13 Grocery Store Bakery Cake Pops, Ranked

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Cake pops make life a little bit sweeter. Who knew so much joy and fanfare could come from something that's so simple and essentially just a clever way to reinvent and repackage classic cake?

The person widely credited with turning cake pops into a sensation is food blogger Angie Dudley, better known by her online nickname, Bakerella. She took the idea of combining crumbled cake with frosting, rolled it into bite-sized balls, dunked them in a candy coating, and served them on lollipop sticks. Since sugar on top of more sugar isn't exactly a hard sell — especially when it comes in a portable format — Dudley's original creations quickly went viral. They gained even more attention after she appeared on "The Martha Stewart Show" in 2008, and by 2011, cake pops had officially reached mainstream status when Starbucks added them to its bakery case.

Now, cake pops are everywhere. They've become a staple treat and the best news is that you no longer have to commit to the somewhat tedious process of making them or swing by a Starbucks drive-thru to grab one. Grocery store bakeries now offer their own versions that you can pick up for a party, special occasion, or even just a Tuesday night sweet treat. I found which store offered the best one after trying a whole bunch and ranking them based on ingredient quality, texture, and flavor.

Kroger's bakery has the most diverse array of cake pops. I also appreciate that it sells them in convenient two-packs. It's the perfect excuse not to share. Though I rarely make it past just one pop anyway thanks to its sheer richness.

I picked up every kind of Kroger pop I came across, including this chocolate chip cookie dough flavor – a flavor that I didn't find at any other grocery store. As a lover of all things cookie dough, I was intrigued, but I quickly lost interest after biting into it. The thin, chocolatey shell gives way to a nucleus that feels like a mix between cake and dough. It sticks incessantly to your teeth and the flavor isn't at all what I was expecting. It's not sweet and buttery as cookie dough should be, but it reminds me instead of a cookie dough-flavored protein bar. It didn't live up to the decadent goodness of cake pops or cookie dough. So, needless to say, it landed at the bottom of the ranking.

When you think cake pops, you typically think of a sweet orb plopped onto a lollipop stick. This is their most common form. But Charlotte's simplifies things by forgoing the stick and selling its pops truffle-style instead. I wouldn't have minded this change-up and the inevitably messy fingers if the taste was good. But the reality is that the pop wasn't all that satisfying.

The Celebration flavor in particular consists of a vanilla cake and icing interior covered in a white chocolate coating and colorful sprinkles. It has a birthday cake vibe, but without the Funfetti. The pops are fairly moist on the inside. I'll give them that. However, there's something off-putting about the taste, and I think the "chocolate" coating is to blame. The flavor is artificial and stale, almost like there's no real chocolate involved; only cocoa butter is listed on the ingredient list. This set them back considerably in my eyes. So, even though they're sweeter and more dessert-forward than Kroger's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pops, I still can't see myself buying them again.

Over at Walmart, the stick-free cake pop trend continues. However, these Marketside Cake Delights come in mini paper liners, making them fancier, more ideal for an aesthetic dessert display, and easier to handle. They also happen to taste just a smidge better than Charlotte's Celebration Cake Poppers.

Don't get me wrong, these pops still have their issues. That synthetic-tasting frosting is back, and it's ultra-soft, so you hardly get any crackle as you sink your teeth into the popper. The cake part is also mushier than I would like. However, the good news is that Marketside does, in fact, treat us to Funfetti cake. This swap honestly doesn't drastically change the flavor profile. But just seeing those specks of color on the inside, along with the crunchy sprinkles, evokes feelings of nostalgia and makes the pop easier to finish. At that point, you just have to get past the slight chemical taste of the frosting and the almost Play-Doh-like texture, and you can enjoy this cake pop easily enough.

Where there's a vanilla cake pop, a chocolate one usually isn't far behind. Charlotte's doesn't deny us either of the classic options, and its chocolate poppers fare much better than the Celebration vanilla.

They're known as the Triple Chocolate Cake Poppers, and I'm actually unsure what the three chocolate components are. The chocolate cake and chocolate frosting shell are a given. But the third could either be referring to the chocolate icing mixed into the cake or the "decadent drizzle" on top. Either way, it's a lot of chocolate, and what it reminds me of most is a Hostess Cupcake or even a Ding Dong. The poppers have that same processed, shelf-stable chocolate taste. They surpass the lower-ranked vanilla pops due to their strongly flavored cocoa base. But they're still lacking the freshness and moistness of a true bakery product. Not to mention, I was left wanting a thicker exterior to crunch into. This is a central part of the cake pop experience, and Charlotte's has some serious work to do in that department.

