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17 best Easter eggs and chocolate treats to crack into this spring

Chocoholics are in for a real treat this Easter

Zoe Phillimore
Wednesday 27 March 2024 12:51 GMT
We spent a month taste testing Easter eggs from all the leading brands, from supermarket eggs to chocolatiers’ offerings
We spent a month taste testing Easter eggs from all the leading brands, from supermarket eggs to chocolatiers’ offerings (The Independent)
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Easter is early this year – 31 March, to be eggsact (buckle up for a clutch of egg-based puns). If that’s got you in a flap, don’t worry, as we’ve done the hard graft for you and found the best Easter eggs for 2024.

This year, Easter eggs are in abundance. Supermarket’s own brands, leading high street names (read Hotel Chocolat) and smaller high-end names have all got their eyes on the Easter prize.

All tastes are catered for, whether you love salted caramel, chocolate orange, Toblerone-style Swiss chocolate, mini eggs, dark, milk, white, vegan, rocky road… the list is almost endless. It’s all there for the taking.

Whether you’re celebrating with an Easter egg hunt and hordes of sugared-up kids screaming for more, or something more sedate – hot cross buns, roast lamb and a springtime walk, perhaps? – we’ve rounded up Easter eggs that are sure to please pretty much everyone. Keep reading to find out which Easter eggs are worth cracking into this spring.

How we tested the best Easter eggs

A selection of the Easter Eggs we taste tested
A selection of the Easter Eggs we taste tested (Zoe Phillimore)

We spent a month taste-testing Easter eggs from all the leading brands. Unsurprisingly, we had a very willing testing panel, all of whom looked at the quality of the chocolate, taste and richness. Eggstras were also considered – after all, we all love discovering little chocolates and treats inside the box. Value was high on our list, too – we didn’t want any shrinkflation disappointment dampening any Easter weekend. Lastly, we considered the packaging, because the best Easter eggs should look as cracking as they taste.

The best Easter eggs for 2024 are:

  • Best Easter egg overall – Hotel Chocolat extra-thick milk to caramel easter egg: £29.45, Hotelchocolat.com
  • Best budget Easter egg – Reece’s hollow egg: £3.75, Ocado.com
  • Best luxury Easter egg – Venchi nougatine egg: £68, Uk.venchi.com
  • Best ethical Easter egg – Tony’s Chocoloney milk caramel sea salt giant Easter egg: £13.74, Amazon.co.uk
  • Best vegan Easter egg – M&S Made Without choccy rocky road egg: £6, Ocado.com

Hotel Chocolat extra-thick milk to caramel Easter egg

Hotel-chocolat-indybest
  • Best: Easter egg overall
  • Weight: 490g
  • Extra treats: A selection of milk and caramel chocolates
  • Why we love it
    • Plenty of extras
    • Reusable packaging
    • High quality

Our testing panel made approving noises as soon as they tucked into this Hotel Chocolat offering. The egg splits in two. One side has puffed rice inside – similar to a super luxe rice crispy cake – while the other side is malty caramel milk (not to be confused with blonde/white chocolate).

We loved the variety on offer – both sides were rich and creamy, and just the right level of sweet. Inside half of the egg is a selection of Hotel Chocolat’s greatest hits, including caramel bunnies, praline mini eggs and fudge sundaes.

The whole thing comes in a metal tin, which we’ve repurposed, reducing packaging waste. All in all, this egg is very impressive.

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Reece’s hollow egg

Reeses-egg-indybest
  • Best: Budget Easter egg
  • Weight: 252g
  • Extra treats: Two packs of Reese’s peanut butter cups (one white chocolate and one original milk chocolate)
  • Why we love it
    • Rich
    • Decent value
  • Take note
    • May be too sweet for some

Peanut butter and chocolate is a winning combination, and we can’t get enough of it. So, we were delighted to Reese’s Easter eggs hitting the supermarket shelves.

The medium-sized milk chocolate egg is headily sweet (it could be too sweet for some), and, although we were worried it would be waxy like some American chocolate tends to be, it is actually pleasingly smooth.

Inside the box are two packs of the brand’s peanut butter cups (one milk chocolate and one white chocolate). The former is an absolute winner, but the white chocolate verged into sickly territory for us.

This egg is great value and any fan of peanut butter will be delighted with it.

