17 Best Sour Candies Of 2024
Sour candy is a guilty pleasure for many of us, and while you might regret chomping down a whole pack of sour candies, it’s a difficult treat to resist!
Whether you enjoy a handful of sour candy now and then or are feeling nostalgic about the sour sweets you ate throughout your childhood, looking for a good pack of sour candy can be tough, there are so many options!
What is the best sour candy? The best sour candies tend to be made with ingredients that are not common allergens, such as peanuts or dairy. Sour candies that are chewy rather than hard also tend to be better for dental health, as well as being better for children.
To ensure you choose the best pack of sour candy, below is a buyer’s guide on what you need to consider when choosing one, and our favorite sour candies on the market right now!
How To Choose Sour Candy
Here are some considerations to keep in mind when choosing the best sour candy to buy. By ticking these boxes, you will be able to narrow down your choice to the best sour candy for you!
Sourness
Everyone has a different preference on how sour they want their candy to be, and how sour you might enjoy your candy could be much milder than the next person.
While all sour candies are labeled as ‘sour’, they are not all the same. Some sour candies are sour all the way through, while some only have a sour coating or a sour interior.
Try to gauge the sourness level of the candy to see if it is what you would enjoy – some candies even have a sourness rating on the packaging which helps!
Texture
Sour candy comes in many shapes and forms. You get sour gummies, sour gum, sour worms, sour hard candy, the list goes on.
You can pretty much choose the candy texture you prefer, and find it in a sour version! Most of our favorite candies have sour options too, so you can still enjoy the texture and taste of the candy you prefer, but with an extra kick of sourness!
If you don’t like hard candies, go for a softer sour gummy instead, and vice versa.
Size
You do need to consider the size of the packaging before buying the candy. If it is just a small treat to keep for yourself at home, a big bag isn’t necessary.
However, if you are buying the candy for sharing, then you will need something a little more substantial.
If the sour candy is for a party, it might be worth choosing a big bag full of individually packaged candies.
Ingredients
Most of us do not always read the ingredient list on sweet packaging, and this seems even more true for sour candy. However, it is important to check for any allergens, especially if you are serving the candy at a party.
Vegans and vegetarians should also stay away from sour candy made from gelatin, as gelatin can contain animal byproducts. There are a few options of vegan-friendly sour candies, but you will need to actively look for this.
It is also a good idea to try and stick to sour candies that are made from natural ingredients. At least you will be able to recognize the ingredients used to make the sour candies, and candies made with real fruit juice taste great!
Who Is Eating The Candy?
Consider who will be eating the candy. If the candy is going to be offered to young children, such as at a party, then avoid small pieces of sour candy that could cause a choking hazard.
It is also best to avoid hard candies for little kids, as these can be harsh on their teeth.
For serving candies at a party or function, look for individually wrapped options, as these are more sanitary and mean there won’t be germs spread all over the open candies.
The 17 Best Sour Candies of 2024
So keeping all your preferences in mind, take a look through our top 17 sour candies and find one, or a few, that you want to try!
| Rank | Product | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Airheads Xtremes Belts | Free from milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, and other common allergens |
| 2. | Sour Patch Kids Extreme | More sour version of Sour Patch Kids |
| 3. | Jolly Rancher Sour Surge | Sour powder inside each candy |
| 4. | SweeTARTS Extreme Chewy Sours | No artificial flavors |
| 5. | Warheads Extreme Sour | Incredibly sour candy |
| 6. | Life Savers Sours | Sour version of traditional Life Savers flavors |
| 7. | Nerds Big Chewy Sour Candy | Chewy, big version of normal Nerds |
| 8. | Sour Skittles | Sour strawberry, sour lemon, sour orange, sour green apple, and sour grape flavors |
| 9. | Project 7 Sour Apple Rings | Fat-free, low in sodium, certified gluten-free, and vegan |
| 10. | Sour Punch Twists | Box perfect for parties |
| 11. | Toxic Waste | Five ultra-sour flavors included in each iconic yellow drum |
| 12. | Cry Baby Extra Sour Tube | Sour gum balls |
| 13. | Sour Patch Kids | Choose a full bag of a single flavor |
| 14. | Sour Brite Crawlers | Sour gummy worms |
| 15. | Haribo Sour S’ghetti | Made to look like candy spaghetti |
| 16. | Starburst Minis Sours | Miniature version of Starburst |
| 17. | Smart Sweets Sour Blast Buddies | Free from over 150 banned colors, flavors, preservatives, and other harmful ingredients |
1. Airheads Xtremes Belts
Airheads are on the top tier of sour candy, and the Xtremes Belts are as sour and delicious as they come!
