First came the Oreo, the classic dark chocolate rounds sandwiched with sugary white frosting. A cookie so beloved, they’re sold all over the world.
The first Oreos were launched in 1912 and eight years later, the company introduced Lemon Creme Oreos. In the decades that followed, the company began introducing more new flavors — many, many more. To date, the company has served up 198 variations on the Oreo, including such unexpected flavors as apple cider doughnut, matcha and hot chicken wing (not kidding, but only available in China). Nabisco, the parent company of Oreo, confirms that while many Oreo flavors have come and gone, new ones will continue to appear.
Curious to find out what the flavor fuss is all about, we rounded up 13 fun, interesting Oreo flavors and tasted. The take-away? Some are much better than the original, and others are perfectly awful.
A great flavored Oreo is a welcome treat. It’s crispy and sweet and infused with pleasant, complementary flavors that mesh into a decadent mouthful. Bad Oreos are either a melt-in-the-hand mess or filled with a concoction so excessively artificial and pungent, they should not be allowed indoors.
Here’s the scoop on the cookies that will disappear in minutes, and the flavored Oreos guaranteed to end up in the trash. Nutrition info refers to 29 grams — two traditional-sized Oreos or four thin-style cookies.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
This graham-flavored cookie stuffed with both salty peanut butter and rich chocolate is so yummy. It’s like a Nutter Butter, but better. The filling is extra creamy, and the combination of flavors is every bit as good as a bite of pie. 140 calories, 6 g fat, 90 mg sodium, 11 g sugar. $4.48 for 17 ounces at Walmart. (4 stars)
Oreo Thins Mint Creme
Watch out Milano! The crisp texture of these thin chocolate cookies stuffed with minty sweetness are impressively delicious. They are everything a chocolate-mint cookie should be — and quite a bit cheaper than higher-priced options. 140 calories, 6 g fat, 95 mg sodium, 12 g sugar. $3.49 on sale at Safeway for 13.1 ounces at Walmart. (4 stars)
Lemon Creme Oreo
Cut the sugar and add more real lemon to the filling, and these vanilla-lemon cookies would be perfection. Nonetheless, they’re crispy, light and bright. 150 calories, 7 g fat, 80 mg sodium, 12 g sugar. $4.69 for 18.7 ounces at Target. (3½ stars)
Peanut Butter Flavor Creme Oreo
Lovers of peanut butter will fall for these crispy chocolate rounds filled with rich, well balanced, salty-sweet peanut butter-flavored creme. 140 calories, 6 g fat, 125 mg sodium, 10 g sugar. $4.50 for 17 ounces at Smart & Final. (3 stars)
Oreo Chocolate Hazelnut
It’s hard to fault this decadent pairing of chocolate and hazelnut first introduced in 2021. Like Nutella, this needs less sugar and more hazelnut, but it’s a delicious, if slightly too rich effort. 140 calories, 6 g fat, 90 mg sodium, 13 g sugar. $5.29 at Lucky. (3 stars)
Pumpkin Spice Creme Oreo
The Oreo flavor gurus got the this cookie just right. The filling tastes like very sweet spiced pumpkin, and the extra-crisp cookie has a delicate spice note. 150 calories, 7 g fat, 80 mg sodium, 12 g sugar. $4.48 for 12.2 ounces at Walmart. (3 stars)
Oreo Thins Golden
These artificially flavored, vanilla-stuffed vanilla cookies are fine, but all too predictable. 140 calories, 6 g fat, 95 mg sodium, 11 g sugar. $4.48 for 13.1 ounces at Walmart. (2½ stars)
Red Velvet Limited Edition Oreo
These are just too mild and understated. The chocolate is terribly dull, and the cream cheese filling, while extra creamy, lacks the tangy flavor of cream cheese. 140 calories, 7 g fat, 60 mg sodium, 13 g sugar. $4.48 for 12.2 ounces at Walmart. (1½ stars)
Dark Chocolate Creme Oreo
Even fans of chocolate will be disappointed at these single-note, single color cookies. They’re basically too much of two good things — sugar and cocoa powder. 140 calories, 6 g fat, 120 mg sodium, 12 g sugar. $4.58 for 17 ounces at Walmart. (1½ stars)
Oreo Birthday Cake Creme
The idea of stirring sprinkles into the creme filling of an Oreo and plastering “Birthday” on the label is genius, as it turns every package into a party food. The reality, though, is a filling that’s unpleasantly gritty and much too sweet. 140 calories, 7 g fat, 90 mg sodium, 13 g sugar. $5.99 for 17 ounces at Safeway. (1 star)
Fudge Covered Oreo
Talk about a messy cookie. These melt at first touch, nearly sliding from your fingers as you bite. Worse, the chocolate coating tastes more like fat than chocolate. 190 calories, 9 g fat, 105 mg sodium, 17 g sugar. $3.78 for 7.9 ounces at Walmart. (½ a star)
Caramel Coconut Creme Oreo
The idea of coconut and caramel is commendable, but that’s not what this cookie is. This Oreo tastes like fake caramel with a side of sunscreen. 150 calories, 7 g fat, 90 mg sodium, 13 g sugar. $5.29 for 17 ounces at Lucky. (No stars)
Toffee Crunch Creme Oreo
Don’t even open this package indoors.The syrupy sweet aroma reminds us of a cheap maple candle — so intense and cloying that the smell kills the tastebuds. 140 calories, 6 g fat, 90 mg sodium, 13 g sugar. $4.69 for 17 ounces at Target. (No stars)
Reviews are based on product samples purchased by this newspaper or provided by manufacturers. Contact Jolene Thym at timespickyeater@gmail.com. Read more Taste-off columns at www.mercurynews.com/tag/taste-off.
