Ranking The 16 Best (And Worst) Little Debbie Snacks

One of the perks of being an adult is being able to buy whatever you want at the grocery store without your parents telling you you’re not allowed to have it. There’s no shortage of guilty pleasures to pick from when making your way through the aisles, and the various snacks whipped up by the folks at Little Debbie are definitely some of the most alluring.

I’ve always had an affinity for Little Debbie—the Tennesee-based brand that has been pumping out a variety of treats since it was founded in 1960—and I recently decided to round up a bunch of their offerings to see which one reigns supreme.

Before we get into the rankings, I should let you know I traveled far and wide trying to track down as many varieties as possible and I couldn’t get my hands on Pecan Spinwheels, Star Crunches, Fudge Rounds, and a few other major players.

With that said, here’s how the ones I could find measured up.

16. Banana Marshmallow Pies

Fun fact: Twinkies were originally filled with a banana cream until the United States experienced a shortage of the fruit during World War II and Hostess pivoted to the creme we know and love today.

I’m not 85 years old so I don’t know what the original Twinkies tasted like, but if it was anything like Little Debbie’s Banana Marshmallow Pie—which is basically a cloyingly sweet and perplexingly spongy Oreo that tastes like a yellow Runt—I can safely say cutting off America’s banana supply was the one of the only real upsides of that conflict.

15. Fudge Brownie with English Walnuts

In my opinion, biting into a brownie and discovering it has nuts is the culinary equivalent of walking into your home on your birthday only to discover your friends and family have gathered together to stage an intervention in lieu of surprising you to celebrate your special day.

Of course, Little Debbie is courteous enough to let you know what you’re getting yourself into when it comes to its walnut-filled fudge brownie, and if you are for some ungodly reason a fan of the combination, these might rank a little higher on your list.

However, I am not, and as a result, eating this was like the culinary equivalent of having to go to a meeting with a court-ordered drug counselor.

14. Fig Bars

Little Debbie’s answer to Fig Newtons aren’t made with just any figs, my friend. These are Califonia figs, which I assume is supposed to impress me for some reason.

I made the grave mistake of looking at the nutrition labels before conducting my taste test for this article, and from what I can glean, these are the healthiest option Little Debbie offers unless you somehow possess the self-control to eat a single donut.

Fig Newtons are clearly the superior snack, as the dough-to-filling ratio of Fig Bars leaves plenty to be desired. Unlike the Banana Marshmallow Pie, there’s nothing particularly offensive about these but I can think of plenty of other ways I’d rather consume 160 calories.

13. Cosmic Brownies

In theory, a chocolate brownie covered in chocolate frosting and topped with chocolate candy sounds delightful but the execution here was about as successful as a malfunctioning guillotine.

As far as cosmic brownies are concerned, I would have to say I much prefer the kind that make you want to sit on your couch and listen to vaporwave while watching Enter The Void on mute.

12. Glazed Donuts

The glaze here leaves a lot to be desired; it’s almost like someone filled a spray bottle with simple syrup and lightly spritzed the donut before throwing it into the packaging (only the top of the donut is actually glazed as opposed to the entire thing).

I personally prefer the kind of donut that melts in your mouth but these (as with the case with the other varieties we’ll eventually get to) are doughy and dense.

As a result, they’re landing near the bottom of the rankings.

11. Iced Honey Buns

The original Honey Bun (which we’ll talk about in more detail in a little bit) is sweet enough on its own so the addition of icing here is borderline irresponsible. While I might have had a gripe with the prior entry for not having enough glaze, the Iced Honey Bun doesn’t have that problem, which ends up being the biggest problem with it.

10. Powdered Donuts

Even the best powdered donuts have trouble overcoming the reality that they’re still a powdered donut.

As a result, these are like the Brian Scalabrine of donuts: they’re white and will never have a place in my starting rotation but they’re occasionally good in a pinch.

9. Zebra Cakes

Zebra Cakes are unfathomably sweet to the point where I threw away the wrapper after taking the first bite in order to overcome the temptation to see just how much sugar I’d pumped into my body.

While they may be drizzled in chocolate, it’s virtually impossible to detect, and although the yellow cake holds its own, it’s unable to overcome the overall cloyingness that resulted in Zebra Cakes earning a spot in the middle of the pack.

8. Frosted Donuts

These are the best type of donut Little Debbie has to offer, and while they may have skimped on the coating when it comes to the glazed variety, the same can’t be said for these, which are covered in a satisfying amount of frosting.

Unlike Cosmic Brownies, the chocolate actually tastes like chocolate, which is always a nice bonus.

7. Chocolate Cupcakes

I don’t really have that much to say about these.

The cupcake itself is perfectly moist, but sadly, the picture on the box sits on a throne of lies, as the filling-to-cake ratio is not even close to what’s being promised.

With that said, they’re still pretty solid in a pinch.

6. Chocolate Marshmallow Pies

This is Little Debbie’s take on a Moon Pie, which is essentially a low-effort S’more.

Unlike the previously mentioned banana-flavored atrocity, this is actually palatable, as it features a generous helping of marshmallow and a solid layer of chocolate.

However, it does lose some points thanks to the cookies sandwiching the filling, which were about as dry as Willy Wonka’s sense of humor in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

5. Swiss Rolls

Unlike the Chocolate Cupcakes, Little Debbie Swiss Rolls feature the perfect amount of creme in the middle.

However, Swiss Rolls lose some points thanks to the chocolate coating, which has some very lackluster structural integrity based on how much of it flaked off while I was making my way through the package.

4. Honey Buns

I don’t know if “honey” is the best way to describe the flavor here, but regardless, the Honey Bun is a pleasantly sweet, melt-in-your-mouth treat and I ended up eating the entire thing even after looking at the calorie count.

3. Birthday Cakes

These are basically a Funfetti cake in bar form, which tells you everything you need to know because Funfetti is the bomb and so are these.

2. Oatmeal Creme Pies

Oatmeal Creme Pies were always one of my favorite Little Debbie snacks when I was younger, but they still hold up now that I’m firmly an adult.

If we were power ranking cookies, oatmeal would probably be near the bottom of the basement but the same can’t be said for these, which—unlike many of the offerings on this list—have a flavor profile that can’t simply be described as “sugar.”

1. Nutty Buddy

Everyone knows chocolate and peanut butter go together like the sweet, sweet vocals of Christopher Cross and Michael McDonald on “Run Like the Wind,” and if we’re going to stick with the yacht rock analogies, the Nutty Buddy is “What A Fool Believes”—the undisputed champion.