The sour belts are allergy-friendly, as they are free from milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, and other common allergens, so they are a good option for parties or Halloween!
Deliciously chewy, the sour belts hit you with a sour taste but still have a tangy sweetness that keeps you going back for more. The belts are colorful and fun to eat, and will be hit with both adults and kids!
These are a great option if you love a sour taste but still want to enjoy and taste the sweetness of the sour candy you are eating.
They give you the satisfaction of sourness, but without being too overwhelming, so you can really enjoy the flavors and the texture of the belts!
2. Sour Patch Kids Extreme
There is no way you could not have Sour Patch Kids on a list of the best sour candy!
Sour Patch Kids Soft & Chewy Candy starts out super sour and then fades down to a wonderfully sweet flavor soon after.
The Extreme pack is the sourest of them all and is great to enjoy as a special treat or if you are wanting to pull a little sour prank on someone.
There are five assorted fruity flavors in the pack which you will be able to taste and enjoy once the crazy sour taste fades away.
The Sour Patch Kids Extreme Sour Soft & Chewy Candy are incredibly fun to eat, and if you are looking for an extremely sour taste you really do not have to look any further!
3. Jolly Rancher Sour Surge
The Jolly Rancher hard candies come individually wrapped, and are an absolute hit at parties, or are perfect for you to enjoy as a treat at home!
The hard candies come in a variety of fruity flavors, but each little candy packs a punch of sourness too.
To make the candies even more delicious, each one has sour powder on the inside of the hard candies, so you get to enjoy the sweet and sour exterior and an extra sherbet sourness when you get to the center.
You get to enjoy the flavor of the sour candy for much longer as the hard pieces last for quite a while if you keep them in your mouth to savor the flavor, both sweet and sour.
4. SweeTARTS Extreme Chewy Sours
These chewy candies from SweeTARTS are coated with a sour finish that eventually leads to a sweet, tangy inside.
There is a range of tart and tangy flavors included in each pack with each mouthful giving you a sour twist with a new take on sweet and tart flavors.
There are no artificial flavors used to make these sour candies, so you can feel confident sharing them with family and friends.
You really get to enjoy that extreme sour taste that you just don’t get from many other candies, but this is perfectly rounded off with the flavors and sweetness that the candies hold too. The burst of sour is worth it in the end!
5. Warheads Extreme Sour
Warheads are known to be some of the sourest candy out there.
However, you can still enjoy their underlying sweetness after the initial sour coating wears off!
The Warheads Extreme Sour Hard Candy takes sourness to the next level and is up there with some of the sourest sweets you could try.
Each pack features flavors of watermelon, blue raspberry, lemon, apple, and black cherry.
Each candy is individually wrapped, so they are great to serve at parties, or ideal to keep a few safely tucked away in your bag for when you need a hit of sourness throughout the day!
The flavors all hold a very fruity taste and they do compliment the sourness of the candies perfectly.
6. Life Savers Sours
The Life Savers Sour Gummies feature all of the traditional flavors that you love, but now with a sour punch that will leave your mouth tingling!
Flavors in the pack include tangy cherry, orange, strawberry, watermelon, and black raspberry.
This classic candy has taken a sour turn, and all for the better!
