Hershey's 9 Best Chocolate Bars, According To Reviews
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Founded by Milton Hershey in 1894, The Hershey Company is widely considered to be America's best-loved confectionary manufacturer. The brand has released over 100 different products throughout the years, and chocolate bars are one of its most popular offerings, with a wide variety of smooth, creamy, and crunchy creations to choose from. Whether you're stuffing them into s'mores, enjoying a few squares after dinner, or reaching for an afternoon pick-me-up, Hershey's bars are a familiar staple for many chocolate lovers. From the classic milk chocolate to bars studded with nuts or filled with gooey caramel, there are options to suit every taste, but which ones have earned the most praise from taste testers?
To find out, we scoured online reviews for Hershey's current chocolate bar products to identify the items that customers love most. The lineup features nine bars that stood out for their consistently high ratings, so if you're yet to sample them all, consider this your sign to add a few Hershey's treats to your next grocery haul.
Milk Chocolate
When you think of Hershey's candy bars, this is probably the first product that comes to mind. Hershey's iconic milk chocolate bar was launched in 1900, and while its ingredient list has changed somewhat over the years, it remains the most versatile and universally loved item in the brand's product lineup. You can buy Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars in various sizes, from miniature snack-sized bars to giant 7.56-ounce slabs. For many, this is the preferred chocolate for melting into s'mores, baking into cookies, or simply satisfying those sweet cravings, and countless fans say no other product compares.
The chocolate is widely praised for its sweet, creamy taste and melt-in-the-mouth texture. On the Walmart website, it has thousands of five-star reviews. "Hershey chocolate bars are such a comfort treat," wrote one shopper, while another noted the distinctly rich, smooth flavor. A third customer put it simply, sharing, "Let's be honest! Who among us doesn't love a Hershey bar! This classic chocolate is just right," adding that they love to crumble the bars over ice cream, and pair them with peanut butter.
Cookies 'n' Creme
Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme is a sweeter, creamier twist on the classic bar, complete with crunchy cookie pieces that contrast the smooth base beautifully. It's a firm favorite for sweet-toothed chocolate lovers, and it lends itself just as well to snacking as it does to incorporating into bakes and desserts. Because it doesn't contain cocoa butter, this bar can't technically be classed as white chocolate, although that's where its flavor leans. And its non-chocolate status certainly hasn't stopped it from building a devoted following.
The Walmart website is full of rave reviews for this bar. "The cookie crunch inside the smooth creme is fantastic," was the verdict from one customer, while another review read, "Honestly not everyone is able to pull this flavor off but they really nailed it." One fan even stated that Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme was their all-time favorite candy bar, explaining, "I like to let it melt and then crunch the cookies."
There are plenty of fun ways to enjoy this bar's moreish taste. Try crumbling it up and using it as a chocolate chip substitute in your bakes for an ultra-sweet twist. Or, blitz it into a milkshake to create a decadent cookies and cream treat.
Milk Chocolate with Whole Almonds
Hershey's famous milk chocolate gets a nutty upgrade with this fully loaded bar. It's the smooth, cocoa-forward taste we know and love, studded with whole almonds, which amp up the crunch and toasty flavor no end.
Taste testers often rank the Milk Chocolate with Whole Almonds as Hershey's best bar, with some online reviewers giving this product a solid 10 out of 10 score for its light, crunchy texture and generous nutty filling. It's worth noting, however, that the smaller bars differ to the larger ones, with the former containing whole nuts, and the latter being made with smaller almond pieces. It's the small bars (i.e. standard and snack size) that most fans deem superior, thanks to their more substantial bite and satisfying textural contrast.
A quick browse of this product's Walmart reviews proves just how popular the choco-almond combination is. "Hershey's is phenomenally delicious," one reviewer gushed. "The chocolate is smooth, creamy, silky and not overly sweet. The Almonds are the perfect size and delicious," they continued, and the enthusiasm was shared by many others. Comments like "there simply is no better chocolate bar" and "my favorite for years" confirm the hype, with multiple customers highlighting the irresistibly crunchy consistency.
Special Dark
Hershey's Special Dark Mildly Sweet Chocolate offers a richer cocoa flavor than its milk chocolate counterparts. This bar has been around in its current format since the early 1970s, when it replaced the former Semi-Sweet Chocolate bar. It boasts a significantly higher cocoa percentage than Hershey's milk chocolate (45% versus just 11%), and you can taste this in every bite.
The Special Dark is a great choice for those who find milk or white chocolate a little too sweet, and it's an ideal addition to bakes like brownies and cakes, where you want a more pronounced cocoa flavor to shine through. The bar has had the seal of approval from plenty of happy customers, with many deeming the level of sweetness as perfectly balanced. On the Hershey's website, a review claimed that Special Dark "makes Smores much tastier than Milk Chocolate," and many others shared their favorite uses for the bar, which included making ganache, adding it to oatmeal, and pairing it with ice cream. One reviewer summed things up perfectly with their glowing feedback, calling Special Dark "absolutely delicious and the BEST dark chocolate on the market."
Milk Chocolate with Crunchy Waffle Cone Pieces
Enhanced with crispy waffle cone pieces, this creamy milk chocolate bar is a fun and unique option that packs a slightly lighter crunch than your average cookie- or nut-filled bar. Hershey's launched this product in August 2024, and it's been delighting fans ever since.
