The Popular American Candy Bar That We Can't Fathom As A Snack

Beware of misleading nutrition-forward propaganda. Snicker's slogan "You aren't you when you're hungry. Have a Snickers," implies that the candy bar can somehow serve as a meal replacement, which is categorically false. In Tasting Table's ranking of the 31 most popular snacks in America, Snickers bars fell to the dreaded last place position. The classic candy bar is named after a racehorse – which, judging by our taste test, seems to be the coolest thing about it.

One iconic ad casts the late great Betty White as a smack-talking football player, underperforming in a tackle football game with a team of large men. After a single bite of a Snickers bar, however, she is "restored," transforming into a large, game-ready man. However, considering one full-size 1.86-ounce Snickers bar packs just 4 grams of protein per 250 calories, there isn't much fueling going on here. There is, however, 12 grams of fat and 28 grams of sugar, evidencing the fact that Snickers ultimately belongs to the candy bar category. A high amount of sugar and carbs may provide fast energy, but even so, Snickers isn't really a snack so much as a sweet treat. A sprinkle of nuts does not a protein bar make. Plus, unless you're wild for nougat (sorry), Snickers leaves something to be desired in terms of flavor, as well. Don't expect a quality cacao taste here. All in all, the product is a mid candy — and certainly nothing that could be accurately called a snack.

The official Snickers website promises, "Packed with roasted peanuts, nougat, caramel and milk chocolate, SNICKERS Candy handles your hunger so you can handle things that don't relate to hunger at all." Alas, truth in advertising is dead, and not only is Snickers not a meal replacement, it's also not even well-balanced on the palate. As we mentioned in our review, "After that first bite, you're going to realize how overpowering the flavor really is. All that intense milk chocolate is only made sweeter by the nougat base and caramel, so much so that it's likely to cause a stomachache." Elsewhere online, a Reddit thread agrees: "Snickers is the worst candy bar ... There is nothing satisfying about biting into a candy bar and having the soft nougat (that is over rated might I add) and then hitting hard peanuts." Another post thread writes Snickers off as "painfully average."

The chief sin here might not even be Snickers' lackluster flavor, but in calling it a "snack" in the first place. The Snickers flavor of Breyer's ice cream is our all-time favorite flavor in the entire Breyer's oeuvre. Also, in our ranking of 16 popular candy bars, Snickers came in 11th place — still not great, but better than the bottom of the heap. Regardless, we suggest exploring another satiating snack option before tossing a Snickers into your grocery cart in a moment of ill-advised hunger.