Garden Of Life Organic Sport Vegan Protein Bar Review

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garden of life bar wrapper

Where to buy: Amazon

Garden of Life is well known for their organic plant-based supplements, I’ve previously reviewed Garden of Life’s raw vegan protein powder as well.

When I was conducting my research to find the best vegan protein bar, of course I included Garden of Life’s bar.

All the bars I’ve tested have been scored according to amount of proteintaste, and affordability.

This review is split up into those main categories.

Protein Content and Ingredients

These bars are fairly high in calories, but pack a good amount of protein.

In each bar you’ll find:

Calories 280
Protein 20g
Carbohydrates 36g
Sugar 8g
Fiber 9g

To compare bars against each other, I calculated the protein content of each, and translated that to a score out of 10.

Here, 80 calories from protein out of 280 total calories is a protein content of 28.6%. That results in a score of 7 out of 10.

That turns out to be the average for all the bars.

Ingredients and Other Nutrition

While I don’t score it in any way, you may want to avoid or find certain ingredients in a bar, so let’s take a look at the ingredients in these bars:

Organic Tapioca (Syrup and Soluble Fiber), Organic Peanuts, Organic Pea Protein, Organic Vegetable Glycerin, Organic Chocolate Coating (Organic Cacao Nibs, Organic Erythritol, Organic Tapioca Fiber, Organic Cocoa Butter, Natural Licorice Flavor, Organic Stevia Extract (leaf), Organic Sunflower Lecithin, Organic Vanilla Bean Extract), Organic Pea Crisps (Organic Pea Protein, Organic Tapioca Starch), Organic Yacon Syrup (root), Organic Sprouted Brown Rice Protein, Organic Peanut Flour, Organic Acacia Fiber, Organic Flavor, Sea Salt.

Everything is organic, it’s clearly vegan, and is also soy-free.

There’s not a ton in the way of extra protein, but there is some.

In each bar, there is also:

  • 10% of your Calcium daily value (DV)
  • 20% of your iron DV
  • 15% of your magnesium DV
  • 4% of your potassium DV

How Does It Taste?

I was never a fan of the taste of Garden of Life’s protein powder when I tried it, so I came into this hoping that the bars were better.

To help you get a sense of what to expect, here’s a picture of a full bar unwrapped:

garden of life bar inside whole

There’s a peanut butter layer on top, with chocolate coating on the bottom.

In the middle, there’s a mixed layer of ingredients:

garden of life bar inside split

It’s certainly a unique look.

Here were my main thoughts during the taste test:

  • Flavor is pretty weak, only a hint of peanut butter/chocolate.
  • Bit chalky.
  • Good texture, doughy with a bit of crunch.

Overall I gave it a 6 out of 10 for taste.

It’s certainly not difficult to eat, but not enjoyable either. Compared to their protein shakes however, I was pleasantly surprised.

Other Flavors

The taste test above was for the peanut butter chocolate bar. That’s a pretty standard bar for most companies, so I try to get that sort of flavor when possible to be consistent across all reviews.

However, there are a few other flavors that you may prefer instead:

  • Chocolate Fudge
  • Chocolate Mint
  • Peanut Butter Chocolate
  • Sea Salt Caramel

Are the Bars Affordable

The last aspect of a protein bar that I score is how much it costs per 10 grams of protein.

The cheapest vegan protein bars are around $2, while the most expensive ones work out to around $4 per bar when you buy a box.

In this case, the bars work out to about $3 per bar, and gets you a solid 20 grams of protein per bar. Not terrible for an organic bar (which typically costs more), but not great either.

Using a simple formula to scale that cost to a score out of 10, Garden of Life bars get a 8 out of 10 for cost.

Overall, How Does the Garden Of Life Protein Bar Score?

Add up all those scores and you get an 21 out of 30 overall, or 70%.

Just like a 70% on an exam, it’s about average (a bit below in this case). However, it’s one of the best organic vegan protein bars you’ll find, if that’s important to you.

If it’s not, there are many other bars that I’ve tried that are better.

Alternatives to Garden of Life Organic Bar

Here are some of the best alternatives to this bar in my opinion:

  • Simply Bar – This is my #1 overall. While it’s not organic, it’s a healthy and affordable bar that has a great protein content. See my Simply Bar protein bar review for more details.
  • Square Organics – This is another organic bar that’s arguably the best in class. It has a slightly lower protein content, but tastes basically like a candy bar. Depending on what you’re looking for, it could be a better choice. Here’s my Square Organics bar review.
  • Sunwarrior Organic Protein Bar – This is another organic protein bar that tied for the top score of organic bars. It costs and tastes about the same as Garden of Life’s bar, but is a bit more affordable. Check out my Sunwarrior Sol Good bar review if you’d like to consider it.

About the author

Dale Cudmore

Your friendly neighborhood vegan from Toronto. I've spent over 6 years as a freelance nutrition writer and researcher. During this time, I've tested over 50 vegan protein powders, and over 100 other types of vegan supplements.