7 Snickers Bar Flavors Ranked Worst To Hands-Down Best

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

We all have our favorites when it comes to candy bars. For me, those favorites all have one thing in common — nuts. Among that category, Snickers was an all-time favorite throughout my childhood. I may tend to veer towards options with a bit less sweetness as I begin my 40s, but you'll still see me pick up a Snickers above all else should you place a bowl of candy in front of me. 

Even now, after eating enough candy to make my stomach turn and take years off the lifespan of my teeth, I see a basket of leftover Halloween candy across the room and feel the urge to check whether Snickers managed to survive my late-night snacking. Something about the combination of flavors and textures has a way of enchanting my senses and leaving me speechless. That being said, not all Snickers (and I've tried many varieties) are built equal. 

Whether it be the use of a different kind of nut, a new flavor, or even a change in shape, there are many ways to update and redefine the Snickers bar. You could even use the candy as a jumping point to make something new, like Snickers-style chocolate dates. The real question when judging these Snickers variants isn't about whether the bar is different, but whether the change has actually improved upon the original. I was able to pick up seven different bars and tried each and every one to find an answer to that very question. Prices are accurate as of writing but may vary depending on the store and location.

Most people would look at a pumpkin-shaped Snickers and think it is just a regular Snickers bar in a goofy shape. Those people would be wrong. Changing the shape of a candy bar does more than simply change its appearance. The very fabric of balance that made a candy into a star can be thrown out of whack by the smallest changes. As lovers of Reese's have known for years, changing the shape of a candy also means changing the ratios and textures of the candy itself. That's why every Easter season I stock up on Reese's egg-shaped peanut butter cups, which fans have found contain one of the higher peanut butter-to-chocolate ratios of all the cups.

But changing the ratios to make your Snickers look like a pumpkin doesn't make it taste better. In a classic Snickers bar, the layer of chocolate is even and thin around the outside, the peanuts are larger, and the layer of nougat comes in a thicker layer. The secret to the original candy's brilliance lies in the combination of the crunch and chew. By thickening that layer of chocolate, crushing up the nuts, and making the layer of nougat thinner, Snickers has created miniature sugar bombs that taste of low-quality chocolate and lose most of the texture that makes the classic so satisfying to eat. You can find Snickers Pumpkin Minis for $3.96 at Walmart.

I've seen a lot of Snickers varieties come and go over the years. While I'd love to have tried them all, many simply don't interest me enough to snatch them up from the eye-catching displays beside the register where 99% of my candy purchases are inspired. Of those, I'm not surprised to have passed over this peanut butter option. 

I will point out that the square shape of the two-piece candy bar is satisfying in its own way. There's something to be said for being able to split the bar in half without having to tear it apart like an animal. However, despite its adorable form, the Snickers Peanut Butter — which is available for $2.19 at Walgreens — just didn't get the job done in the same way I expect from a Snickers.

The layer of chocolate was perfect and did well to hold things together without overwhelming the flavor of each bite. The peanut butter was creamy and flavorful. There were bits of peanut within the bar, but not enough to give the crunch that I expect from a good Snickers. The nougat and caramel seemed normal, but I just couldn't help but feel the void where the peanuts used to be. I can totally understand why a peanut butter lover would enjoy this, but I couldn't help but feel it completely changed the meaning of the candy bar. While those who prefer the flavor of peanut butter to actual peanuts may see this as an upgrade, those of us who enjoy a good crunch will feel like we've lost out.

If it hasn't become clear yet, I'm a big fan of all nuts. Yes, that includes peanuts, which are technically legumes with a vivid history. However, there's one variety of nut you're more likely to find me snacking on than any other. Whether raw, roasted, salted, or coated in crisp sugar and cinnamon, I always have almonds somewhere in my home. They may end up in oatmeal, on top of my cereal, or even just eaten by the handful, but I definitely loved them as a replacement for the traditional peanuts in this Snickers bar.

At first, I worried that the flavor would be less noticeable than peanuts, but was shocked to find that each bite sang with an unmistakable note of almond. Even in bites that seemed to have little actual nut in them, the flavor was present. However, while the flavor was inescapable, the texture was unreliable. Where the classic version has a plentiful helping of crunchy nuts, the almond bar seemed to be lacking.

I assume the fact that almonds are generally more expensive than peanuts is to blame, but each bite of this bar had about half the volume of actual nuts to candy. While the almonds themselves literally snapped and crunched when I found them, some bites contained nothing more than nougat and caramel as I chewed. The nutty sweetness of the almonds was truly highlighted, but in the end, this bar's lack of consistent crunch left it coming in just third from the bottom. Snickers Almond is available at Walgreens for $2.19.

Taking a firm place directly in the center of our list is one of Snickers' current seasonal flavors: banana bread. I have to say I was excited for this one. Banana bread has always been one of those homemade comfort foods that immediately warm my soul. 

