10 Drizzilicious Rice Cake Flavors, Ranked

Rice cakes often get a bad rap for being bland and resembling a piece of cardboard. Growing up in the '90s, they were often marketed as being the peak of health, which didn't make them all that enticing when I was a kid. Now, I've come back around and quite like that crisp, airy texture and somewhat plain flavor that lets you to make it sweet or savory as desired. 

Rice cakes are pretty versatile, allowing you to use them as the base for your favorite summer snacks, or even sprinkle those crumbs at the bottom of the plastic bag on top of your yogurt. You can find various flavors and degrees of thickness at the grocery store. Brands like Drizzilicious are ramping up the rice cakes even more by transforming them into a snack that people not only want to snack on, but can easily devour. I certainly found this to be the case when I nibbled my way through 10 of the brand's mini rice cake flavors to rank them. 

I judged the little treats primarily based on flavor, appearance, and my personal tastes, as the size, texture, and thickness are the same for all of them — and I'll expand more on this at the end of the article. One of them underperformed, most were quite tasty, and the top three were so incredible that it was difficult to put down the bag. Join me as we discover which one is which.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

All Drizzilicious flavors are vegan, gluten-free, kosher, and free from the top 11 allergens, which makes them a fantastic inclusive option to pack in school lunches, serve at a birthday party, or take to work. These certifications make it more inclusive and available to people who may have dietary restrictions, but they're delicious enough for anyone to eat and enjoy. I was surprised by how much I liked virtually all the flavors, except for one: the Cookies & Cream Bites. 

They look chocolatey and rich, especially since they are the only ones with the chocolate-looking base. As a chocolate lover, I was expecting to thoroughly adore this flavor, but it was underwhelming after trying a few of the mini cakes. It doesn't taste like much at all; there's a hint of cocoa (which is one of the ingredients) and sweetness from the icing, but that's about all it offers. It's not unappetizing, but with so many more flavorsome options, I would not reach for these again.

Like the cookies and cream, I thought I'd quite like the Pumpkin Spice Bites because I tend to favor pumpkin spice products of all kinds. These tiny treats have cinnamon, pumpkin powder, and natural flavors in an attempt to offer the titular taste. I can certainly appreciate the addition of pumpkin powder, as many pumpkin spiced product don't include any actual pumpkin. That being said, I mainly taste cinnamon, and even that isn't too strong. 

The pumpkin isn't very prominent and perhaps lends an earthy note that minimizes the spiced notes of cinnamon. While the packaging shows a spice mix, it's not noted in the ingredients list beyond "natural flavors." At least the pumpkin spice mini rice cakes offer a tad more intrigue than the cookies and cream to give it a slight boost in the ranking. And while these are perfectly edible and tasty, I prefer the profile of the next option a bit more.

From this point on, I'd happily consume any of the flavors again. This is quite a feat, as I eat and drink things professionally, and I'm hard to impress. Overall, I like the lightness and mild taste of the Drizzilicious French Toast Bites rice cake base, and then the sweet, maple flavoring of the icing. The combination brings balance, while the sizing makes it easy to decide how many you want to eat. 

And here, I detect a maple flavoring and cinnamon (maple sugar and cinnamon both make appearances in the ingredient list) to give it a tasty infusion of flavor. The maple is the most prominent profile; it's the first note I can taste on the tongue, but then the cinnamon kicks in toward the end of the bite. I like the French toast slightly more than the pumpkin spice because of the potency.

If you like birthday cake or confetti cake-flavored things, this one is for you. The Birthday Cake Bites have added allure because of the teensy rainbow sprinkles. It brings a visual component that none of the other flavors have, but it also offers a slight textural difference — a bit of crunchiness. 

The flavor itself is more of a nondescript sweetness, and nothing in the list of ingredients offers a pinpoint what makes it cakey. I like that turmeric, spirulina, and vegetable juice are used to color the sprinkles, and I think this flavor is a little more festive and well-rounded over the maple-centric notes of the French toast. The maple is more noticeable and specific, and people, myself included, may be more likely to grab the birthday cake flavor because it's more of a generic sweet taste.

It took a while to warm up to the Strawberry Chocolaty Bites rice cakes. I was going to rank them lower, but the flavor grew on me. It faces one issue, though: There needs to be more strawberries. By merely glancing at them, the strawberry isn't nearly as prominent as shown on the packaging. Those dehydrated strawberry morsels are nowhere near as stacked on the mini cakes as the photo shows, which docks some points. Actually, most pieces don't even have the strawberry on them; if they do, it's one or two small pieces.

