Ever wondered what the best tasting protein bars are? We’re doing a protein bars review of 6 popular brands based on taste, texture and protein content!
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Pin Protein Bars Review
SUPER excited for today’s post because we have the first ever product review here on FFF!
And, we have a special guest! Mr. FFF!
(If you want to see us do another taste test, you can see the Best Non Dairy Milk Taste Test!)
I figured it would be great to bring him on to do a protein bar taste test because everyone has different palates, so it would give you a better judge of taste and texture than if I was just reviewing these protein bars alone!
Plus, he’s used to dairy free protein bars and I am not, so that will help give you a better picture of the best tasting protein bar!
Typically, I do think it’s best to try to get your food from things that are NOT packaged bars, BUT there are definitely times when that isn’t going to happen, so protein bars are great for times like these. You guys have been asking me how to increase protein intake, and eating protein bars really help with that! All of these bars have a pretty good amount of protein and a nice blend of carbs, fat and fiber to keep you full. This makes them great for a quick snack when you don’t have time to whip something else up!
Protein Bars Review Run Down
We picked 6 of the most popular protein bars out there on our mission to find the best protein bars. We picked all of them to be some kind of variation of chocolate and peanut butter flavor (despite what you see in these images) so that we could make true comparisons among each protein bar.
Almost ALL of these were good protein bars, but some definitely stood out (and some didn’t!) among the crowd.
How We Graded Our Protein Bars Review
We graded on 2 very important categories – taste and texture. We used a grading of 1 through 5 to determine which were the best tasting and also had the best texture. We’re both partial to a bar that isn’t JUST chewy! A little something to keep your teeth interested is important!
Now, onto the bars!
QUEST BARS
TASTE: Taylor: 2/5. Mr. FFF: 4/5
TEXTURE: Taylor: 3/5 Mr. FFF: 2/5
I hadn’t had the new formulation of these, so I was really excited to try it.
PROS: Lots of fiber so this bar would definitely fill you up.
CONS: Very chewy and the chocolate peanut taste was very fake and lacking in flavor.
FITJOY BARS:
TASTE: Taylor: 4/5 Mr. FFF: 4.5/5
TEXTURE: Taylor: 4/5 Mr. FFF: 4/5
XYZure
PROS: Very easy to open, lots of chunks/texture in the bar, good flavor (a little artificial but still good) no artificial ingredients.
CONS: Very chewy with a SLIGHTLY artificial taste.
RXBAR
TASTE: Taylor: 5/5 Mr. FFF: 4/5
TEXTURE: Taylor: 4.5/5 Mr. FFF: 2/5
I’ve been eating RXBAR for a long time because I love how simple the ingredients label is (you know everything on the ingredient list!) how they taste, and I love their chewiness. They come in a TON of variety of flavors too!
PROS: Real, simple, whole-food ingredients and a good amount of healthy fat and fiber
CONS: The lowest amount of protein out of all the bars and Mr. FFF didn’t love how sticky they were
ONE BAR BASIX
TASTE: Taylor: 3.5/5 Mr. FFF: 3/5
TEXTURE: Taylor: 3/5 Mr. FFF: 3/5
The traditional ONE bars are probably one of my most favorite protein bars out there. They come in awesome flavors, are perfectly chewy and keep you nice and full! So, I was really excited that they came out with a stevia flavored alternative, as I don’t love the artificial sweetener in the original bars (but never worried about it too much since I don’t eat them often.) However, I do think that using stevia took away some of the sweetness and taste from the alternative version that I missed!
PROS: Naturally sweetened with stevia and PACKED with fiber to keep you full between meals
CONS: Needs to have more sweetness and flavor and doesn’t have much texture
NO COW BARS
TASTE: Taylor: 1/5 Mr. FFF: 1/5
TEXTURE: Taylor: 1/5 Mr. FFF: 1/5
This was our first experience with No Cow Bars. These are dairy free and use a brown rice protein and pea protein to give them protein, and they only have one gram of sugar. Both Mr. FFF and I did not enjoy the taste of these (very planty) and the texture was very dry and chalky.
PROS: Plant-based and low in sugar with lots of fiber and a RIDICULOUS amount of fiber (18g!)
CONS: Do not taste good and have a very off-putting texture.
NUGO SLIM
TASTE: Taylor: 4/5 Mr. FFF: 5/5
TEXTURE: Taylor: 5/5 Mr. FFF: 5/5
Mr. FFF has tried many of the totally vegan Nugo bars and absolutely LOVES them, so he was super excited to try this one. Although it has trace amounts of dairy, this was his favorite bar! He loved the crunchy texture and the chocolate coating, as well as the true peanut taste. I also really enjoyed the taste and texture of this bar, I just wish it was covered in milk chocolate instead of dark!
PROS: easier for people with dairy sensitivities to eat, as it’s a whey protein isolate. A great amount of protein and fiber with only 2g of sugar. Tastes great and has awesome texture.
CONS: Not many! Maybe just the dark chocolate and that MOST Nugo bars are dairy-free, so this can be a bit misleading. I assumed it was dairy free without even going fully into the ingredient list!
That’s it! I hope you got some protein bar info from this post! Let me know in the comments what other things you want us to review!
Other Posts You Might Like:
Best Dairy Free Yogurt Taste Test
Cookies and Cream Paleo Protein Bars
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