors each brand has such as Cracked Pepper, BBQ, Dill Pickle, and Original. But give some of these others a try, especially the Sweet and Spicy! We think our flavor two bag combos are a hit and something everyone should try. The history of sunflower seeds in an interesting one the evolution of how sunflower seeds are used certainly is an interesting one.
We’d like to mention that Chinook is a new brand and not typically seen in every convenient store but should get on your radar of seeds. They separate themselves from the rest by being committed less salt, gluten free, and no msg ever. Most seeds don’t have these things either, but Chinook goes above and beyond in making sure every bag excludes these. Giants sunflower seeds is another brand that I could find at me nearby grocery store but I have heard good things about.
Spitz and David have typical flavors but a good variety. Both are great all-around seeds. They meet all of our categories but are also the smaller seed of all the seed brands.
BiGS Sunflower Seeds are huge seeds and good flavor. They are known for having unique and distinct flavors. Such as Sizzlin’ Bacon, Buffalo Wing, and Cheeseburger for example.
Overall, all the seeds are really good and each have their own winners. In my opinion, Spitz is the best overall seed brand and flavors with David as a close second.