The Best Dark Chocolate Bars Have the Best Combo of Bitter and Sweet (2024)

This intense collection includes three different versions ofdark chocolate: 60%, 72%, and one with sea salt and almonds. These aren’t full-sized bars; they're convenient single-serve tablets that are enough to taste and savor...if you have ever visited a Ghirardelli store, they are the size of the samples that are handed out.

The small size is also great for tucking into a lunch box or keeping a few on hand in the office desk drawer. At 15 ounces (nearly 1 pound), there’s plenty to eat and share from this bag. It is all in the name for these squares, though. The three are considered "intense" so if super dark chocolate isn't for you, you may want to skip these.

Cacao Percentage: 60% and 72% | Serving Size: 4 squares

Godiva was known as high-end chocolate before small chocolatiers started selling their wares nationally, and the brand still has a solid following. These bars are unique since each break-apart square has a heart filled with chocolate ganache. Each bar weighs a generous 3 ounces, which is the perfect size for a quick, decadent chocolate treat.

If ganache isn’t your favorite, other fillings are available in the Godiva Masterpieces bars, like milk chocolate with caramel or hazelnut. While this is sweeter than other dark chocolates, mainly due to its ganache filling, many say that the sweetness isn't overpowering.

Cacao Percentage: 73% | Serving Size: 0.5 bar

This Hu Salty Dark Chocolate bar isveganand paleo-friendly, not to mention free of palm oil, refined sugar, dairy, and other ingredients typically found in commercial chocolates. These Salty Dark Chocolate bars are 70% cacao, with unrefined organic coconut sugar, organic fair-trade cocoa butter, and sea salt rounding out the list of ingredients.

Hu Salty Dark Chocolate is available as a four-pack of 2.1-ounce bars, but you can also purchase them as an eight-pack or 12-pack. Many people praise this bar for its lush, creamy flavor that is slightly sweet and not too salty.

Cacao Percentage: 70% | Serving Size: 0.5 bar

When it’s time to make chocolate mousse, chocolate ice cream, chocolatefondue, or baked goods that require chunked or melted chocolate, these baking bars yield an excellent result. They’re 70% bittersweet chocolate, so they’re not too sweet when added to a cookie recipe that requires sugar, and they’re not too assertive for ganache or mousse. While the boxes look substantial, they each contain three 2-ounce bars, so they’re easy to cut, chop, or break.

Guittard knows what it's doing, so when this chocolate is labeled "Baking Bars" you know what they are best for. You can definitely snack on these if you would like to, but we recommend stocking up on other options for when you want a bite and keeping this one in the pantry for desserts.

Cacao Percentage: 70% | Serving Size: 0.25 bar

Mexican chocolate is a special category, with bars usually being round and breakable into wedges. The chocolate is often flavored, and in the case of Taza Chocolate, the bars have guajillo chilies for a spicy bite along with the dark chocolate. These discs are often used for traditionalMexican hot chocolate, but they’re also good for nibbling.

These are vegan and made in the U.S., using Mexican stone mills to grind the cacao. They're also Direct Trade and kosher-certified. If you haven’t yet embraced spicy chocolate, the company has a wide range of options, including cinnamon, coffee, plain, super-dark chocolate, and salted almond. There are also a variety of packs for those who want to taste more than one.

Most people praise the deep chocolate flavor that's slightly sweet with just the right amount of spice. Several say they love the slightly gritty texture of the stone-ground chocolate, though a few say they've yet to acquire the taste for it.

Cacao Percentage: 50% | Serving Size: 0.5 disc

We all know that sweetened chocolate is delicious, but clearly, the world has a lesser sweet tooth for dark chocolate, too. Dark chocolate, even with high percentages of cacao, sometimes contains added sugar to cut out some of the bitterness. Whether you want to stay away from sugar or want chocolate with a taste closer to its natural one, there are sugar-free dark chocolates available—including one from Lakanto. The company started out offering monk fruit extract as an alternative to sugar and now has expanded to offering sugar-free products like baking mixes, simple syrups, and candy, among other products like dark chocolate.

The Lakanto Sugar-Free Chocolate 55% Cacao Bar contains unsweetened chocolate, monk fruit sweetener, and a few other ingredients. It isn't as bitter as other dark chocolates and comes in a relatively large-sized bar. It won't melt as gracefully as others, either, so keep that in mind during baking projects or when snacking.

