Bringing stiff competition to Hershey’s new Milk Chocolate & Reese’s Pieces mashup, Mars has recently rolled out a full line of M&M’s inspired chocolate bars. Released as a set of five, all variations include miniature M&M’s embedded in a solid brick of milk chocolate and feature additional add-ins to pay homage to different varieties of the popular candy.
Milk Chocolate
Case in point that simplicity isn’t necessarily a bad thing, this bar is the most basic of the bunch, and consists of a no-nonsense slab of milk chocolate studded with mini M&M’s.
Lacking the bells and whistles of its brothers and sister, this bar allows the quality of Mars’ cocoa to shine. Just like the filling of mainstream M&M’s, the chocolate used here is pleasantly sweet, and lusciously smooth enough to melt in your mouth.
While they don’t have much flavor by themselves, the mini M&M’s are relatively plentiful here, and I found getting two or three of them in each bite gave the bar a pleasant bit of crunch.
Purchased Price: $1.68
Size: 4 oz.
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/4 bar) 150 calories, 9 grams of total fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 20 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 16 grams of total sugars, 14 grams of added sugars, 2 grams of protein
Peanut
Set apart from the plainer one above by including a scattering of peanut halves, I feel this treat fell a bit short of its bite-sized counterpart.
Despite being tasty, I wish there were more nuts. Getting one in each bite is what draws people towards Peanut M&M’s over the standard variety, but that wasn’t my experience here. Although the peanuts are large and aromatic, there aren’t enough of them to compete against the chocolate, making this bar’s flavor profile seem similar to the Milk Chocolate variety.
Purchased Price: $1.68
Size: 3.90 oz.
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/4 bar) 150 calories, 9 grams of total fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 20 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 15 grams of total sugars, 13 grams of added sugars, 2 grams of protein.
Almond
Rather than using halved almonds, this variation incorporates smaller chunks of nuts. Each piece was roughly the size of one of the miniature M&M’s and evenly dispersed throughout the bar, which ensured I got several almond bits in each bite.
Even though almonds tend to have a subtle flavor, Mars used them more successfully than the nuts in the Peanut bar. In particular, they seemed more present in it, which I largely owe to them being liberally scattered throughout the chocolate. Overall, I thought this treat was true to its inspiration, and I prefer it over Hershey’s Almond bars.
Purchased Price: $1.68
Size: 3.90 oz.
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/4 bar) 150 calories, 9 grams of total fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of sodium, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 16 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 15 grams of total sugars, 13 grams of added sugars, 2 grams of protein.
Crispy
Venturing away from nut-related additions, the Crispy M&M’s Bar instead utilizes crisp rice pieces to set itself apart from the competition. So, basically, it’s a Crackle Bar lookalike that’s made by Mars and has M&M’s thrown in.
It doesn’t taste much different than a Crackle Bar, either. Although the M&M’s were pretty low-key in this line’s other products, they were clearly an afterthought here. There’s not enough of them in comparison to the crisp rice pieces littering the candy’s surface, and I found myself forgetting their presence entirely while munching through this treat absentmindedly.
Even so, I can’t knock this too much for taste. I’m a sucker for anything that mixes chocolate and crisp rice, and I polished off my last square of this flavor before any of the others.
Purchased Price: $1.68
Size: 3.80 oz.
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/4 bar) 150 calories, 8 grams of total fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 20 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 15 grams of total sugars, 13 grams of added sugars, 2 grams of protein.
Crispy Mint
Taking every aspect of the Crispy M&M’s bar and adding a festive splash of mint, this was the only flavor to switch up the taste of the chocolate itself.
Despite being an ardent fan of York Peppermint Patties and all other cocoa and mint confections, this was my least favorite of the bunch. There wasn’t enough minty flavor to leave me feeling satisfied, and I thought it was a little too sweet overall. I wish Mars had used darker cacao, because I think bringing an element of bitterness would have helped complement the mint and make this feel like a more fulfilling indulgence.
Purchased Price: $1.68
Size: 3.80 oz.
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/4 bar) 150 calories, 8 grams of total fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 20 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of total carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 15 grams of total sugars, 13 grams of added sugars, 2 grams of protein.
Other Things
- Each bar comes embossed with the Red M&M staring coolly at you as if to say, “What? You’re surprised I don’t have a candy shell?”
- Speaking of those shells, there’s nothing to stop heat from melting these, and they get soft quickly. I found it was best to eat one small section at a time so that I wasn’t holding on to any single piece for too long.
- Given their large size, low price, and fun packaging, I can easily see these as part of a whole M&M’s-themed gift basket!
