My goal: Collect as many highly rated/popular vegan protein bars, test them, and determine which ones are the best ones.
Over the past month or so, I was able to get my hands on 20 of these bars, here's a picture of most of my collection.
First, I identified the 3 most important parts of a good protein bar and scored them out of 10 (where a higher score is always better):
Think of the scores like a school grade. A 5/10 in this ranking system is quite bad (like a 50% in school).
While you're welcome to view my blog post with a write-up of the results, I suspect that a lot of /r/veganfitness redditors would find my spreadsheet full of data more useful.
You can view it and make your own copy here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16PRV09Hhl5VuolCbeJ5OoAMr_eg6PWiv-nieSathB-E/edit?usp=sharing
Note that the results in the spreadsheet may be slightly different than the blog post because the prices on the sheet update automatically (they've already changed a bit since I wrote the post).
I've seen a few of these recommended here and there on this subreddit, so the top ones shouldn't be too much of a surprise.
Based on the overall scores (adding the 3 individual scores together), the 5 that cluster together at the top are:
You might also find this scatter/bubble chart interesting where I plotted the protein content vs. the taste rating.
If there are any bars you'd like to see added, or you spot a mistake, or you have a question, just let me know.
Also, there are affiliate links in the blog post, but shouldn't be any in the spreadsheet, just so you're aware.
Over the past month or so, I was able to get my hands on 20 of these bars, here's a picture of most of my collection.
How I Tested Bars
First, I identified the 3 most important parts of a good protein bar and scored them out of 10 (where a higher score is always better):
- Protein content – The percent of calories from protein.
- Taste – Self-explanatory.
- Cost per 10g of protein – All vegan protein bars are fairly expensive, but some more than others. I wanted to find bars that were provided value for their price.
Think of the scores like a school grade. A 5/10 in this ranking system is quite bad (like a 50% in school).
The Results
While you're welcome to view my blog post with a write-up of the results, I suspect that a lot of /r/veganfitness redditors would find my spreadsheet full of data more useful.
You can view it and make your own copy here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16PRV09Hhl5VuolCbeJ5OoAMr_eg6PWiv-nieSathB-E/edit?usp=sharing
Note that the results in the spreadsheet may be slightly different than the blog post because the prices on the sheet update automatically (they've already changed a bit since I wrote the post).
Which Bars Were the Best Overall?
I've seen a few of these recommended here and there on this subreddit, so the top ones shouldn't be too much of a surprise.
Based on the overall scores (adding the 3 individual scores together), the 5 that cluster together at the top are:
- Simply Bars
- Clif Builder's (has palm oil)
- No Cow bars (has palm oil)
- Pegan Bar
- PROBAR Base Bar (has palm oil)
The Best Bars in terms of quality (not counting price)
You might also find this scatter/bubble chart interesting where I plotted the protein content vs. the taste rating.
Final notes
If there are any bars you'd like to see added, or you spot a mistake, or you have a question, just let me know.
Also, there are affiliate links in the blog post, but shouldn't be any in the spreadsheet, just so you're aware.