Many reviewers liken the Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Crunchy Waffle Cone Pieces bar to Nestle's famous Crunch bar, which features crispy cereal pieces rather than waffle cone. But it's the light texture that these two bars have in common. Multiple people, however, have said the Hershey's version is superior, including one customer, who declared, "It's a perfect combination, leaving me wanting MORE" in their review on the Hershey's website. A second fan described the product as a "wonderful candy bar" with the "right amount of sweetness and crunch." They also assured fellow shoppers that there's no sign of stinginess when it comes to the waffle element, either, writing, "It has a lot of little waffle pieces in it so you taste the chocolate and the waffles pretty equally."
Milk Chocolate with Caramel
If you like your chocolate with an extra dose of gooey sweetness, Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Caramel is the bar for you. This sees the familiar milk chocolate paired with a luscious liquid caramel center, making every creamy square especially indulgent. You can use it anywhere you'd typically reach for the standard milk chocolate version, and it's sure to satisfy a sweet tooth.
In a Reddit discussion, one user shared a photo of the Hershey's caramel bar, kicking off the conversation with, "This is probably my new favorite Hershey's bar." Others chimed in with their equally enthusiastic comments, such as, "what dreams are made of" and "best chocolate in the world!!!" Another Redditor confirmed that the chocolate makes top-tier s'mores, despite the inevitable messiness that comes with the sticky caramel-filled middle.
Over on the Target website, the accolades continued. "They are absolutely beyond fantastic," remarked a fan, who admitted to buying five packages of the bars, before proclaiming, "Hersheys gotta keep these selling forever!" Many reviewers talked of the rich, decadent taste, with the caramel filling described as "buttery and delicious" and "great quality." One shopper, who explained that they already loved the plain Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar, said that adding caramel made things 10 times better. So, this bar is well worth a try if you're yet to venture away from the classic.
Mr. Goodbar
Chocolate and peanut are a match made in heaven, and Hershey's has truly perfected this combo with its Mr. Goodbar. There's a thick, milk chocolate base, loaded with deliciously crunchy peanuts. It's a simple duo that, quite simply, just works, as confirmed by thousands of taste testers.
Whether you're picking up a snack pack or going all out with the giant, 16-piece bar, this chocolate is sure to deliver plenty of sweet, nutty flavor. We found heaps of positive feedback from customers on the Sam's Club website. For example, one shopper, who called the chocolate "simple, nostalgic, and consistently tasty," stated, "The chocolate isn't overly sweet, and the roasted peanuts add great texture and flavor." The taste is well balanced, too, as highlighted by another customer. "It's the perfect mix of sweet and salty with a satisfying crunch in every bite!" they wrote, with others also mentioning the generous helping of peanuts inside, and rightly noting the extra dose of protein that the nuts provide.
Affogato
One of Hershey's newest releases, the Affogato bar hit the shelves in September 2026, and it's already causing a stir. This is one of two new creme-filled bars, with the other featuring a salted caramel creme. As the name would suggest, the Affogato bar takes inspiration from the beloved Italian coffee-and-ice-cream dessert, with an espresso-flavored caramel and a sweet vanilla creme.
The reviews have been flooding in on the Walmart website, with the bar having already received over 100 five-star ratings within its first month of release. One particularly complimentary customer shared that it reminded them of a restaurant-quality dessert, stating, "Oh my God Hershey really knew what they were doing when they made this!" A second reviewer loved the combination of chocolate and espresso caramel, writing, "It's the perfect balance of each flavor and they compliment each other nicely." And even those who claimed they weren't big coffee fans were impressed, since the bitterness of the espresso is mellowed nicely by the sweetness of the chocolate.
Zero Sugar
Yes, you can absolutely enjoy the sweet, creamy taste of Hershey's without loading up on sugar. Hershey's Zero Sugar bars, which are primarily sweetened with maltitol, serve as a fantastic sugar- and aspartame-free alternative to the brand's standard milk chocolate. These bite-sized bars are perfect for those with dietary restrictions or anyone simply looking to lower their sugar intake. They're not to be confused with the nutty, fudge-coated, and caramel-filled Hershey's Zero bars, which are a very different product altogether and one that's certainly not sugar-free.
If you're skeptical about sugar-free chocolate, the customer reviews for this product might just change your mind. The general consensus is that these bars taste just like regular Hershey's chocolate, offering that same melty mouthfeel and irresistible cocoa flavor. "I don't miss real sugar candy because this taste so good!!!" enthused one Walmart reviewer, with another adding, "You wouldn't know they were sugar free by tasting them. YUMMY!!!" A separate review described the "creamy texture and a rich chocolate flavor," also praising the bars for not being overly sweet.
Methodology
Hershey's offers a wide selection of chocolate bars, many of which impress customers on the regular. So, to pick the best of the bunch, it was important that we conducted thorough research. We took an in-depth look at the customer feedback for various Hershey's bars to identify the products that consistently received the highest ratings.
Our platforms of choice included the review sections of grocery chain websites, such as Walmart, Sam's Club, and Kroger, as well as the Hershey's website itself. Other online retailers like Amazon also provided plenty of insight, and Reddit proved useful for finding honest feedback, too. This lineup consists of the nine bars that received the strongest feedback overall, with customers repeatedly highlighting their excellent flavors and textures.