11 Discontinued Toaster Strudel Flavors We're Not Getting Back
If there's any food trend that every millennial is likely to remember, it is toaster pastries — the quick, toasted breakfast craze of their childhood. The sound of a warm frosted pastry popping up out of the toaster in the morning before a bustling school day was akin to heaven, and one of the most celebrated of these instant pastry brands was the Toaster Strudel from Pillsbury. "[...] toaster strudels have a nice flaky shell, good icing in (if prepped correctly) and outside of it," raves a nostalgic Reddit user regarding the celebrated breakfast food. "You can express yourself with icing art. It's crazy the options."
But while very strongly associated with millennial childhoods, the Toaster Strudel is not only a flaky, oozing sweet treat of the past. The product is still available today, remaining a staple that fills the bellies of anyone who likes to start their day with something sweet. However, not every beloved flavor we remember devouring as we sprinted to the bus stop has survived the dreaded chopping block of discontinuation. From chocolate-filled options to strudels with hot pink hues and cereal-inspired crunchy creations, here are some discontinued Toaster Strudel flavors we're unlikely to see on shelves again.
1. Boston Cream
A Boston cream pie, named after the city in which it originated, is a spongy cake with a middle layer of sweet cream. It generally includes a chocolate outer frosting to top it all off, creating a decadent, overwhelmingly popular dessert loved by throngs of Americans. So when Pillsbury had the idea to combine its beloved Toaster Strudel product with the indulgent flavors of the rich, heavenly Boston cream pie, it shouldn't come as a shock that the new spin-off was received well by consumers. The wide-scale fondness for the cake-themed pastry was made evident when the product was suddenly discontinued in 2021 and prompted the creation of a petition from a group of passionate eaters.
"Boston cream pie Toaster Strudel the best Toaster Strudel of all," reads a piece of the description under the still-active petition. " [...] They were a blessing and we need them back." Sadly, despite the community efforts of these saddened craving customers, the coveted toaster strudel flavor has remained off the shelves. The last the public heard from Pillsbury regarding the product's standing was in a 2021 post to a despondent consumer on X, formerly known as Twitter with the company confirming, "Unfortunately, our Boston Cream Pie Toaster Strudel has been discontinued. We'll let the rest of our team know you'd like to see them again." Ouch. The finality of the company's statement seems to point to a bleak — or, rather, non-existent — future for these tasty toastable vanilla-chocolate morsels.
2. Hershey's Chocolate
Hershey's is one of the biggest and most notable chocolate companies in the world. It has its name on bite-sized kisses, chocolate bars of every variety and flavor imaginable, and — for a while, at least — on Pillsbury Toaster Strudels. For a few magical years, the Hershey's Toaster Strudel variants sat tantalizingly in the freezer sections of our favorite grocery stores, waiting to provide a perfect mouthful full of warm, melted Hershey's cocoa wrapped in chocolate flake pastry and drizzled in a rich, fudgy icing — truly a match made in heaven.
Until suddenly, it disappeared. The Hershey's Toaster Strudel flavor seemed to fade slowly from the shops, its presence shrinking little by little in front of a confused consumer base. Finally, the painful confirmation of the news that many had suspected came from the company on the X platform as they informed one user, "The Hershey's Chocolate Toaster Strudels have been discontinued nearly 2 years ago. We'll let our team know how much your wife loves them and would like to see them back again." While it's always nice to have an answer, this assurance could very likely have made the sting of the discontinuation even more painful for some, as it slashed any remaining hope fans might have had that a Hershey's resurgence could be around the corner. We'll remember the Hershey's and Pillsbury union fondly as we eat a solo Hershey's chocolate bar from one hand and a Toaster Strudel from the other — the closest we'll get to the real thing.
3. Mean Girls
Anyone who was around in the early 2000s remembers the 2004 movie sensation, "Mean Girls." During the celebrated film, Pillsbury gets its 15 minutes of fame when one of the titular clique members, Gretchen Weiners (Lacey Chabert), declares her father to be the fictitious inventor of the Toaster Strudel. Given this, it's a wonder the bright pink "Mean Girls" pastry variant wasn't developed sooner to tie in with the movie. However, the company eventually caught onto the fact it should capitalize on its famous mention 16 years later, and in 2020, a limited edition "Mean Girls" Toaster Pastry was released to the masses.
