9 Sour Patch Kids Candies, Ranked

If you're anything like me, you might associate Sour Patch Kids with the cute little colorful people-shaped candy. The brand has quite an array of other options these days; this diversity allows customers to find profiles that appeal to them, from straightforward standalone fruit options to random flavor blends.

And most of them still have that slightly sour coating that leads the way to the sweet interior. If you're a fan of sweet-sour notes, as well as gummies, then I have just the taste test for you. I devoured a bunch of Sour Patch Kids to find out whether the original is the best or if there are other, more enticing contenders out there. I set out on a mission and tried them for you, judging them on overall flavor, how well they hit the advertised notes, and how easy it was to eat more than one at a time. Even if you have a favorite kid — Sour Patch Kid, that is — you may want to read this with an open mind, and you might find a new option for your next shopping trip.

I can understand brands branching out, but the Chews feel like a separate entity from the Sour Patch Kids I've come to know. The product lives up to its name; the candies are indeed somewhat hard and very chewy. In a way, they feel stale compared to the brand's other options, which have a soft, gummy texture. On top of that, the flavors are really flat. Though there's a little of the brand's "signature sour" sugar in the middle of each Chew, the exterior sugar coating is a key component of Sour Patch Kids. 

Chews come in Redberry, blue raspberry, orange, lime, and lemon. Blue razz is my favorite in this batch, but the rest don't taste very pleasant. Even Redberry, which has potential in other SPK formats, just tastes like a general artificial red-flavored product. I'm not a fan of the overall execution, flavor, or texture of these. Even the best one in this batch is still the worst out of everything I tried for this taste test. There are much better chewy candies available, like Hi-Chew and its myriad flavors. We can find some tastier Sour Patch Kids options, too.

Admittedly, the packaging is a little confusing for the Chaos Crew Besties, but it advertises that you could potentially get blue raspberry, strawberry, passionfruit, or cherry. The idea is that the flavors are mismatched and not true to color, making it more like a guessing game. A yellow piece I ate was blue raspberry, and so on. I'm assuming this is just a way to use up other candies and flavors, so there is less waste, but I can't really figure out how or why this came to be. 

The design of them being stuck together is interesting and a bit odd. There's also the classic (so to speak) Besties, which sees Redberry and blue raspberry paired together and then lime and watermelon. I actually ordered this one, but it was substituted with the Chaos Crew due to availability. 

I think the Chaos option brings a different, mismatched, interactive experience that could be fun for a family night activity. I also believe the overall flavors are better than Besties because I wouldn't want lime. While I like the flavors of this one (there is crossover on some of the flavors, so I'll dive into specifics coming up), the biggest issue is that you have to nibble a bunch to find your favorites. And even then, you can't be too sure since it almost seems like the flavors muddle together. I don't particularly want to hypothesize the flavors, so this stays toward the bottom.

Is it sacrilege for the namesake, original flavor to fare so poorly? I've had a few Sour Patch Kids flavors within the past year, so I already knew the original didn't really hold a candle to some of the more interesting, juicy fruit picks. This set comes with Redberry, blue raspberry, orange, lemon, and lime (same as the Chews, but admittedly the flavors are much better here). I don't know about you, but those last three are never among my favorite candy flavors. 

Given that 60% of these aren't very inviting, it's a major reason why this doesn't rank high at all. I can appreciate that lemon leans into that tart territory, but the flavor just feels off without the pleasant fruitiness of other options. The lemon and lime taste one-note, like they're trying too hard to be tart and leaning so heavily into the fake-fruit flavor. Original is a staple and among the most popular sour candies on the market, but I don't think they're the best the brand has to offer. While you could elevate them with a glass of rosé, it's also possible to find something better and more enjoyable to eat.

The Watermelon Sour Patch Kids are the first iteration I recall eating that was not person-shaped. And they are tasty, much better than the Original array; that much is clear. They're clearly fruity and have a juice-like quality as I chew. The grainy sugar exterior adds some mouthfeel; otherwise, it would be too soft and slimy when bitten into. It has that classic watermelon candy flavor that, while nowhere near natural or even reminiscent of the fruit itself, doesn't taste like you're eating something medicinal or disgusting either. Instead, it merely tastes good. 

This is a staple option that can appeal to a wide array of taste buds because it's so approachable. But it has some flaws that hold it back: While not unpleasant, it still tastes artificial. Of course, none of these flavors are the epitome of natural fruit juice or anything. I'm not expecting accuracy or even authenticity, but the watermelon is quite potent, whereas the upcoming flavors have some restraint. I'd eat it in the future, yes, but I can't tell you watermelon is amazing.

Ah, blue raspberry. I always find myself digging this flavor out from the standard Sour Patch Kids bag, so I'm happy the brand decided to put it on its own. It deserves to shine without getting bogged down by the likes of orange and lime. It's certainly among the best flavors, and now you don't have to hunt for them in the mixed bag. Customers are pretty stoked about this, as am I. The origins of blue raspberry do not come from a fruit farm; it's just a flavoring, but it's one that people are particularly fond of in anything from Gatorade to cotton candy. 

I find that the Sour Patch Kids product has a general mixed fruit taste with a pleasant sweetness that makes it more palatable than the watermelon. However, I wouldn't say I pick up a raspberry taste, specifically. The sour sugar exterior helps keep it from tasting too overwhelming. And while it's quite scrumptious, I doubt I'd ever finish this bag of the solo flavor, so it stays in the middle of the ranking. But if you're a major fan, this is a worthy purchase.