Not only are the sour gummies tasty, but they are wonderfully chewy as well, and still keep the traditional Life Savers taste, but with more of a kick.
Their super sour taste is really something to contend with, and a few of these gummies will satisfy your sour cravings for quite some time!
7. Nerds Big Chewy Sour Candy
Everybody loves a bag of Nerds, and now you get to enjoy the same awesome taste of Nerds candy, but with a sour twist that will have you coming back for more!
These big chewy sour Nerds have that beloved crunchy Nerd shell, but with a super chewy inside.
Each big, chewy sour Nerd is packed with flavor. Some of these flavors include lemon, orange, strawberry, and grape.
Enjoy the sweet crunchy shell on the outside, and the soft, chewy, fruity, and sour inside.
These are the ideal sour candies to keep at home as a treat, but also make for great party sweets as well. Everyone will love the fruity sourness that comes with each candy bite!
8. Sour Skittles
Taste the rainbow, with some sourness, by enjoying a pack of Skittles Sour Candy!
These bite-sized candies have a crunchy outer shell and a soft and chewy inside that is the perfect balance of sour and sweet.
The rainbow of flavors includes sour strawberry, sour lemon, sour orange, sour green apple, and sour grape – all your favorite flavors with a sour twist.
Not only can you enjoy these bright-colored sour candies straight out of the bag, but they make for tangy decorations on cakes, cupcakes, biscuits, and other treats.
Mix them up with a bag of normal Skittles and enjoy the combination of all the flavors.
Nothing beats a bag of Skittles in the afternoon or alongside some popcorn at a movie, and this can be taken to the next level with the sour Skittles candies!
9. Project 7 Sour Apple Rings
Not only are these sour apple rings absolutely delicious and perfectly balanced between tangy, sour, and sweet, but they are better for you than most other candies.
The rings are fat-free, low in sodium, certified GMO-free and they are suitable for vegans.
They are suitable for a wide range of diets so more people get to enjoy the delicious sour gummies.
The thick gummies take some work to get through, but the sour apple flavors last from start till finish, and you can trust that some of the best and safest ingredients have been used to make them.
10. Sour Punch Twists
The individually wrapped Sour Punch Twists come in assorted flavors including strawberry, green apple, blue raspberry, and cherry.
They are all packed in a handy tub that makes storing the sour twists a breeze and makes handing them out to friends easier too.
Whether you are laying them out at a party, grabbing a handful to take as road trip snacks, or keeping them tucked away in the pantry for when you need a treat, the twists stay fresh and chewy and hold onto their sour fruity flavors well.
They are low in fat, low sodium, and are Halal and Kosher-certified, so they can be enjoyed by many!
With appr. 210 twists per pack, they will bring lots of sour-cringe and smiles to friends and family.
11. Toxic Waste
Toxic Waste candies are notorious for being extremely sour.
If you’re looking for the sourest sweets around, then Toxic Waste should be on your to-try list.
There are five ultra-sour flavors included in each iconic yellow drum, including apple, lemon, watermelon, blue raspberry, and black cherry.
To give an idea of how sour these candies are, one of the Toxic Waste challenges is to see how long you can keep one in your mouth before the sourness becomes overwhelming!
The double-action sour flavor means that even when the first bit of sourness fades, another one comes along and you go through round two of sourness!
With each candy being so sour, one small yellow drum should last you for quite some time, as you definitely won’t be able to get through them all in one go!
12. Cry Baby Extra Sour Tube
The Cry Baby sour candies really stay true to their name by inducing a teary-sour experience with each ball you eat!
There is a reason there is a challenge to see how many you can have in one go!
The gumballs last for quite some time in your mouth, so you get to enjoy the flavor and the sourness for quite a while.
Each gumball brings back childhood memories, and a super sour kick, followed by sweet and fruity flavors that you will love.
Enjoy chewing on the gum once the candy has all disappeared, as a sign of victory that you have conquered the sourness!
13. Sour Patch Kids
Say goodbye to digging through a pack of Sour Patch Kids candy to find your favorite flavor!
