Read time: 6 min.

Krackel vs. Crunch. On paper, this brawl couldn’t be much fairer. Both are simple candy bars built around the same basic idea: milk chocolate packed with crisped rice. No layers of caramel, peanuts, nougat, or wafers muddy the waters! Still, despite sharing nearly identical ingredients and debuting the very same year, these two bars have followed remarkably different paths. One became a candy aisle icon. The other was relegated to the bottom of a a multi-pack. That raises an obvious question: which one got the formula right? 

Welcome back to Candy Clash! If you’re new, this is my infrequent series where my brother John and I pit two similar candy bars against each other to determine which one deserves bragging rights. The last showdown came way back in December 2024, when we matched Boyer’s Mallo Cup against Sifers’ Valomilk. Before that, in April 2024, it was Ferraro’s Butterfinger versus Hershey’s 5th Avenue. This time, though, I’ve expanded the judging panel: my mom and sister have joined the fun! This candy clash is officially a family affair.

Before we sink our teeth into the showdown, let’s meet our first contender. Hershey introduced the Krackel bar in 1938. The original recipe combined milk chocolate with almonds before peanuts joined the mix the following year¹. As World War II rationing tightened in 1941, both were replaced with crisped rice². Under that formula, Krackel enjoyed decades as a full-size candy bar before Hershey discontinued the standard version in 1997. From there, the humble Krackel found its way to the Hershey’s Miniatures assortment. A full-size comeback in 2014 delighted fans, but the revival lasted just a year before the bar was discontinued once again³. Today, if you want a Krackel, you’ll have to fish one out of the Miniatures bag again. 

In the opposite corner stands the undisputed heavyweight of the chocolate-and-crisped-rice world: Crunch. Nestlé also introduced the bar in 1938 but, unlike its rival, Crunch has always relied on crisped rice for its signature snap. The brand changed hands in 2019 after Nestlé sold its U.S. confectionery business to Ferrero⁴, but Crunch has never disappeared from the shelves. It’s always been available as a full-size candy bar! Unlike Krackel, the Crunch name has even appeared on the label of Buncha Crunch candies, Crunch ice cream bars, Crunch Cereal, Crunchette bite-sized pieces, and an assortment of fun-size, mini, and giant versions. 

While Krackel has spent much of the last three decades hiding next to Mr. Goodbar, Crunch has remained front and center as one of America’s most recognizable chocolate bars. Full disclosure: Sally came into the tasting as a devoted Crunch fan. Mine’s Zagnut, John’s is Reese’s Nutrageous, and Mom’s new favorite is 5th Avenue. At least three of us were impartial! Here’s what we found. 

Just like the first Candy Clash, I structured our tasting around the National Center for Agricultural Literacy at Utah State University for testing guidelines. Their standards evaluate foods on criteria like appearance, aroma, flavor, and texture. If we were going to settle this rivalry, we were going to do it with at least a veneer of scientific rigor. Unfortunately, our focus group didn’t really turn out that way. Mom noted the strong chocolatey aroma of the Krackel, but things quickly turned into a free-form discussion.

The first debate was whether either candy bar actually lived up to its name. Mom immediately declared that Crunch earned its title by delivering a satisfying chomp with every bite. John wasn’t nearly as impressed with Krackel, joking that an ordinary Butterfinger had more “crackle” than the candy bar that literally bears that name. The likely culprit was Krackel’s smaller pieces of crisped rice- Mom preferred the larger, crunchier rice in the Crunch bar, arguing that bigger was simply better.

Crunch leaned heavily on the crisped rice, while Krackel struck a more even balance between rice and chocolate. Mom thought Krackel better captured the nostalgic flavor of Rice Krispies cereal, giving it an edge despite its softer texture. That observation led to an interesting realization: Hershey bars almost always put the chocolate first. Just as the 5th Avenue feels like a Butterfinger for chocolate lovers, Krackel let the chocolate shine more than Crunch ever did. Mom immediately agreed, and John chimed in that Krackel was definitely the more chocolate-forward of the two. 

Sally’s longtime love of Crunch also made more sense after tasting the two side by side. As a vegetarian with relatively few fast-food options growing up, she’d always appreciated that the generous helping of crisped rice made Crunch feel more substantial than an ordinary chocolate bar. That extra texture has kept it her favorite ever since. In the end, our scores revealed a clear winner with one important caveat. We unanimously preferred Krackel’s chocolate, but when we judged the bars as complete packages, Crunch won comfortably. Its louder crunch, larger crisped-rice pieces, and bolder texture simply made for the more satisfying candy bar.

Crunch leaned heavily on the crisped rice, while Krackel struck a more even balance between rice and chocolate. Mom thought Krackel better captured the nostalgic flavor of Rice Krispies cereal, giving it an edge despite its softer texture. That observation led to an interesting realization: Hershey bars almost always put the chocolate first. Just as the 5th Avenue feels like a Butterfinger for chocolate lovers, Krackel let the chocolate shine more than Crunch ever did. Mom immediately agreed, and John chimed in that Krackel was definitely the more chocolate-forward of the two. 

If your heart belongs to creamy milk chocolate, Krackel is still worth digging out of a bag of Hershey’s Miniatures. But if you only have room for one crisped-rice candy bar in your shopping cart, our family agreed that Crunch still wears the crown. Sometimes the heavyweight champion really is the best in the ring.

Sources Cited
1 The Unknown History of Krackel (n.d.). .History Oasis. Web. Retrieved July 27, 2026. 
2 Keeley, S. (2018, January 19). The definitive ranking of the four Hershey’s Miniatures chocolate bars. The Comeback. Web. Retrieved July 27, 2026. 
3 York, B. (2021, August 31). Krackel Bar: History, Ingredients & Brands. Snack History. Web. Retrieved July 27, 2026. 
4 York, B. (2021, August 20). Crunch Bar: History, Facts * Brands. Snack History. Web. Retrieved July 27, 2026.