Taste Test: Protein Bars That Don't Taste Like Chalk

Whether you’re looking for a quick, muscle-building boost following a gym workout or you’ve skipped lunch and need to calm a grumbling stomach, a protein bar can be an easy and relatively healthy snack. But all are not the same. Some have as many calories and as much sugar as a candy bar, while others deliver less protein than a serving of low-fat Greek yogurt or are so unpalatable you may as well gnaw on wood. We scooped up a handful of protein bars from two grocery stores in Austin, Texas, and sampled each to find out if they were truly tasty or just edible. We also looked at how much protein and other key ingredients in each bar (which, for the record, all had more than the recommended minimum 5 to 6 grams of protein).

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Tastiest High-Protein Option

Calories: 290, Protein: 20g, Carbs: 31g, Sugar: 20g, Fat: 11g, Fiber: 3g

The Elevation bar packs a wallop: the most calories, protein, carbs, and sugar of our samples. It had a pleasant, mild crunch, and subtle peanut butter flavor. It was a bit on the sweet side, with hints of protein powder. 

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Tasty High-Protein Option (Runner-up)

Calories: 290, Protein: 20g, Carbs: 29g, Sugar: 17g, Fat: 11g, Fiber: 2g

Similar in appearance and size to Elevation by Millville bar, the Clif bar wasn’t as tasty. The layer of peanut butter filling was denser, but it was also grittier and tasted strongly of dried peanut butter and protein powder.

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Best For Snacking

Calories: 200, Protein: 7g, Carbs: 14g, Sugar: 5g, Fat: 15g, Fiber: 7g

The nuttiest of the bunch, with peanuts and almonds as the top two ingredients, this was our favorite at the low end of the protein spectrum. Although nearly identical to the Kind Nut Bar, the Trader Joe’s version had that extra salty kick that reminds us of dry-roasted nuts (in a good, snackable kind of way). It also had a respectable amount of dietary fiber with fewer carbs and sugars.

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Also Good for Snacking

Calories: 200, Protein: 7g, Carbs: 17g, Sugar: 9g, Fat: 14g, Fiber: 3g

You’d have to eat nearly three Kind Bars to get the same amount of protein as, say, a Clif Builders Bar. They’re tasty enough that we’d be tempted to do so if it didn’t also mean three times the calories, carbs, and fat. The 7 grams of protein and 17 grams of carbs are sufficient for recharging during a light hike or as a snack, though sugars could be lower and fiber higher. It was the sweetest-tasting of the bunch (no surprise, considering that glucose syrup, sugar, and honey are the second, third, and fourth ingredients).

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Best Balance of Ingredients

Calories: 180, Protein: 15g, Carbs: 29g, Sugar: 1g, Fat: 9g, Fiber: 11g

The Quest Hero bar has less protein than the heavyweights in our test; call this one a middleweight contender. With its sweet, strong maple-pecan flavor, kick of caramel, and subtle dash of cocoa, this is a good choice for after the gym or between meals. The texture is dense and chewy without being sticky or gummy. It had plenty of fiber and protein with surprisingly little sugar, given its sweetness.

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Most Chocolate Flavor

Calories: 230, Protein: 20g, Carbs: 23g, Sugar: 0g, Fat: 8g, Fiber: 1g

The Think! bar delivers the most protein with the least sugar but also next to no dietary fiber to keep you feeling full. The moist, brownielike texture was reasonably tasty — dense and chewy with a strong cocoa flavor and slightly bitter aftertaste. The protein-packed crunchy bits added some texture.

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Most Candy-Like Protein Bar

Calories: 215, Protein: 13g, Carbs: 12g, Sugar: 5g, Fat: 13g, Fiber: 1g

Okay, we confess: If we’d tasted this blindfolded, we’d have mistaken it for a Little Debbie Nutty Bar (or a reasonable facsimile thereof). Fudgy, crispy, and peanut buttery, the only drawback in our opinion was the too-crumbly wafers. The fiber content is kind of low, too.

Big on Protein, Low on Flavor

Calories: 220, Protein: 20g, Carbs: 23g, Sugar: 1g, Fat: 9g, Fiber: 8g

With its Play-Doh-like texture and funky brownish hue, this entry in our taste-off was reminiscent of protein bars from back in the day. The flavor reminded us of ground-up peanut shells and had an unpleasantly chewy consistency. It was our least favorite of the high-protein bars in our sample, but it also had the fewest calories, very little sugar, and a decent amount of fiber.

Worst-Tasting Protein Bar (tie)

Calories: 210, Protein: 12g, Carbs: 23g, Sugar: 14g, Fat: 9g, Fiber: 5g

RXBar touts itself as the “No B.S.” protein bar, with a short list of minimally processed ingredients: dates, peanuts, egg whites, chocolate, sea salt, and cocoa. We were not impressed with the stick-to-your-teeth consistency, and if you don’t like the funky sweetness of dates you will definitely not like this date-based protein bar. 

Worst-Tasting Protein Bar (tie)

Calories: 230, Protein: 12g, Carbs: 21g, Sugar: 14g, Fat: 10g, Fiber: 4g

Aldi’s version of the RXBar boasts a similar short list of “clean” ingredients: dates, peanut butter, egg whites, chocolate, peanuts, cocoa, sea salt, and cashew and almond butters. It was even less appealing, with a chewiness like cheap chewing gum and just as annoyingly sticky. We wanted to floss after eating it. 

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