I Asked 4 Food Editors To Pick Their Favorite Halloween Candy (I’m Still Recovering From One Answer)

For me, choosing Halloween candy brings on a serious case of analysis paralysis. My personal taste in candy can only be described as “dangerously sour,” so I have no idea what regular people like. I tend to avoid the overwhelmingly colorful shelves until the day before trick-or-treat, when there are only six bags of candy left at CVS. Then, I buy those bags.

I’ll admit, the strategy isn’t perfect.

This year, I want to plan ahead. I’m going to stock up on Halloween candy when it’s on sale (BOGO deals, I see you!), and I want to know I’m buying the good stuff. To find the best candy for Halloween, I asked the experts.

Our Panel of Expert Taste-Testers

• Brooke Schuldt: In her role as a social director for Simply Recipes, The Spruce Eats, and MyRecipes, Brooke has tested endless viral recipes as well as frozen waffles, ice cream, and candy.
• Elaine Johnson: Elaine is a test kitchen manager-turned-senior editor at Simply Recipes. In her previous roles, she’s tested everything from recipes to fresh watermelon.
• Laurel Randolph: The Simply Recipes editorial director has professionally taste-tested recipe contests, pantry essentials, and all of the pumpkin treats at Trader Joe’s, among many others.
• Victoria Seaver, MS, RD: The former editorial director of EatingWell has taste-tested protein shakes, protein bars, and, oddly enough, lettuce. (Victoria is now the GM of Simply Recipes & The Spruce Eats.)

The Best Halloween Candy for 2025

I quickly discovered our expert panel was split 50/50 in favor of sour, fruity candy or chocolate.

Victoria loves Caramel Apple Pops, the mouth-watering sour green apple lollipops coated with sticky caramel. If kids are bringing back ’90s characters in their Halloween costumes (hello, Space Jam characters), then why not drop this iconic ’90s candy in their orange pumpkin buckets?

“Oh, I am not going to be popular here,” Laurel tells me. Her candy pick? Lemon Heads. But, she adds quickly, “Sour Patch Kids as a backup. Oh, and Haribo bears!”

Let’s reach across the candy aisle to the chocolate enthusiasts. I love sour candy, but I agree wholeheartedly with Brooke’s 2025 Halloween candy pick.

“I will die on this hill: Reese’s Pumpkins,” she says. She insists that the pumpkin shapes are better than the originals because “the ratio of peanut butter to chocolate is different, and the chocolate is softer.” I haven’t done a detailed analysis myself, but I know there’s more peanut butter in the Reese’s holiday shapes than in the cups.

Elaine says, “I love Mounds, and that means people often give theirs to me.” I almost cut her opinion from this story because it’s so deeply unpopular. Mounds bars are barely above Almond Joy and Bit-O-Honey in the Halloween candy hierarchy! “Exactly,” Elaine says. “That’s why I’ve been given so many Mounds bars.”

The Halloween Candy I’ll Hand Out

Based on our expert opinions and my personal sour candy bias, I plan to pick up bags of Sour Patch Kids and Reese’s Pumpkins. I might also buy Sour Patch Kids Halloween Lollipops, because the raspberry flavor is exceptional, and each packet comes with sour powder you can tip right onto your tongue for a mind-melting experience.

For the youngest trick-or-treaters, Victoria (who is a food expert, mom, and registered dietician) recommends plain chocolate that dissolves easily, like Hershey’s bars or M&M’s. If you want to go the Bunnies & Bats route, fruit snacks could be a good option, too, she says.

If you need me, I’ll be ransacking the Halloween candy aisle for one of everything.