Nutrition: 240 Calories, 11g Fat, 30g Carbs (3g Fiber & 1g Sugar), 12g Protein
Protein innovations seem to come in waves, and once one company tries something, others quickly follow suit. We’ve seen it with protein puffs, protein chips, clear protein powder, and now protein pretzels are having their moment.
Lenny & Larry’s has their “Fitzels” right now (that name bothers me more than it should), and I’ve since seen many other protein pretzels pop up on shelves. But Vaughn’s caught my eye as something a little different, as they’re pumping out chocolate-covered protein pretzels.
I’ve tried Vaughn’s protein rice krispies treats before, and I thought they were decent enough, so I was hopeful for a fun snack here.
Let’s look at the nutrition first: 240 calories, 11g fat, 30g carbs (3g fiber & 1g sugar), and 12g protein.
The macros aren’t terrible. 12 grams of protein is decent for a snack (although not impressive when you have 240 calories), and only 1 gram of sugar is great for chocolate-covered pretzels, which typically pack a ton of sugar.
But here’s the issue: the serving size is super tiny for 240 calories. My bag contained just 11 mini pretzels.
To put that in perspective, it’s basically the same size as those mini bags of pretzels you get on Halloween, except those only have 100 calories.
I don’t think a small snack-sized bag of pretzels is going to fill me up more than a protein bar, but I can’t deny that it’s a fun way to change things up in the protein snack department.
Taste-wise, these are… fine. They’re milk chocolate-covered pretzels, and that’s mostly what you get.
The pretzel inside is the same as any regular mini pretzels you would buy at the store. There’s no added protein to them, so you get the crunch and saltiness you’d expect from a pretzel, which is nice.
The chocolate coating is where they infuse the extra protein, and you taste it.
The coating has a nice, smooth texture, but I can taste the protein powder way more than I’d like. It tastes like the coating of a chocolate protein bar.
Basically, if you made chocolate with a chocolate protein powder and then used that to coat some mini pretzels, that’s exactly what you’ve got here.
They’re not terrible by any means, but they’re also not particularly impressive.
When you factor in the macros along with the small serving size, it’s just a fun novelty for me to try and not something I’d be buying again.
There are too many better protein snack options out there that provide more value for your money and a more satisfying eating experience.
If you’re really craving chocolate-covered pretzels and want some protein along with it, these might be worth trying once.
They’re a fun snack and enjoyable enough, so I won’t deter you from grabbing them off a shelf if you see them (especially if they happen to be on sale). But I wouldn’t be running out to stock up on these, either.