Yet again, I'm seeing many similarities between Charlotte's and Walmart's bakery products. Don't let the pink coating and more elevated appearance fool you; these Chocolate Cake Delights are just another version of mediocre chocolate cake pops.

The resemblance to a Hostess or Little Debbie baked good is still strong. These could fit right into either brand's snack cake lineup. The cake part is rich and lightly sweetened, yet the flavor isn't as indulgent as it should be. It's also smooshed down so firmly into a ball that it becomes gummy and then dries out as you work your way towards the center.

As for the decorative pink jacket, it acts and tastes more like a confectionery coating or a waxy candy shell than real chocolate. But its sturdiness still helped it stand out from Charlotte's cake pops. The coating is snappy, and even if it means dealing with pieces crumbling off after each bite, it's a tradeoff I'm happy to make.

Cookies and cream cake pops offer the best of both worlds. They give you a taste of both chocolate and vanilla, rolled into one nostalgic ball. It's a mashup flavor I believe should be on every bakery's radar, but I only found two different cookies-and-cream options during my expansive search.

One such pick came from the Kroger Bakery Fresh line. It's made of a dark chocolate cake, white chocolate glaze, and crunchy cookie bits. While it was good, it didn't quite nail the cookies-and-cream experience. I was hoping for more of an Oreo-like essence. It feels like the soft chocolate cake and the white chocolate coating are working separately rather than coming together in one cohesive and tasty bite. Much to my disappointment, the crunchy bits were also nearly non-existent, so I didn't get that great textural change or distinct cookie flavor.

What threw it off the most, though, was the strange tang of the icing. It made it taste more like yogurt than chocolate, and it distracted from the more appealing chocolatey center.

When I walked into Target on my cake pop hunt, I was worried for a second that the store had completely done away with its baked goods section. There were no goodies tucked in between the produce and ready-to-eat foods like there usually are. It wasn't until later that I found them hiding out on a random end cap, with boxes of cake pops holed up with them. Crisis averted, but I was really concerned for a minute there.

Even after all this drama, I didn't have the highest hopes for the Favorite Day pops, seeing as Target doesn't have an in-house bakery the same way that stores like Kroger or Walmart do. But both flavors I tried ended up being surprisingly decent. The Chocolate Cake Pops, in particular, were more fudgy than the last few I tried, and they have a strong semi-sweet chocolate flavor throughout. They could use a touch more moisture in the cake itself, but they're not bad at all for something that's obviously not rolled out fresh from the bakery. Plus, they get brownie points for their chocolate shaving adornments, which aren't something I found on any of the other pops.

I thought I liked the chocolate treats, but Favorite Day's Vanilla Cake Pops are significantly better. The competition wasn't even close.

We're starting to slip further into Starbucks cake pop territory with these. What I mean by that is that I'm starting to recognize that more indulgent, signature texture that people can't get enough of. The vanilla cake maintains a buttery, classic flavor, but it's blended with frosting and other ingredients to create a compact, chewy center rather than a light, crumbly one. The pops are then wrapped in a white chocolate-flavored coating that serves its purpose and lands right in the middle when it comes to thickness. I'd also never say no to those miniature round sprinkles. They make everything a little more fun and festive and turn a normal day into a celebration.

The only downside is that these cake pops are undeniably sweet — almost to the point of being cloying. Serious sweet tooths will likely devour them. But for those of you who are like me and prefer a bit more balance, you might want to reach for a different brand.

The best of Kroger's cake pops has to be its Birthday Cake rendition. It may be closer to just a standard vanilla than a fancier "birthday cake" option, but the treats are nonetheless tasty and even a touch better than the previous pick from Target.

They start off with a blended vanilla base that has a compact cake consistency. But its flavor is closer to that of cake batter — sugary with an almost creamy quality that makes it even more indulgent. It's then enrobed in a generous amount of smooth white chocolate that's been dyed a party shade of pink. The textures are spot on all the way around, from the cake to the crystalline rainbow nonpareils sprinkled on top. All the components come together to create a very traditional kind of cake pop.

These do still run very sweet — it comes with the cake pop territory. But they're more manageable than Target's Vanilla Cake Pops and do have a smidge less added sugar per pop.

For such a small store with such a limited number of SKUs, Aldi sure seems to offer an abundance of baked goods. Right next to a bountiful bread selection, you'll find cakes, cookies, donuts, cinnamon rolls, and other goodies galore. That means you can always find something to satisfy your sweet tooth, including a textbook cake pop on a stick.

