Price: $20 for 12 buns ($1.67 per bun)
Nutrition: 119 Calories, 4.5g Fat, 9g Carbs (7g Fiber), 17g Protein
If you’re someone who struggles to get enough protein in your diet, I’ve got an easy way to sneak some extra protein in: high-protein bread buns.
High-protein bread is nothing new, and I’ve tried a few varieties in ROYO and The Better Bagel. Most protein bread (those two examples included) comes with a ton of fiber, which I don’t typically opt for.
Luckily, UnbelievaBuns is here to change that. They’ve created high-protein bread buns that happen to be insanely low in carbs, but are NOT packed with 20+ grams of fiber. Each bun contains just 120 calories with an impressive 17 grams of protein and a modest 7 grams of fiber.
I was thrilled to see the lower fiber content because I have a large appetite and knew I would want to eat two of these. Had these buns contained 30g of fiber each (like The Better Bagel) there is no way my body could handle that.
If you’ve never had low-carb or high-protein bread before, you need to shift your expectations. As much as I wish these tasted like regular bread, that is simply not possible when dealing with wheat gluten as the main ingredient.
You also have to expect a bit of chewiness, which I’ll get into in a minute.
Off the bat, UnbelievaBuns look to have an impressive texture. Slicing into these buns revealed a light & airy interior, which is exactly what you want in a bread bun. I mean, you want the star of the show to be whatever you put between the buns, right?
If you bite into these buns as-is (which I did strictly for review purposes) you’ll find that these are far too chewy. That’s simply the nature of wheat gluten.
If eaten plain, you’re not going to enjoy these.
And while I do love snacking on plain bread, it isn’t often that you’re grabbing a sandwich bun and biting into it without actually making a sandwich, so that’s not really a fair assessment.
To give these buns a fair shake, I had to toast them up and make some breakfast sandwiches.
Once toasted, the texture improves quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong- these buns are still chewy, and you’ll never mistake them for regular bread buns. But once toasted, that chewiness dulls down.
If the chewiness level of these buns is an 8/10 plain, then it’s about a 6/10 once toasted.
The buns hold up great toasted, and they are an awesome vessel for a hefty breakfast sandwich with eggs, bacon, and cheese.
Unfortunately, the flavor is just not impressive. For me, it’s very comparable to how I felt about ROYO protein bread- it tastes like pretty bland bread.
Luckily you’re not buying buns with 120 calories and 17 grams of protein expecting them to taste like brioche bread. You’re buying them because they’re a convenient way to get extra protein into your diet, and there is no denying that in this case.
The flavor will not blow you away, but it’s low-carb & high-protein bread, so it really doesn’t have to. Sure, I wish these tasted like grandma’s homemade rolls, but that’s unrealistic.
For what they are (a high-protein bread bun with a light & airy texture) they get the job done, as long as you go in with the proper expectations.
I strictly care about protein and don’t care very much about the low-carb nature, so a product like this wouldn’t become a staple for me. But if your lifestyle has you eating high protein and low carb, there is much more appeal here.
