6 Starbucks Bakery Items Worth Ordering And 5 To Avoid

I'm a Starbucks regular, and I don't know about you, but it feels like its bakery case has gotten more packed over the years. What began as a coffee-first concept has steadily evolved, especially after the company acquired Bay Bread LLC, the parent company of La Boulange, in 2012, and brought on renowned French baker Pascal Rigo. Since then, Starbucks has made a clear push to elevate and expand its food offerings — and it is paying off. In late January 2026, the company announced that food sales had doubled since 2020. Then, just days later, it rolled out new bakery items at participating U.S. stores, featuring globally inspired treats like the Strawberry Matcha Loaf, Yuzu Citrus Blossom, and Dubai Chocolate Bite.

It's a smart move: Encourage customers to linger longer, and add something sweet to their coffee order. As a former bakery owner and restaurant pastry chef, I couldn't resist trying some, so I spent a morning doing just that. My tasting covered a selection of their bakery items, including bagels, pastries, loaves, and more. I noted taste, texture, and creativity to determine which items are worth buying — and which ones you should skip. Here's how they fared.

Tasting Table previously had great things to say about Starbucks' take on a brownie, so I was excited to see how its take on a blondie would fare. As it turns out, very well.

Starbucks' Berry Blondie is a roughly 3x3-inch square with a golden base and thick ribbons of raspberry and blueberry jam — and it's delicious. The jam, in particular, is vibrant and full of flavor. A small handful of white chocolate chips scattered throughout the cakey base adds bursts of sweetness.

Overall, the treat is nicely balanced in sweetness, with rich caramelized flavor from brown sugar that delivers that signature blondie taste. My only pet peeve is the name. "Blondie" doesn't feel entirely accurate here, since the cakey texture resembles that of a Fig Newton. Still, if you can get past the misleading name, this is a bakery treat that's worth picking up on your next coffee run. And when you do, Starbucks recommends enjoying the Berry Blondie alongside its Sunsera Blend or Caffé Verona coffee.

Yuzu Citrus Blossom was one of the new, globally inspired pastries rolled out by Starbucks in February. This item features a tangy yuzu citrus custard wrapped in croissant dough for a cruffin-style pastry.

The yuzu custard is the highlight here — vibrant and packed with lively citrus notes. It's a flavor I don't see often enough in baked goods, so kudos to Starbucks for using it creatively.

Unfortunately, though, the pastry itself falls short. Pockets of raw, underbaked dough that seemed to have improperly risen were woven throughout. Not only did it look unappetizing, but it also made for an unpleasant texture. Instead of being light and airy, the pastry was dense and doughy. I found myself eating only the center custard.

If Starbucks can come up with a better vessel for the excellent yuzu custard, I'd gladly give it another try. Until then, I suggest skipping this bakery item.

This plain bagel is soft, pleasantly chewy, and comes partially pre-sliced for easy separation. I enjoyed it without any toppings, though cream cheese is available for an additional charge. I tried it both toasted and untoasted, and it was tasty both ways.

My favorite part was the soft, squishy texture paired with just the right amount of chew, which made it especially satisfying to eat. It was way lighter than I expected — a nice surprise that avoided that carb-loaded heaviness that bagels often leave behind. While I don't think this bagel would win any "best of" awards, it's certainly better than any store-bought bagel I've tried. It also seems to have quite a following, with plenty of fans on Reddit trying to figure out how to get their hands on some without going to Starbucks.

Starbucks' Plain Bagel is a solid choice if you're looking for something filling to go along with your morning cup of Joe. As a bonus, it's vegan on its own.

Cinnamon. Croissant Dough. Sugar. On paper, that all sounds like a winner. Unfortunately, the execution was poor, leaving me disappointed that Starbucks didn't turn that promising combination into something worth eating.

Starbucks' Cinnamon Pull-Apart was one of two bakery items on this list that left me genuinely puzzled, wondering what on earth the company was thinking when it introduced it. Or perhaps the real issue was that not enough thought went into it. In fact, it felt like an afterthought. It came across as if someone noticed leftover croissant dough scraps, tossed them with cinnamon sugar, baked them, and then put them out for sale.

This pastry was very disappointing — rather than being buttery, comforting, and rich, it was simply dry, flat, and tasteless. Even the cinnamon sugar, while tasty, wasn't enough to rescue the bland, boring pastry. With other tastier options on the Starbucks menu, this one is an easy pass.

The Everything Bagel is one of two bagel options offered at my local Starbucks, and it's another strong pick — though probably not a huge surprise since the chain's Plain Bagel was a winner, too. It has that same signature chewy yet light texture and soft crumb, but this one comes topped with a savory mix of onion, garlic, salt, poppy, and sesame seeds. The bagel is satisfying and well-balanced, with enough seasoning to make each bite flavorful.

I especially liked that most of the topping is concentrated on the top of the bagel, with a lighter amount on the bottom. This may bother some people, but I prefer it, since seasoning all over a bagel can sometimes be overwhelming. Also, the seasoning on the bottom is baked firmly into the bread, so it's much less messy to eat.

I'd recommend toasting this one, as the heat enhances the savory seasoning's flavor — especially the garlicky notes. My favorite way to enjoy it is toasted with a slather of salted butter. Like Starbucks' Plain Bagel, this one is also vegan on its own.

No doubt the Dubai chocolate obsession has landed in the U.S. — and at Starbucks. The coffee giant introduced an Iced Dubai Chocolate Mocha and Dubai Chocolate Matcha in early 2026, so it was just a matter of time before the flavor profile would find its way into the bakery case.

