Flavors Tried: Dark Chocolate + Almonds, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
Price: $35 for box of 12 ($2.90 per bar)
Nutrition: 270 Calories, 10g Fat, 37g Carbs (3g Fiber, 14g Sugar), 10g Protein
I’ve always been curious about GoMacro bars. With their claims of being organic, gluten-free, and vegan, they sound like the ultimate health-food bar.
But, in my experience, snacks that focus so much on health usually don’t taste great (I’m looking at you, RXBar).
GoMacro bars are quite popular, and my local Trader Joe’s always has them fully stocked, so I figured it was time to give them a try. My expectations were not extremely high, but I am always willing to keep an open mind.
I decided to give three flavors a try: Dark Chocolate + Almonds, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip. The nutrition varies a bit depending on the bar, but most bars will contain close to 300 calories and between 10 and 12 grams of protein.
I opted for these three flavors to give me a wide range of flavors, but note that GoMacro currently has over 15 different options to choose from.
Flavor Review: Dark Chocolate + Almonds
The Dark Chocolate + Almonds bar was my first pick. Right out of the package, you can tell it’s going to be on the chewy side- it’s a sticky bar, very similar to what I experienced with RXBar.
I knew it would be chewy because the main ingredient is brown rice syrup, but I didn’t expect it to be this chewy.
The flavor was definitely dark chocolate, no doubt about it. It also had crunchy almond pieces that created a textural contrast with the chewy bar, which should be a hit if you like almonds.
And even though dark chocolate is meant to be bitter, this leaned too much toward the bitter end of the scale. It could definitely use a bit more sweetness to balance it out.
Even with 13 grams of sugar, it was too dark and bitter for my taste.
Flavor Review: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip
Next up was the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip. It was less sticky & tacky than the dark chocolate bar, which was a nice surprise.
Unlike the dark chocolate flavor, this one had the perfect amount of sweetness, hitting the spot just right. With the improved texture and balanced sweetness, this one resembles a bar of cookie dough.
GoMacro was able to perfectly capture the essence of an oatmeal cookie with this one, with a hint of vanilla that worked well with the other flavors.
It was still a bit chewy and sticky, but I still really enjoyed this one.
Flavor Review: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
After trying the oatmeal flavor, I had high hopes for the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bar, but it didn’t quite meet my expectations.
The brown rice syrup (the main ingredient) was too strong and overpowered the peanut butter taste. It wasn’t as peanut buttery as I wanted, and it felt like the peanut butter was a secondary flavor.
I was looking for a Reese’s-like experience with the addition of chocolate chips, but this was far from it.
You can taste the peanut butter, but it’s not the main flavor, and the chocolate chips don’t add much. It’s an okay bar overall, but not what I was hoping for.
Overall Thoughts
Given the higher calories and lower protein in these bars, I was hoping they would taste a little bit better.
They’re decent enough for anyone needing a vegan and gluten-free option, but it really depends on the flavor you choose.
For me, it was like Goldilocks and the Three Bears: one bar was not sweet enough, one was too sweet, and one was just right. The Oatmeal Chocolate Chip flavor was the winner for me, and it’s quite good for a vegan protein bar. But, I’d probably skip the other flavors I tried.
I’ll be sure to try other flavors down the line to see how they compare with these three, but my current recommendation would be to try the oatmeal chocolate chip bar.
