6 Milk Chocolate Bars Worth Every Penny And 4 To Skip

Although dark chocolate brands are my favorite overall, there's nothing better than a milk chocolate bar when I'm looking for something sweet but simple and subtle. Unfortunately, not every milk chocolate bar in the local grocer or convenience store is delicious enough to satisfy that craving. Some tend to taste heavily artificial or have unappealing textures, and choosing one of these options will leave you feeling disappointed rather than content. But how can you tell which milk chocolate bars are worth every penny and which deserve to be left on the shelf where you found them?

Usually, the only way to really determine which milk chocolate bars are worthwhile is to try each of them and hope for the best. Thankfully, you can skip that tedious process because I've already done it for you. I was given the opportunity to try 10 options and report my findings back here as to whether I believe they're worth purchasing again. My decisions were based mostly on taste and texture, and a myriad of relevant experiences helped me confidently make my decisions. If you're interested, you can learn more about my methodology at the end of this article. Now, ready to discover which chocolate bars to grab the next time a craving strikes? Let's get into it.

Starting my recommendations out strong, we have the Lindt Classic Recipe Milk Chocolate Bar. I had really high hopes for this milk chocolate bar, because Lindt is one of those big brands I'm really familiar with — I've always been a big fan of its truffles. And this milk chocolate bar lived up to all of those expectations.

My first bite offered a very sweet chocolate with almost buttery overtones. It tasted luxurious and surprisingly rich for milk chocolate, which I typically associate with being slightly milder. The texture was very soft, which did cause it to melt rather quickly, making a mess of my fingers — for full disclosure, I tasted this chocolate bar (and the others) during an intense heat wave, which may have affected how quickly it melted.

Regardless of how messy it was, I would definitely purchase this again. Although you can eat this as-is, I think the flavor profile and easy melting would make it the perfect option for making chocolate-covered strawberries.

To be completely honest, I already knew I would recommend this Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar before I "tried" it for this article. I knew this because for the past six months, I've been on a kick where I've eaten more of these milk chocolate bars than I care to count — despite having a strong preference for dark chocolate (which Hershey's also does well).

This chocolate bar had the kind of classic taste that I naturally associate with the words "milk chocolate." It was very smooth and creamy with a defined yet subtle richness, accented with moderate sweet notes. There was a hallmark tang that I didn't realize was an American chocolate thing until I tasted European varieties, along with nutty undertones that are easy to miss if you're not looking for them.

Hands down, this milk chocolate bar is worth every penny, and if this were a ranking, I would place it in first place for its combination of quality, taste, and nostalgia. Combine one of these bars with a small pat of butter on the stovetop to create a simple fudge sauce for your fruit or ice cream.

When I do my ranking or recommendation articles that rely solely on my own taste tests, I don't look at other reviews or ask people I know what they've thought ahead of time, because I don't want my judgments to be influenced. After I've compiled my notes, I like to do a little research on what other people thought about the food I tried, so I can judge whether to offer a small disclosure about personal preference if I find my opinion is different from the vast majority. While doing that, I discovered the Moser Rother Extra Creamy Milk Chocolate Bar came in third place in an original ranking of Aldi candies on Tasting Table. This confirmed for me that this specific bar was worth every penny.

Moser Roth is a brand you'll find at Aldi, which offers almost exclusively European chocolates. These have a distinctly different taste than standard American chocolates, and they're often just as good to me (or even better), which is the case here. The flavor profile led with strong milky notes that faded into a surprisingly rich chocolate with extra creamy undertones. The chocolate melted in my mouth with an almost velvety texture, and left me wanting more.

You won't regret purchasing this chocolate bar when the craving strikes. Consider using this for classic s'mores, where I think it would shine, with its exceptional texture.

This Choceur Creamy Belgian Chocolate Bar is the second European variety from Aldi that I highly recommend, so feel free to grab this instead of the Moser Roth option if you want — or get both, because you deserve it. You can find these bars in a different spot to the other Aldi chocolates. Instead of in the candy aisle, look near the cash registers.

Like other European milk chocolates I've had before, this wasn't quite as sweet, and was devoid of that hallmark tang. Instead, it was extra creamy and milky, with distinct buttery notes that became more defined as it melted in my mouth. Texturally, it was very soft and smooth, which I loved.

Thanks to its smaller size, this Choceur candy bar is ideal for when you need a little pick-me-up while you're running errands, or to refuel between grocery shopping and unloading it at home. If you're looking for another small snack to eat at the same time that will complement the candy bar, snag a clamshell of Sunbelle Blackberries — this is a must-buy Aldi produce item, in my opinion.

My post-tasting research showed me that the Cadbury Dairy Milk Bar came in first in an original ranking of Cadbury chocolate bars on Tasting Table. After my incredibly positive experience, this was all the confirmation I needed that this candy is well worth every cent you'll pay for it.

My first bite offered a very bright, milky chocolate bar that was in line with what I expect from Cadbury. Of course, this chocolate would be milk-forward, since the package proudly boasts it contains a full glass and a half of the stuff as a main ingredient. This high milk content also gave it a very smooth, creamy texture that did end up melting all over my fingers. But a bit of a mess wouldn't stop me from eating this again.

The brightness of this milk chocolate candy bar would make it the perfect pairing for citrus, eaten together charcuterie board style. Growing up in Florida, I ate a lot of orange and chocolate combinations, and this Cadbury bar would excel there.

