The Best Limited Edition M&M's Flavors We Wish We Could Eat All Year Long

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Is there an end to the revolving carousel of limited edition flavors the makers of M&M's are capable of conjuring up? Every few months sees another devious invention added to the ever-growing catalog of flavors and fillings. It's hard to imagine that a button-sized chocolate candy would be so ripe for experimentation. But if the bakery collection coming in January 2026 is any indication, the playful ideas won't stop with lemon meringue pie, cherry chocolate cupcake, and peanut butter cinnamon roll. Who could have imagined the basic plain-and-peanut blueprint could expand to include such wild blends as Mexican jalapeño, popcorn, and even bubble gum?

All of this M&M's flavor madness is enough to make chocolate lovers long for a return engagement from some of the most creative and clever creations the confectionary classic has ever churned out. But which flavors would be the best to bring back outside of their designated limited timeframe?

There have been so many variations through the years, it's almost impossible to trim the selections worthy of a revisit. Barring any miraculous shift, these special release M&M's flavors may circle back for a holiday visit or a second seasonal appearance. We'd be happy if they found a permanent place in the catalog. Here's hoping M&M's might agree someday.

How M&Ms failed to cram the flavors of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into its bite-size candies before releasing last year's Peanut Butter & Jelly is a mystery. The brand came close in the past with its Strawberry Nut release, which drew comparisons to a PB&J-inspired nugget, though it wasn't explicitly called out anywhere on the bag. That flavor twist debuted in 2009 and returned for an encore in 2017, then disappeared and left anyone who adored the flavor hanging.

It wasn't until December 2024 when the company resurrected the sweet-and-savory sandwich idea with a more direct hit in PB&J-filled M&M's candies that wear their hearts on their sleeves. This time around, the non-descript berry flavor may actually be a mix of strawberry and grape. It's a smart way to capture people on both sides of the sandwich spread spectrum, doubling sales and satisfying a broader audience.

Rumor has it that Peanut Butter & Jelly will be a permanent member of the M&M's gang. But the company has said similar with other flavors like Crispy M&M's and Hazelnut Spread, both of which have come and gone. Should PB&J be shoved aside down the line in favor of something trendier, it should at least be given a space on the seasonal release calendar. Maybe Mars would pencil in back-to-school time in early September.

Cherry chocolate M&M's present a timeless combination that suits palates all year round. Too bad this fly-by-night flavor came about in 2008 and vanished by 2012, in a seasonal form called Wildly Cherry. And if you stretch your memory a little further, you may recall Cherry Cordial M&M's showing up as Christmas and Valentine's Day special releases. Some M&M's lovers were obsessed with the taste; I distinctly remember digging into the bag and wondering why they hadn't existed until then. It may not have made rankings of popular M&M's flavors, but it was an old-fashioned offering that gave the candies a sense of grown-up style.

No new form of cherry M&M's has appeared since the last bags were cleared out in 2012. Thanks to the internet, you can always dig up a bag on close-out candy websites and occasionally Amazon or eBay. Maybe someday, Mars will see the error of its ways and put cherry M&M's back in the regular rotation. Until that moment, we'll all have to live on the memories.

Obviously, White Peppermint M&M's are a natural fit for the Christmas candy catalog; it replicates peppermint bark, a winter delight that almost never gets any action outside of its native season. The smooth combo of white candy centers and perky peppermint is as winning an M&M's flavor as has ever been created.

After appearing for the first time during holiday season 2012 exclusively at Target, the red-and-white-only candy buttons became an eagerly anticipated part of the Christmas candy collection. They showed up on shelves at other stores in subsequent years, letting grocery and big-box shoppers join in on the creamy goodness, though availability has been spotty during the holiday seasons that ensued. A 2021 Reddit thread even presented an online petition to bring the flavor back, which garnered nearly 4,000 signatures. That's some major dedication.

It would be great to have this flavor around all the time. Unlike Santa and Frosty, their cold-weather appearance isn't guaranteed. Pro-tip: If you seem them this Christmas season, grab extra bags and stash them in your freezer. You can make the sweet coolness last through the rest of the year — or longer, if necessary.

Who wrote the rule that pumpkin pie can only happen in the -ber months? Why wouldn't you want to nosh on a handful of Milk Chocolate Pumpkin Pie M&M's, even when pumpkin spice season is half a calendar away? After tasting and reviewing this fall-forward M&M's flavor, I was convinced there'd be an audience who'd appreciate this spicy variation outside of the holidays segment of the year. I haven't given up the dream, especially considering my taste test happened in May. 

It looks like fall 2025 will be another opportunity for anyone with a sweet tooth to pick up these pumpkin spice-adjacent candies. Retailers are already showing a presence among the far-too-early post-Halloween candy selections ... although that's probably a good thing for those who'd rather not have time limits on enjoyment.

