We taste 26 brands of protein bar if your favorite has made the cut

I have never liked the crowd in my life Love island. Nevertheless, I know a delicious and nutritious bar when I see one. I often grab a few bars before day -to -day hikes, fitness courses with high intensity and marathon afternoons in the office. In recent years, protein beams have become an integral part of the cash descent: rows of shiny bars in every taste and protein mirror imagination sit next to sweets and chewing gum and dare add one to their basket. The question is: which are it worth buying?

In order to find the best protein bars, our editors have tried 26 different brands that you will probably find in your local grocery store or online. We concentrated on bars with at least 10 grams of protein, each cut into quarter-striker cubes and try out in a random order without knowing which brand was. After we had wrapped ourselves through a dizzying number of bars, we tabulared the results and crowned an overall winner and four worthy candidates that we would like to grab if we wanted a nutritious snack.

The criteria

While the protein content is important, it is just as important that the bars taste good. A good protein bar should not taste like protein powder, which can give the bars a dry, calcareous and slightly bitter taste with a strange milky aftertaste. Clobic add-ins such as nuts or rice chips and flavors, including vanilla and chocolate, can help mask the taste. But if they overused, aromas – of course or not – can lead to a difficult sweetness or an artificial edge.

Overall winner

Dealer Joe’s tough chocolate and peanut butter protein bar

“Nusig and salty sweetness. I like!” wrote our senior editor, Geneviavethe top brand for its taste and texture. Likewise our associated culinary editor, ThermaliaEnjoyed the light, crispy textures of Puffreis and his peanut forward taste. Both our Associate Visuals Director, Amandaand our senior social media editor, Kellipraised the crispness of the protein bars, which noticed poets (and sometimes mushy) competitors in a sea. Our editorial director, DanielMost others preferred it because it contained “noticeable whole ingredients”.

Second

• Gomacro macrobar, dark chocolate + almonds
• Grab1 protein bar, peanut butter & oats
• Nugo Dark Chocolate Brezel Protein Bar
• Quest double chocolate chunk protein bar

Although our editors did not enjoy these protein bars as much as our winner, they still thought that the four were a solid decision below and would like to eat a complete bar on the way.

Best protein bar for candy candy lovers: Nugo Dark Chocolate Brezel Protein Riegel

This bar divided our tasters, but met a sweet spot for those who long for a salty, sweet, candy bar-like snack. “Minty?” wrote Daniel, who found the overall taste in order. Both Genevieve and Laila thought it was too salty for touching a protein bar, but found them well with the chocolate. With regard to the texture, Kelli liked that it was “not too tough”, and Amanda enjoyed his crispness.

Best protein bar for those who like to chew: gomacro macrobar, dark chocolate + almonds

“Yes, I would eat a whole thing,” wrote Kelli, who praised his light chewing and chocolate taste. Laila also enjoyed the mild sweetness of this bar and the aromas of coffee and data and added that she would be happy to eat a whole bar.

Best crispy protein bar: Grab1 protein bar, peanut butter & oats

The texture of this bar was much better than its taste. However, our editors would still eat a complete meal. “Crispy and airy, with a crispy bite – the crazy rice made from crispy rice,” wrote Laila. Both Genevieve and Amanda also enjoyed his crispiness. Nevertheless, most editors agreed that it was far too sweet, and Laila thought it tasted too much like vanilla.

Best protein bar with 20 grams of protein: Quest double chocolate chunk protein bar

This product almost has the double protein of most protein bars. While additional protein usually goes at the expense of taste or texture, this bar hit a happy medium, and most of our editors found this okay. “I could probably eat a whole bar,” said Amanda, who was a fan of his fudginess. In the meantime, Kelli described the texture as “fine”.

The contenders

1. 365 by Whole Foods Market Chocolate Chip Energy Bar
2. 88 Hectar Bananan bread brown protein
3. Aloha organic base bar, chocolate biscuit dough
4. Balanced tiger protein -bar, oatmeal chocolate -chip
5. Barebell’s protein bar, chocolate dough
6. Clif bar, chocolate chip
7. Fulfill the protein bar, chocolate -soot -caramel
8. Genius gourmet protein bar, chocolate dream
9. Gomacro macrobar, dark chocolate + almonds
10. Grab1 protein bar, peanut butter & oats
11. Kellogg’s special K bar protein bars, brownie dough
12. Kirkland signature protein bars chocolate biscuit biscuits
13. Kirkland Signature Soft & Chewy Muesliriegel
14. Mezcla puff crispy bar, peanut butter chocolate
15. Misfit’s herbal protein, caramel fudge
16. Natural Valley protein, peanut butter Dark chocolate protein
17. Nugo Dark Chocolate Brezel Protein Bar
18. Power crunch, peanut butter fudge
19. Pure protein bar, chocolate peanut caramel
20. Quest double chocolate chunk protein bar
21. Quaker protein bar, peanut butter & chocolate
22. Rxbar protein bar, peanut butter chocolate
23. Think of a high protein bar, chunky peanut butter
24. Dealer Joe’s tough chocolate and peanut butter protein bar
25. Trader Joe’s Energy Bar, chocolate chip
26. Trubar protein bar, oh oh biscuit

Important snack bars and conclusion

With so many different protein bars, it is no surprise that the products we tried gave many variations. Some brands naturally increase the protein content of their beams by involving ingredients such as soy chips, oats, nuts and seeds, while others rely on protein powder. These protein powders are generally made with a mixture of whey, milk or soy, each with its own taste. Our winners and second-placed people are usually with many good matters oxs, nuts and dried fruits to mask the less pleasant aromas of protein powder.

Peanuts, whether as a whole nut, flour or butter, are in many of our top picks. Peanuts not only add protein, but also contribute a satisfactory saltity that balances the sweetness of the bar. Our winner, dealer Joe’s Chewy Chocolate & Peanut Butter butter protein bars, has a combination of peanuts, soy -protein chips and half -chocolate. One of our toughest second -placed, the Gomacro Macrobar, is mainly made from brown rice syrup, almond butter and a proprietary protein mix. Quests Double Chocolate Chunk packs the most protein of all runners -up. The brand lists a protein mix of milk protein isolate and whey protein isolate.

Most bars use binders – such as cocoa butter, sugar, agave, brown rice syrup and/or maltit – to hold the ingredients together and improve the taste. Our editors preferred bars who rely on cocoa butter, nut butter and natural syrups such as agave or brown -free syrup. Conversely, bars that are on sugar substitute (also known as sugar alcohols) or palm oil were less popular because they can give the bars an artificial sweetness or a greasy finish.

Our test methodology

All taste tests are carried out with brands that are completely hidden and without discussion. Tasted tastes of samples in random order. For example, button A can taste a sample first, while buttons B tastes a sample first. This is intended to prevent the tiredness of the palate of a sample wrong. Tosters are asked to fill out tasting sheets and to evaluate the samples according to various criteria. All data are tabular and the results are calculated without editorial input to enable the most impartial presentation of the actual results.