In this tier list, I rank all the FITCRUNCH protein bars I could track down, from the classic OGs to newer releases and limited edition flavors.
FITCRUNCH was co-founded in 2012 by Bakery Barn and celebrity chef Robert Irvine, with the idea of turning desserts into protein snacks. Later, they were acquired by 1440 Foods in 2024.
Over the years, the brand has expanded its flavor and brand line. Besides the original baked bars, they’ve put out wafer versions, Delights, Baked, and Loaded Cookie variants.
What do these have in common?
First, these have a lot of commonalities; you can literally see it on the packaging. They each have a reasonably thick, soft shell with some lightly crunchy pieces, a small layer at the top right under that which starts the filling, and then a thicker, soft, solid-like layer which makes up the bulk of the bar.
The combination of these textures makes for a candy-bar mouthfeel experience. Overall, they aren’t super thick–you aren’t going to find these tough to bite through, instead, they’re softer, lightly chewy, and have an aprecitable amount of small crunchy pieces which don’t come across as hard or detracting.
In terms of taste, unfortunately, most, but not all, do have an artificial bitterness, similar to that of a sweetener, that lingers as you eat through them. Some have it more than others. Does it spoil the experience? For the most part, not really, as the flavors and level of sweetness still make for a tasty candy-bar-esque experience. And of course, each bar does taste different.
Ranking
1. Strawberry Strudel
This is a perfect rendition of a creamy, sweet strawberry milkshake in bar form. It’s so, so extraordinarily creamy with a smoothly sweet strawberry smoothie taste. No bits of artificialness either! It felt genuine, and if you asked me, I would have never guessed this was a protein bar–neither a candy bar nor a punchy strawberry strudel either; while it’s sweet, notably, it doesn’t have a candy-like taste. Probably one of the sweetest bars on this list!
The bar’s flavor is uniform throughout–strawberry and cream, nothing else. However, coupled with the lightly varying textured layers and crunchy pieces, it elevates it so much, essentially making it a good rendition of an actual strudel. Easily a recommendable sweet treat for those who want something that isn’t fake-tasting and something sweeter.
1. Chocolate Banana
Banana is surprisingly, well, a tasty banana, though there is a bit of artificial taste that coincides with it. The bar as a whole is a bit more than mildly sweet, with a combo of mild candy-like banana and semi-dark non-bitter chocolate. But that’s what makes this bar special: it doesn’t try to go overboard with the sweetness or fake banana; it simply gives you what you ask and makes for a good, unique-tasting protein bar. Definitely worth trying if you like a banana that isn’t too strong or weird tasting–yes, I know I did say candy banana earlier, but it’s quite tame–pleasant, even, here.
2. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
I can taste the cookie dough center! And then, combined with the milk chocolate ganache layer that sits right on top of it, all wrapped in a semi-dark chocolate shell, what you get is a chocolately and cookie-dough-tasting candy bar treat. Interestingly, to me, this is as artificial as any other packaged cookie dough, so in a way, it’s not artificial? I’m not sure if I’m making sense, but basically, if you enjoy cookie-dough-based treats, which are usually already artificially tasting, you’ll love this too. However, what separates this is the combination of chocolate and great composition, which elevates the cookie dough inside.
3. Chocolate Peanut Butter
This is absolutely Snickers, and not even some knockoff, cheaper tasting one, it’s actually a rival! If anything, the peanut flavor here itself is a tiny bit more authentic tasting while still having the same amount of sweetness. It has it all: a nutty taste (at least, maybe my brain was being tricked by the crunchy pieces), the clear creamy chocolatelyness, and of course, the peanut butter. The flavors are very close to its candy counterpart, as well as its composition: having a chunky, crunchy, and ganache texture. Yup, a lot like Snickers, but not quite as chewy or dense as one, which isn’t bad either, again, this rivals it in its own way!
4. Lemon Cake
I expected a punchy lemon hit, but nope, it’s very smooth, and the artificialness is hardly even there, especially compared to many other bars on this list. The lemon itself isn’t at all bitter, while still being somewhere around an enjoyable, moderately sweet flavor. Maybe it’s the white creamy shell that carries it, I’m not sure, but either way, with the crunchy pieces, it does feel like you’re eating an almost buttery and creamy lemon cake!
5. Cinnamon Twist
The shell is noticeably white and creamy, with a sugary cinnamon soft solid ganache center as well as crunchy pieces. It’s mild to moderately sweet with only a hint of artificialness compared to others on this list. And let’s get this straight: this doesn’t have a Cinnamon Toast Crunch flavor; it’s less sweet, and the cinnamon and sugar specifically taste different, as if there’s some sweetener mixed in there, too. Overall, this is a pleasant, cinnamony bar that doesn’t go overboard with any bitterness.
6. Peanut Butter Cookie
This rocks a moderately sweet-tasting cookie and peanut mix–a peanut butter cookie, perhaps? You get the cookie flavor, an authentic, mild peanut, chocolate, and I swear, a hint of caramel too! I also like the crunchy pieces and how the flavor of this actually has almost no artificial taste. It’s a peasant, candy bar-tasting protein treat that makes it feel like you’re eating a chewy and crunchy, peanutty monster-type cookie in candy bar form. Notably, the peanut here isn’t as strong as its Peanut Butter exclusive counterpart.
