Reviewing Goldfish Awesome Sauce, Nature Valley Crispy Bars, & More

It’s definitely seasoned with… something. I can’t describe it exactly, but it does feel like a sauce you’d use for things like fried chicken nuggets and tenders. Perhaps a lightly sweet, honey mustard-like vibe? Either way, it’s seasoned well and is unique enough to be enjoyable to consider buying again—and this is coming from someone who isn’t that much of a fan of Goldfish; these are perhaps one of the better ones so far.

My only complaint, like with many Goldfish products, is the texture: airy, dry, and cheap-feeling.

Released early June 2025 alongside a rerelease of a Spicy Dill Pickle flavor. Found on Amazon.

Yup, this is your typical spicy dill pickle flavor that you often find on chips, but this time, it’s on a dry, airy cracker (I really don’t like this texture!). It tastes like authentic dill pickle seasoning and has a clear kick. This spiciness isn’t at all oppressive, so don’t worry, it’ll likely be okay with most people even if you’re sensitive to spicy foods.

Initially released in early June 2024, they returned in early June 2025 alongside an Awesome Sauce flavor. Found on Amazon.

Moist, dense, and exhibits a premium mouthfeel. These are like oat bars but so much better. They’re very soft and thick, and especially creamy for what they are—one of the creamiest oat treats I’ve ever had. I also love how you can also feel the oaty chunks, which provide a contrast to the chewy texture.

Inside, these have a small glob of mildly sweet apple jelly, which complements their tasty oat shell perfectly. It’s not too sweet, and it more or less tastes fairly authentic and not at all artificial. I almost want it to be a little sweeter, but honestly, this entire oat treat as a whole is sweet enough—anything more may bring it down.

While I’m not sure of an exact release date, mentions of a 20-count package are dated to March 2024. Found on Amazon.

Despite being lower-calorie ice creams, I couldn’t tell much, if any, difference between these and regular ice cream. It’s more or less your average-textured treat, nothing extraordinarily creamy and thick like the high-end milk-based brands, but also not cheap or lackluster feeling either.

Cheesecake Brownie: As advertised, this has a mild vanilla cheesecake-like flavor with tiny bits of chewy brownie embedded throughout it. The overall flavor leans more towards vanilla than cheesecake—the cheesecake flavor isn’t overly strong by any means, falling on the lighter side. Basically, this feels like, “I’m into neutral flavors like chocolate and vanilla but don’t want to branch off too far into something different.”

Additionally, unfortunately, at least for me, it doesn’t have nearly as many brownie pieces as I’d like—it’s definitely not “loaded” by any means. Although the average person would likely think it’s sufficient. Plus, more brownies would likely increase the calorie count and defeat the purpose of this ice cream.

Mango Strawberry: A smooth, uniform ice cream with a sweet twist of mango and strawberry. To me, the mango comes out a little more, although with the combination with the strawberry is very refreshing. Overall, I’d like to see some embedded pieces to break up the boring texture.

Strawberry Swirl (No picture of this): Just, wow. This is not only sweeter than any other strawberry ice cream I’ve had, but its quality is phenomenal. It feels like you’re actually eating a solidified creamy strawberry shake, as if they blended together real cream and strawberries!

My favorite part is the surprisingly small strawberry chunks, which add much more than they present; it made me say out loud, “Wow, was that a piece of strawberry?! Whatever I just ate was amazing!” These pieces, while not super abundant, add so much. They’re chunky, chewy, and authentic tasting, adding even more to the already amazing ice cream. Lastly, this goes great with (low-calorie) chocolate syrup!

Brownie Cookie Dough: To me, it does nothing right. The mix of vanilla and chocolate ice cream dilutes both, making both flavors feel too mild. At the same time, the mixins are tiny and uncommon, making them mostly unnoticeable. Overall, it’s a mildly sweet vanilla-chocolate ice cream with miniscule toppings. It’s inoffensive and, frankly, boring.

While I can’t find an exact release date for most of these, mentions of Cheesecake Brownie date back to February 2023 and Mango Strawberry to June 2023. I found all of these at Stop & Shop in July 2025.