Although the overall consumer consensus regarding the frozen treat seemed to be that it tasted no different than a normal Toaster Pastry with some pink icing thrown on top, the "Mean Girls" pastry brought a dose of fun, joy, and nostalgia to a difficult time as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were felt across the country. It appears the pink pastries served their short-term purpose, and after their short run in stores, the treats were never revived. Given that a musical film version of "Mean Girls" came out in early 2024, it feels like a potentially missed opportunity for a resurgence. If Pillsbury didn't use this platform as an excuse to re-release its hot pink strudel variant, it feels unlikely that anything would inspire them to do so at this point. Perhaps we can expect to see them in 16 years in 2040, though.
4. Regular Chocolate
Before the chocolate-coated, chocolate-filled, and chocolate-drizzled Hershey's Toaster Strudels, there was another chocolatey variant — one much more subtle in its presentation of cocoa flavor. The original Chocolate Toaster Strudel from Pillsbury was a standard vanilla flaky pastry stuffed with a creamy chocolate filling — making it a perfect breakfast option for those seeking a more precise, less overpowering chocolate taste than the offering from Hershey's. Though it disappeared some years ago, Pillsbury made waves around 2015 when it brought back its original chocolate strudel variant for a limited time — causing celebration in the grocery store aisles from fans who fondly remembered them from their original run. "Once upon a time these used to be a flavor," said a commenter on a YouTube video reviewing the newly-released chocolate revivals, "So finally after years of waiting they are back. Time to relive my childhood."
However, the new version of the Chocolate Toaster Strudel was labeled as "limited edition" — and it appears that Pillsbury meant it this time. The revival of the regular Chocolate Toaster Strudels was short-lived and made what many considered a cruel exit after a teasingly short run. Despite multiple petitions from fans calling for their return, the piping hot chocolaty pastry is still nothing more than a blissful memory in the minds of many craving consumers.
5. Danish Style Cream Cheese
A Danish is a flaky, laminated pastry that is often filled with fruit purée or cream cheese. Given the light, airy, flaky texture of a freshly toasted Toaster Strudel and the varied fillings placed within its folds, a Danish-style flavor variant feels like a very natural creation. But although the idea of a rich, cream cheese stuffed-and-drizzled toaster treat certainly seems to have the makings of a top-selling pastry product, something appears to have gone wrong somewhere. This is not only evidenced by the treat's general lack of online reviews — either negative or positive — but also due to its abrupt slashing from the Toaster Strudel lineup.
"We're sorry for the disappointment," the Pillsbury company explained to one dissatisfied customer on the X platform when they confirmed it had been discontinued. While Pillsbury admitted to the discontinuation of the product, it did not disclose why it had taken this decision. While we may never know for sure if it was poor sales, lack of customer excitement, or something else driving the decision to put an end to the toaster-prepped Danish pastries, we can't help but notice that the product's box did not read "limited edition." Were they created with the intention of sticking around forever? The world may never know, and the mystery of the missing Danish from Pillsbury's lineup remains.
6. Pumpkin Pie
There's nothing quite like pumpkin-flavored baked goods to get you in the fall spirit, and nowadays you can find the flavoring in everything from cookie dough mixtures to marshmallows. As the weather begins to cool and the leaves turn brown, pumpkin products fill the aisle, and for a magical few years, Pillsbury gave consumers the chance to get their Autumn-induced excitement going first thing in the morning via its seasonal Pumpkin Pie Toaster Strudel product. These pumpkin-filled strudels made the chilly fall months extra warm and delicious for a few glorious seasons, racking in tons of customer reviews online. Some consumers claimed that the bright orange filling within the Toaster Pastry Pumpkin Pie product tasted more like a real holiday pie than the filling contained within the competing Pumpkin Pie Pop Tarts product, suggesting it took superiority in the seasonal toaster-pastry wars.
However, the celebrated fall strudel would not fill our houses with the smell of roasting pumpkin for nearly long enough. The last review of the Pumpkin Pie Toaster Strudel appears to have been written in 2015 — after this, the orange-colored delights spookily vanish from the shelves like full-size candy bars out of a trick-or-treat bag on Halloween night. We'll keep hoping for a Thanksgiving-timed miracle, but if we're being honest, we can't imagine that these long-lost tasty treats will be making a reappearance in the fall holiday breakfast layout anytime soon.