They actually come in a few different flavors, and let me tell you, I was glad I added the Bake House Creations Chocolate Cake Pops to my cart. They were difficult to bite into at first. But when I bit in, I found that these pops had the fudgiest flavors of all the pops I sampled. The chocolate in the center has a brownie-like edge to it, and the chocolate frosting layer gives it another dose of richness. The white sprinkles only add to the experience, giving each pop some crunch and a bit of visual appeal.

I also appreciate that there are no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives used in Aldi's cake pops. That's more than many of the previous pops can say, and considering their excellent taste, I had to rank them pretty high.

This is what I wanted Kroger's cookies-and-cream cake pops to be. Even the look was more promising. Aldi's Bake House Creations Cookies and Cream Cake Pops come wrapped in a standard white chocolate icing, but they're dipped into what looks like a dusting of Oreo cookies – so there's no mistaking what flavor they are. They look the part and taste just like you would expect.

The center is a classic and compact chocolate cake, but it's laced with obvious sweet cream notes. You get that sandwich cookie vibe right off the bat. Then, the white chocolate icing on the outside helps to pull everything together, and the cookie dust is like the cherry on top. I honestly went back and forth between both of the Bake House Creations pops for this ranking. I would happily snack on either one of them again, but ultimately I pulled this one ahead because of its more unique flavor.

Really, the only downside here is a bit of dryness in the cake itself. It's the only reason why the cookies-and-cream pops didn't land in my top two.

Cake pops inevitably come in bulk when you shop at Sam's Club. They're sold in 14-packs, which include equal parts Birthday Cake and Cookies and Cream flavors. They also come already displayed in a plastic case, so all you have to do is plop them right onto your dessert table and call it a day. You don't have to worry about a thing — except maybe them disappearing before you've had a chance to grab one.

The birthday cake flavor is just about as good as a grocery store cake pop can get. The pink coating is arguably the best part. It's the thickest one I came across, delivering the most satisfying crackle with every bite, yet it somehow melts into the smoothest consistency. The splatter of additional white icing across the top is additionally too cute to ignore — I just love the little details.

Inside, the cake is nearly perfect. It has that ooey-gooey vanilla cake flavor and tastes noticeably higher quality than any of the previous options. Sam's Club also keeps the ingredient list simple, leaving out artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. So, placing these near the top was a no-brainer. They probably would have taken first place, too, if their cookies-and-cream counterparts hadn't stolen the show.

And the winner is ... Sam's Club Member's Mark Cookies and Cream Cake Pops. They share the same delicious foundation as the birthday cake variety, but then make it even better.

Maybe I just like the cookies and cream flavor — when it's done right, at least. But I have a feeling most people would get along with these pops. The deeply rich cake is responsible for much of their success. They're made with real cocoa, giving them a more authentic chocolate taste, and they're incredibly moist from start to finish. The thick confectionary coating is back and better than ever, and perhaps my favorite part was the chocolate cookie crumbs around the outside. They're far more plentiful than those on Aldi's pops, so no bite has to go without. Altogether, it reminded me of the flavor you'd find in cookies-and-cream ice cream or a Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme bar — a flavor profile I find hard to resist.

Usually one cake pop is more than enough sweetness for me. But I honestly think I could have found room for another one of these, and that's exactly how I knew they belonged in my top spot.

Rounding up all of these different cake pops involved stops at multiple grocery stores. I focused my attention mostly on chains with well-known bakery sections, including Kroger, Walmart, and Sam's Club. But I also made my way to stores like Target and Aldi, which also carry sweet treats under their own bakery brands. At each stop, I picked up every cake pop flavor I could find before bringing them home for the ultimate sweet tooth taste test.

Ranking cake pops is a lot of fun, but not every one delivers that very specific charm and flavor I was hoping for. I looked for a cake ball that was flavorful and oh-so-moist to the point that it felt luxurious. I also wanted a confectionery shell thick enough to snap when I bit into it, but that still melted into a smooth, delicious coating on my tongue. More often than not, these textures and flavors came from higher-quality ingredients and no artificial ingredients. I also ranked super saccharine pops low, and I did appreciate festive additions like sprinkles or cookie dust.

For the most part, I prioritized taste and indulgence over any one specific flavor, but there were some flavors I gravitated towards more than others. In the end, the best cake pops were the ones that did Angie Dudley's original recipe proud and ones I would happily pick over Starbucks' creations.