Best Protein Bars 2024

If I could only have one protein bar on me at all times, it would be this one from Transparent labs. They taste great, they have healthy fats and no artificial sweeteners.

Most protein/energy bars neglect the key macronutrients needed to fuel and recover. Protein+ provides these with real food ingredients. Get 15 grams of grass-fed protein, 23 grams of whole food carbs, and 16 grams of healthy fats without any artificial fillers.

Of course, if you’re looking to minimise calorie intake, this may not be the bar for you due to the higher carb levels making this bar better suited for mid or post-exercise. I take these on long rucks (hikes with a healthy bag) or have them after a cardio/muscle workout. That being said, whilst I think carbs are useful post-exercise, if I’m seriously cutting I’ll go for something with fewer calories.

Quest have a well-earned reputation for brilliant taste and flavour options. Furthermore, they’ve managed to create these protein-packed snacks without added sugar which isn’t something that can be said of many bars.

Don’t sleep on this point. It’s a lot easier to make a tasty bar if you pump it full of sugar but in the long run that sugar adds up. It’s not good for your calorie intake or blood-sugar levels that we’d ideally like to keep fairly steady in most cases. Some may argue that we want a sugar-spike post workout but we’re going to get that with the natural sugars in these bars anyway.

This bar has 1g of sugar, 4g of carbs and a tonne of amazing flavours to choose from. I’m a mint chocolate chunk kinda guy.

No artificial flavourings or added sugars, a tonne of great favours, 20g of protein per bar. They also do a variety pack if you’re looking for something different every day.

Where Quest has some classically sweet flavours, Barebells are a little more…distinguished? Look, I’m a PT not a wordsmith, but the flavours are fancier. Hazelnut and nougat? I couldn’t dream that up. They’ve got some classics as well, but their range offers a bit more than “triple chocolate chip” if you see where I’m coming from.

There’s a few bars that pride themselves on taste on this list, Barebells is a serious contender if you’re looking for something a little different. They also have plant-based options!

Think is the cleanest protein bar we have on our list. The ingredients are not genetically engineered in any way, it’s gluten free and has 0g of sugar. Sure, it’s not going to taste as good as some of the others on the list, however, if you’re looking for a fairly healthy, high-protein snack then this could be the one for you.

They also have over 10 great flavours to choose (it’s lemon crisp for me) from and are relatively cheap. This is one of the bars that I would be happy to eat regularly without any worries about sugar intake. Once again, this option does have a fair amount of carbs (22g), and therefore calories (slightly higher than some of the other options), so I wouldn’t go for it if I was on an intense cut, but otherwise it’s a fine addition to my nutrition.

Who hasn’t heard of CLIF?! A brand that’s been around for more than 30 years and I’ve got time for it. They use a tonne of organic ingredients, their processes are better for the planet, they’re plant based and tasty. Furthermore, they’re a low glycemic-index food and gluten free.

I’ve eaten a tonne of these bars, they’re hearty! These things will get you up whatever (figurative) mountain you’re climbing. They’re not super sweet, and are more like a chocolatey, nutty energy bar. They’re the kind of thing you want tucked at the bottom of your bag for when you need some serious power. Then again, with 20g of protein they can also be used as some post workout muscle recovery fuel.

Here we have our value option of the list. It’s cheap, cheerful and packs 20g of protein per bar. As we might expect, the sugar content is a little higher with this option (1/4g depending on the flavour) but the calories are on the lower end (190).

I won’t lie to you, you get what you pay for and these bars are fine if you’re on a budget. If all you care about is convenient protein intake and price then fire away. Personally, if I’m going to eat highly processed food (e.g protein bars), I want them to provide more than just protein and be organic where possible.

However, a younger me would probably be buying these on bulk…

Maple glazed donut, need I say more?! Yes? Ok.

If we put the amazing taste to the side for one moment, what else does this bar have going for it? It’s only got 1g of sugar per bar, it’s gluten free, packs 20g of protein.

There are a few bars on this list that boast taste as their main selling point. I put ONE bars in a similar category to Quest, great taste, low sugar. It’s not as clean as Transparent Labs and CLIF and is a bit more of a treat. But it’s not as sugary as our next entry…

FITCrunch barged it’s way onto this list with it’s 6 layers of baked ingredients. I’d have this thing for desert.

Unfortunately it’s lacking slightly on the protein front with only 16g and it’s sugar content is certainly higher than most (3g). I wouldn’t suggest going for this bar for every day use. Rather, this is something to tuck into when you want a sugary hug after a hard session (or day). Can you tell I have a sweet tooth?

Yes, there may be some guilt bubbling away, but you could be eating something with absolutely no protein content at all. The lesser of two evils.

Personally, I don’t think this bar is the best at any of the factors we’ve been judging these bars so far.

That being said, they’ve got some interesting flavours and they’re kind of okay in most areas. I don’t you should rule them out, but I have my favourites. The protein content is good (20g) but the sugar content can be very high depending (5g) on the flavour so be sure to check.

Like I’ve said before, it’s easy to make something taste good if you pump it full of sugar. however, If you’re a BSN faithful, give it a shot. I just hope you’ll be converted one day.