The One Hot Pockets Flavor We'd Never Buy Again After Tasting Once

Hot Pockets are a convenient grab-and-go snack to stash in the freezer. Featuring a gooey cheesy middle encased in a crispy crust, there are an abundance of flavors to try from Philly steak and BBQ beef to Italian meatballs and sausage. However, there's one Hot Pockets flavor we'd never buy again after tasting once — the four-cheese pizza.

The loser in our list of 7 Hot Pocket flavors, ranked worst to best, this meat-free offering was super-stingy on the cheese and was devoid of texture and flavor. Billed as having a "four cheese" filling (parmesan, cheddar, provolone, and mozzarella), you'd think it would have more substance than the other Hot Pockets varieties we tried. If we hadn't read the ingredients on the box, we wouldn't have even guessed which cheeses were incorporated into the stuffing as there was simply no complexity of flavor to signal their presence. As expected, the middle was gooey and soft but it needed to be counterbalanced with some texture from the crust. While its mild flavor wasn't offensive, it didn't fire up our taste buds either. You'd be better off selecting any of the other Hot Pockets flavors, such as hickory ham and cheddar or pepperoni pizza, if you're a meat eater.

Hot Pockets dropped its sleeves in June 2024, in a bid to reduce waste. These sleeves used to encourage the exterior of the pockets to develop a crunchier crust; however, the brand made changes to the product to elicit that same crispy texture without it, saving an annual 3,300 tons of paper waste. A four-cheese pizza Hot Pocket takes just under two minutes to cook in an 1100-watt microwave without a sleeve (it can take an extra minute or so in a lower-wattage appliance). For an even crispier crust, you can heat it in an air fryer for 11 minutes at 360 degrees Fahrenheit. We microwaved all the Hot Pockets we tried, seeing as it was faster and more convenient than air frying. Perhaps air frying would've produced a four-cheese hot pocket with a better bite that complemented the softness of the filling?

The winner in our taste test was ranch lovers pepperoni, which featured all the best bits of a pepperoni pizza, such as the sauce, cheese, and meat, and was topped off with a healthy measure of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. Tangy and herby, the ranch imbued this stuffed sammie with a complex flavor that the other contenders couldn't live up to. The crust also featured a sprinkling of ranch seasoning, which doubled up on the flavor. If you love to dip your pizza crusts in buttermilk ranch, then this is the ultimate Hot Pockets snack for you.