The Best Freeze Dried Candy, Ranked

The best freeze dried candy brings a satisfying crunch to all your favorite candy flavors—flavors made even more intense, since there’s no water to dilute them. They’re crisp, sweet, and totally unique, with all the makings of a science experiment gone horribly right. 

Humans are weird. Sometimes, we come up with an idea that, on paper, makes little to no sense—and, in practice, makes even less sense. Then, we sell it to the masses, and the masses find it so strange, that strangeness lays the foundation for a strong counter-culture of cult fanatics who collect the product like it’s the best thing since sliced bread. And if that doesn’t describe the fervor for freeze dried candy, a mix of absurdity and ingenuity inspired by shelf-stable astronaut food, I don’t know what does. 

I’ve tried some niche and trendy candy concepts in my time, from peelable candy to different kinds of Swedish candy (including salty black licorice), but I’ll admit that finding the best freeze dried candy felt a little more daunting. How do you judge something that’s been transformed into an airy, crispy version of itself? Do you rate it on crunch factor? Flavor intensity? The sheer audacity of the concept? Spoiler: Yes, yes, and yes. All three. So without further ado, let’s see how these logic-defying space candies hold up in a taste test, shall we? Here’s our list of the top five. 

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Astro Freeze Blast-O-Honey

Best for Bit-O-Honey Fans

Astro Freeze Blast-O-Honey

Here’s a couple questions to determine whether or not this is the best freeze dried candy for you: Do you like the flavor of Bit-O-Honey? Did you ever enjoy eating rocks as a child? If you answered yes to both, well, pick yourself up some Astro Freeze Blast-O-Honey. Despite looking way too much like a pebble you picked up off the ground, these have a pretty satisfying crunch and light honey sweetness. Though, to be clear: If you don’t like the flavor of Bit-O-Honey, this is not the best freeze dried candy to buy. Feel free to skip it and opt for the more flavorful freeze dried candies below.

Credit: Merc / Amazon 

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Muncheeze Freeze Dried Candy

Best Skittles Dupe

Muncheeze Freeze Dried Candy

The best freeze dried candy delivers on an airy, perfectly crisp crunch, and that’s absolutely what you’re getting with Muncheeze. They look like exploded Skittles, and while they might not pack the intensity of flavor as Skittles Pop’d (more on that in a sec), they do have a lighter, airier bite to them that’s extra satisfying (to me, anyway). If you’re a Skittles fan who wants to experiment with different freeze dried textures, I’d definitely check these out! 

Credit: Merc / Amazon 

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Skittles Pop’d Sour

Best Sour

Skittles Pop’d Sour

As a staunch defender of Sour Skittles (Sporked’s favorite sour candy) and avid science fiction reader, there’s not much about Skittles Pop’d that I don’t love. It’s like Sour Skittles fell into a lab and got a supervillain makeover. The exploded, puffed-up, styrofoam center carries a lot of fruity sour flavor that’s even more concentrated than regular Sour Skittles, with a crunch that almost feels [salacious]. This is the best freeze dried candy for sour candy fans—seriously, you have to try it at least once.

Credit: Merc / Walmart 

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Skittles Pop’d Original

Runner Up

Skittles Pop’d Original

As someone who opts for sour over sweet on any occasion, even I have to admit that Skittles Pop’d Original really hits the mark. The lightly sweet, slightly acidic, bright fruity flavor makes it easier to eat more in one sitting compared to the sour version, which is both a pro and con, depending on your goals in life. It kinda feels like biting into carbonated fizz that’s been frozen in time. And I promise—I haven’t been bought out by Big Skittle to place this name brand so high on the list of best freeze dried candies, but I can’t deny the quality here. Skittles Pop’d taste like the refined version of whatever your weird second cousin cooked up in his garage. It’s still chaotic, but it’s chaotic good.

Credit: Merc / Walmart 

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Sow Good Freeze Dried Crunchy Bears

Best of the Best

Sow Good Freeze Dried Crunchy Bears

Alright, let’s get one thing out of the way: These freeze dried “gummy bears” look nothing like bears, okay? They are amorphous blobs of sugar, corn syrup, and citric acid, the holy trinity of treats, thrown together to create light, crisp snowballs of candy that score huge points on texture alone. They’re like the crunchy version of cotton candy. They don’t stick to your teeth, and they aren’t difficult to bite into, like other brands. Simply put, they’re a standout contender for the best freeze-dried candy you can buy—though I’m sure we’ll see more freeze dried candies make their way to grocery store shelves in the future!

Credit: Merc / Amazon 

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Other freeze dried candies we tried: Kanpai Foods Freeze Dried Cosmic Crunch, 1up Lemon Freeze Dried Tops, Original FD Pantry Freeze Dried Candy, KD Supplies Freeze Dried Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich Bites, Sour FD Pantry Freeze Dried Candy


About the Author

Ariana Losch

Ariana Losch is a Sporked contributor, webcomic writer, java junkie, and bad TV enthusiast. She only ever feels at peace laying out on a beach like a kebab, roasting in the sun; sadly, she can never move back to Florida, her home state, because there simply isn’t enough good Mediterranean food. You can find her overstaying her welcome at just about every LA coffee shop, working on a screenplay and avoiding all eye contact. (She is embarrassed to be there, please leave her alone.)

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