  1.  £3 from Ocado.com
Prices may vary
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Cadbury mini eggs inclusions ultimate Easter egg

Mini-eggs-indybest
  • Best: Mini egg Easter treat
  • Weight: 380g
  • Extra treats: One bag of mini eggs
  • Why we love it
    • Very chocolatey
    • Great texture

Part of Cadbury’s inclusions range, which sees Easter eggs embedded with Cadbury chocolate bars, this option will delight fans of mini eggs – and we were wowed by how tasty it was. The crispy sugar shell of the eggs inside the sweet, creamy Cadbury milk chocolate is truly a chocoholic’s dream. There’s also a bag of mini eggs included in the box – you can never have too many, in our opinion.

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Tony’s Chocoloney milk caramel sea salt giant Easter egg

Tonys-easter-egg-indybest
  • Best: Tony’s Chocoloney Easter egg
  • Weight: 242g
  • Extra treats: Five mini chocolate eggs with different flavours
  • Why we love it
    • Ethical
    • Delicious chocolate
  • Take note
    • Expensive

We love Tony’s Chocoloney – the chocolate is great and the brand’s ethos is even better. This is a large Easter egg take on Tony’s caramel sea salt chocolate. The egg has a decent thickness, although nothing like as thick as the brand’s chocolate bars.

Loaded with sea salt chunks and crunchy caramel pieces, the chocolate itself is perfectly balanced, sweet, creamy and rich. There are also five mini eggs included, each featuring different flavoured chocolate.

The richness of this egg meant it lasted a while longer than some other milk chocolate eggs we tried, as you don’t need loads to feel sated.

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Venchi nougatine egg

venchi-easter-egg-indybest
  • Best: Luxury Easter egg
  • Weight: 570g
  • Extra treats: Nougatine clusters within the egg
  • Why we love it
    • Delicious
    • Vegan friendly
    • Top-quality ingredients
  • Take note
    • Very expensive

This egg is something truly special. The snap on the chocolate is indicative of its quality, and that’s before you’ve even had a taste. The egg is deliciously rich, with a heady dark chocolate taste we loved. Healthy chunks of nougatine are embedded in the chocolate, which creates an interesting texture, and the nuttiness of the Piedmont hazelnuts creates a sweetness against the sophisticated chocolate flavour.

There’s no shying away from the price of this egg – it’s punchy and then some – but if you’re looking for the crème de la crème of Easter eggs, this is the one you want.

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M&S salted caramel egg-spresso Martini egg

Egg-spresso-easter-egg-indybest
  • Best: Easter egg for grown-ups
  • Weight: 140g
  • Extra treats: Cocktail in a can
  • Why we love it
    • Delicious chocolate
    • Interesting flavour
  • Take note
    • Smaller egg than some we tested

Now, here’s a grown-up treat. An Easter egg embedded with coffee beans and infused with caramel, this option tastes incredibly moreish. Our testers just couldn’t put it down but it’s one you’ll need to hide from the kids – caffeine and kids is a terrible combination but we also just don’t want to share.

The eggstra inside is a can of salted caramel espresso Martini, which we loved. It’s the perfect treat for enjoying as you sit on the sofa, having cooked a triumphant roast lamb. Cheers to you.

  1.  £10 from Ocado.com
Prices may vary
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Melt chocolate lotus egg

melt-easter-egg-indybest
  • Best: Easter egg for wow factor
  • Weight: 1kg
  • Extra treats: N/A
  • Why we love it
    • Loads of different flavours
    • Spectacular to look at
    • Plenty of chocolate
  • Take note
    • Pricey

The chocolatiers at Melt have the solution if you’re having trouble picking an Easter egg – why not have a slice of everything? This egg is divided into seven sections, with each section being a solid slab of chocolate. This is all built on a dark chocolate central support, so the egg fans out, like a lotus flower.

There’s no denying this egg is seriously pricey but it’s a luxurious treat. The flavours include dark chocolate; milk chocolate with hazelnuts; fruits of the forest; coconut; and matcha with cherry. The flavours are insanely good, and the whole thing wouldn’t seem out of place in the Wonka film.

Perfectly balanced and clearly made from quality ingredients, this is 1kg of chocolate perfection for when only the best will do.

