The MSE Mini Eggs taste test – how do own-brand 'dupes' compare to Cadbury?

This Easter hunt was very specific to Mini Eggs – I was looking for the classic speckled sugar shell – no extra flavourings, no creme centre, no foil wrapper, and no yolking around.

Here are our seven taste test contenders, ranging in price from £1 (at Poundland) to the most expensive, M&S, costing £3.

I asked our 29 taste-testers (including MSE founder Martin Lewis) to do the following:

1. Score the flavour
2. Score the appearance
3. Tell me which eggs they believed were Cadbury

Cadbury scored highest for taste and appearance...

However, Poundland wins for value when considering both flavour AND price

Other takeaways

On flavour, M&S ranked second with testers commenting they were "creamy" and "beautiful", though they ranked quite low on appearance – as the largest of the eggs, they were somewhat mighty for mini eggs, so the look wasn't fooling anyone.

We wanted to include a vegan option in our test, which was Mummy Meegz (from Waitrose). Although it didn't score particularly well overall with our testers (none of them are dairy-free or vegan), it was a popular choice in the comments of Martin's social media post.

How to get Cadbury Mini Eggs cheapest

1. Use a shopping comparison site to hunt the cheapest price. A free shopping comparison site/app such as Trolley.co.uk allows you to compare the price of products across the major supermarkets and other retailers. Although you may not have access to all of these shops, it's good to see where you can get it cheapest at the places local to you. At the time of writing, Cadbury Mini Eggs 80g were cheapest at Aldi, for £1.49.

2. Know you're a big fan? Buy bigger if you can (though please eat responsibly). Although the 80g bag we tested is ideal for a few small portions (supposedly), it's not the most cost effective way to buy them. Discount retailer B&M and some supermarkets sell 1kg bags for £14, equivalent to £1.40 per 100g rather than £2.31 per 100g you get with the 80g bag. If a 1kg bag of chocolate is too much (of a cost and/or a temptation), the 270g bags will still help you save, coming in at £1.58 per 100g (cheapest at Ocado when we checked).

3. Keep your eyes peeled out of season. With Cadbury Mini Eggs hitting the shelves seemingly earlier and earlier each year, you may catch the best deals outside of the Easter season. If there's a surplus after Easter, it's also likely they'll be on clearance afterwards. The 'best before' dates are often long on these products, and if you don't mind going past 'best before' dates (as they're still safe to eat), keep an eye out on discount sites such as Approved Food, which has offered eggstra-cheap Mini Eggs in the past.

Top tip: If you want some 'Mini Eggs' for baking and don't mind whether they're the real deal or not, buying those found in Pick 'n' Mix could potentially work out cheaper per gram, depending on where you get them.

⚠️ Although mini eggs are a lovely Easter treat, it's worth remembering that these can be a choking hazard to younger children – consider breaking them up before giving them to your little ones.

Prefer a Lindt bunny this Easter? Hop to last year's chocolate bunny taste test.