When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more. Jenny McGrath/Insider Pumpkin-spice lattes started the trend, but you can now find the flavor in cookies, cereal, and more.
We taste-tested over a dozen pumpkin and pumpkin-spice treats and ranked the results. From sweet Goldfish to cinnamon-y cereal, here are the pumpkin-spice snacks worth eating this year. Every fall, the avalanche of pumpkin spice products seems to grow larger and start rolling earlier.
Breakfast is especially chock full of options, with everything from bagels to cereal and, of course, coffee available with cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and other pumpkin pie flavors included. Pumpkin spice treats don’t have to include pumpkin, though many do. Others focus on the spice part, with cinnamon often coming to the forefront.
After tasting enough pumpkin spice snacks to fill a fall harvest wheelbarrow, I ranked them based on their flavor profile and overall tastiness. The best pumpkin-spice snacks of 2022, ranked#25 Duncan Hines Epic Pumpkin Spice Cookie MixJenny McGrath/InsiderThese lightly spiced cookies get overpowered by the sweetness of the cream filling. Also, even glopping on a fair amount of the cream didn’t make my deflated cookies look like the pillowy sandwich creations on the box.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃/10#24 Starbucks Iced Espresso Classics Pumpkin Spice LatteTargetDue to an overwhelming perfume that drifted out of the bottle, I felt like I was about to swallow a candle. Once that subsided, the drink itself was rich with clove and nutmeg. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃/10#23 Three Wishes Pumpkin Spice CerealInstacartAfter reading reporter James Brains’ review of Three Wishes, I was interested in trying the cereal I keep hearing about on podcasts.
The pumpkin-spice flavor is surprisingly sweet up front, and there was a hint of spice on the sides of my tongue that quickly faded. After that, I was left with a sort of cardboard taste that lingered. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃/10#22 Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Coffee CreamerTargetThis creamer is a bit like sprinkling cinnamon in your coffee.
The cinnamon is subtle, but it still outshines any other spices that might be present. As with the Coffee Mate, it takes a lot to make an impact. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#21 Califia Farms Pumpkin Spice Oat BaristaCalifia FarmsThis pumpkin-spice-spiked oat milk is supposed to be great for steaming so you can make your own PSLs at home, and it frothed better than some other non-dairy milks I’ve tried.
The taste is lightly sweet and cinnamony and unmistakably oat milky. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#20 Coffee Mate Pumpkin Spice CreamerCoffee MateOf all the creamers I tried, Coffee Mates was the most complex, with bolder notes of clove and nutmeg instead of just cinnamon. It took a pretty generous pour for the flavor to come through.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#19 Thrive Market Pumpkin Muffin & Bread MixThrive MarketAs a bread, this gluten-free mix yielded a moist but somewhat dense and compact loaf. The pumpkin flavor comes through most strongly with hints of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. You’ll need eggs, water, and vegetable or coconut oil on hand to bake these.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#18 Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats Pumpkin Pie Spice CerealKellog’sWhile sweet and tasty, the pumpkin-spice version of Frosted Mini-Wheats offered underwhelming hints of nutmeg and ginger. The cinnamon is there but is easy to overlook as well. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#17 Kraft Jet-Puffed Pumpkin Spice MarshmallowsKraftLight brown and pumpkin-shaped, these marshmallows are among the cutest pumpkin-spice products I tried.
Their mildly spiced flavor surprised me because it was more clove and allspice than I expected. Neither is especially forceful, but these marshmallows would make great toppers to a fall-themed cupcake. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#16 Torani Pumpkin Spice SyrupToraniOur kitchen editor Lily Alig loves Torani syrups in her morning coffee.
The pumpkin spice version is bold, with the cloves being one of the more prominent tastes. It doesn’t take much to impart the flavor to a mug of coffee or glass of sparkling water. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#15 Thomas’ Pumpkin Spice BagelsThomas’Pillowy and oversized, these bagels are made with real pumpkin.
Taste-wise, though, they’re more akin to cinnamon raisin without the raisins. They’re sweet and soft but seem like they could be a year-round option instead of exclusively fall. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#14 Swiss Miss Pumpkin Spice Flavored Hot Cocoa MixTargetEven when mixed with water instead of milk, a packet of Swiss Miss makes rich and chocolatey cocoa.
The aroma is vaguely cinnamon, but the pumpkin spice taste is very faint. Still, the overall effect of the scent and the chocolate is cozy. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#13 La Colombe Pumpkin Spice LatteLa ColombeThe label promises there’s actual pumpkin purée in this canned latte, but it was difficult to detect.