That said, this ranks in the sixth position because I like the richness of the chocolate icing, and the strawberry flavor still comes into play. Who doesn't like chocolate and strawberries? It's a divine combination, but it just isn't as strong as I'd like or as advertised. I found some of the dehydrated berries and flaked off chocolate icing hanging around at the bottom of the bag, but still, it was not a lot. Make use of them, though, and pour them over some Greek yogurt or a classic chia seed pudding.

The Salted Caramel Bites are similar to the French toast in that the natural flavoring does the brunt of the work to offer flavor to the little cakes. There's caramel color added in, but nothing in the ingredients specifies caramel, which is usually made with heavy cream, butter, sugar, and some salt. 

The caramel-type flavor brings familiarity and sweetness through the icing, but the salt rounds it out. I can taste that salty element as I take a bite of the tiny rice cakes, while the sugared icing offers the bulk of that caramel taste. Salted caramel is a classic combination that works wonderfully in this flavor. The medley is well-done and balanced compared to the hit-and-miss nature of the Strawberry Chocolaty Bites to bring the salty and caramelly Drizzilicious into the highest position thus far.

I'd love to see more chocolate icings from Drizzilicious because it bolsters the taste of anything it touches. It's rich and somehow not as sweet as the other non-chocolate icings, likely because of the bitter and earthy notes of cocoa powder to cut through the sugar. The S'mores Bites have a marshmallow flavor, at least according to the front of the packaging, but I'm not sure if I specifically pick up on that. 

It does, however, have a complex flavor that goes beyond just vanilla, which helps it rank higher. Ingredients include molasses powder, natural flavors, salt, and spices to give it a bit of a kick. I'd suggest pairing it with a mini marshmallow to ramp up the s'mores essence. The depth of flavor paired with the decadent chocolate makes this one of the best of the 10 I tried, but three others are slightly better, more intriguing, and balanced.

After the somewhat disappointing Strawberry Chocolaty Bites, I was thoroughly pleased that the only other berry flavor fared so well. The fruity taste of the Very Berry Bites is excellent. Plus, they have the captivating purpleish rice cake base that sets it apart from everything else on this list. The color comes from vegetable juice, as well as dehydrated purple sweet potato, while blueberry juice makes an appearance to offer some fruit notes. 

Of course, we also have natural flavors, which likely contribute some added fruitiness to the mix. I can't pinpoint any specific type of berry or fruit flavoring (even with that blueberry juice), but it is bright and delicious. These would be good with a little bit of peanut butter drizzled on top for a peanut butter and jelly-inspired snack. The Very Berry Bites stands out in taste and appearance to make it into my top three flavors. There's a bit of levity that gives it a slightly higher position than the rich s'mores rice cakes.

When I first opened my package of the 10 Drizzilicious options and looked at all the flavors, the Lemon Cake Bites were nowhere on the horizon of what I thought I would enjoy — potentially last place. But these are bold, bright, and refreshing, yet they satisfy any sweet tooth craving that you may have. The lemon aroma and flavor are intense; you can smell it straight from the bag, and you can taste it at the moment it hits your tongue. I recommend placing the icing side face down directly on the tongue.

The icing has a strong lemon essence that is very reminiscent of a lemon icing you'd get on a sweet treat from a bakery. That flavor comes, at least in part, from the lemon juice powder. These zesty sweets are a standout when you want something that goes beyond the basic vanilla-adjacent sweetness that a lot of the previous flavors have. The Lemon Cake Bites are unique and memorable, but delicious too. 

Although the last couple of options are fruit-centric, we're going back to basics with my absolute top pick: Cinnamon Swirl Bites. These are thoroughly a cinnamon forward, which brings a warming, familiar, and approachable flavor to the rice cake bites. While berry and lemon are bold and colorful, these flavors might not appeal to the masses. Meanwhile, cinnamon is such a comforting and popular taste that we see time and again in sweets of all sorts. 

The spice is in anything from snickerdoodle cookies to cinnamon-flavored cereals. The flavor isn't revolutionary, but it's well done and easy to eat. There's no wrong time to eat a cinnamon treat. It's not as strong as my second and third choices, nor is it as heavy as the chocolate icing options. I think the average consumer would like this product above everything else. I found the Cinnamon Swirl Bites scrumptious, easy to eat, and a breeze to pair with other things (yogurt, ice cream, nuts, etc.), which makes it an easy first-place Drizzilicious flavor.

The brand sent me 10 flavors to try, but after looking at the website, there are also holiday flavors like peppermint and gingerbread (I actually tried and quite enjoyed the gingerbread flavor in a taste test of various Christmas snacks). I tried these Drizzilicious options over the course of a couple of days and primarily made my judgment based on the overall flavor and looks of the mini rice cakes. These are my personal preferences, but I do not doubt that there are huge fans of all of these flavors.