Edible insects are sold primarily through online specialty retailers, with a growing number of health food stores and grocery chains stocking them on shelves. Your best bet for variety and availability is ordering online, but if you prefer to shop in person, natural food stores, outdoor recreation shops, and even some airport terminals carry insect-based products.
Online Retailers Offer the Widest Selection
Dedicated edible insect companies run their own online stores and also sell through Amazon. Sites like EdibleInsects.com, Entomo Farms, and Thailand Unique carry everything from whole roasted crickets to cricket powder, mealworms, and grasshoppers (often labeled chapulines). Prices vary significantly by format. Whole plain crickets typically run around $15 per pound, while cricket powder, which requires processing thousands of crickets, can cost roughly $30 or more per pound depending on the brand and quantity.
Buying in bulk usually drops the per-pound cost. Some retailers offer subscription options that bring the price down further if you plan to use cricket powder regularly in smoothies or baking.
Brick-and-Mortar Options
Physical retail availability is spottier but expanding. Brands like Chapul and Exo sell through select health food and grocery stores in the U.S. and Canada. Chirps Chips, a cricket-based snack brand, has placed products in natural food stores, zoos, aquariums, and 73 airport terminals through Cibo Express. Some museum gift shops also carry edible insect products as novelty and educational items.
If you want to find insect products locally, check the specialty or protein bar aisle at stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts, or your nearest independent health food co-op. Availability varies by region, so calling ahead saves a trip. Mexican grocery stores are another reliable option, especially for chapulines (seasoned grasshoppers), which have been a staple in Oaxacan cuisine for centuries.
Product Formats: Whole, Powder, or Snack
Edible insects come in three main formats, and the one you choose depends on how adventurous you are in the kitchen.
- Whole roasted insects are exactly what they sound like. Crickets, mealworms, and grasshoppers are dried or roasted, sometimes seasoned with flavors like chili-lime or barbecue. These work as standalone snacks, salad toppers, or trail mix additions.
- Powder and flour are the easiest entry point if the idea of eating a whole bug gives you pause. Cricket powder is about 77% protein by weight, making it one of the most protein-dense options available. You can mix it into smoothies, stir it into oatmeal, or swap out a quarter of the all-purpose flour in baking recipes with cricket flour.
- Protein bars and chips blend cricket powder into familiar snack formats. These are the most processed option but also the most approachable for first-timers.
What Do They Actually Taste Like?
Crickets have a mild, nutty flavor that’s often compared to edamame, with an earthy quality and sometimes a faint shrimp-like note from their omega-3 content. Mealworms taste similar, leaning toward seeds and mushrooms. Both are subtle enough that seasoning or mixing into recipes easily masks the flavor if you’re not ready to taste them on their own.
Grasshoppers are more assertive. Plain, they have a savory umami character, something like miso or raw pasta with a mushroomy earthiness. Seasoned chapulines are a different experience entirely: smoky, fruity, with lingering chili heat when dressed with lime and tajin. They have a meatier, chewier bite than crickets. Black ants are a niche product with a surprisingly bright lemon-pepper zing from naturally occurring formic acid. Their tiny pop of texture has earned them the nickname “caviar of the bug world” among chefs.
Allergy Warning for Shellfish Sensitivity
Insects and shellfish are both arthropods, and they share a protein called tropomyosin that can trigger allergic reactions. If you have a shellfish allergy, eating insects could cause a reaction ranging from mild symptoms to anaphylaxis. The degree of cross-reactivity varies by insect species, with some showing significantly less overlap with shrimp allergens than others, but there’s no reliable way to predict your individual response. Treat edible insects with the same caution you’d give shrimp or crab.
How to Store Edible Insects
Dried and roasted insects behave like other shelf-stable dried foods. Keep them in airtight containers in a cool, dry, dark place. Unopened packages of dried insects and cricket powder generally last six months to a year when stored around 60°F. At warmer room temperatures closer to 80°F, expect about half that shelf life. Once opened, reseal the package tightly and try to use the product within a few months. Freezing extends the timeline further and works well for bulk purchases you won’t use right away.
Cricket powder and flour are particularly forgiving because they’re already fully dried and ground. Just keep moisture out of the container, and they’ll hold up well in a pantry alongside your regular baking supplies.