Maybe the M&M's website will hold a regular listing in the back catalog for those mid-summer moments when taste buds yearn for a reminder that hot weather won't last forever. Better yet, Mars could just squeeze them into the carousel between Plain and Peanut and leave them be.

You have to give it to the marketing minds who decided Easter Sundae should be a springtime M&M's flavor. Even the bright vanilla and hot fudge flavors feel like a warm-weather combination that doubles as a fun word play addition to the collection. Though the description on the bag calls out white and dark chocolate beneath the bold colored shells, the Walmart listing mentions a light presence of cherry, too — the sundae trifecta wrapped up in a purple bag.

It may sound like those flavors would be a better summer selection. After all, ice cream season would draw the attention of sweltering sweets lovers in search of candy that lets them carry the sundae goodness to the pool, to the mall, to the fill-in-the-blank with the cool summer place of your choice. It's a better fit than Easter, where ice cream has never been a big menu item.

Can M&M's fanatics count on Mars to shift its strategy and bring but Easter Sundae flavor in a more taste-appropriate season — then leave it around forever? Even if it's only available in single-serving packs stuck in the back of the display, at least those of us who crave the sundae sensation could get our hands on it.

You'll only find Creepy Cocoa Crisp M&M's haunting the promotional candy section at Halloween, and even then it's an iffy prospect. Considering this limited edition flavor showed up in 2019 and then pulled a diabolical disappearing act, you'd be lucky to even hear about it from those who experienced it. But there should be no limit on how much fans of M&M's get to indulge in a little chocolaty rice cereal embedded in their favorite chocolate buttons.

Fans who became attached saw this fudgy flavor fade like a phantom. Sad, considering it was one of the few flavors that incorporated dark chocolate for a richer bite beneath the candy coating. It was a monster mashup made to suit kids and adults equally, conjuring the essence of cereal that left behind a specter of chocolate milk in the bowl.

If you're lucky enough to track down a package — on Amazon or Walmart, say — you'll pay a pretty penny to get it in your paws. That's the price of limited edition M&M's flavors that never show up on the scene again.

A little spicy, a little nutty, and a whole lot chocolaty, Chili Nut M&M's brought the heat to the sweet while keeping everything grounded with an earthy peanut center. If your palate tends toward Mexican hot chocolate, you probably found this nibble to be an ideal formulation and one of the best flavors of M&M's ever created.

It was one of the few times Mars strayed from the sweet-on-sweet calculus generally used. It was also part of a 2016 promotional trio prompting customers to vote for their favorite nut-centered newcomers; the other two in the set were Coffee Nut and Honey Nut. Coffee Nut ended up winning. Chili Nut was never seen in stores again.

If you keep up with M&M's news, you may already know that Honey Nut has also shown up as a 2025 permanent flavor. Caramel Cold Brew also assumes a spot in the regular cast of flavors, giving both of the other competitors an eventual presence. Not Chili Nut, though, which is really a shame; sprinkling a little fire into its already-cool creation gave the Mars company's famous rotund candies something of an edge.

Imagine if you could break off bite-size bits of homemade rice crispy treats, dip them in chocolate, and surround them in a colorful candy shell. That's exactly what M&M's did with its Eastertime Marshmallow Crispy flavor, a limited edition white chocolate design that flipped the script and put the gooey-chewy treats inside the chocolate candy rather than the other way around — a familiar move pulled by home bakers for years.

First found at Target in 2023, the reaction seemed to be big and welcoming, with one reviewer on YouTube calling out the fantastic flavor, even for those who aren't fond of white chocolate in an M&M's candy. But the marshmallow flavor created a great balance, which made it all the more disappointing that the bags didn't return in 2024.

Though there was a spring 2025 resurgence at Target (minus the controversial green M&M's character in the floppy flowered hat on the bag), the listing on Amazon says "currently unavailable," which could mean this flavor will be back sometime in the future. Rather than holding your breath, maybe make a batch of real marshmallow crispy treats and dump a box of plain M&M's into the pan. At least you can control the timing of that.

If there were any more enticing elements stuffed into M&M's White Chocolate Pretzel Snowballs, the company would have to supersize them to make it all fit inside the shell. Luckily, these nuggets are about the same size as peanut M&M's, but with a pretzel core robed in smooth white chocolate and encased in pastel colored shellac. A 2021 candidate for Coolest Seasonal Candy of the Year (in the hearts and minds of fans, at least), these blue and white bits reached past the usual Christmas palette with a winter-chic Hanukkah color set. It was so many things all at once.