Cacao Percentage: 55% | Serving Size: 0.5 bar

Hershey's might best be known for its classic milk chocolate bar, but it also makes tasty dark chocolate bars at an affordable price compared to boutique brands. While these aren’t sold as baking bars, you can chop them up to use in cookies whenever you're out of chocolate chips or melt them to make tempered chocolate perfect for dipping cherries, strawberries, truffles, and more. These are also great for people who don’t care for super-dark chocolate. FYI—these bars are mildly sweet and not as assertive as others, making them a great option for kids, too.

Cacao Percentage: 45% | Serving Size: 1 bar

These individually wrapped mini gourmet chocolates arrive in a beautiful red box topped with a silky ribbon. Recipients can expect 36 perfectly sized chocolate bars with 14 fun flavors.Although small, they are great for breaking off and sharing with people...making it a gift that keeps on giving!

This fair trade chocolate is made in small batches, according to traditional European techniques. The flavors, however, are delightfully modern (the chocolatiers of yore probably didn’t expect a potato chip, churro, mango, or firecracker chocolate bar). This mix of milk and dark chocolate treats is a fun gift for your loved ones, and there's a 16-count version available, too.

Cacao Percentage: Varies | Serving Size: 1 bar

Most chocolate starts with roasting the beans, but Raaka chocolates are made from unroasted beans. This 100% cacao bar is a great way to savor the chocolate without the distraction of added flavors. Despite the ultimate cacao percentage, the company notes that this chocolate is not bitter. It is creamy, bright, and fruity—and many customers who prefer 100% dark chocolate agree, saying that it's among the smoothest and creamiest they've tried, with no bitter aftertaste.

This bar is made from organic Tanzanian cocoa beans and organic cocoa butter with no added sugar. If 100% cacao is too much, the company also produces a wide range of chocolate bars with interesting add-ins and different chocolate percentages.

Cacao Percentage: 100% | Serving Size: 0.5 bar

Dove got its start as a mom-and-pop candy store in Chicago and gained a wider following with its decadent ice cream bars, which featured a thick coating of chocolate that made them different from standard ice cream bars. Now, Dove is a large company with products in stores and online, and it has products with a wide variety of flavors. These "singles" bars are 1.44 ounces each and are designed to break apart easily when you just need a nibble.

Unlike other bars that are scored into squares, but tend to break randomly, these actually break neatly. The chocolate in these bars is sourced from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms. The manufacturer calls these "dark chocolate," but doesn’t disclose the percentage of cacao, saying it’s proprietary. However, this chocolate is definitely darker than the brand's milk chocolate offerings. These bars scored high marks from customers for how rich and almost decadent the flavor is, and how they melt in your mouth.

Cacao Percentage: 73% | Serving Size: 1 bar

If you're big on knowing where your food comes from and how it's grown, then definitely check out Theo's Chocolate. The company is USDA Organic certified, part of the Fair Trade international system, and pays cocoa farmers 20-25% more than the industry average. Now that's some feel-good chocolate!

The Organic Pure Dark bar is 70% cacao, with subtle notes of walnut, prune, and brown spices. It's a well-balanced taste with a nice, smooth finish. For those who prefer even darker chocolate, Theo does have an extra dark chocolate bar with 85% cacao.

Cacao Percentage: 70% | Serving Size: 0.33 bar

Orange and chocolate are a beloved flavor combination worldwide. But Chocolove didn't just put a hint of orangey flavor in its chocolate; oh no, this bar includes pieces of real freeze-dried orange peel in every bite-sized square. The tangy orange mixes well with the creamy and semi-sweet Belgian dark chocolate.

The chocolate isn't quite as dark as some of the others on this list (with only 55% cacao), but it's a flavorful bar that shouldn't be missed. There are a wide range of dark chocolate flavors available, from raspberry to sea salt almond and more.

Cacao Percentage: 55% | Serving Size: 0.33 bar

Coconut adds a refreshing and tropical twist to just about anything, but it's especially good in dark chocolate. The master chocolatiers over at Lindt added toasted coconut flakes to dark chocolate in this tasty Excellence bar. Several Amazon reviewers raved about how fresh the coconut tasted and smelled.

Though we do wish the cacao percentage was shown, we know that Lindt delivers a gourmet experience at a reasonable price. Each Excellence chocolate bar is pre-portioned into squares perfect for snacking.

Cacao Percentage: Not indicated | Serving Size: 3 squares

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