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You’re standing in the baking aisle of your local supermarket, staring at shelves of chocolate chips and cocoa powder, and there’s no Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers anywhere. I’ve been there more times than I can count. The frustration is real — a recipe calls for chocolate wafer crumbs, you’ve got the butter and the sugar and the filling all ready, and the one ingredient you actually need is nowhere to be found. I’ve spent years tracking down where to buy chocolate wafer cookies across different regions, stores, and online vendors, and I’ve built a system that works every time.

The problem with chocolate wafer cookies is that they’re not a high-volume product. Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers occupy a strange middle ground — they’re too obscure for the mainstream candy aisle and too specific for the general baking section. Supermarkets stock them inconsistently, and many stores have stopped carrying them altogether. But there are reliable sources, both in-store and online, and I’ve mapped them all out so you never have to go home empty-handed.

Major US Retailers That Carry Chocolate Wafer Cookies

Walmart

Walmart is your best bet for finding chocolate wafer cookies in-store. Most Walmart locations stock Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers in the baking aisle, typically near the graham crackers and pie crust ingredients. The stock is consistent but not guaranteed — some stores carry them year-round, while others stock them seasonally (peak season is November through January for holiday baking). A 9-ounce box costs about $3.50. If your local Walmart doesn’t have them on the shelf, check the end-cap displays near the baking section — they’re sometimes placed there during baking season.

Kroger and Affiliated Chains

Kroger stores — including Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Smith’s, and Dillons — carry Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers in most locations. They’re in the baking aisle near the pudding mixes and pie crust ingredients. Kroger also produces a store-brand version under the Kroger label that’s a close approximation of the Nabisco original. The Kroger version is slightly sweeter and the wafers are marginally thicker, but in a blind baking test, I couldn’t tell the difference in a finished pie crust. At $2.50 for the store brand versus $3.50 for Nabisco, the Kroger version is a better value if you’re buying for baking. For a comparison of how different wafers perform in baking, see our complete chocolate wafer guide.

Target

Target’s stock of chocolate wafer cookies is inconsistent. Some locations carry Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers year-round, while others only stock them during the holiday baking season. Check the baking aisle first, and if they’re not there, check the “seasonal” section near the front of the store. Target’s Good & Gather store brand does not produce a chocolate wafer cookie, so you’re reliant on the Nabisco supply. Call ahead before making a special trip.

Safeway, Albertsons, and Vons

These stores carry Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers in the baking aisle, but stock is spotty. I’ve found them reliably at Safeway locations in California and the Pacific Northwest, less reliably at Albertsons in the Midwest. The price is typically $3.50 to $4.00 per box. If your local store doesn’t have them, ask the grocery manager — they can often special-order a case if there’s demand.

Store Brands and Alternatives

If Nabisco Famous wafers aren’t available, several store brands produce excellent alternatives. As mentioned, Kroger’s store brand is the best alternative. Great Value (Walmart) also produces a chocolate wafer cookie, available in the baking aisle for about $2.50. The Great Value version is slightly thinner and more fragile than Nabisco — they break more easily in the box — but they perform identically in baking applications.

365 by Whole Foods Market produces an organic chocolate wafer cookie that’s available at Whole Foods locations. The ingredients are cleaner than Nabisco — organic wheat flour, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa, organic palm fruit oil — and the flavor is noticeably darker and less sweet. A 7-ounce box costs about $4.50. These are my preferred wafers for baking when I’m making a dessert for guests with dietary preferences toward organic ingredients. For a broader discussion of alternative crust ingredients, check our chocolate wafer pie crust recipe.

Trader Joe’s Cocoa Wafer Cookies are a seasonal item that appears in late fall and disappears after the holidays. They’re excellent — thin, crisp, with a deep cocoa flavor that’s comparable to Nabisco. A 7-ounce box costs about $3. The seasonal availability is frustrating; I stock up in November and freeze the extras, which keep well for up to six months.