I went back and forth on whether I should recommend this one, because it's good, but it's not great — and the other recommendations certainly fall into that higher category. But I ended up deciding the Tony's Chocolonely Milk Chocolate Bar was well worth every penny after all, because it combines a decent product with a socially ethical company. Tony's is on a mission to eradicate child labor and exploitation in the cocoa industry, and that's something I can definitely get behind. If you're looking for a chocolate that lets you make a difference in the world while you indulge, this is my top recommendation.

My first bite of Tony's candy bar offered an intense sweetness that was slightly marred with a faint artificial flavor, which I relate to cheap chocolate Easter bunnies. It was pretty easy to look past this, though, especially since it was balanced with one of the smoothest textures on this list. The chocolate was a little less milky than my other recommendations, but there were light buttery notes that I found pleasant.

This isn't a bad option for eating alone and sharing with a friend. Just remember to pay attention to how the chocolate bar is cut as you split it up. The drastically uneven cuts are intended to represent wealth distribution inequality in the chocolate trade.

If you've read anything I've ever written, you know about my love-hate relationship with the Bowl & Basket brand, which is ShopRite's private label. Its canned baked beans? Definitely not a fan of the near-nauseating sweetness. But the frozen bowl and basket snacks? Chef's kiss. Unfortunately, this chocolate joins the ever-growing list of disappointments.

If this were one of my ranking articles, the Bowl and Basket Specialty Milk Chocolate Bar would have come in dead last. While it's not wretch-inducing (like some other Bowl & Basket products), it had heavy artificial tones that I just couldn't ignore, which sat on top of an overly mild chocolate flavor. The texture was slightly waxy and didn't melt as nicely as I would have liked. As it did melt, there was a slight grittiness that made me grimace. Skip this milk chocolate bar in favor of literally any of my recommended options for a better experience.

Since the standard Hershey's milk chocolate is my favorite, I had such high hopes for this Hershey's Symphony Extra Creamy Milk Chocolate Bar. I imagined an elevated, more luxurious version of my current most beloved candy. You can probably guess those hopes were dashed, since I'm strongly recommending you skip this option.

The biggest issue here is that the chocolate reminds me of those cheap chocolate bunnies you get at Easter time. Now, I did make that comment for other candy bars on this ranking, and I recommended those — but here, the difference is that these notes are so strong they're impossible to look past. Since I've never enjoyed those cheap bunnies, even as a kid, this ruined any enjoyment I might have gotten. Despite being labeled "extra creamy," this tasted and felt less creamy than the standard Hershey's. Just skip this and opt for a standard bar instead.

Despite avoiding any additional external influence, I had already heard pretty terrible things about the Feastables line. Of course, I went into the taste test with an open mind, hoping that all of the bad press was exaggerated. My son, however, has been an avid watcher of Mr. Beast for years, so he was beyond excited to try one. But even he ended up just a little disappointed — like most little boys, he'd probably still eat another one for the "vibes" alone, but I don't foresee him begging me quite so much anymore.

The primary reason I can't get behind the Mr. Beast Feastables Milk Chocolate Bar is that it's just really mediocre. The flavor profile is reminiscent of chocolate milk that doesn't have enough chocolate syrup in it, while the texture is a little weird in a way I can't quite describe. It didn't melt as nicely as the other options, and was perhaps a bit waxier than I expected. Is it the worst thing I've ever eaten? Not by a long shot. Are there much better options worthier of your hard-earned money? Definitely.

You might be surprised to find the standard Choceur Milk Chocolate Bar in the skip portion of this list after I praised Aldi's other private label bars so highly. And, this isn't a bad option by any means. But when I compare it to the other two options you'll find at Aldi, this one is vastly inferior by such a large margin that it doesn't make sense for me to recommend it.

This had the cleaner sweetness of European chocolates, devoid of any tanginess, with a mild milkiness accented by a light chocolate flavor. But this wasn't as rich as the other Aldi options, and the sweetness was mild to moderate instead of intense. The texture was fine, and on par with what I was expecting.

Despite this not being a terrible option overall, picking this option if you're at Aldi means opting for the worst experience available there (based on what I've personally sampled). The Moser Roth Extra Creamy Milk Chocolate and Choceur Creamy Belgian Milk Chocolate bars are much more deserving of your money.

I chose milk chocolate bars for inclusion in this ranking based on their availability to me in my local area of Vineland, New Jersey. I picked options from Walmart, Shoprite, and Aldi, and visited Dollar Tree and Acme, but they didn't have any options in stock that I hadn't already picked up at a different store. To narrow the list down, this list is only about plain milk chocolate bars, skipping over anything that was additionally flavored. I judged the sweets based primarily on their taste and texture, but also considered other qualities to a smaller degree when they were particularly notable.

Fifteen years working in the food industry gave me the confidence and experience necessary to rank each milk chocolate bar. During this time, I worked extensively in bakeries, where I occasionally made chocolate and frequently worked with it for decorating and recipe purposes. A great love of sweets generally and prior work creating articles for Daily Meal also contributed to my qualifications. This includes similar sweet-based articles like my ranking of six Breyers Ice Cream flavors and my recommendation of Aldi pre-packaged bakery treats. Although personal preference played a role in this ranking, I aimed to be as unbiased as possible about product quality.

Static Media owns and operates Daily Meal and Tasting Table.