You can now buy a whole bag full of your favorite flavor!
The soft and chewy sour candies start with a sour kick and then turn to a more subtle tangy and sweet flavor.
Each candy has the traditional Sour Patch Kids shape, bringing a little bit of fun and mischief to treat time!
These are a great option if you are having a color-theme party and only want to serve a certain color of sweets. Kids will love the intense sour flavor, but it isn’t so overwhelming as to not be enjoyable.
14. Sour Brite Crawlers
The Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers come in beautifully bright neon colors and are sugar-coated to pack a punch of tangy sweetness.
There’s some sourness here and there and fruity flavor combinations that you will not be able to resist!
Enjoy weirdly awesome flavor combinations such as orange-lime, cherry-lemon, and even strawberry-grape in each pack.
To keep the gummy worms fresh and safe, the bag is resealable, so you can dip your hand in and out of the package to take out some tasty, tangy, treats as often as you want without the sour gummy worms losing their great quality.
Some packs even feature the super strange flavors of sweet and sour and spicy hot. Are you brave enough to devour a pack of wriggly, neon sour gummy worms? They are as delicious and icky as can be!
15. Haribo Sour S’ghetti
Haribo offers great candies and gummies no matter what the form, so it makes sense that they would have one of the best sour candies too!
The Haribo Sour S’ghetti are long thin strips of brightly colored gummies, which are wonderfully sour and sweet!
Kids will love eating their very unique spaghetti in different colors and fruity flavors, and the tangy, sour kick that comes along with it.
It is the perfect treat to layout at a party too and will be a hit with kids and adults alike.
16. Starburst Minis Sours
These resealable Starburst Minis Sours Candy Bags are ideal for snacking on the go or to keep tucked away for when you want a sour treat.
Enjoy the classic Starburst flavors, such as cherry, blue raspberry, strawberry, and watermelon, just with the added sour taste.
Making them even easier to eat, these Starburst Minis are unwrapped, so you can grab a few in one go and pop them into your mouth.
Soft and chewy, fruity and sour, they are a perfect balance and are sure to become your go-to treat.
17. Smart Sweets Sour Blast Buddies
Smart Sweets have come up with Sour Blast Buddies, which are free from over 150 banned colors, flavors, and preservatives.
There are no hydrogenated fats or high fructose corn syrups found in the gummies.
They are flavored and colored naturally, making them wonderfully juicy and tasty while still being super sour.
If you are wanting to give your family food made using only the best ingredients, these are a great option.
Related Questions
Now that we’ve gone over some of the best sour candies available right now, let’s take a look at few related questions on the topic!
Are sour candies bad for you?
Sour candies are a very popular treat for many people, but they do tend to be high in acidity, and this is not good for your teeth. The acidity, if not enjoyed in moderation, can wear away the enamel found on teeth.
There are some sour candies made from gentler ingredients, so look out for those as a healthier alternative!
What is the sourest candy?
Many people believe that Toxic Waste is the sourest candy in the world. This sourness lasts for around 50 seconds and then fades away into a sweeter taste.
However, those 50 seconds can be very difficult to get through, and only the bravest sour warriors should take on Toxic Waste sweets!
What is the most sold sour candy?
Although there isn’t a clear way to know what the absolute most sold sour candy is in the world, however, most people would probably say that the answer is Warheads.
Although the brand originated in Taiwan, it is now sold all over the world and is particularly popular in places like the United States.
Not only can you find it in all kinds of flavors, but there are also many different products such as chewy candies, lollipops, and the traditional hard candy that you may be used to.
So what makes Warheads so sour?
Well, the answer lies in a combination of two ingredients, citric acid, and malic acid, which together form a really strong sour punch that will be sure to make you pucker.
As we’ve already talked about in this article, Warheads are one of my absolute favorite sour candies and certainly one of the best sour candies you can get in 2024.
If you’re curious to see reactions to some of these sour candies, check out this great video:
