Oh. My. God.
Let me tell you something about my weekend. I spent it stuffing my face with chocolate croissants from every supermarket I could find. My kitchen looked like a French bakery had exploded, and my husband walked in asking if I was "having some kind of pastry breakdown." Fair question, honestly.
The Buttery Quest That Nearly Broke Me
Apparently I'm not alone in my obsession. Sales of these flaky little parcels of joy have jumped 8% recently. Everyone's craving that taste of France without the Eurostar ticket price. But which supermarket version is actually worth your hard-earned cash? That's where I come in – armed with elasticated waistbands and a dangerous amount of coffee.
I've tested them all. The good, the bad, and teh downright disappointing. My kitchen counter looked like a crime scene with chocolate smears and pastry flakes EVERYWHERE.
Morrisons: The Shocking 45p Wonder
£1.80 for four (45p each)
Holy croissant, Batman! These are INCREDIBLE. I genuinely checked the packaging twice because I couldn't believe they cost so little.
The chocolate... my god, the chocolate. Thick, dark ribbons that ooze out the ends when you bite in. I actually closed my eyes while eating the first one. My daughter walked in and asked if I was "having a moment." Yes, child. Yes I was.
These all-butter beauties have this perfect golden exterior that shatters when you bite into it. You know that satisfying crackle sound? That.
I warmed a couple in the oven and ate another cold from the packet while standing at my kitchen counter pretending I was on a Parisian street. Both were magnificent. I've already gone back and bought three more packs.
5/5 – I'm obsessed.
Sainsbury's: Meh, but Convenient
£1.60 for six (27p each)
These individually wrapped ones aren't going to win any beauty contests. Mine looked like they'd been sat on during delivery – all squashed and sad-looking. But they're perfect for grabbing on your way out the door or throwing in your bag for a mid-morning desk snack.
Taste-wise? Not terrible! The pastry is denser than I'd like – more bread-like than feathery-light. But they're filling, and the 14% chocolate content is decent enough.
I ate one cold at my desk while on a work call (camera off, obviously) and it was totally fine. Nothing special, but it did the job. Would I buy them again? Probably, but only for convenience.
Tesco Finest: Worth Every Penny
£2.40 for four (60p each)
Back in 2019, I went to this tiny bakery in Paris that had a line around the block. These reminded me of those – and I didn't have to deal with French queue-jumpers to get them.
The chocolate deserves its own Instagram account. Dark, intense, and there's loads of it – 18% according to the pack. I actually checked my teeth after eating one because I was convinced I had chocolate smeared all over my face. (I did.)
The pastry has that perfect balance of crisp exterior and soft, buttery layers inside. I warmed mine for 4 minutes in the air fryer and my kitchen smelled like a French bakery.
Expensive? A bit. Worth it? Absolutely.
4/5 – Nearly perfect.
Aldi: Cheap as Chips But Surprisingly Good!
£1.49 for eight (19p each)
Listen. At 19p each, I wasn't expecting much. I was wrong.
These little guys are actually made in France, and while they're not going to win any pastry competitions, they're shockingly decent. The chocolate (12% cocoa) is properly distributed so you get some in every bite.
The downside? No butter in the ingredients list, which explains why they felt a bit... off. Kinda oily when heated, and the pastry was weirdly sweet.
But for the price? I'd absolutely grab these again. My teenage son demolished four in one sitting and asked when I was going back to Aldi. Tomorrow, apparently.
4/5 – Budget-friendly brilliance.
The M&S Monsters
£3 for four (75p each)
These are MASSIVE. Like, comically large. I spent $3.75 on a single pain au chocolat in a fancy cafe last month and it wasn't as big as these beasts.
Quality-wise, they're exactly what you'd expect from M&S – proper butter, excellent chocolate, and pastry that explodes into a million flakes the moment you bite into it. I found crumbs in my bra hours later. Poor planning on my part to wear black.
The chocolate is thick and substantial – none of that thin, measly strip nonsense. Every bite delivers.
Only downside? The price. At 75p each, these are the priciest of the bunch. Worth it for a weekend treat, but not for regular indulgence unless you've got money to burn.
3/5 – Delicious but expensive.
Lidl: Just... No.
£1.29 for eight (16p each)
Sometimes cheap is just... cheap.
These were a massive disappointment. The packaging claims 12% chocolate, but I'm convinced they forgot to put it in mine. The tiny strips were so thin they were practically transparent.
The pastry had this weird vanilla smell that reminded me of those scented candles that give you a headache. It was chewy in all the wrong ways – more like a sad bread roll than a croissant.
I tried warming one up to see if it improved. It didn't. My husband took one bite and silently handed it back to me. His response: "I'd rather eat the paper it came in."
1/5 – Life's too short.
Co-op's Chocolate Imbalance
£2.35 for four (59p each)
These were... odd. Smaller than most, but with SO much chocolate stuffed inside that the ratios felt all wrong. Like someone in product development really loves chocolate but hates pastry.
The chocolate itself was good – proper dark, bitter cocoa that tasted authentically French. But the pastry was pale, dry and had these thick, bready bottoms that reminded me of undercooked pizza dough.
I warmed one up and nearly burned my mouth on the molten chocolate river that poured out. Dangerous pastries! Not worth the risk.
2/5 – Identity crisis in pastry form.
Asda: The Dark Horse
£1.98 for eight (25p each)
I feel stupid now for never trying these before. At 25p each, these are fantastic value and surprisingly delicious.
They look a bit flat and unimpressive in the packet, but pop them in the oven and they puff up beautifully. The pastry has rye flour mixed in, giving them a slightly darker color and denser texture that I actually really enjoyed.
The chocolate portion is generous, and there's a subtle sweetness to the whole thing that's not overwhelming. Perfect with my morning coffee.
My 7-year-old gave these "a million thumbs up" – high praise from someone whose culinary opinions usually center around chicken nuggets.
4/5 – Unexpected champion.
So there you have it. My weekend of extreme pastry consumption has left me with tighter jeans adn zero regrets. The clear winner? Morrisons' 45p beauties – proof that sometimes the best things in life don't have to cost a fortune. Though I'm not opposed to the occasional M&S monster when I'm feeling fancy...
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