We don’t taste test new products for our health. In fact, it turns out that eating every single new snack, sauce, and ice cream isn’t all that great for you (but we’ll worry about that down the road). Rather, we taste test new products so we can tell you which ones are worth buying and then you can try them, too. So, which new groceries made it to the top of your best-of list this year? That’s what we asked our readers earlier this month—and these are your picks for the best new products of 2025.
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We have a soft spot for Little Debbie snack cakes (did you watch us taste test them with Toni & Ryan?), and Soft Baked Nutty Buddy Creme Pies made that soft spot even softer. They’re like peanut butter cookie sandwiches that are drenched in a chocolate-y coating. If this is what it’s like when worlds collide, we’re into it.
Coca-Cola didn’t release as many limited edition flavors this year as they have in years past, but this festive offering made an impression on our readers. It’s basically just the Coke you know and love with a creamy vanilla finish. We like a little more innovation in our new Coca-Cola flavors (remember tears-flavored Coke?), but sometimes a little tweak is enough to really hit with the fans.
We disparaged these new little Reese’s morsels by saying they look like deformed pinky toes, but that didn’t turn off our readers—hey, maybe you all have foot fetishes! It’s not our place to judge! Looks aside, we have to admit these taste great and the small size makes them fun to eat by the handful.
If you get Dole Whip every time you go to Disneyland (but you don’t get to Disneyland all that often since it costs, like, $9 million for a family of four), good news! Little cups of Dole Whip arrived in the freezer aisle this year, and you guys are as stoked about it as we are. It’s loaded with tart, tangy pineapple flavor, but it’s also so creamy that you won’t believe it’s dairy-free. Sorry, Mickey, we’re staying home.
Peppercorn ranch seems like it was a much bigger thing in the ‘90s, and we sure are glad that Hidden Valley released this nostalgia bomb when we needed it most. This stuff is loaded with bits of black pepper. It almost tastes like Caesar dressing, but it’s definitely still ranch. Guest taste tester Emily Fleming said she’s had a hard time finding this in stores, so snag it if you see it!
Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks.
Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown.
What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction.
Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home.
Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!
Gwynedd Stuart
Ariana Losch
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!