Gwynedd Stuart
Ariana Losch
The best sour candy is fruity, chewy, and, most importantly, aggressively, upsettingly sour. Be forewarned: This list is for people who want to have their feelings hurt by sour candy. People who want their taste buds to be berated by sour candies. People who want to be dragged out back and punched directly in the face by sour candy.
Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic. Sourness alone is not enough to earn a place on this list—and honestly, we even included a couple options that have a perfectly balanced, if not somewhat mild sour zing to them. (They just didn’t make it in the top five, that’s for sure.)
What we looked for in the best sour candy
- Sustained sourness: Bonus points is the sourness ramps up as you chew.
- Good flavor underneath the acid: Some candies are briefly shocking and then immediately boring, too. We won’t stand for that. You gotta bring the bright, bold flavors, baby. (Sorry, Warheads. We wanted more from you.)
- Candy variety with well-made, satisfying textures: Our list includes gummies, hard candies, taffies… you name it. And if the flavor is great but the candy texture sucks, it didn’t make the list.
If you know you have a low tolerance for sourness, turn back now—or read on so you know what to avoid next time you hit up the CVS candy aisle.
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- Yum Earth Sour Littles
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We tasted Yum Earth Sour Littles for our allergen-friendly candy ranking and fell in love with their fresh fruity flavors. The lemon in particular has this full, rindy zest going for it. These definitely have more of a mild sourness and softer chew than some of you might want, but for an allergen-friendly Sour Patch Kids dupe, these are a solid pick. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Joyride Sour Blue Raspberry Strips
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Try to keep an open mind about these vegan and low-sugar sour strips, because they’re some of the best sour candy we’ve had in a while. The dust is super punchy and tangy, with a licorice note to the flavor that makes it stand out. They aren’t perfect—the texture is a little too sticky and there is, I admit, a slightly artificial aftertaste that can linger five to ten minutes post-chew. But I don’t care! I’m just happy Joyride exists and hope they keep coming up with great low sugar candy options. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Mike and Ike Mega Mix Sour!
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Mike and Ike give and give. These dudes make a Berry Blast assortment, a Tropical Typhoon box, and a sour variety that’s actually sour. And they do it without sour dust! The sugary coating that surrounds the jelly interior of these capsule-shaped candies has a sourness that actually sustains before fading into pleasant sweetness. Fans of variety will love these. “There’s like 17 flavors in this box,” one taster observed. This is one of the best gummy candies if you love variety. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Instacart / Liv Averett
- 365 Sour Rings
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Gummy candies are great, but sometimes you’re in the mood for a candy that doesn’t require a marathon chewing sesh. These gel-like rings from Whole Foods make for a lovely eating experience—and they pack a good sour punch. Sporked’s Jordan Myrick was expecting them to approximate the texture of peach rings and was a little underwhelmed. “I want it to fight back when I bite into it,” they said. But if you dig into this bag with the right expectations, you’ll be pleased. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Whole Foods
- Super Sour Scandinavian Swimmers
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Swedish Fish typically come in one flavor: red (lingonberry, technically). They’re delicious, but eating them can be sort of a monotonous experience. Enter Trader Joe’s Scandinavian Swimmers, which come in a variety of fascinating flavors, like huckleberry and mango-peach, not to mention really fun shapes like starfish and dolphins. As a fan of the non-sour variety of Scandinavian Swimmer, I was pleased that the sour iteration is legitimately and truly sour. Instead of quickly dissipating, the sour flavor actually ramps up. And we really couldn’t get enough of the unique fruity flavors. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett
- Sour Starbursts Fruit Chews
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Sour Starbursts Fruit Chews are back, baby. And if you’ve had them before, they’re probably just as good as you remember (as long as you’re okay with the flavors being a little different). This revamped iteration comes in a bag of Green Apple, Blue Razz, Watermelon, and Strawberry, and my gosh, adding some salty sour dust to Starbursts sweet taffy makes every square twice as flavorful. They aren’t cheek-achingly sour, but boy do those tangy, sweet, tart flavors pop. My only complaint is that I wish they would have revived Tangerine for this line-up, but hey, it’s never too late! —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Trolli Sour Brite Abominable Snowmen
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I’ll never shut up about Trolli’s Sour Brite Abominable Snowmen. This is a limited-edition sour gummy that probably won’t be on shelves for that much longer (though we hope to see it back in stock next winter, and every winter going forward), but this is my satellite call: If you see them on the shelf, buy them! The adorably freaky abominable snowmen shapes have wiggly limbs and weird faces. But the bright, bold flavor blends (like blue raspberry guava and mango passionfruit) are the best part of these sour gummies. Trolli is known for their bold and electric flavors and you can really taste that influence here. —Ariana Losch
- Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers
