5 Of The Best Desserts To Try At Golden Corral And 5 To Leave On The Buffet

I think it's safe to say that I have moved out of my amateur ranking at the Golden Corral. After eating my way through all of the chain's dinner entrées and then doing the same for its side dishes, I now know a thing or two. But if I am to reach pro status by the end of the summer, you know that means I had to do the same for its desserts. That meant I went back to the Golden Corral and surveyed the chain's sweets selection, looking for the best of the best and the items to leave on the buffet bar.

From cakes and pies to ice cream and other sugary treats, Golden Corral's dessert selection felt endless. For your next dinner outing, use my list to know which desserts to try and which to forgo. Spoiler alert: The bar may be packed, but just because an item looks good doesn't mean it tastes good.

I love soft serve ice cream, especially in the summer, and extra especially when it's part of a dinner buffet, which means I can eat as much as I want. At the Golden Corral, the soft serve is perfection, and you can choose from vanilla, chocolate, and in some locations, swirled.

While the cones were a bit stale, the soft serve tasted like something you'd get at one of those local ice cream places in your hometown. It's sweet and creamy with no bad aftertaste. I'm a pretty basic girl, so the only topping I like on my vanilla soft serve is a chocolate dip. Since that wasn't available and I had already eaten about 20 other dessert bites, I went sans toppings. Each time I've gone back to the Golden Corral, it has had a different selection of toppings for the ice cream, like gummy candies, M&Ms, different crumbles, and so on. It also has a warmed chocolate and caramel station, along with whipped cream and cherries for a sundae.

Cup or cone, one flavor or two, Golden Corral's ice cream station is a winner. Honestly, I'd be happy with just this option. It was that good!

I think out of all the desserts, the cinnamon roll was the most disappointing. From across the room, they looked tasty, and the smell of fresh cinnamon pulled me into that area of the desserts. However, one bite told me everything I needed to know. The cinnamon rolls are a leave.

While Golden Corral's cinnamon roll was covered in frosting and looked decadent, the dough was super dry. There wasn't one moist bite out of the two rolls I grabbed. This aspect of the dessert was such a bummer because the frosting and the inner cinnamon goo were delicious. The goo had the right balance of cinnamon, and the frosting was sweet with a little cream cheese tang. 

With a hard exterior and a dry interior, texture killed the experience. Every bite was gritty, and in some places, hard to eat in general. Don't let the cinnamon rolls' outer beauty tempt you. This is a siren, and it will lead you to disappointment.

One thing that really surprised me about Golden Corral's buffet is that all the produce is super fresh, cold, and tasty. If you haven't tried it yet, the salad bar is top-notch. I found the same fresh quality with the fruit bar, so when I saw the chocolate-covered strawberries, I felt a win on the horizon.

The chocolate strawberries were large, juicy, and worth the bite. Covered in that rich chocolate shell, these treats were a 10 out of 10. The chocolate had depth; it was sweet and offered the perfect coated layer that wasn't too thick or thin. When I took a bite, juice came pouring out. The strawberry was ripe and tasted great. Seriously, no notes here.

Chocolate-covered strawberries don't have to remain in the realm of special occasions and fancy parties. Head to Golden Corral any night of the week and enjoy!

The only time you'll see me eating Jell-O in this day and age will most likely correlate to a medical procedure, but hey, I know it's a family favorite. During this visit, the flavor was cherry, and man, one bite made me regret giving it a try.

If you're looking for my flavor assessment, you won't find anything positive. This Jell-O tasted like a mix of watery Kool-Aid on the front end of the bite with an aftertaste of cough medicine. Yuck. I swear Robitussin tastes better than this did. Even the consistency was a little off, as the Jell-O started melting a little too quickly on my plate. I don't think I've ever faced melted Jell-O, even in the summer months.

I tried this one for nostalgia, but there was nothing I want to remember about this experience. This was not my childhood Jell-O. Please try (almost) anything else for dessert. I'd rather eat something bland over this.

I have a hard time passing up Rice Krispies Treats. When done right, there is so much to love. While the tried and true originals are a favorite, there are so many creative versions out there that utilize underrated ingredients. While Golden Corral's Rice Krispies Treats weren't the best ever, they were chewy and hit the spot with that chocolatey coating. 

The texture of these marshmallow treats was just right, as they pulled apart well. They weren't too tough or melted, so each bite was easy and enjoyable. My only complaint is that they weren't super sweet, tasting more like off-brand Rice Krispies Treats rather than a homemade version. I think GC could use a better option for its marshmallow base, but that's just me. However, the sweet chocolate was the perfect pairing, adding more depth to the flavor profile. Overall, there are no real complaints here. Grab at least one for your dessert plate. 

