Flavors Tried: Salted Peanut Caramel, Caramel Choco, Banana Caramel, Rocky Road
Price: $28.99 for 12 ($2.42 per bar)
Nutrition: 210 Calories, 10g Fat, 21g Carbs (5g Fiber, 2g Sugar, 9g Sugar Alcohols), 16g Protein
It’s no secret that Barebells are my favorite protein bars currently on the market. In fact, they’re one of my favorite high-protein snacks, period.
When they released their “soft bars,” I was immediately interested in trying them, because I knew they wouldn’t let me down.
However, the one issue I have with Barebells is that they are really selective about which bars you can buy individually. Whenever I see Barebells at my local store, they have 3 basic flavors available as individual bars.
It seems that newer flavors are rarely available as individual bars, so you have to commit to an entire box.
I was hesitant to spend $30 on a box of protein bars I wasn’t sure I’d love, but since this is Barebells and I know that I love the original bars, I decided it was worth the gamble.
Nutritionally, the soft bar is pretty similar to regular Barebells protein bars, but you’ll notice that the protein is a bit lower (16 grams vs. 20 grams). This isn’t a huge deal to me, but I know that most people look for that 20g protein mark, so this may be a bit disappointing to some.
It’s also worth noting that the sugar alcohols are a bit higher with these bars. I’ve heard complaints that Barebells protein bars give some people a ton of gastrointestinal discomfort… I’ve never experienced that, but I can’t imagine these soft bars would provide any relief.
At the time of writing this, Barebells offers three flavors of their soft bar: Salted Peanut Caramel, Caramel Choco, and Banana Caramel, so that’s what we’ll be looking at today.
How is Barebells Soft Bar different?
The regular Barebells protein bars include some form of crushed nuts or crisps along the exterior to give them added texture.
The soft bar is, well, soft. The exterior is smooth, and it resembles a candy bar much more than the regular Barebells protein bars do.
But it’s not just the outside that’s soft; the interior of these protein bars is indeed extremely soft as well.
If you’re looking for a candy bar-like texture, these will not disappoint.
Plenty of protein bars out there contain caramel, but few are as generous as Barebells Soft Bars. And none of them are as beautiful as this…
But how does it taste?
Barebells Peanut Caramel Soft Bar Review
Once I opened up the wrapper and saw what looked exactly like a candy bar, my expectations were immediately through the roof.
Then, once I broke the bar in half to reveal the interior, my expectations climbed even further.
I mean, this is exactly what I would want the interior of this bar to look like.
Soft nougat? Check.
Peanuts? Check.
Gooey caramel? Check.
When you bite into this bar, it is noticeably softer than the regular Barebells protein bars. One thing I’ve found with Barebells is that the softness depends on the flavor. For example, creamy crisp is pillowy soft, but salty peanut is quite dense & chewy.
In the case of the soft bar, the texture is extremely close to a Snickers bar. It has a slight chew to it and isn’t pillowy soft, but neither is a Snickers bar. The nougat needs a slight chew to it, and it delivers on that front.
If you’ve never eaten a protein bar before and you were to grab one of these soft bars, you’d absolutely tell the difference between this and a candy bar. So, let’s not get it twisted.
However, this is easily the most candy bar-like protein bar I’ve ever had. The Snickers Hi Protein bar was extremely disappointing, but this Barebells Soft Bar is exactly what I’d want a high-protein Snickers bar to be.
It has all the flavors and textures of a Snickers bar, albeit maybe a tiny bit chewier than a true Snickers bar.
If you want a candy bar experience with the nutrition facts of a protein bar, this won’t disappoint you.
Barebells Caramel Choco Soft Bar Review
After trying the caramel peanut soft bar, everyone and their mother told me that I needed to try the caramel choco bar because it is even better.
Well, I’m a man of the people, so I went back out and found myself some caramel choco soft bars.
And all I can say is… oh my.
This is basically a high-protein version of a Milky Way.
In terms of flavor, I agree that this tops the caramel peanut soft bar. Both flavors are great, but this truly eats like a candy bar.
Since it is high-protein, there is still a bit of chew to the nougat. You won’t find that it’s quite as light & pillowy soft as true candy bar nougat.
But honestly, it’s not too far off. Between the soft nougat, generously gooey caramel, and thick chocolate coating, this truly resembles a Milky Way.
The fact that this bar contains only 2 grams of sugar is baffling to me. Yes, there are 9 grams of sugar alcohol, which is where the sweetness is coming from, but I don’t taste even the slightest hint of artificial sweetener.
Prepare yourself for a very bold statement…
This is the best protein bar I have ever eaten.
Barebells Banana Caramel Soft Bar
Having fallen in love with the other two flavors, I figured I might as well go back and try the banana caramel as well.
I’m not typically a fan of banana-flavored snacks, so you can take this assessment with a grain of salt. I love bananas themselves, but fake banana flavoring doesn’t do it for me.
In the case of Barebells, while I enjoy the texture of this bar, that fake banana flavor is simply too strong for my enjoyment. In this case, I had to call it quits halfway through and not finish the bar.
While you certainly taste banana, it leans more towards banana-flavored candy than actual bananas in my mind. The caramel and chocolate coating add good flavor, but the banana flavor is far too strong for my tastebuds.
Again, I don’t like banana-flavored snacks, so I wouldn’t expect to love this bar. Many people love banana flavor, so if you’re one of those people, I can imagine this being a real slam dunk.
Barebells Marshmallow Peanut Road
Every once in a while I’ll pop into Vitamin Shoppe to see what’s new, and it turns out Barebells has released a newer flavor of the soft bar: Marshmallow Peanut Road.
I’m sorry the attached photo of this one is terrible- I wasn’t really planning on writing up a formal review for it, but after my experience with it, I thought it was worth adding here.
Right off the bat, you’ll notice that this bar resembles a regular Barebells protein bar and not the soft bar variety. The other soft bar flavors look like candy bars, but this flavor looks like so many others in the regular lineup.
When you bite into the bar, you don’t get those same “soft bar” vibes either- this is just a regular Barbells protein bar. It’s a soft, satisfying texture, but in the same way Barebells protein bars are.
The marshmallow-flavored layer is good, but not nearly as gooey as the other flavors’ caramel layers, and the peanuts add a nice crunch. The crisps on the outside really do nothing to contribute to the experience here, but I assume they’re in there to bump up the protein content.
It has the flavor you want in a rocky road bar, although the marshmallow itself has a bit of an artificial taste.
This would make a fine addition to the regular Barebells line, but as a “soft bar,” it’s definitely a let-down.
Barebells Soft Bar: Overall Thoughts
Countless other protein bars have attempted to capture the essence of a candy bar experience, but nobody has been able to capture it the way that Barebells has. These Barebells Soft Bars are truly candy bars disguised as protein bars.
Although, now that I have tried the newest flavors, I have to say that these bars are very inconsistent. Caramel Choco and Salted Peanut Caramel are at the top of my list of all-time protein bars, but the lackluster experience of the marshmallow peanut road flavor knocks these bars down a peg.
But if you enjoy Barebells protein bars, there is absolutely no reason why you won’t love these.
If you’ve never had a protein bar before (or at least never had one that you actually liked), these are a great introduction. You won’t find a bar out there that mimicks a true candy bar experience quite the same way.
Barebells are my favorite protein bar currently on the market, and these soft bars only support that.
