Reviewing and ranking the best-tasting and flavored IQBAR plant protein bars. I would frequently see these in stores, and after noticing they are generally cheaper than other bars, I had to give as many of the flavors as I could a shot!
Review & Verdict
These are all plant-based, using primarily pea-based protein ingredients to meet the protein requirements to dub themselves as a potential gym-worthy bar.
Immediately, I notice the very outside is waxy, similar to a Quest protein bar. However, when biting in, the bars resemble a mashed organic oat-like texture. They’re soft and dense enough, and most have a few tiny crunchy pieces throughout, but even that, they’re all going for the same thing. Similarly, they’re all mildly sweet–not as sugary as most other protein bars, more so, going for something authentic, organic tasting. There’s nothing artificial; everything is just very tame and organic and even earthy tasting in some. This results in many of the flavors tasting more similar than they should.
Basically, if you don’t like sweets and want something more natural and organic-flavored, like an oat bar mixed with a protein one, you’ll like these.
Anyway, personally, I’ll just stick with regular protein bars for now. These are too organic, too uniform in both flavors and composition, and bland overall.
Flavor Ranking
1. Peanut Butter Chip
An authentic, very light peanut butter, chocolate, with a hint of salt. It’s mildly sweet, and the crunchy embedded pieces, while few, are noticeable and provide a light peanut-like crunch. Don’t think Reese’s or anything close here. This is a super tame, organic peanut butter bar for the most part. As a peanut lover, I do wish it had more sweetness and additional chocolate flavor.
2. Chocolate Sea Salt
It tastes like an organic oat chocolate bar. Little crunchy pieces throughout, more than many of the others on this list, which was welcomed. The flavor is a mild, authentic dark chocolate, not bitter, though earthy-ish tasting. Lastly, the salt is barely there and isn’t too noticeable.
3. Lemon Blueberry
One of the sweeter ones on the list, though still very light. It has a sugary lemon flavor and hints of blueberry. It reminds me of a lightly sweet blueberry lemonade in a sense. The inner blueberry crunchy pieces are a nice touch, which provides hints of that blueberry flavoring.
4. Banana Nut
An authentic, mildly sweet banana with some embedded crunchy pieces. Tastes like a mushed organic bar of oats, banana, and nuts–the trifecta of health! Essentially, like the others, it’s not strongly flavored, though I still enjoyed the organic banana flavor with the nuttiness.
5. Chocolate Mint Chip
I appreciate the reasonable minty taste, although it’s calmed by the organic oat part, but still punchy enough to appreciate. It doesn’t feel like toothpaste, but it’s stronger than I would have thought, and frankly, more bold-tasting than many on this list. The dark, slightly bitter chocolate is a nice addition and complements the mint well. Overall: An organically minty, decently sweet dark chocolate bar with embedded crunchy pieces.
6. Matcha Chai
A dark greenish oat-looking bar, it has an organic taste to it with slightly bitter, light, authentic matcha taste. There’s a slight hint of sugar added, but it’s really very earthy. Think “organic matcha drink at the cafe.” A few crunchy bits on the inside give nuance to the soft oat and slightly chewy texture. I love matcha and even this bar to a degree because the matcha is still tasty and complements its organic flavoring, but I also prefer something sweeter to bring out its flavor more.
7. Wild Blueberry
When I opened it up, I noticed this seemed to have some infused syrup in it. And then biting in, I do get a bit of that mouthfeel alongside the usual oaty, chewy IQBAR taste and a few crunchy bits. It’s pretty moist, though not sticky. The blueberry flavor itself is very light and has an authentic, mild, earthy taste.
8. Toasted Coconut Chip
I love coconut, especially sweet coconut, and what I got was a super light, nutty-like, organic coconut flavor and, at best, a hint of chocolate. The coconut is the strongest flavor here, but without enough sweetness, it leaves your taste buds quickly.
9. Almond Butter Chip
One of the most boring on the list. It tastes very neutral with some almond nuttiness–it has a hint of creamy almond butter if I imagine hard enough. Simply put, it’s too bland and plain, with no bold or fun flavor. Lastly, some crunchy pieces on the inside do provide some additional texture. Crunchy pieces on the inside are noticeable too and provide contrast.