We Tasted 38 Pumpkin Spice Groceries, and These Were the Clear Winners
If you're craving fall flavor, here's exactly what to add to your shopping list.
Pumpkin spice: the inescapable flavor of fall. Love it or hate it, the seasonal seasoning has secured its spot on the calendar (though it feels like that date creeps earlier and earlier every year). Pumpkin spice has also ventured far beyond the original Starbucks latte. There are now pumpkin spice beers, yogurts, cereals, cookie doughs, bagels and even protein bars on the market. It's like a tidal wave of cinnamon and clove.
So, rather than listing every pumpkin spice product available this year, four of our staffers taste-tested as many as we could get our hands on — 38 total — to find the very best ones.
And we have to say, there was quite a range. While some were surprisingly delicious, others prompted shudders (and one spittake!). One product scored, across the board, a zero in taste on a scale of one to five. Our positive reviews said nice things like "delicious!" and "this is great." The negative ones included gems such as "I don't think I want to put this in my body," "there's nothing good about this," "why does it taste like soap to me?" and simply, "NO."
However, after ingesting a truly sickening amount of sugar and spice (not to mention too much coffee), we did find several products we'd be happy to buy, snack on and share with friends and family this fall. Without further ado, here are the pumpkin spice groceries worth adding to your cart this season.
Our overall favorite pumpkin spice products:
Chobani Pumpkin Spice Dairy Coffee Creamer
We tested seven coffee creamers — dairy and nondairy, made with and without sugar — and all agreed this was the best one. The texture is rich and smooth, it's sweet but not cloying and it tastes strongly of both pumpkin and spice.
"Very, very good!" one of our editors says. "I would buy this and drink it all fall long."
"The best of the creamers," another adds. "I would make this into an ice cream."
Bonne Maman Pumpkin Spice Spread
Pumpkin spice doesn't always mean pumpkin. Not the case for this spread. Unlike most products we tried, this one is made mostly from actual pumpkin seasoned only lightly with cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg. It leans a little savory over sweet, thanks to some tanginess from lemon juice, and would make for some neat pairings on a fall charcuterie board. Think of it like the pumpkin version of applesauce, delivering tons of autumnal flavor.
"Very smooth," one of our editors says. "Would work nicely on a cheese board."
It will be available to order on Amazon by mid-September until it sells out.
Runamok Pumpkin Spice Infused Maple Syrup
Emily Cryan
Like Bonne Maman's spread, this one works well because it doesn't taste artificial at all; the sweetness comes from the maple syrup itself. (Vermont maple syrup at that — this Vermonter approves.) It's infused with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla and cloves. Stir it into coffee at home for a quick DIY PSL.
"Would definitely put this on pancakes in the fall," one taster says.
"I imagine it being great on a plain pancake or in a drink because it adds flavor without dominating," another adds.
It's now available to order on Runamok's website.
Other honorable mentions:
LesserEvil Pumpkin Spice Popcorn
This one didn't take a top spot because we thought it tasted more like regular kettle corn than pumpkin spice. That said, it's still worth a try. We all enjoyed it.
"A tasty sweet snack," one of our editors says.
It's rolling out now to retailers including Target, Whole Foods, Sprouts and Kroger, and it's coming to Amazon as well. It'll be available all season long.
Belgian Boys Pumpkin Bites
New this year, these adorable little bites are made with pumpkin puree and cinnamon. They have a more subtle flavor than most products we tried, but we found them to be perfectly snackable and easy to heat up.
"Not as sweet as expected (a pro)," one editor comments.
"Reminds me of fall," another says.
They'll be rolling out through October to retailers including Target, Aldi, Kroger, ShopRite, HEB, Wegmans and Imperfect Foods.
Pumpkin Spice Cheerios
Imagine that Honey Nut put on a fall scarf. That's how these Cheerios taste — familiar and oaty but with a classic, not-too-sweet pumpkin spice flavor added to the mix. Note that it's heavy on the ginger and nutmeg, which didn't appeal to one of our tasters.
"Great if you love pumpkin spice," another says.
La Colombe Pumpkin Spice Latte
As you can imagine, we tested several pumpkin spice coffee drinks. While none of them were a hit with all four of us, this canned version was one of the more popular ones we tried. Like La Colombe's other ready-to-drink lattes, it's smooth and creamy. It doesn't have the strongest pumpkin spice flavor of the lineup, but for some of us that's actually a plus.
"Love the frothiness of this drink! Would buy this! The pumpkin flavor is there but more subtle," one editor says.
"It's less sweet and tastes more like coffee — which means I like it more," another adds.
Downeast Cider Pumpkin
If you need a crowd-pleasing drink for a party this fall, Downeast's Pumpkin cider should do the trick. Considering the amount of ginger and nutmeg we'd just consumed, none of us thought this cider had a particularly strong pumpkin spice flavor in comparison. That said, we all enjoyed it and think it would go over well with people who want something seasonal but subtle.
"Tastes like fizzy apple juice," one of our tasters says.
"Hint of a pumpkin flavor," another adds.
You can find it at bars, restaurants, liquor stores and grocery stores now through mid-October.
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