7 Wawa Snacks That Are Worth Buying And 3 To Skip

Wawa is an East Coast convenience store chain that's especially popular throughout Pennsylvania (where it was founded) and New Jersey, with a newly acquired foothold in Florida. Although it's a convenience store, it also boasts a full-service hot foods counter that's best known for the selection of Wawa hoagies, which are so popular they have their very own holiday. But that's far from all that Wawa has to offer — there are also a slew of private-label snacks that are affordable, portable, and delicious. After all, you couldn't call it a convenience store without them, right?

Having spent nearly two decades in the Wawa motherland, shamelessly visiting at least twice a week throughout that time, I feel confident in saying I'm pretty much an expert. Plus, when you tie in my more than 15 years of food industry experience, I'm a good person to let you know what is or isn't worth buying at Wawa, and today, I get the chance to do just that.

I had the opportunity to try 10 Wawa snacks that are available at my preferred location in Vineland, New Jersey, and report my findings back here. I made my judgments based primarily on taste, with things like texture and convenience playing smaller roles. If you're interested, you can learn more about my methodology at the end of this article. Now, without further ado, here are seven Wawa snacks you should definitely grab on your next visit, and three you'll want to leave on the shelf.

If you love soft pretzels but don't live in a place where you can find a Wawa, you're going to be among the many who wish this convenience store chain could be everywhere. As blasphemous as it might sound to locals, I hadn't tried the Wawa Soft Pretzel before this ranking, but in my defense, I'm not a huge fan of pretzels overall. I like them, but not enough to purposefully seek them out with any consistency. However, my partner gets one nearly every time we go to Wawa (which is often), and my son begs for one anytime he lays his eyes on it. Turns out all of their hype was warranted.

The Wawa Soft Pretzel had a soft, somewhat dense interior, with a slightly harder crust. A mild sweetness punctuated the dough, alongside robust starchy notes and bites of intense saltiness. Truthfully, this was everything a soft pretzel should be, and I finally understood why these sell out daily at my local Wawa. In fact, I'd originally planned to grab a single pretzel, but those were all sold out, so I had to grab a double pretzel instead. Definitely pick up one of these if you enjoy soft pretzels or sweet and salty snacks.

The Wawa Apple Slices were washed, peeled, and sliced. They came in a little bag containing what looked to me to be about one apple's worth. Truthfully, there wasn't anything incredibly special about these, but they were just as good as any other sliced apple snacks you'll find elsewhere. One thing I will say is that this option from Wawa did well is that these apples tasted very fresh and juicy, rather than a bit old or dry, like some other options I've encountered.

My favorite thing about this Wawa snack is how versatile it is. You can easily grab a bag of apples and eat them as-is, on the move. Without the peel, they're less of a choking hazard for some younger children, making them perfect to throw into a lunch box, or hand to a child in the back seat during a long drive. Alternatively, you could pair these with your favorite dipping sauce. Wawa already has apples with a caramel dip, but these apples would go well with peanut butter, cream cheese, or honey. Snag yourself some if you're looking for a snack that's fresh, fruity, and healthy.

Not a fan of apple slices by themselves, but can't run home to set up your favorite dipping sauce? The Wawa Apples & Caramel Dip is the solution. There were two options available at my store when I went, with a red or green apple variation. I believe the red were MacIntosh apples, while the green were Granny Smith apples. I chose the green apple, because they tend to have a little extra bite to them, which I enjoy. If you prefer something a bit sweeter, though, I recommend the red pack. Each pack came with a small cup of caramel sauce for dipping.

Like the snack pack, these apples were very fresh and juicy. The green option I chose had the faint tangy bite I was looking for, although I found the peel to be a little more chewy than I expected. Because of this, I wouldn't recommend these dippers for young children, but highly recommend them for anyone else. The caramel sauce was sweet and creamy, with buttery undertones and a faintly nutty finish. I devoured my whole cup, alongside the pepperoni and cheese cup also featured on this list, for lunch — it was delicious, and my only complaint was that I wanted more.

While, if I'm honest, some types of pre-sliced fruit at Wawa leave a lot to be desired, the Wawa Pineapple is not one of them. Each fruit was cut into mostly uniform chunks that are just a little too big to be a single mouthful. They tasted fresh, with a tangy tartness perfectly balanced by an intense but natural sweetness. Every piece I pulled out to eat had that mildly crisp, extra-juicy texture I look for in pineapple.

You can eat these pineapple chunks with your hands, or you can grab a fork from in front of the hot foods counter, if you prefer. The only downside to these is that all that juiciness makes them quite messy, so I'd grab some napkins and be careful to eat them over their container. I found that one container provides the perfect amount of fruit for a quick snack.

For full disclosure, I already knew I loved this Wawa snack because it's my usual go-to when I'm on the run and don't have time to stop for a real lunch. Each package of Pepperoni, Cheese & Crackers contains a decent amount of cheese cubes and pepperoni slices, with two individual packets of crackers. Something I appreciate is that the crackers are packaged separately from the meat and cheese, so it should still be a good option for those who have to eat gluten-free.