I won't lie, going into this bar, I was a little afraid. While I absolutely love bananas, any time a candy is banana-flavored, I immediately expect the warped, overly floral, and off-putting taste of artificial banana flavoring. Let's face it, not everyone gets banana right. However, Snickers did something really special here. Not only does the banana flavor taste genuine, but it tastes like it's actually been baked into bread.

The very first bite I took brought the undeniable flavor of banana bread. The flavor of this Snickers — which you can find at Walgreens for $2.19 — went beyond the fruit into baked goods. I was floored by how much it tasted like I was eating a piece of banana bread dipped in chocolate. Yet, at the same time, I was also enjoying the dense chewiness of nougat and caramel alongside the crunchy nuts. I really enjoyed this bar for exactly what it was, but I did have to take into account that the flavor was so very accurate that I wouldn't pick it up if what I wanted was a Snickers bar. Once again, I felt that this was almost a new type of candy bar, rather than a way to enhance the one that already existed.

Coming in at third place is the original Snickers candy bar. I started this story very unsure of how it would play out. Having been a longtime fan of this candy, I was initially sure that it would be difficult to actually improve on something that's been around since the 1930s. 

There are many types of nougat. Some are airy and remind me of fluff, like the nougat in a 3 Musketeers, while others are dense and gummy, like the almond nougat you find in a Toblerone. The nougat in a Snickers walks a fine line between the two. It's dense enough to provide resistance when bitten into, but light enough to give way and not become gummy as you chew. Combined with the buttery caramel and the texture and flavor of peanuts, these qualities help to explain the candy's mass appeal.

Considering this is the undeniable baseline for what a Snickers should be, it was difficult to justify putting this candy bar anywhere but first place. After all, how can you be a better Snickers than the original? This is always going to be a great candy bar, but in the end, two others jumped out at me as twists that achieved the near-impossible feat of making the product not just different but better. You can pick up a classic Snickers at Walgreens for $2.19.

Coming in at second place in our ranking today is the Snickers Xtreme. If you had told me that I'd put a bar without the trademark nougat, of which I just so poetically extolled the virtues, into the top three, I would have scoffed at you. The very notion is preposterous — which made me even more surprised to find myself in this position. 

The Snickers Xtreme (which you can find at Walgreens for $2.19), while delicious, is a bit misnamed. In many ways, it was a replica of a traditional Snickers. Sure, the nougat has been removed to make room for more caramel and peanuts, but when you come right down to it, the flavor has only the slightest differences. That's not to say that the overall differences were hard to notice, just that swapping the nougat for more caramel did little to change the taste. There was a bit more of a buttery undertone, and the Xtreme was a touch less sweet, but otherwise they tasted nearly identical.

The qualities of this bar that made it truly stand out among the rest were almost solely related to texture. One of the things that makes a Snickers so very satisfying is the combination of crunchy and chewy. The caramel in this bar, which is thicker and more substantial than the others, not only makes up for the missing nougat but also increases the density and gives your teeth a bit more to sink into than a classic Snickers.

Climbing through the ranks to snatch the top spot is the Snickers Pecan candy bar. When comparing seven different candies, all with the same basic build, it can be difficult to appreciate the qualities that make each different. However, when it came to this candy, it was a much easier choice than usual.

In so many ways, this was just another Snickers. Texturally, there may have been a slightly softer crunch. The nougat had the same perfectly dense, toothsome quality I'd come to expect. The chocolate wrapped around the bar was thin, even, and smooth. The layer of caramel was still rich and smooth. The real difference is in the nuts, even if I'm never sure how to pronounce pecan correctly.

I was shocked to find that the pecan carried a level of nuttiness and buttery notes that mingled flawlessly with the remaining flavors in a way that simply outshone the peanuts for which the bar is so well known. From the first moment my teeth crushed down, I descended into a depth of flavor that surprised me. This wasn't just a matter of enjoying pecans more than peanuts. The slight but noticeable shift in flavor enhanced this Snickers to a level that felt more balanced and of a higher class. As shocked as I was to crown them, I stand by my choice. You can buy my favorite Snickers at Walgreens for $2.19.

With the Halloween season nearing its end and a mountain of candy sitting in the office, it was strangely satisfying to put all of that aside and focus on just one variety of beloved childhood treat. My first step in preparing was to look up all the currently available Snickers varieties. To my surprise, this wasn't exactly an easy task. Even the brand's website didn't mention some of the available options around me.

However, after browsing the websites of a few local retailers, I found seven varieties available. To make things even easier, they were all available at the same place. I went ahead and picked up all seven, especially curious about the banana nut bread flavor. With all my bars in hand, I moved forward to making a list of all the qualities a classic Snickers brings to the table. I created a baseline for how chewy, crunchy, chocolatey, nutty, and sweet this almost-100-year-old candy should be. 

From there, I focused on judging each bar against that standard. My search was not just for changes, but for changes that enhanced the qualities of a classic Snickers, without changing the candy so much that it felt like a whole different snack. I tried each bar in pieces, separating them into fourths so I could be sure to try each against its nearest competitor. Once I'd had a chance to compare each bar directly against the others as much as possible, I simply had to put them in order from worst to best.