7. Apple Pie
This really reminds me of an apple pie! It’s thick and especially creamy from the white chocolate shell that encapsulates a smooth and sweet, soft-solid brown apple pie-flavored filling. I can even taste cinnamon and extra sugar in there, too, which makes me convinced this really is an authentic apple pie! I mean, yeah, the texture is different, but the nuances of flavors are there. It’s also not strongly artificial, either, and compared to other bars on this list, it’s on the sweeter side, which accentuates the flavors. Overall, with how creamy and unique this is, it’s something I enjoyed but probably won’t get again– I’d prefer something more traditional, personally!
8. Chocolate Brownie
Unfortunately, this might be the most artificial-tasting bar on this list. It’s absolutely immediately noticeable and does pull back what this bar could be. It’s still not a horrible protein bar; it’s just not what I expected. What redeems it is that the bar itself is very chocolately, definitely the most chocolate-rich on this list. This is because the outside is a creamy, dark flavor, while the inside is more milky and light. It also has a thin, dark chocolate brownie-like texture layer at the bottom. The combination of all this makes for a super chocolately and nuanced chocolate protein bar where you can really taste the unique chocolate flavors that are all present. Again, unfortunately, the bitter artificialness takes away some of the chocolate magic.
9. Chocolate Coconut Almond
As an Almond Joy fan, I was delighted to try this–and it almost met my expectations, almost. Truth be told, it’s reminiscent of the candy bar, but it’s less sweet and has some artificialness alongside it. Honestly, it could also use a bit stronger coconut taste. It’s mild, and how much stronger the semi-dark chocolate shell is flavored–it does overwhelm it. Basically, what comes out is a dark chocolate, almost Almond Joy-like protein bar that leans towards its chocolate side, a hint of almond, and a side of some protein artificialness.
10. Milk & Cookies
This could have been so much better! It’s absolute cookies and cream, but the sweetness is on the lower side–perhaps preferable for some, but I feel like some extra sugar would have brought out its flavors more. It’s creamy, and there’s an overall light dark chocolate cookie flavor. It isn’t too artificial either, though, there’s a tad smidge of it from the cream part specifically. I did appreciate the mix of different chocolates on the inside, albeit they were light, in addition to the thick creamy shell. This bar, overall, is mostly a cream-tasting bar with a lighter chocolate background.
11. Mint Chocolate Chip
Peppermint or mint patty, anyone? Well, it’s close. It’s pleasantly smooth mint, coupled with a darker, non-bitter chocolate and an essence of milk chocolate from its other layer; it has some chocolately nuance which is aprecitable. No discernible artificialness or protein bar taste either! It really reminds me of its candy counterpart, perhaps even better because this is more chunky due to its layers and crunchy pieces. On the other hand, it’s not quite as sweet as its candy counter, though it is on the sweeter side. Basically, if I had to sum it up, it’s mostly just a minty chocolate candy bar (but better).
12. Peanut Butter and Jelly
Peanut butter and… peanut butter. Yeah, unfortunately, not much, if any, jelly flavor or actual goo. From the thick peanutty shell to the soft inside, this is peanut butter; the mix of crunchy pieces and softer layers makes it feel like a complex mix of varying peanut textures. The bar is between mild and moderately sweet with only a slight artificial peanut aftertaste; for the most part, it does taste like an authentic, mild peanut butter. And just to note, if you’re expecting some Reese’s thing, this ain’t it–it’s not anywhere close to that type of peanut flavor or sweetness. Overall, it’s just unfortunate that there isn’t a jelly flavor here, and the flavor is a bit too boring for me. If you want a purely peanutty bar, this may work for you.
13. Mint Madness Loaded Cookie
Compared to their regular bars, this is much different. It felt like I was eating a dense, semi-moist, and especially annoying crumbly brownie. The dense texture reminds me of a Little Debbie brownie, but especially more crumbly. It felt moist throughout, yet unfortunately, after I bit into it, it started to break apart. It doesn’t have the nuance of composition and textures of the other bars; it’s completely different–it is labeled differently, to be fair.
In terms of flavor, it has a mildly sweet, minty taste from the large helping of embedded green chips with a dark, non-bitter chocolate base. Kind of like a minty chocolate patty candy, but not nearly as strong, and no, don’t worry, there isn’t really toothpaste flavor or too much artificialness present here! Overall, it’s a decent bar, and those who enjoy mint might come away enjoying it, but to me, it’s so darn annoying to eat!
14. Caramel Peanut
Interestingly, the composition of these is different than others on this list. It’s less soft and chewy, instead having more of a crunch and “snap.” Don’t get me wrong, it’s still decently soft and chewy, just not nearly as much as the others. It resembles a worse version of something between a Snickers and a Twix due to this mouthfeel (and flavor, which I’ll get to).
There’s a noticeable bitter, artificial peanut protein taste that’s especially more prevalent here compared to the other peanut-based bars on this list, as well as a plain and mildly sweet dark chocolate. Maybe it’s the supposed caramel throwing in that fake artificial taste–which, by the way, I barely even noticed–the caramel, I mean, just doesn’t seem to be doing much here. In terms of sweetness, it’s mildly sweet and could use some more sugar, and, well, improvement in most other areas, too. I’m not sure what happened here… the texture wasn’t to my liking and the flavors were lackluster at best. Overall, it’s disappointing.