The cheese was a moderately sharp Colby Jack with robust creamy notes, while the pepperoni had an intense savoriness with a mild spiciness. The crackers were saltines, and tasted just as good as name-brand options I've bought at the grocery store. When I layered the meat and cheese on a cracker, there was a perfect combination of meat, starch, and dairy that always feels like a real meal to me. The portion was also very generous and didn't leave me feeling hungry.

There's nothing better than warm homemade chocolate chip cookies straight out of the oven, but a Wawa Warm Chocolate Chip Cookie is a decent backup when you want one of these sweet treats but don't have the time to make it yourself. Just be sure you have enough of an appetite, because these cookies are decently sized — they're also best when still warm, so you should eat them right away. Personally, I like to pair these with a small bottle of Wawa Whole Milk. After all, there's no better duo than milk and cookies.

The best part about these cookies was that they had a richness and warmth that immediately told me they used brown sugar in their recipe. For me, including this one simple ingredient instantly elevates chocolate chip cookie recipes, adding flavor depth and complexity. These flavor notes were strewn through a sweet starchiness and accented by rich chocolate. Texturally, the base cookie was soft with gooey melted chocolate chips throughout, and slightly crunchier ends.

I'm not sure about grabbing one to eat in the car, although I'm sure the pints of Wawa Chocolate Ice Cream work fine for this if you know you'll eat it all in one go. For me, this wasn't the first time I'd grabbed a pint to take home and split after supper with my youngest. I love doing this because if I buy a big container of ice cream at the grocery store, I'll eat it all in a day or two — when it comes to chocolate ice cream, I just have no willpower.

The texture here was extra creamy, yet resisted rapid melting like some other brands. The rich chocolatey flavor profile was punctuated with notes of creamy milk and a mild icy tone you might miss if you weren't looking for it. I'm not the only one who enjoyed this chocolate pint, either. This flavor ranked fourth in an exclusive ranking of Wawa ice cream flavors on Tasting Table, which is yet another endorsement for treating yourself to some.

While the pineapple and apple options at Wawa are excellent fruit choices, the grapes (and watermelon) simply are not. This wasn't the first time I'd been disappointed with these grapes, so I strongly believe it's not a one-time thing. It's not as though I don't like grapes, either, as I always keep some at my house for quick snacking.

The biggest issue is that they didn't seem very fresh — if anything, they tasted and felt borderline rotten. The taste was very tart and a bit sweet, but with an overall mustiness that was very off-putting. Texturally, some of these grapes were fine, but there were a few that were too hard, like they weren't ripe enough when picked, while others were too soft, like they'd been picked too long ago. Overall, I wouldn't buy this again and recommend you satisfy your snack craving with something else on this list.

The Wawa Watermelon suffered from largely the same problems as the red grapes. There were textural, taste, and consistency issues that combined to create an overall disappointing experience. If you want good watermelon, you're better off getting a whole one at your preferred grocery store and cutting it up yourself — just remember to use an airtight container to keep your watermelon fresh in storage for up to one week. If you're at Wawa and need a fruity snack, opt for the apples or pineapple instead.

The texture was mushy on the outer edges of each watermelon slice, except on some edges, which were much too hard. It was as though they'd cut too much of the watermelon rind, and then left the fruit to over-ripen. The taste was very bitter and reminiscent of dirt rather than sweet. Some pieces were almost entirely mush, and the watermelon overall was inconsistent, leading to uncertainty in every bite. These should be a hard pass if you want to enjoy what you're eating.

I liked the idea of this snack pack because the flavors sound perfect together, and it's a nice variety for those times when you aren't entirely sure what you want. Unfortunately, the execution was seriously lacking — which you can probably already tell, since I'm suggesting you skip the Wawa Grapes & Cheese.

The grapes here tasted and felt much like the ones you find in the individual packages, meaning they suffered from all the same problems. The cheese was actually pretty good, and tasted creamy with a mild sharpness streaked through with nutty undertones. My only complaint is that some of the cheese became a bit wet from the grapes. Each box also contains crackers, which were texturally okay with a nice crunch when I took a bite, but there wasn't a huge defining taste outside of starchy and cold. Overall, I wasn't impressed and think you're better off grabbing a different snack from Wawa.

I chose only Wawa private-label snacks for inclusion in this list, avoiding any snacks from nationwide brands sold at any convenience store. Of those private-label snacks on sale at my preferred Wawa location in Vineland, New Jersey, I aimed to include a wide assortment of various options. I tasted each option exactly as prepared, without alterations, judging them mostly based on taste, though convenience and texture did contribute to a smaller degree.

A great love of Wawa foods was the primary driver in my ability to recommend for or against the snacks on this list. However, a food industry background spanning more than 15 years and previous work for Daily Meal also contributed — this includes similar articles like this one ranking Wawa sides and this one comparing the made-to-order food at Sheetz and Wawa. Although personal preference played a role in this recommendation article, I aimed to be as unbiased about product quality as possible.

Static Media owns and operates Daily Meal and Tasting Table.