A Review and Taste Ranking of CLIF Builders Protein Bars. These flavors include Chocolatey Mint, Chocolatey Peanut Butter, and Oreo.
Overall Review & Verdict
When I first glance, I notice these protein bars look slightly larger than average and feel very hefty! However, the calorie-to-protein ratio isn’t great. The ingredients consist mostly of soy protein isolate, cane sugar, and other ingredients. Lastly, as a side note, the Oreo flavor is newer, released in May 2025.
They’re made up primarily of crispy pieces on the inside, with a softer, thinner layer alongside them. These layers do provide a satisfying, nuanced mouthfeel, though to note, I wouldn’t say they are as extraordinary as some other popular protein bars. In fact, that soft inside layer was on the thinner side and could have done much more.
Overall, I’m not crazy about them; they feel just mediocre, especially with what flavor you pick. They’re decent enough bars, although they feel generic despite their few layers. In terms of sweetness, they’re right around the middle in terms of your standard bar. Basically, just nothing to write home about protein bars.
Taste Ranking
1. Chocolatey Peanut Butter
A fairly sweet peanutty and milk chocolatey bar. It almost reminds me of a Reese’s, but maybe just a tad less sweet overall and more authetic tasting. With that, I get no protein bar taste or weird flavors — this tastes like an authentic sweet peanut milk chocolate bar with both the chocolate and peanut butter balancing each other out nicely. I also think the crispy pieces on the inside add a nice touch to what this bar is trying to convey: peanuts (and chocolate, of course).
2. Oreo
Seriously, where is this advertised Oreo? I guess it’s there, physically at least; it seems to be cobbled together on the inside, resembling a ground of dark cookie pieces and crispy pieces. But actual Oreo flavor? Not even close! To me, the entire bar as a whole tasted like a semi-sweet, dark chocolate–not cocoa-like or as dark as its cookie counterpart. It also had a slight artificial taste throughout the bar, I couldn’t help but notice.
3. Chocolatey Mint
I love mint, so I was surprised that on my first bite, I got toothpaste vibes. It almost tasted… refreshing? Weird, and maybe I got used to it, because after several bites it seemed to switch to a more traditional candy-like flavor and became more tolerable. Alongside this flavor was an equal part dark chocolate, which, coupled with the moderate sweetness, was decent enough. Still, I can’t shake that initial toothpaste flavor, and honestly, I’ve had much better mint-based protein bars.