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When it comes to sour gummy worms, Trolli is making the gold standard. The flavor combos rule (I’m partial to the yellow-and-red worm, which I presume is lemon-cherry) and the worms are coated in a fine, delicate sour sugar rather than the coarse, crunchy coating of sour flavor crystals you’ll find on Sour Patch Kids. And if you want something truly adorable, opt for the minis, which are a fraction of the size of the original Sour Brite Crawlers. For the record, we also really liked Kroger’s knockoff version, but you kind of can’t beat the genuine article. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Haribo Sour Streamers
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I know Haribo Sour Sketti has an army of fans, but I gotta go with Sour Streamers for the purposes of this list. These are so good, thanks to a high sour powder-to-candy ratio. They’re chewy. They’re delicate. And they’re very sour—you can bite or you can really savor the sourness by sucking powder off. This is a perfect candy to mindlessly eat while you watch a movie with a 20% on Rotten Tomatoes. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Haribo Sour Kicks
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If you want a sour candy that doesn’t rely on a sour, sugary coating to be sour, these weird, shoe-shaped Haribo gummies rule. They’re genuinely sour, no powder required. If you love the sour half of a Haribo Twin Snake, that’s what you get here—just in weird, skinny shoe shape. They come in a tasty array of flavors, too: Sour Raspberry, Sour Orange, Sour Lemon, Sour Grape, and Sour Strawberry. These are incredibly fun to eat (I ate this bag very fast) and they’re definitely the best sour candy if you’ve ever dreamed of eating a pair of weird shoes. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Sockerbit Sour Mix
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Sockerbit is an authentic Swedish candy brand that’s based in New York but has expanded over the years—you can now find their candy in places like Target and World Market. Their selection of Swedish candy is downright overwhelming, which is why we recommend first-timers try their Sour Mix bag. The big and chewy sour cherries, sour melons, and fizzy soda bottles taste like handmade confections with deep, lasting flavors. This is a great little gift bag for any sour candy lovers in your life, trust us! —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Sockerbit
- SweeTARTS Extreme Sour Chewy
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Calling your candy “extreme” is a bold move, but these SweeTARTS live up to the promise. Honestly, it’s practically rude how sour these are. “They left me kind of speechless,” said Jordan, who also liked the way they dissolve in your mouth once you get to chewing rather than sticking in your teeth. I think you could argue these are slightly more sour than Sour Skittles, but they don’t live up to the Skittles experience in terms of texture and overall flavor. Still, they’re a tasty and extremely mouth-puckering addition to the best sour candy canon. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart
- Sour Strips Pink Lemonade
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We tried these zippy pink lemonade-flavored Sour Strips and immediately added them to our “Best Things We Ate This Week” series on YouTube. The flavor is unlike anything we’ve ever tried. They really taste like pink lemonade, which is a great choice for a sour candy product that you hardly ever see. Sour Strips come in these neat, perfectly sized strips that roll easily out of the bag. They aren’t messy at all. Seriously, the experience of eating them is shockingly pleasant and satisfying. The Rainbow flavor deserves a shoutout, too, but this one is just more unique. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Lifesavers Gummies Sours
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I couldn’t believe how sour these are. They’re coated in a lot of sour sugar and they really stay sour as you chew. Lifesavers Gummies Sours also make the list because the texture rules—super squish—and the assortment of flavors is great: Tangy Cherry, Watermelon, Orange Strawberry, and Black Raspberry (Tangy Cherry is especially excellent). If you like a nice, soft gummy candy (versus a chewier Haribo-style gummy), this is the best sour gummy candy for you. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Sour Skittles
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You can trust that when Skittles promise sour, they’re bringing sour. As one taster put it: “It’s super sour, makes you pucker…gives you that bite, has that texture—it’s everything you want.” Jordan, who fondly remembers eating these with her cool, older next door neighbor, suggests putting the candy directly on your tongue to get the most of the stabby sour sensation. Skittles also sells a sour gummy that’s plenty good but doesn’t have the same face-slapping sourness or that classic Skittles crunch we love. This was the best sour candy we tried in two taste tests. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
Best Allergen-Friendly
Best Low Sugar
Best Variety
Best Jelly
Best Flavor
Best Sour Taffy
Best Seasonal
Best Worm
Best Coverage
Best Sour Interior
Best Gourmet
Best Extreme
Most Unique
Best Gummy
Best of the Best
Other sour candy we tried:
Hi-Chew Sour Gummies, Sour Punch Assorted Flavors Candy Bites, Toxic Waste Sour Smog Balls Crunchy Sour Candy, 1UP Candy Blue Raspberry Freeze Dried Candy, Sour Punch Rad Reds Bites Sour Candy, Joyride Sour Watermelon Wedges Candy, Tidbits Candy Sour Watermelon Gummies, Wiley Wallaby Sourrageous Drops, Warheads Chewy Cubes, Warheads Ooze Chews, Warheads Extreme Sour Hard Candy, Trolli Sour Martian Mix, Now and Later Shell Shocked, Air Heads Xtremes, Jolly Ranchers Sour Gummies, Kool Aid Sour Gummies, Sour Patch Kids Watermelon, Sour Starburst Minis, Sour Skittles Gummies
Matt Crowley
Vinz Karl