If you want something more reminiscent of summer or hanging out at the beach, then you might want to get Tropical Sour Patch Kids. I was pretty fond of them when I first tried them in my 2025 Halloween candy variety pack taste test, and they hold up. This has pineapple, passionfruit, Paradise Punch, and Tropical Twist as the flavor quartet. The last two are nondescript by name alone, so you just have to use your imagination to discern what the artificial flavors are meant to taste like. I find that Paradise Punch is like a general fruit flavor that leans into red Kool-Aid territory. Tropical Twist has a complex citrus flavor that's better than a plain ol' orange, lemon, lime scenario. But still, I can't really distinguish the notes. Some say there's a touch of mango, and others say it could be pineapple, orange, and mango. 

I am a passionfruit fiend, so that flavor stands out thanks to its blend of sweet and tangy notes. While it (supposedly) appeared in Chaos Crew Besties, it was hard to distinguish there. It's much more flavorful, interesting, and successful in this batch. The pineapple tastes a bit intense and more artificial than the rest, but it's still quite enjoyable. Tropical is the perfect addition to Sour Patch Kids' lineup and a clean break from bland flavors. The four candies are enchanting, making it easy to keep popping them in your mouth; I'd select this bag over Blue Raspberry based on pure flavor intrigue.

I was surprised to find out that the Apple Harvest option actually has a trio of apple-adjacent flavors, which is kind of fun. Typically, apple is a one-and-done type of flavor; a lot of sweets come in the green apple variety. In this bagged candy, though, there's apple cider, caramel apple, and cranberry apple. They're all apple-y, with varying degrees of sweetness and complexity. Caramel apple fully delivers on those notes and tastes similar to the caramel apple lollipops or even like the seasonal Witch's Brew Alani energy drink flavor (both of which I enjoy). It's very candy-like and sweet, with a barely-there touch of tartness — though Sour Patch Kids advertises this with the "sour then sweet" note on the packaging. 

The cider one tastes cider-y somehow, with a sweet, juicy taste and a barely-there hint of spice. Cranberry apple brings the most tang, which helps level out the trio so it doesn't seem quite as sweet and straightforward. Together, they are pretty interesting and enjoyable to continue eating. I found myself happy to try the three and rifle through the bag for more. All three are strong contenders compared to Tropical's selection.

Have you ever been to a festival for lemonade? I think that's what Sour Patch Kids is hinting at here, but I can't be too sure why it's called Lemonade Fest specifically — "Lemonade Stand" might have been better. Regardless, these are among the best SPK has to offer. These treats come in four flavors: strawberry lemonade, blue raspberry lemonade, cherry lime lemonade, and lemonade. So it seems like it's a riff or blend of other flavors, but with the added tartness of lemon flavoring. Unlike the standalone lemon that I'm not too fond of, it works wonderfully with other fruits here. 

These establish a very clear sourness that was lacking in many other options. They're the most tart of anything I tried, so if you want something less cloying, this is the way to go. Not just that, but the individual flavors are great, too. Blue raspberry lemonade is like a heightened, more interesting version of the standard blue razz, while strawberry lemonade is fruity, tangy, and dynamic. Even the lemonade one is nowhere near as one-dimensional as the regular lemon flavor in the Original pack. Typically, I would peek at the ingredients to give you the inside scoop on how it achieves the flavor, but there's no way to know because of the use of artificial flavoring. Whatever it is, the company really nailed this combination. If you want something that delivers on the sour component, this is the zingiest product that you can get.

I was a little hesitant to try Strawberry Sour Patch Kids, as strawberry flavor can often taste really saccharine and strange. At its best, strawberry candies can taste like those foil-wrapped delights my grandma randomly had — how long they were in her purse, I'll never know. This falls somewhere near the granny-associated candy but is still unique, with less artificial flavor intensity. The key is the soft, gummy, chewy base. It gets stuck in the molars, but it's pliable and easy to consume. Does it taste like a fresh, ripe strawberry? Definitely not, but this Sour Patch Kids product still hits the strawberry mark and is what I declare the best of the brand's best flavors. 

Strawberry isn't on the same level as watermelon, if you were wondering; it's way better and has potential for mass appeal. It's memorable but familiar, like something you've enjoyed before. The sour coating is very mild, so it adds interest to the flavor profile without completely derailing it. And dare I say, they look considerably better in real life than they do on the packaging. If you put these into a candy bowl, I don't know that people would be aware that they're from Sour Patch Kids. I consider these a great gummy candy in general, not just the top from SPK.

I purchased all products from Walmart; some I picked up in person, and others were shipped from another area (which may account for the slightly melted glob in the Blue Raspberry pack). For the taste test, I tried each one to get a good feel for the flavor profiles. If a pack had multiple flavors, I also tried each flavor.

These sweets are ranked solely by their flavors, though I mention texture both as a descriptor and to provide context, as it varied per product. It was important that the sweets delivered the advertised flavor profile and that they tasted good. With that in mind, I judged a pack as a whole. If it was a standalone flavor, it was a little more straightforward. If it had multiple flavors, it was ranked based on the overall average. If I particularly liked one flavor, but others in the pack were just okay, it meant it ranked toward the middle; the amazing flavor wasn't enough on its own to rank the whole lot higher. Still, I think a lot of the placement boils down to your own taste preferences, so you can use my opinions to help figure out what to get. Only you know what you truly like.