The Knott’s Boysenberry Festival will once again pay tribute to the little berry that started it all with 80 specialty food items and a lineup of live shows — all with a boysenberry twist.
The 2025 Boysenberry Fest will run daily from March 28 through April 27 at Knott’s Berry Farm.
ALSO SEE: See the full menu for Knott’s Boysenberry Festival 2025
Knott’s hosted a media preview on Thursday, March 13 to offer a taste of about 20 items while highlighting another 60 more that we will have to wait to try once the festival opens later this month.
Knott’s will once again offer a $55 tasting card ($45 for passholders) good for six tastings from a selection of boysenberry-inspired dishes and drinks at 12 food booths throughout the 10th annual Boysenberry Festival.
ALSO SEE: Top 10 things to eat at Knott’s Boysenberry Festival 2025
Additional a la carte boysenberry items will be offered at brick and mortar restaurants and food stands around the Buena Park theme park.
I tried everything Knott’s had to offer at the media preview and salivated over all the other foods that were on display.
Top 5
Here are five best things I tried during the Knott’s Boysenberry Festival media preview.
1) The Stack
Boysenberry BBQ pulled pork served on cornbread with coleslaw
It’s always good when the marquee item of the Boysenberry Festival menu lives up to the hype.
The Stack looked great and tasted even better.
ALSO SEE: Knott’s Berry Farm never runs out of ways to use boysenberry
The boysenberry flavors were understated and subtle — but there was no doubt I was eating a boysenberry dish when I bit into that big slab of purple cornbread.
The pulled pork was very moist and the cool slaw added a nice contrast.
The Stack earned high marks. It was the best thing I ate at the Boysenberry Festival media preview.
2) Beef Birria Sliders
Served with Boysenberry Consome
Birria is the Mexican food flavor of the moment and Knott’s is never shy about hopping on the latest trend.
The sliders will be perfect for sharing and the hand-held nature makes them a great festival food.
The birria was savory, the rolls were soft and the consome allowed you to control just how juicy you wanted to make the sandwich.
3) Boysenberry BBQ Short Rib Lasagna
Knott’s served up a huge slab of lasagna with a ton of pork rib amid the layers.
You can say one thing for certain: Knott’s chefs never skimp on portion sizes.
The lasagna was hearty, meaty and tasty — but the boysenberry flavor was close to nonexistent.
If you come to the Boysenberry Fest to eat good food, then you’ll be happy with the lasagna. If you’re looking for bold boysenberry flavor, then you might want to skip it.
4) Boysenberry Tiramisu
The Boysenberry Tiramisu was so, so good. A real winner.
The cake top was light, airy and delicate. It was almost like eating a cloud.
The moist base had the most boysenberry flavor of anything I tried during the media preview.
It’s big enough to share, but I would tell your friends to get their own. You’re going to want to eat the whole thing and go back for more.
5) Stuffed Boysenberry Pie Cookie
The pie cookie was the biggest surprise of the night.
It was not much to look at, but once you take a bite you will forget all about appearances.
The Knott’s bakery team basically stuffed a cookie full of boysenberry pie filling. What more could you ask for?
It was chewy, gooey and oh so full of boysenberry flavor on the inside.
Wish List
I talked to Knott’s Berry Farm Vice President of Food & Beverage Laura Brubaker about five more things I can’t wait to try at this year’s Knott’s Boysenberry Festival.
1) French Toast
Stuffed with boysenberry cream cheese
“We take the bread with the spread in the middle and dip it in the funnel batter and deep fry it. You pull it out, cut it and put powdered sugar on it,” Brubaker said. “It’s hot, it’s gooey, it’s delicious.”
2) Boysenberry Elote
Served with Boysenberry Butter, Boysenberry Mayo and Cotija Cheese
“That’s a fan favorite,” Brubaker said. “I tried to get rid of it once. I was like, ‘Let’s do something different.’ I got mutiny.”
“It just appeals to everybody,” Brubaker said. “Who doesn’t like corn on the cob? It brings back memories. And you get to watch it being cooked right on the grill.”
3) Reuben Tots
Tater tots served thinly sliced corned beef, sauerkraut and Boysenberry Thousand Island dressing
“If you like a Reuben, you’re going to love this,” Brubaker said. “You know how you have a Reuben sandwich with a pickle, Thousand Island dressing and sauerkraut. We just put boysenberry in the Thousand Island.”
4) Crackling Boysenberry Cakesicle
Served on a stick with a chocolate ganache shell and Pop Rocks sprinkled on top.
“It melts in your mouth,” Brubaker said. “Take the best cake your mom ever made and put it on a stick. When you bite in, it’s boysenberry. It’s like you’ve died and gone to Heaven.”
5) Caramel Brownie
Served with whipped cream and a boysenberry drizzle
“It’s full of chunks of chocolate and caramel,” Brubaker said. “Then we’re just drizzling it with boysenberry.”