Still, it’s creamy and frothy with a whisper of cinnamon. If you’re looking for something that packs a huge punch of pumpkin or spice, this isn’t it. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#12 DavidsTea Pumpkin ChaiDavidsTeaThis pumpkin chai gives you a potpourri of scents, from cinnamon and cloves to an almost caramel fragrance.
It looks very Halloween-y, with bright orange flecks among the dried dark leaves. It’s a balanced black tea that doesn’t let any of the elements overwhelm the others. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#11 Kellogg’s Special K Pumpkin Spice Crunch CerealWalmartOf all the pumpkin-spice cereals I tried, the Special K had the most variety of spices, though none was too overpowering, especially on the flakes.
The clusters are the best part, like little bursts of candied ginger and cinnamon. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#10 Williams Sonoma Pumpkin Caramel Quick Bread MixWilliams SonomaThis is actually two bread mixes in one, a pumpkin and a caramel. After you pour the two separate mixes into the pan, you use a knife to create a marble effect.
And these two really do play beautifully off each other. The pumpkin is savory and nutty while the caramel is almost like vanilla cake. Keep in mind that you need milk, butter, and eggs to make this mix.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#9 Partake Soft Baked Pumpkin Spice CookiesPartakeIn a sea of cinnamon-focused pumpkin-spice products, it was nice to find these gingery bites that also had notes of cloves and nutmeg. These small cookies are fall-apart soft, occasionally sticking together when I pulled them out of the package. They’re vegan and gluten-free and aren’t cloyingly sweet.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#8 Talenti Pumpkin Pie Layers GelatoTalentiIn my container, the pumpkin gelato took up the majority of the jar, with just a small amount of the rich brown sugar sauce and crust pieces at the bottom. The gelato itself is full of gourdy goodness, but it would’ve been nice to enhance it with more of the sauce and crust crumbs, which tantalizingly melt on the tongue. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#7 Jeni’s Pumpkin Cake Roll Ice CreamJeni’sAnother pumpkin-forward product, the container is a swirl of cheese and pumpkin ice creams, with chewy pieces of vanilla cake strewn throughout.
The pumpkin side is warmly spiced with brown sugar and cinnamon. It’s not quite savory on its own, but it’s the closest thing I tasted to actual pumpkin pie. The cheese ice cream boosts the sweetness.
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#6 Williams Sonoma Sour Pumpkin GummiesWilliams SonomaFull disclosure: These are actually orange-flavored. They’re shaped like pumpkins, which is very cute. If you like chewy candy that turns from sour to sweet as the sparkling sugar dissolves, then you’ll love these (as long as you like orange).
Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#5 Siggi’s Pumpkin & Spice SkyrSiggi’sSiggi’s makes skyr, an Icelandic dairy product that’s similar to yogurt. I like the company’s skyr in general but was surprised at how much I enjoyed the pumpkin and spice flavor. It has an underlying sour tang that pairs well with the nuttiness of the squash.
You also get a blend of cinnamon and nutmeg, which adds some extra depth to the flavor. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#4 Southern Tier Pumking AleSouthern TierTruly the best pumpkin beer I’ve tried, Pumking is a perfect translation of pumpkin pie into ale form. The aroma is nutmeg with whiffs of vanilla.
The same spices come through as you sip, with a bit of sweetness and pumpkin, too. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#3 Pepperidge Farm Milano Pumpkin Spice CookiesPepperidge FarmMessing with the original Milano is hit or miss, so I was interested in trying the pumpkin-spice version. Sandwiched between the usual buttery, crispy cookies is a layer of chocolate plus an orange paste with a suggestion of pumpkin and spice.
It doesn’t overpower the Milano-ness of it all, merely adding a bit of tang to the classic flavor. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#2 Nestlé Toll House Pumpkin Spice Cookie DoughNestléThese break-and-bake cookies from Nestlé are super simple to make, though the dough doesn’t tear cleanly, resulting in some misshapen clumps. The cookies end up a deep brown and make your kitchen smell like a festive fall celebration while they’re baking.
Each bite gives you a full force of spice, and there’s some earthiness from the Libby’s pumpkin purée, while the white morsels add some richness. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10#1 Goldfish Dunkin’ Pumpkin Spice GrahamsPepperidge FarmDunkin’ teamed up with Pepperidge Farm to make pumpkin spice Goldfish, and the result is spectacular. The description promises notes of pumpkin, donut glaze, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.
They’re actually mostly sweet cinnamon graham crackers in Goldfish form, and it’s kind of amazing. Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/10Read the original article on Insider.
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/guides/kitchen/pumpkin-spice-foods-ranked