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Dr. Jennifer Hughes, MD
Medical Reviewer
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With plant-based eating on the rise, the days of eating chalky store-bought vegan protein bars or spending endless time in the kitchen making homemade vegan snacks are behind us.
There are now endless options of vegan protein bars that taste like desserts but contain nutritious, satiating ingredients.
As opposed to traditional protein bars that contain whey protein or egg whites, vegan protein bars typically get their protein punch from hemp, brown rice, pumpkin seed, or pea protein.
Healthy plant-based protein bars will ideally contain high amounts of fiber and protein, low sugar levels, and a majority of ingredients from whole food sources.
Check out our list of six of the best vegan protein bars—from our top pick, ALOHA Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, to five others, including the best keto, high-protein, high-fiber, and nut-free options.
| Protein Bar | Key Points | Protein Source | Sugar | Cost* |
| ALOHA Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip | 10g fiber; USDA Organic and Non-GMO; Gluten-free; No artificial sweeteners or preservatives | 14g (brown rice and pumpkin seed) | 5g | $32.99 for 12 bars ($2.75 per bar) |
| Evo Hemp Lemon | Sustainable ingredients; Hemp seeds from small family farms in Colorado; Low sugar | 12g (hemp and brown rice) | 4g | $36.99 for 12 bars ($3.08 per bar) |
| Good! Snacks | Keto; 3g net carbs; No sugar; Allulose-sweetened; Gluten- and soy-free | 10-11g (pea) | 0g | $25.99 for 12 bars ($2.17 per bar) |
| AMRITA | No added sugar; Sweetened with dates; Fruity flavors; High in protein | 15g (brown rice) | 9g | $29.99 for 12 bars ($2.50 per bar) |
| R.E.D.D. Mint Chocolate | Contains maca, turmeric, functional mushrooms, superfoods, and probiotics; 15g fiber | 10g (pea, hemp, quinoa, and pumpkin seed) | 2g | $57.99 for 12 bars ($4.83 per bar) |
| GoMacro Chocolate and Sunflower Butter | Nut-free; Organic and gluten-free; Higher in sugar | 10g (brown rice and flax) | 11g | $31.50 for 12 bars ($2.63 per bar) |
Best for: Vegans wanting an affordable, organic, tasty, high-fiber and high-protein snack that tastes like a candy bar.
With its delicious flavor and top-rated texture, the ALOHA Peanut Butter and Chocolate bar is our top pick for the best overall vegan protein bar.
This bar has 10g of fiber and 14g of protein to support satiety, with 5g of sugar per bar.
All of their bars are also Certified USDA Organic, non-GMO, soy- and gluten-free, and do not contain artificial sweeteners, dyes, or preservatives.
In addition to the much-loved Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip flavor, ALOHA carries almost a dozen others, including Lemon Cashew, Pumpkin Spice, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Caramel Sea Salt.
Best for: Vegans looking for a hemp-based protein bar; people wanting a sustainable and environmentally friendly bar.
Hemp is a great source of sustainable protein as the plants use very little water and don’t need any fertilizer or pesticides to grow, and the Evo Hemp Lemon bar is one of the best to offer this protein source.
Made from hemp seeds grown at small family farms in Colorado, Evo Hemp bars provide 12g of protein—and only 4g of sugar—per bar.
Evo Hemp also utilizes regenerative farming practices to restore soil quality, and all of their products are third-party tested for consistency, quality, purity, and potency.
In addition to their fan-favorite Lemon flavor, Evo Hemp also offers Double Chocolate Brownie, Cookie Dough, Birthday Cake, and more.
Best for: Keto vegans; people wanting a zero-sugar protein bar.
Although “vegan keto” sounds like an oxymoron, there are plenty of people out there who follow both a plant-based and low-carb/high-fat diet—and Good! Snacks are the perfect fit.
With 13g of fat from almond butter and 10-11g of pea protein, these bars provide energy without any potential blood sugar crash.
The Good! Bars are sweetened with allulose and have zero sugar—but while allulose is considered a safe sugar substitute, some people can have digestive issues after eating it.
Some of the flavors you can enjoy with these bars include Keto Coconut Almond, Keto Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter, and Keto Chocolate Fudge.
Best for: Vegans needing a bar high in protein; people looking for a healthy post-workout snack.
With 15g of protein from brown rice per bar, AMRITA is a great option for people wanting a more satiating protein bar or needing a post-workout snack.
AMRITA has several unique flavors, including Apple Cinnamon, Chocolate Maca, Dark Chocolate Quinoa, Mango Coconut, and Pineapple Chia.
All of the AMRITA bars are made from whole-food ingredients, such as dates, brown rice protein, mango, quinoa, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut, and chia or flax seeds.
Best for: People looking to splurge on a protein bar; vegans looking for a high fiber and low sugar protein bar.
For those wanting a high-fiber vegan protein bar with low sugar, R.E.D.D. has an excellent selection of nutritious and delicious flavors.
Each bar contains a beneficial blend of probiotics, adaptogens like maca and turmeric, superfoods like acai and goji berry, and the functional mushrooms chaga, cordyceps, and reishi.
As their name suggests, R.E.D.D. bars are “Radiant Energy Deliciously Delivered.”
With up to 16g of fiber, 10g of protein, 2g of sugar, and tasty flavors like Mint Chocolate and Oatmeal, R.E.D.D. bars are a great plant-based protein bar choice—the only downside is their high price point.
Best for: Vegans with nut allergies; people on a low-FODMAP diet.
Whereas many vegan protein bars utilize nuts to increase their protein and fat content, GoMacro Sunflower Butter and Chocolate instead uses sunflower seed butter, brown rice protein, and flax.
Although many of GoMacro’s other flavors do contain nuts, they have two other nut-free flavors that use sunflower seed butter, including the Maple Sea Salt and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.
Plus, this GoMacro flavor is FODMAP-friendly, allowing people on low-FODMAP diets to enjoy this bar.
However, GoMacro’s bars are higher on the sugar side, with an average of 11g of sugar per bar from organic brown rice syrup and organic coconut sugar.
With an average of 200 calories per bar, vegan protein bars should typically be considered a snack rather than a meal replacement.
However, many vegan protein bars are higher in protein and fiber, which would make them more suitable for replacing a small meal.
Examples of high-protein and high-fiber vegan protein bars include AMRITA, R.E.D.D., and ALOHA bars.
Like all protein bars, vegan protein bars can be healthy or unhealthy.
Healthy vegan protein bars will contain lower amounts of sugar (ideally less than 6-8g per bar from natural sources), good amounts of fiber and protein, and minimally processed ingredients.
Unhealthy vegan protein bars may include artificial sweeteners or preservatives, high amounts of sugar, or too-low amounts of fiber and protein to be satiating.
Most CLIF bars are vegan.
However,
● CLIF Whey Protein
● LUNA Protein
● Zbar Protein
● CLIF Recovery Protein Drink Mix
Yes, all Larabars are vegan, including the Original Fruit and Nut Bars, Protein Bars, and Fruits and Greens bars.
The original ONE protein bars are not vegan as they primarily contain milk protein.
However, they now have a new line of plant-based protein bars called ONE PLANT that are vegan-friendly.
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