The Dubai Chocolate Bite is well ... bite-sized. It's labeled as a "petite treat" at my local shop, which makes sense as it's extremely dense and filling for its size. It's essentially a mini tart with a chocolate shortbread crust and a filling of crunchy kataifi pistachio cream. The topping is a chocolate drizzle finished with toasted pistachio crumbles.

The barista at my local Starbucks recommended warming it up, so I heated it in my air fryer at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for one minute before trying it. The shortbread crust had a dry, gritty texture that I did not enjoy, and the pistachio cream was so thick and dense it turned into a paste that coated the insides of my mouth, requiring a lot of water — and eventually hot tea — to cut through it. The pistachio flavor itself was pleasant, and the crunchy topping added a nice contrast. But if I'm craving Dubai chocolate, I'm gonna stick with a good ol' Dubai chocolate bar.

Starbucks introduced its Strawberry Matcha Loaf in early 2026 as part of the globally inspired pastry lineup, which included the Yuzu Citrus Blossom. Thankfully, this strawberry loaf fared much better than the Citrus Blossom. At first glance, the loaf makes a strong first impression, with eye-catching swirls of pink and green topped with a glossy pink strawberry icing. My first thought was, "Can I get this as a layer cake?"

The strawberry flavor is vivid and bright, and it immediately gave me summer vibes. The loaf does lean sweet — sugar is the first ingredient listed — but buttermilk adds a nice tang and keeps the crumb super moist. Also, it's made with real matcha and real strawberries; the matcha flavor is mild and slightly overshadowed by the strawberry, which is clearly more dominant. Nevertheless, when the earthy matcha flavor comes through on the backend, it's really delightful. It's worth noting for calorie counters that the Strawberry Matcha Loaf boasts 450 calories, the highest in this group.

Cake pops first appeared on Starbucks' menu back in 2011. Since then, they've remained a bakery-case staple alongside seasonal cake pop offerings like the Snowman, Unicorn, and Raccoon. Right now, that limited-time offering is the Frog Cake Pop.

There's no denying this cake pop is ahh-dorable. But we're looking at more than just appearance here. While it was almost too cute to eat, the flavor was pretty lackluster. After my first bite, I couldn't even tell what flavor it was, so I had to check the website (it's vanilla). The cake mixture is smooth but borderline pasty, and the overall taste is mostly just sweet. For me, this one is an easy skip. You're better off making Starbucks-style cake pops at home.

That said, my 8-year-old gobbled up what was left of the cake pop when he came home from school — and immediately begged for another one. This made it clear that while adults may not be impressed with this item, it's likely that kids will devour it.

This Ham & Swiss Croissant was a lovely change from the many sweet bakery items in this ranking — and a tasty one at that. I was pleasantly surprised by the generous amount of ham in this sandwich, which came with plenty of slices. Even better, the ham's hickory-smoked flavor was savory and irresistibly delicious. The Swiss cheese was melted evenly throughout and added a sweet, nutty richness that was the perfect pairing with the ham.

Now, don't get this sandwich expecting a bakery-quality croissant with delicate, flaky layers. It's not a gourmet pastry by any means, but for fast-casual food at a coffee chain, it's pretty darn satisfying. After heating it in my air fryer (a step I highly recommend), the top developed a nice crispness while the interior stayed soft and warm. Upon finishing it, I immediately thought it would make an ideal road trip breakfast — filling, flavorful, and easy to eat on the go. I'd definitely order it again.

Is it a croissant? Is it a cookie? Well, neither. Starbucks' Cookie Croissant Swirl features croissant dough swirled with cocoa powder, topped with chocolate cookie pieces, and shaped somewhat like a muffin. It sounded creative and promising, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

For starters, the so-called cookie pieces were more like a light chocolate streusel scattered over the top. They lacked any crunch, texture, and recognizable bite of an actual cookie, so the topping ended up feeling skimpy and unsatisfying. Perhaps larger pieces, a different type of cookie, or simply more of it could have made a big difference. And the highlighted cocoa powder swirls? Undetectable.

One pleasant surprise, though, was the pastry itself. After trying other Starbucks croissant dough failures — like the Cinnamon Pull-Apart and Yuzu Citrus Blossom — I was thrilled to find this dough light and airy, with gorgeous air pockets throughout. If this same pastry had been filled with the yuzu cream from the Yuzu Citrus Blossom, it would have been a winner in my book.

Like the Strawberry Matcha Loaf, the Chocolate Pistachio Loaf is really eye-catching. It boasts swirls of chocolate cake and vibrant green pistachio cake marbled together, making it one of the most attractive pastries in the case. There are a couple of toasted pistachios on each side of the loaf for a nice textural contrast.

The pistachio flavor is definitely dominant here, and it's quite delicious. The loaf may be a bit more satisfying if the chocolate cake had a stronger cocoa flavor or if my slice had featured a few more chocolate swirls. Still, the loaf is wonderfully moist, thanks to the inclusion of buttermilk, and every bite is indulgent. Since it's only available for a limited time, it's worth trying while you can.

I sampled this loaf both at room temperature and warmed up, and you can't go wrong either way. As someone who was already a fan of the company's Lemon Loaf and Pumpkin Loaf, I've come to my own conclusion: Starbucks really knows how to make a loaf cake. At this point, they could stock their pastry case entirely with loaves and do just fine.

I ordered select bakery items available at my local Starbucks and tried them all on the same day. I took one to two bites of each item and sipped water between each tasting. My findings were based primarily on taste, moistness, and texture. I also considered the uniqueness of the offering and its appearance. Items with more distinctive flavor profiles and well-balanced textures were winners, while those that fell short on flavor, texture, or moistness, or those that tasted just flat-out boring, lost points.