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Parade aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission. Whether you grew up eating Frosted Strawberry, Blueberry or S’mores, there’s no mistaking classic Pop-Tarts, the rectangular pastries created by Kellogg’s in the early 1960s.
Their goal? To contrive a grab-and-go alternative to jam on toast that still fit neatly into a toaster slot. The breakfast treats have come a long way since their inception; nowadays, even original flavors taste nothing like toast. But of course, this begs the question: With nearly 20 Pop-Tart flavor varieties available across the U.
S., what do they taste like? We got down to business and ranked Pop-Tarts flavors. Related: Pop-Tarts Sends a Direct Message to Taylor Swift With Full-Page Ad Brief History of Pop-Tarts While first-generation Pop-Tarts were simply marked by flakey flour-based crust and flavored filling, by the late '60s Kellogg’s added an icing layer both to infuse them with extra flavor and keep the toaster pastries cool to the touch.
Not long after, they added a dusting of sprinkles (because who doesn’t love sprinkles ?!). Now, they're known for many different flavor options! Related: 24 Homemade Pop-Tart Recipes to Bring Back Childhood Bliss Parade How We Tested Pop-Tarts Unlike the flavor magicians over at Kellogg’s, who put loads of consumer research into developing new products, we casually recruited a small and non-representative sample of taste testers to embark on a wild sugar high. The ask: To blind taste-test every Pop-Tarts flavor we could get our hands on,* describe the taste, and guess the actual flavor.
Little did these testers know they’d be left with an everlasting aftertaste and some very strong opinions regarding which flavors should and should not be on shelves. Because it’s not every day you get to sample 18 fan-favorite flavors of the iconic grocery store toaster pastry, here’s a peek at how the tasting adventure—which, in the name of transparency, included Prosecco palate cleansers—played out. 18 Pop-Tart Flavors, Ranked Frosted Cinnamon Roll Pop-Tarts One taster described the Frosted Cinnamon Roll flavor as “very Snackwell,” which speaks to its consistency (when you’re talking to children of the '90s).
Another likened it to a Fig Newton while one swore she tasted apple. Frosted Hot Fudge Sundae Pop-Tarts While it can be difficult to describe what’s going on inside any given Pop-Tarts flavor, tasters agreed the filling in this flavor tasted a lot like frosting—even chocolate birthday cake or brownie. The crew’s biggest complaint was a distinct and lingering aftertaste, which follows almost any Pop-Tarts flavor you choose.
Frosted Boston Creme Donut Pop-Tarts “It tastes like cake—no, chocolate cupcake!” one taster decided, and the others agreed. When the real flavor was revealed, everyone was surprised. “I definitely wasn’t going to guess that,” one said.
Unfrosted Blueberry Pop-Tarts Tasters got all the feels when trying this unfrosted number, which no one mistook for anything besides blueberry. “It makes me feel nostalgic,” one said. “This one would be one of my go-tos.
” Frosted Chocolate Chip Pop-Tarts “I know!” one taster proclaimed: “It’s Keebler Fudge Cookie!” While her guess didn’t align with the actual flavor, according to Kellogg’s, the description was right on, and our panel agreed. Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts Testers immediately identified this flavor as a classic and noted tasting both cinnamon and sugar. Frosted S’mores Pop-Tarts “Ok, I don’t have to try the rest,” one taster declared upon first taste.
“This is the best one!” While this toaster pastry’s filling lacks the burnt marshmallow and pure milk chocolate notes you’d expect to enjoy fireside, the flavor still hit the spot for most tasters, who appreciated the chocolatey filling as much as they did when they were kids. Frosted Raspberry Pop-Tarts While testers thought the flavor could be strawberry, sour gummy, Swedish fish or candy fruit slice, few could nail down the actual berry at play here. The closest guess was Linzer cookie, which one taster arrived at after identifying notes of vanilla in the pastry dough.
Frosted Cookies and Creme Pop-Tarts Tasters were quick to identify the Oreo-like cookie notes in this flavor and promptly landed on cookies and cream. This flavor, they said, toed a fine line between sweet enough and too sweet, but given the choice, they’d choose seconds on S’mores over this semi-similar flavor. Frosted Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts This chocolatey flavor definitely delivered on fudge with just a little hint of saltiness.
Taste testers agreed they’d appreciate it more heated and hoped a toaster would melt the filling.** Frosted Blueberry Pop-Tarts This flavor was on the nose—there was no mistaking the blueberry filling. Tasters especially appreciated the subtly sweet frosting.
Frosted Wild Berry Pop-Tarts Taste-testers couldn’t quite nail down the precise berry flavor in this toaster pastry, which was affectionately described as raspberry, blueberry pie and Bonne Maman jam by different tasers. “This,” one proclaimed, “tastes like my childhood. I love it.
” Unfrosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts Among those who’d genuinely like to think of Pop-Tarts as perfectly a reasonable breakfast food, this unfrosted flavor had legitimate appeal: One remarked that they’d (almost) feel comfortable serving this flavor to their toddler, while another described it as a Whole Food’s brand knock-off fit for a tea party. While the flavor offended no one, tasters agreed that it was difficult to discern the precise fruit featured in the filling: “All of the berry flavors sort of meld,” one said. (Editor’s note: They were 13 flavors in.
) Frosted Cherry Pop-Tarts While some thought they recognized this flavor as one of the originals (it’s not!), others compared it to cough syrup and complained that it tasted highly processed. Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts No one needed to see the box to identify this flavor: It tasted distinctly like sweetened strawberry. “A good go-to staple,” one taster declared.
Frosted Confetti Cupcake Pop-Tarts This flavor delighted our testers, who’d mostly given up on the prospect of these toaster pastries being appropriate for breakfast. They described it enthusiastically as birthday cake, Funfetti, vanilla cupcake and frosting—nothing they’d send back to the chef, that’s for sure. Unfrosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts At first, tasters mistook brown sugar for maple syrup, but they definitely picked up on notes of cinnamon.
One deemed it too sweet, while another missed the frosting, which is crazy considering they’d sampled 17 Pop-Tarts at this point! “I think I’ve reached my max sugar saturation,” one taster declared. “I’m getting nauseous, but also feel like this would be better with milk?” Frosted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pop-Tarts Unlike other Pop-Tarts flavors that are filled with what’s best described as a “weird gelatinous texture,”** our tasters agreed, this variety’s filling is “very sweet and cookie-like.” At first, the flavor was tough to nail down—but after several very welcome second tastes, the panel unanimously agreed that it fell somewhere between Golden Grahams and Dunkaroos.
“Easily the best one yet,” one taster proclaimed. “It’s better than S’mores!” Bonus: Entirely Unsolicited Feedback Because the panel was full of opinions, they took it upon themselves to suggest some untapped flavors and/or partnerships that would surely shine in Pop-Tarts-form: Spanakopita, Hot Pocket, Combos, M&M or Peanut M&M, PJ&J, Uncrustables and Nutella. Kellogg's: Do with these suggestions as you wish, and don’t forget to send royalties to the writer! *All Pop-Tarts were provided by Kellogg’s.
Thank you Kellogg’s! **All Pop-Tarts were tasted at room temperature, or rather, below room temperature as the tasting was conducted outdoors. Toasting may affect the flavor, foreseeably in a good way. An extra special thanks to tasters Kristen Joyce, Xun Foo, Kerry White, Liz Wilson, Michelle Clemmens, Wendy Lew and Alyson Ryan for their unrelenting commitment, good humor and expert commentary.
May their blood sugar soon return to normal. Up next: The 12 Best Girl Scout Cookie Flavors, Ranked Best to Worst.