7. Caramel Apple
Caramel and apple is a classic flavor combination that effortlessly reminds us of fairs, fun fests, and outdoor cookouts. The cloying sweetness of dripping caramel pairs perfectly with a tart chunk of a green Granny Smith, so why shouldn't this delicious pairing work in the form of a Pillsbury Toaster Strudel? The company ran with the idea, taking the beloved blend of caramel and apples and infusing it into a signature from-frozen flaky pastry. The apple-flavored filling inside included tiny chunks of apple in every bite — an extra-fun addition that provided a bit of textural difference rarely seen in the generally one-note Pillsbury frozen strudel fillings. In combination with the sweet caramel frosting packet available for drizzling on the top, Pillsbury had a delicious edible creation reminiscent of a perfect afternoon at the fairgrounds on its hands. Perhaps in a perfect world, it could have stayed around forever.
But there was that pesky "limited edition" sign on the box to contend with — and sadly, the company saw it through. After its brief appearance in 2013, the delightfully balanced Caramel Apple Toaster Strudels with the little apple chunks never reappeared on the seasonal shelves. We suppose we'll just have to attend the actual fair to get our caramel-apple fix from here on out, but still, we'll never forget the joy that harnessing those scrumptious flavors in our very homes gave us — however fleeting it may have been.
8. Wildberry
The slow disappearance of the Wildberry Toaster Strudel from the shelves of grocery stores is one shrouded in confusion and mystery. "Wildberry Toaster Strudels are still available!" reads a 2022 post by Pillsbury on X, as the company tried to console the consumers unable to locate their missing favorite flavor. "Please talk to your local store manager if you're not finding them in the store." Despite this assurance of the survival of the fan-favorite Wildberry Toaster Strudel, the flavor continued to dwindle, appearing less and less until even the largest retailer in the world, Walmart, showed "no results" when one typed in the product's name.
And it isn't just Walmart's website giving zero clues as to what happened to the berry-filled bites. Pillsbury's website – although it still lists the tantalizing image of the beloved box under its "Toaster Strudel" product tab — immediately reroutes the user when the Wildberry option is clicked on, rather than providing the standard product information. This mystifying vanishing has left countless customers to live with the pain of being unable to satisfy a craving. "Why does no store sell mixed berry toaster strudel anymore," reads a description under a post on TikTok, followed by a line of crying emojis. Although we wish we could put this poor consumer's mind at ease, we simply don't know, either. All we can do is pray for the miracle of a resurgence ... or, at the very least, some answers.
9. Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Cinnamon Toast Crunch is one of those cereals that inevitably sparks memories of busy school mornings in many now-adult minds. Some might even still be able to taste the half-soaked cinnamon squares on their tongues, in the same way they can still taste the warmed icing oozing forth from a freshly bitten-into Toaster Strudel. The partnership between these two nostalgic breakfast items was one of pure genius, and the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Toaster Strudels certainly did not disappoint in the way of taste. Combining the signature appetizing flakiness of Pillsbury's pastry with a cereal-cinnamon filling that tasted unbelievably like the real thing, this mash-up is one we wish could have stuck around forever in the freezer aisles.
But alas, it wasn't meant to be. Despite the product still showing up on the Pillsbury website, further investigation reveals that the customer is once again rerouted when the product is clicked on. This, in combination with consumer inability to find the product in stores or online in nearly every other grocery store database, speaks to an almost certain discontinuation of the partnership with the beloved cereal company. We suppose we'll have to eat our bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and our Toaster Strudels separately when we want to relive the good old days from here on out, and where's the fun in that?
10. Donut Shop
To quote Homer Simpson, perhaps pop culture's most well-known fan of the baked treats: "Mmm, donuts." Seeing as the baked-and-fried round bakery delights are such a staple in the American consumer's (and the Simpson patriarchs') diet, you'd think that you couldn't go wrong with anything donut-flavored. However, it appears that Pillsbury did just that with its Donut Shop Toaster Strudel product. Despite the box audaciously declaring they are, "Like a donut, but even better!" these made-for-the-toaster glazed-donut-themed pastries missed the mark somewhere — as evidenced by their quick and quiet exit from store shelves.
Though there was no official statement from Pillsbury regarding discontinuation, the freezer sections suddenly being void of the Donut Shop toaster pastries was evidence in and of itself. They no longer appear anywhere on the Pillsbury official website when searched, and even Amazon's online catalog states regarding the product: "We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock." Was it poor sales driving the decision to cancel, or a lack of consumer interest? Perhaps the taste did not live up to the bold statement written on the front of the box — something that could have set customers' expectations higher than the strudels were capable of delivering. We can't conclusively say, but either way, it's looking unlikely that we will ever ice another Donut Shop Toaster Strudel in our kitchens again. Settling for a fresh-baked donut from a local bakery will just have to do for now.