Online Sources for Chocolate Wafer Cookies

When in-store options fail — and they will fail, because inconsistency is the nature of chocolate wafer distribution — online ordering is the reliable fallback.

Amazon is the most reliable online source. Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers are available year-round, typically priced at $4 to $6 per box with free shipping on larger orders. Subscribe & Save brings the price down to about $3.50 per box if you buy multiple quantities. The downside is that shipping can break the wafers — Amazon isn’t known for careful handling of fragile items. I order six boxes at a time and accept that one or two boxes will contain some broken wafers. The pieces still work fine for crushing into crumbs, so the waste is minimal.

Walmart.com offers the same product as the in-store option, with home delivery or store pickup. The price is the same ($3.50 per box) and stock is more reliable online than in-store. I use Walmart.com when I need wafers for a specific recipe and don’t want to drive to three different stores looking for them.

Instacart can source chocolate wafer cookies from local stores that have them in stock. The search function isn’t always reliable — some stores’ inventory systems don’t accurately reflect their stock — but it’s worth checking if you’re already placing a grocery order. The markup is standard Instacart pricing: about 15 to 20 percent above in-store prices.

Specialty food sites like iGourmet, World Market, and The Gourmet Pantry carry chocolate wafer cookies, often as part of a broader baking ingredients selection. Prices are higher — $6 to $8 per box — but stock is reliable and the packaging is usually better, with more protective shipping materials that reduce breakage. For a curated selection of the best chocolate products available online, visit the buy chocolate homepage.

Regional and International Sources

If you’re outside the US, chocolate wafer availability varies significantly. In Canada, Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers are available at most major supermarkets (Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro) in the baking aisle, priced around CAD $4.50. In the UK, supermarket own-brand chocolate wafers are common — McVitie’s chocolate wafer bars are widely available, and store-brand chocolate wafer cookies can be found at Tesco and Sainsbury’s in the baking section. The UK versions tend to be thinner and less cocoa-dense than the American ones, so you may need to adjust quantities if you’re following a US recipe. For a broader guide on finding chocolate products in your area, see where to buy chocolate near me.

In Australia, Arnott’s produces a chocolate wafer cookie called Chocolate Ripple that’s specifically marketed for baking. It’s available at all major supermarkets (Coles, Woolworths) for about AUD $4. The wafers are larger and thicker than Nabisco Famous, but they crush and bake the same way. Australian bakers use Chocolate Ripple for the iconic “Chocolate Ripple Cake,” which is essentially an icebox cake made with chocolate ripple cookies and cream.

What to Do When You Can’t Find Any

If every source has failed and you need chocolate wafer crumbs for a recipe, you have two emergency options. The first is to make your own chocolate wafers from scratch. Combine 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda. Cut in 4 tablespoons cold butter until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add 2 tablespoons milk and mix until a dough forms. Roll the dough very thin — 1/8 inch or less — and cut into rounds. Bake at 350°F for 10 to 12 minutes. The result is a reasonable approximation of a chocolate wafer cookie, though the texture is slightly softer and the flavor slightly richer because of the fresh butter.

The second option is to use a substitute. Crushed chocolate graham crackers work in a pinch, though the crust will be sweeter and less structurally sound. Crushed Oreos with the creme removed are closer to chocolate wafers in flavor but softer in texture. Neither substitute is ideal, but both will produce an acceptable result for most recipes. If you’re making an icebox cake, don’t substitute — the moisture absorption properties of true chocolate wafers are essential to the structure, and no substitute works reliably.

That feeling of finally laying hands on a sleeve of chocolate wafers after searching three stores — it’s a specific kind of triumph that only bakers understand. I once drove forty minutes to a store that an employee confirmed had them in stock, only to find an empty shelf. The next day, I ordered six boxes from Amazon and haven’t let my supply drop below three since. That’s my advice: when you find them, buy multiples. They last for months in the pantry, and having a backup box means you’re never caught without the ingredient that transforms a good dessert into a great one. For a full range of chocolate baking ingredients and products, visit BuyChocolate.org.

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