Flavors Tried: Salty Peanut, Hazelnut & Nougat
Price: $29.99 for 12 bars on Amazon ($2.50 per bar)
Nutrition: 220 Calories, 10g Fat, 27g Carbs (7g Fiber & 1g Sugar), 15g Protein
Barebells protein bars are easily one of my favorite protein bars on the market. If you’re looking for a protein bar that resembles a candy bar, Barebells will not disappoint.
If you need a specific recommendation, Barebells Creamy Crisp bar is my favorite flavor of them all. It’s like a combination of a 3 Musketeers bar and Twix.
And if you want a bar that is even more like a candy bar, turn to Barebell’s newer “Soft Bar.“
Since Barebells are so high on my list, I wanted to see if I would love their vegan bars just as much.
When it comes to plant-based protein bars, you need to lower your expectations a bit. When plant-based protein is involved, the texture is typically more on the dense & dry side, and the flavor is never going to be quite as good because the protein itself has a very strong flavor profile.
But that narrative is slowly changing, with companies like Misfits starting to figure out how to perfect the vegan protein bar texture.
The Barebells vegan bars are not quite as impressive as the regular Barebells bars, but that’s to be expected with plant-based protein.
Which 15 grams of protein (versus the usual 20 grams), it’s still on-par with most vegan bars out there.
When these bars first launched, they offered two flavors: salty peanut, and hazelnut & nougat. Hazelnut remains, but salty peanut has since been replaced by a new & improved version.
The newer flavors promise to be much closer to the regular Barebells protein bars in terms of texture and flavor… let’s see for ourselves.
Hazelnut & Nougat Barebells Vegan Protein Bar
When you think nougat, you think of what Barebells was able to accomplish with the soft bar, which I certainly did not expect with this bar.
This flavor reminds me of some of the regular Barebells protein bars, but there is a very distinct plant-based protein flavor to it. Luckily, it’s not overpowering.
If you’ve tried the regular hazelnut & nougat Barebells protein bar, this one is similar, but the dairy-based version still offers a much better overall flavor.
The interior of this bar is dense compared to regular nougat, and I wouldn’t necessarily call this flavor “nougat”. The bar is firm, but not crumble-when-you-bite-into-it firm.
With plenty of hazelnut pieces throughout this bar, the hazelnut flavor is quite prominent. You taste an Earthiness to it which won’t be ideal for some people, but if you’re used to plant-based bars, it won’t deter you.
All in all, this is a solid vegan protein bar, but not nearly as good as the dairy version.
Caramel Peanut Barebells Vegan Protein Bar
Caramel peanut replaces the original “salty peanut” vegan Barebells protein bar, and it surprisingly does not come with any kind of peanuts along the exterior.
Luckily, when you bite into it, the peanuts reveal themselves, along with an impressive caramel layer.
Unlike the hazelnut bar, this one is much closer to the texture you’ve come to expect from Barebells: soft & nougaty with a slight chew to it.
The caramel layer adds a nice textural contrast, although it’s far from the stringy caramel you find in candy bars.
The flavor of this one is a lot like the Snickers protein bar. That protein bar isn’t spectacular, but it does have Snickers vibes. Considering this is a vegan bar with that same flavor profile, that’s a huge win.
The peanut flavor is really prominent in this bar, which masks the artificial sweetener taste really well.
Considering the flavor profile and pleasant texture, I would recommend this one to anyone looking for a candy bar-like vegan protein bar.
Caramel Choco Chip Barebells Vegan Protein Bar
If you’re expecting this bar to be the same as the caramel peanut bar just with chocolate chips instead of peanuts… you’d be mostly correct.
Unfortunately, by removing the peanuts (and the extra flavor they provide) the artificial sweetener flavor really comes through in this one.
The chocolate chips are not plentiful, and they don’t add much in terms of flavor, so this is really just more of a caramel protein bar. The flavor is reminiscent of the soft bar, but with a denser texture and a prominent artificial flavor.
As far as vegan protein bars go, it’s still better than a lot of bars out there, but I can’t get over the artificial taste.
Fudge Brownie Barebells Vegan Protein Bar
Fudge brownie leans less towards the candy bar style, and more closely resembles a standard protein bar interior. It’s soft to bite into, but it has that distinct protein bar chewiness to it.
The chocolate flavor is plenty prominent between the chocolate interior, chocolate chips, and chocolate coating, but the earthiness & artificial taste are both very prominent.
With 12 grams of sugar alcohol, you taste every last bit of them as you work your way through this bar.
You may be unaffected by the taste, but it creates a distinct bitterness & aftertaste for me that I simply cannot overlook. The chocolate flavor combined with the soft texture sets this bar up well, but the artificial taste prevents it from reaching the level you expect from Barebells.
Overall Thoughts: Barebells Vegan Protein Bars
These bars have definitely improved since the original recipe, but they’re still a far cry from the regular Barebells protein bars.
If you’re expecting these to taste like candy bars, you will be disappointed. The textures are pleasant, but the flavors just aren’t quite there.
In the world of candy bar-like vegan bars, these take a back seat to Misfits.
For me, the artificial sugar taste is just too strong in these bars to keep me coming back. But the artificial taste seems to be very subjective, so who knows, you may love these.
If you’re plant-based, I do think they’re worth trying. You could certainly do much worse.
If you’re not vegan, I would skip these and go right to the other Barebells bars. The regular Barebells protein bars are 10x better than these, so I recommend you run out and find some of those instead.