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Toblerone edgy egg

Toblerone-edgy-egg-indybest
  • Best: Milk chocolate Easter egg
  • Weight: 298g
  • Extra treats: Six mini Toblerone bars
  • Why we love it
    • Delicious chocolate
    • Interesting design
  • Take note
    • Might be too sweet for some

Toblerone is so much more than “airport chocolate”, and this egg really proves it. Holding its own in the flavour stakes against all the other eggs we tested, the thickness was generous and it tasted exactly like the bar. There’s no denying it’s sweet, with crunchy, super-sugary almonds and honey nougat all in attendance. It’s an egg you’ll be hard-pressed to eat all in one sitting.

Inside the box, you’ll also find six mini Toblerone bars. We were surprised how much we loved this egg, and would definitely buy it as a gift for friends and family.

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Thorntons continental egg

Thorntons-easter-egg-indybest
  • Best: Traditional Easter egg
  • Weight: 257g
  • Extra treats: An assortment of eight chocolates
  • Why we love it
    • Pretty design
    • Nostalgic option
  • Take note
    • Quite sweet

There’s something very nostalgic about a Thorntons Easter egg – we have vivid memories of the shops piled high with personalised eggs. While you can still buy those, we tested the brand’s continental Easter egg, which is an absolute classic.

The milk chocolate egg is smooth and very sweet, without a hint of any waxiness. The outside is decorated with swirls of dark and white chocolate, which don’t add much to the taste but do create a pretty aesthetic.

If that wasn’t enough, there are eight Thornton’s continental chocolates included – we were thrilled to see the alpine log in the mix, and it was as deliciously nutty as we remembered.

  1.  £10 from Tesco.com
Prices may vary
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Lily O’Brien’s desserts collection Easter egg

Lily-obriens-easter-egg-indybest
  • Best: Easter egg for fans of dessert
  • Weight: 240g
  • Extra treats: Desserts collection chocolates
  • Why we love it
    • Good mid-range egg

One of our testers made a beeline for this Easter egg, claiming it was their favourite brand of chocolate. Naturally, they were not disappointed by this egg – it features milk chocolate and is on the sweeter side but without being teeth shatteringly so.

The chocolate is a decent thickness, and the egg is medium-sized, so it’s a perfect mid-range egg. The chocolates inside the box were delicious – the raspberry infusion chocolates, in particular, were fiercely fought over by our testers. A great Easter egg for someone who likes the finer things in life.

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Lindt Lindor raspberry and cream milk chocolate egg

Raspberry-lindt-egg-indybest
  • Best: Easter egg for fans of fruit flavours
  • Weight: 260g
  • Extra treats: Includes raspberry and cream Lindor truffles
  • Why we love it
    • Delicious truffles
    • Classic Lindt milk chocolate egg
  • Take note
    • The egg is a bit on the small side

As strong believers in there being no better combination than chocolate and raspberry, this Easter egg ticked the boxes and impressed us. Dangerously moreish, the fruity truffles have a perfect blend of creamy, rich milk chocolate with a raspberry cream centre that’s actually a bit sour. Owing to their deliciousness, they were devoured in a matter of minutes.

The egg is Lindt milk chocolate, which is deliciously creamy and rich in all the best ways. It was a bit of a shame that there was no raspberry flavour infused into the egg – but, if the Easter Bunny delivers one of these eggs to us this year, we’ll be very happy.

  1.  £12 from Asda.com
Prices may vary
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M&S extremely chocolatey biscuity Easter egg

M&S-biscuit-egg-indybest
  • Best: Rocky road-style Easter treat
  • Weight: 370g
  • Extra treats: None
  • Why we love it
    • Tasty chocolate
    • Great texture
    • Fun design

For a real texture treat, this M&S Easter egg is hard to beat. If you haven’t tried the retailer’s extremely chocolatey biscuit rounds, you need to rectify that immediately. This offering is an inflated version of those famous biscuits – but it’s hollow (to save your teeth). Instead, the chocolate shell is crammed full of shortbread balls, making for an absolutely delicious combination.

It’s incredibly rich and will take all but the most dedicated chocoholics days to finish. But it’s also fun and tasty – eggsactly what an Easter egg should be.