I didn't know you could ruin chocolate pudding, but Golden Corral has won that award. As a chocolate mousse lover, maybe I set the bar way too high before taking a bite. Be that as it may, this dessert option is a definite leave.

The front end of the bite was so good that I can't fully reconcile what happened here. The first notes you get are sugar, then rich chocolate. However, that positive moment quickly faded. All I found on the back end of the bite and in the aftertaste were chemicals and sadness. I swear there was stevia in this or some off-brand sugar replacement because I cannot imagine any other explanation. If a transformer could be a dessert, this is it.

While the texture was a little too goopy for me, and the look wasn't ultimately appealing, I gave this a try, so as to not judge a book by its cover. In this case, please judge and leave this mess in its tray, and consider making homemade chocolate pudding instead.

I don't have much to say about Golden Corral's chocolate-covered marshmallows. For this one, you get exactly what you see — a standard marshmallow covered in chocolate.

The marshmallow wasn't a jumbo one, but it wasn't on the small side either. It had a decent sugar flavor, and the texture was light and fluffy. These weren't the best marshmallows ever, but they definitely weren't the worst. What really did it for me was the chocolate. Like the strawberries and Rice Krispies Treats, the coating was rich, sweet, and hit the spot. Maybe I'm a simple girl, but there is something to be said about a simple snack.

I'm not saying these are mind-blowing, but if you're looking for a fun dessert option for your plate that won't ruin your night, grab one or a handful on your way back to your table.

As I worked my way through Golden Corral's desserts, I was growing more disheartened as I ate. I tried all of the pies, but most were bland. While the buffet's fresh fruit was amazing, all the pies instead featured fruit from a can. That disappointment grew with my first bite of the cherry cheesecake.

This cheesecake was pretty bad, as the cheese filling was sour, leaning more toward being spoiled than tart. The cherry filling was bland, again missing the tartness from the cherry and any sweetness that could cut the cheese filling. There was nothing natural or homemade about this fruit. Lastly, there was the crumble, which was simply lackluster. Was it the best part of the bite? Yes, but that's not saying much. There was nothing sweet or satisfying about this. It was neutral enough that it didn't stand out, good or bad. So, if you want cheesecake, stick to the Cheesecake Factory's epic cheesecake flavor lineup. This ain't it.

I was losing hope at the dessert bars until I found the chocolate cake. It looked quite decadent, and I hoped the taste would follow suit, but I'd been fooled before. Pro tip: Don't try the carrot cake. However, this one offered a pleasant surprise.

Overall, this chocolate cake is a try. The cake was a tiny bit drier than I'd like, but the frosting really stole the show. It was creamy, decadent, rich, and sweet in all the right ways. This frosting tastes exactly as it looks — epic. The cake itself had a decent chocolate flavor, but it wasn't overpowering, which is important to note because of how rich and luscious the frosting is. Between the light and creamy frosting and the sugar hitting from all angles, I didn't have a lot of negatives to report.

Golden Corral's chocolate cake has a great balance of flavors and textures. Definitely give it a try if chocolate is your thing.

I was excited to see an array of cookies on the dessert bar. On my chosen dessert day, the restaurant had chocolate chip, sugar, and oatmeal raisin cookies. Unfortunately, two out of the three flavors are a leave.

While the oatmeal raisin cookie was soft, chewy, and offered great flavors, the other two cookies were a bust. The chocolate chip variety tasted like Chips Ahoy, offering up a hard and crunchy cookie, but it was a watered-down version. Overall, it was fine, but if I am at a dessert bar, I want my sweets to stand out. The sugar cookie was the same texture and bite, but that bite was bland with minimal sugar to be found. When I think sugar cookie, I am looking for soft and sweet. After all the other disappointments of the day, this one was by far the biggest. How do you mess up a cookie?

All three cookie options looked better than they tasted. These cookies might catch your eye, but they won't please your palate. I'd opt for something else for dessert, but if you're there for the cookies, add them to your soft serve instead.

For this taste test, I went to the Golden Corral and tried every dessert item on the bars. Needless to say, it became quite overwhelming. What I learned very quickly was that just because something looked good didn't mean it was going to taste good. Unfortunately, for this taste test, there were a lot of dishes that went into the leave category versus the try.

Like my other Golden Corral taste tests, I focused on the items that truly stuck out — for better or for worse. I chose the top and bottom five by documenting the items that made me want to grab another at the bar and also the items that made me want to stop eating completely. I analyzed taste, texture, and overall satisfaction.