Surprisingly, I didn’t expect the wafer part to be this noticeably buttery. On top of that, these feel slightly thicker than your traditional cheaper wafers which is apreicable. However, the filling flavor is flat—it’s mildly sugary sweet with just an essence of chocolate.

Overall, these wafers are decent, they don’t feel cheap and at the same time, don’t stand out. I feel like if they improved the flavor of the filling, whether it be by adding more or making the flavor more pronounced, this could give other premium wafers a run for their money.

Released in 1956.

These are so much more premium than the wafers you find in stores, granted these are more expensive. The cream inside these is thick and super creamy and reminds me of a thick peanut butter—they’re very generous with this filling! The wafer is also equally thick and has a tasty, light crunch that works perfectly. Simply put, the mouthfeel is great, providing a satisfying bite each time.

I really expected these to have more of that earthy oat and grainy taste that Nature Valley is known for; however, these instead fall into more of a sweet and sugary treat instead. They are wonderfully creamy, the texture is great, and the flavors are spot on.

If I had to choose, it would definitely be the strawberry because it’s the sweetest, and I just like the more pronounced flavors here more!

The flavors are where they differ.

Honey Vanilla: The vanilla honey is less sweet, and its flavor is more or less accurately represented. It feels much less divisive than the strawberry, perhaps attempting to appeal to more people by being less sugary and less bold tasting. And for whatever reason, I’m not sure if it’s the filling or whatever, but I swear I taste some essence of peanut butter or some type of nutty flavoring here. Maybe it’s just me?

Strawberry: The strawberry is extraordinarily creamy, like a creamy strawberry shake. It’s fairly sweet—sweeter than the vanilla honey one—and plus, it doesn’t come across as fake or artificial either—not that the vanilla honey does necessarily!

Peanut Butter Chocolate: Review coming soon!

Strawberry and Honey Vanilla were released around April 2024. Found on Amazon in July 2025.

Strawberry Shortcake: Thick, soft, chewy, and extremely creamy, as if I’m literally eating an extra sugary sweet strawberry vanilla milkshake. This also seems to differ compared to other Pure Protein bars because it feels more compressed, compact, and chewy and, interestingly, even sweeter—if you can believe it! It’s very much sugary sweet—the sugar comes through first, then it hits you with a more mild strawberry. I also appreciated the few crunchy bits on top, which add a touch of crunchiness. Overall, super duper creamy, dense, and sugary sweet—think candy bar! Just to note, though, many may find this too sweet, especially for a protein bar!

Blackout Cake: Much like the Strawberry Shortcake, this is very dense, though softer and a smidge less chewy. Similarly, these have little rice crunchies at the top.

So of course, the flavor is different, especially the sweetness. It still comes across as fairly sweet, but not quite as much as its strawberry friend, and it sports a dark chocolate mixed with milk chocolate. Indeed, this all stems from the fact that the shell seems to be milk chocolate and the inside is extra dark—it’s literally black on the inside (is that why it’s called Blackout Cake?). In summary, this is your extra chocolaty protein bar that’s both authentic tasting and moderately sweet and has a great eating experience! Definitely cake-like in my opinion!

Both were released April 3, 2025, exclusively at 7-Eleven and Speedway. Found at Speedway, August 2025.

This feels like an old-school protein bar. It has your punchy, super artificial protein bar taste that overwhelms any authenticity or flavor it tries to present. Simply put, it’s not great, especially compared to other protein bars. Also, Ore, really?!

Seriously, where is this advertised Oreo? I guess it’s there, physically at least; it seems to be cobbled together on the inside, resembling a ground of dark cookie pieces and chocolate rice. Right above that thick layer is a filling that looks to be peanut butter, but in terms of taste, I genuinely have no idea what it contributes because I literally can’t tell because this entire bar tastes like the most artificial chocolate protein you can imagine!

The composition of the bar is the best thing about it, and even that is mediocre. The cookie layer feels more crispy than cookie-like, though, biting in, there is a slightly chewy, thick feel to the bar as a whole, which is good. Still, that should be expected from premium bars like this at a bare minimum!

Overall, I’m extremely disappointed. This has zero notes of Oreo. It’s all artificial, semi-sweet dark chocolate protein flavoring through and through.

Released in May 2025. Found at Speedway, August 2025.