Clearly, this M&M's invention is designated for a time of year when scarves are a necessity and mittens are a must. But why couldn't you stick them in the freezer mid-July for a much-needed cooldown during the hotter months too? Take "snowball" out of the name, and you have a pretzel-centered white chocolate orb that takes the whole M&M's concept into crunchy new territory.

Just like winter snow, this modified M&M's masterpiece disappeared after the season passed. Tricky listings are still live on the Walmart website, but sharp eyes will notice the "out of stock" status despite the live "pickup" button. Maybe a comeback is nigh.

With just about every other form of sugary indulgence embracing the fancied-up sugar cookie sensation that swept the nation, M&M's gave the trend its best effort in 2020 with the Sugar Cookie flavor added to the blueprint. With a nugget of cookie crunch at its core, it turned the ole easy M&M's cookie recipe inside-out, though these candies featured white chocolate to capture the taste of traditional cookie frosting. They may not have been as artful or charming as a decorated sugar cookie, but they sure tasted good, and that's what counts in the end.

These smart confections were adored by those lucky enough to try them; some even expressed their Christmas wishes to have Sugar Cookie M&M's all year round. According to those on the lookout (who also post on Reddit), Sugar Cookie M&M's haven't made an appearance since 2021.

With winter holidays quickly gliding into view, it's definitely time for a reboot. For now, maybe the milk chocolate Crunchy Cookie M&M's will make a satisfying substitute.

Not to be confused with the Easter season's Honey Graham M&M's, the Campfire S'mores version combined milk and white chocolate with a crunchy graham cracker center. It was reminiscent of hot chocolate and marshmallows to some, and a recollection of just how overly sweet real s'mores are to others. A 2016 iteration hit markets first, with the sequel appearing in 2023, which supports the notion that the flavor kind of caught on, just not like wildfire.

Dropped as a fall option to counter the usual Halloween concoctions, there was a lot of early buzz from Instagram users who heard of the coming flavor. Now, even the page on the company website comes back with an "Oops — that page doesn't exist" error message — bad news for anyone holding their breath on a return.

With so many s'mores opportunities throughout the year, it seems like Campfire S'mores M&M's would be an obvious choice for a perpetual place in the inventory. Who do we have to talk to in order to make it happen?

Candy corn is such a controversial topic, it can separate a room full of friends into lovers and haters quicker than the Super Bowl. But if you have a taste for the oddly sugary soul of those tri-colored kernels, you probably hold a special place in your heart for Candy Corn M&M's. White chocolate brought the blend closer to the honey-like essence of real candy corn, while alternating white, yellow, and orange shells recreated the hues.

It was a Halloween happening that set sugar lovers buzzing when it showed up in 2011. The appeal remained a mystery to those who don't get candy corn in the first place. Others wondered why Mars would discontinue yet another holiday sensation, even if it was just one more Halloween variant to bag up and ship.

Maybe what Candy Corn M&M's had going for them was a texture that didn't make you feel like you were eating a scented candle. Since they slipped out of the candy scene in 2016, they aren't likely to get another go. But some of us would be on the edge of our seats if they ever showed up again.

If you had the power to turn Andes mint candies into a crunchy-shelled creation, wouldn't you want to sell that magical stuff all year around? Forget that anything even remotely mint flavored ends up relegated to the wintry pages of the calendar; M&M's Holiday Mint could easily be a top-tier player in the candy world without needing references to sleigh rides and snowmen. Aside from Andes themselves, Junior Mints, and York Peppermint Patties, there's no real competition in the chocolate mint arena. M&M's could rule the rink.

You'd have to set your time machine all the way back to 1986 to be on deck when the first bags hit holiday candy displays. Back then, there were fewer flavor variations, so this one resounded like a Christmas bell. It became something to look forward to every time Halloween ended and the new holiday stock showed up.

Thankfully, this is one that still shows up to make spirits bright every year. Those of us with an eye on the future pick up extras from the clearance section to resurrect the minty-sweet spirit of Christmas whenever the hunger hits.

A warming winter M&M's flavor that came around as a seasonal visitor, Espresso M&M's had all the makings of a certified hit. The bold roasted flavor of coffee combined with both dark and milk chocolate gave both coffee and chocolate lovers a chance to indulge. Though it showed up on the M&M's menu all the way back in 2022, it seemed destined for a standing spot in the snack aisle.

Maybe this much star power in a candy is too overwhelming for the company to handle. There was good buzz in reviews that praised the lighter-than-expected coffee essence and the chocolate-to-espresso balance. It seemed like a surefire way for M&M's to tap into the coffee market in a sneaky but profitable way.

Alas, this is one of those potential missteps where a grand opportunity slipped away. Espresso M&M's haven't shown back up for another round of holiday happiness, and they haven't popped in during the rest of the year to get java drinkers hopping, either. We'll have to survive on coffee shop mochas until further notice.