  1.  £10 from Ocado.com
Prices may vary
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M&S Flossy the Highland cow

Flossy-highland-cow-indybest
  • Best: Easter treat for kids
  • Weight: 155g
  • Extra treats: None
  • Why we love it
    • Cute
    • Not overwhelmingly large
    • Nice packaging

This Easter treat is as cute as a button, and our child testers were immediately drawn to the chocolate cow. Flossy is made from a blend of milk and white chocolate, which creates a very sweet taste that kids will love. Mercifully, though, Flossy is a relatively modest 155g, so sugar levels won’t get too out of hand. This meant we were happy for children to tuck in with gusto, which they did. We love the cute packaging, too.

For more information on M&S’s Easter eggs, read our guide to the range

  1.  £6 from Ocado.com
Prices may vary
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M&S Chocosaurus Rex

Choco-dinosaur-indybest
  • Best: For fans of dinosaurs
  • Weight: 135g
  • Extra treats: N/A
  • Why we love it
    • Fun design
    • Chocolate tastes good

Shaped like a T-Rex head, this Easter delight will go down well with dino-obsessed kids. It’s mainly (good quality) milk chocolate – no corners have been cut just because it’s for the kids.

The slightly sinister beady eyes are made from white chocolate, with one of our younger testers stating it looks like a zombie dinosaur – apparently, that’s a good thing. But it’s not all about the design, as this chocolatey treat fared well in our taste tests.

  1.  £6 from Ocado.com
Prices may vary
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M&S Made Without choccy rocky road egg

M&S-vegan-easter-egg-indybest
  • Best: Vegan Easter egg
  • Weight: 218g
  • Extra treats: Dairy-free chocolate bunny
  • Why we love it
    • Great quality chocolate

So often, free-from ranges offer bog-standard, slightly boring versions of our favourite treats, but that’s not the case here. M&S’s vegan Easter egg is loaded with vegan marshmallows, gluten-free crispy pieces and raisins. This egg is so delicious, in fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if those without dietary requirements opt for it, too.

It comes in enticing packaging, meaning children will also feel eggcited if the Easter Bunny delivers it to them. The chocolate is top-notch and there’s a dairy-free bunny-shaped chocolate bar included, too. Thumbs up, M&S – you’ve cracked it.

  1.  £6 from Ocado.com
Prices may vary
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Waitrose No. 1 blonde chocolate with salted caramel truffles Easter egg

Waitrose-easter-egg-indybest
  • Best: Easter egg for foodies
  • Weight: 215g
  • Extra treats: A box of four salted caramel truffles
  • Why we love it
    • Slightly more unusual flavour
    • Looks premium

For us, this was the surprise hit during testing. Our panel loved the blonde chocolate, and couldn’t get enough of it – the whole thing was demolished in 20 minutes. The truffles were amazing, too.

The chocolate egg is made from white chocolate with caramelised sugar, so it doesn’t taste just like white chocolate, which can be a bit sickly. There are also small pieces of feuilletine wafer and fleur de sel (sea salt) embedded in the egg, which give it a varied flavour and texture. This is a special egg, for sure, and one that foodies and chocolate fans are going to appreciate, as it’s a bit different and definitely a touch luxurious.

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Aldi Specially Selected Belgian milk chocolate and Valencia orange marble egg

best easter egg 2024 review indybest Aldi Specially Selected Belgian milk chocolate and Valencia orange marble egg.
  • Best: Chocolate-orange Easter egg
  • Weight : 240g
  • Extra treats : None
  • Why we love it
    • Good-quality chocolate

We love a bit of chocolate orange, and this marbled Easter egg from Aldi’s Specially Selected range was perfect for us. It’s sweet without being cloyingly so, and has the perfect balance of fruitiness. The chocolate is shiny and snaps well, indicating its quality – it feels like it should be much more expensive than it is. There’s nothing extra inside the box, though, which is a bit of a shame. However, all our testers agreed this is a standout egg that’s very worthy of inclusion in our round-up.

  1.  £6 from Aldi.co.uk
Prices may vary
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The verdict: Easter eggs

While all the eggs in this round-up are top drawer, the Hotel Chocolat extra-thick egg just inched it for the innovative dual design, and the amount of chocolates included inside. Plus, the packaging can be repurposed. If you’re looking for something slightly cheaper, Toblerone and Reese’s were close runners-up.

Get ready for Easter brunch, with the best hot cross buns

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