As more and more people turn their noses up at Cadbury’s forceful in-store marketing and ever increasing palm oil content, the game is open for other, palm-oil free chocolate brands to win customers.
Since Mondelez acquired Cadbury’s in 2010, the flavour we all knew and loved began to change. The spike in the price of cocoa beans in 2024 led to many large corporations swapping the more expensive cocoa for palm oil, and now, people are past the point of noticing the change, they’re actively avoiding palm oil chocolate. There’s a Reddit thread every other week on the disappointing downturn of Cadbury’s on subreddits like r/CasualUK, r/unitedkingdom; in Europe, Milka is going the same way (the EU have tougher standards on what constitutes as chocolate, so Milka’s cocoa solids content will never be as low as Cadbury’s).
It’s not just the taste turning people away, either: its production is environmentally damaging and, given it consists of 50% saturated fat, it’s not good for your cholesterol or heart health (Hello, high blood pressure!).
Even though the price of cocoa beans has decreased to pre-2024 levels, palm oil looks here to stay. So,in this article, I’m specifically looking for chocolate bars that are free-from palm oil, from branded bars to supermarket own-brand. I’ll also note the percentage of cocoa solids each bar contains.
Here’s what I found:
Which chocolate bars don’t contain palm oil in 2026?
Supermarket own-brand
- Asda – The Exceptional range of choccie bars is where to go. The Ugandan Milk Chocolate bar (£2.15) contains a minimum of 25% cocoa solids; Peruvian Dark Chocolate bar (£2.85) has a minimum of 70% cocoa solids; and the Milk Chocolate Honeycomb (£2.18) with its 33% minimum cocoa solids. Be careful, though, as not all of the Exceptional by Asda range is palm-oil free. The Flaked Belgian Chocolate Truffles contain palm kernel, for example. Asda’s budget chocolate range all contain palm-oil, so be read the label before you buy.
- Lidl – Simply Milk Chocolate. A cheap 75p wonder in an even cheaper feeling plastic wrapper. If Lidl can afford to produce a bar with no palm oil for such a budget price, then what’s Cadbury’s excuse? It wasn’t the nicest chocolate I’ve ever eaten, but at the same time, I’d happily buy it again.
- Marks & Spencer – Choc Marks Milk Chocolate (cocoa solids 35% min) is palm-oil free, however the popular Big Daddy bar is not. The M&S Collection Blond Chocolate with Italian Almonds doesn’t contain palm-oil, but white chocolate is made with cocoa butter, not solids. Double check the label of any bar you pick up.
Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons, and Waitrose also make palm-oil free bars, but I’ll come back and update this article once I’ve tried them out.
How about branded palm-oil free chocolate bars?
Green & Black’s Organic
While Green & Blacks was acquired by Cadbury in 2005 (and subsequently Mondelez), it hasn’t taken the same cost cutting downturn as its purple wrapper brother. G&B bars are palm-oil free and the standard, 37% milk chocolate bar contains, you guessed it, a minimum of 37% cocoa solids. Luckily the cocoa solids content isn’t hard to find on a Green & Black’s bar: it’s printed in a large font on the front.
Hotel Chocolat
I have scoured the labels of at least 10 items at the luxury chocolate brand and have failed to find any palm oil. Even Hotel Chocolat’s truffles contain butter oil where other brands opt for palm. The brand is an all-round good egg. Even the limited edition hot chocolate flavours are palm-oil free.
Lindt
All of the dark chocolate, the classic milk, gold, and white chocolate bars are palm oil free. For the bars which contain flavourings, double check the label as often flavourings can add palm fats to the bars (this doesn’t just apply to Lindt). A big caveat to Lindt’s no palm oil range is Lindor. Lindt = fine. Lindor = palm kernel.
Milka
Like Cadbury’s, Milka is owned by Mondelez. Unlike Cadbury’s, Milka is produced to Europe’s chocolate regulations (it can only be called milk chocolate if cocoa solids are 25% minimum). It’s 5% higher than the UK’s requirement. The extra cocoa and lack of palm oil is the reason Milka tastes so much better when taking trips to the continent. The milk, bubble, happy cow, and hazelnut bars are free from palm oil, to name a few.
Montezuma’s
Not a single Montezuma’s bar contains palm oil. You can check the label before you buy if you want, but you won’t find the word ‘palm’ anywhere – it’s something the brand prides itself on. We’re fans of the butterscotch “Splotch” bar, with a 51% minimum (the highest percentage for a milk choc bar on this list) and £3.49 price tag. It’s not the cheapest, of course, but that’s because of its high cocoa content.
Ritter Sport
Be careful with Ritter Sport as not all of their bars are free from palm oil. The solid Alpine Milk Chocolate square doesn’t contain any palm oil – in our taste testing, the Ritter bar proved incredibly popular for its smooth and creamy finish. With a cocoa solids minimum of 35%, the Ritter Sport bar is on the higher side compared to others on this list. It’s a small 100g square with a £2.25 price tag.
Tony’s
Tony’s Chocoloney bars are a favourite in our house. Their irregular-shaped chunks and extra thick bars, even the flavoured ones, are irresistible. It also helps that the brand is honest about their supply chain and production methods. Being palm-oil free is just the icing on the cake.
Tony’s is expensive, though. A 180g bar (32% cocoa solids minimum) will set you back £4.95.
We’ve got a selection of the new filled bars in for testing & we’ll update you with our verdict shortly.
Toblerone
It’s another Mondelez brand and yet again, it’s palm-oil free. Like Tony’s, Toblerone is one of my personal favourites. A 200g bar will cost you £2 and for your money you get 28% cocoa solids minimum.
Why are people trying to avoid palm-oil chocolate?
Well, for starters, to make room for palm oil plantations large swathes of tropical rainforest have to be cleared. In Malaysia alone, over 60% of its rainforest was removed between 1973-2015. That’s a lot of dead trees, replaced by monoculture farming. The destruction of diversity is already being felt, and there’s only more to come in the future.
Away from the “woke” truth of palm oil production causing environmental damage, it’s also 50% saturated fat. Eating too much chocolate is always going to be bad for you, but when cocoa solids are replaced by high calorie fats it becomes even more unhealthy.
If the ingredients list says the bar contains ‘palm kernel’ then prepare to ingest even more saturated fat at 81%. Not the best for your cholesterol, heart health, glucose regulation, or much else really.
And as I mentioned in the intro, palm-oil makes chocolate taste different – and not in a good way.
