Where to buy: Amazon
Vega makes 3 vegan protein protein bars:
- The 10g protein snack bar
- The Vega Sport bar (also 20g)
- This bar (the 20g bar)
This bar shares a lot in common with the Vega Sport bar, but it’s still a separate product line so I wanted to review it separately.
My goal is to find the best overall vegan protein bar, that’s why I’ve bought about 20 different bars so far to test.
For each bar, I look at how much protein is in it compared to total calories, taste, and cost.
This review is divided into those 3 sections.
Table of Contents
Protein Content and Ingredients in Vega’s 20g Bar
There’s obviously 20 grams of protein in this bar, but raw protein quantity alone isn’t a good measure of the quality of a bar.
What if it had 2,000 calories (it doesn’t)?
That’s why I calculate a protein score based on protein content, which I define as the percentage of total calories that come from protein.
In this bar there is:
- 290 calories
- 20 grams protein
- 27 grams carbs (18g sugar, 4g fiber)
With 80 calories coming from protein, that works out to a protein content of 27.6%.
Next, I created a simple formula to scale this percentage for all bars to a score out of 10 (where 10 means it’s as high as you can find in vegan bars).
In this case, the bar scores a 7/10, which is the average score across all bars.
That’s not terrible, but some bars have 40% or more.
Ingredients
For the most part, the ingredients in this bar are pretty standard for a protein bar.
Pea protein, brown rice protein, cane sugar, vegetable glycerine, tapioca syrup, almond butter, palm kernel oil, organic agave syrup, organic molasses, organic agave inulin, apple juice concentrate, sunflower oil, rice starch, natural flavors, sunflower lecithin, sea salt.
The one potential issue for vegans is that is contains palm kernel oil. I’ll let you make up your own mind about whether or not palm oil is vegan to you.
There’s also a lot of sugar coming from multiple sources (cane sugar, tapioca syrup, agave), so it’s not the healthiest bar.
The Taste of Vega’s 20g Bar
Here’s where Vega bars really shine.
There’s a reason that most grocery and drug stores carry them, which is because many people just want a candy bar and are happy with some extra protein.
All of Vega’s bars that I’ve tried have tasted great.
There are 2 flavors of the 20g bar to pick from: Chocolate Peanut Butter, and
Salted Caramel.
Here’s what the chocolate peanut butter one looks like:
From the outside, it looks like a standard chocolate-coated bar.
And from the inside, there’s a protein mixture:
The flavor is great, and the texture is good as well (chewy but with a bit of a crunch). It basically tastes like a candy bar, making it a clear 10/10 for taste.
The only issue at all is that it sticks in your teeth a little bit, but I can’t take points off for that.
Cost Comparison to Other Bars
Of all the bars I’ve looked at, this is the most expensive.
To calculate a score out of 10 for all bars (where 10 is the cheapest), I took the typical price per bar when you buy a box per 10 grams of protein.
The reasoning for that is because if you’re looking for 20 grams of protein per day, you may have to buy multiple bars to hit that target (not this Vega bar, but others).
In this case, you’ll end up paying around $3.7 per bar unless you find a good discount, but that gets you 20 grams of protein.
As I said, this is the most expensive vegan bar I’ve tested (cheapest is just under $2 per bar), but it still works out to a score of 7/10 because of the high amount of protein.
Summary of Vega’s 20g Plant Protein Bar
Despite that perfect score for taste, the Vega 20g Protein bar only gets an overall score of 24/30.
That’s the best score for any Vega bar I tested, and a bit above average (~21) overall. While it’s not the best overall, it’s a decent option, and easy to find just about anywhere.
Keep in mind that if you’re not trying to get a specific amount of protein, and just want a casual bar once in a while, the cost per bar is quite expensive, and you should rate it lower on a personal scale.
Alternatives to Vega’s 20g Bar
If you’re going to get a Vega bar, I think this is the best one to get by a small margin. But I still think there are better overall bars to consider:
- Clif Builder’s Protein Bar – This one is similar in a lot of ways. It tastes great and has quite a bit of sugar. However, it’s much cheaper, so it seems like a directly better option to this Vega bar. You can see my Clif Builder’s protein bar review for more details.
- Simply Bar – If you’re looking for a bar that’s healthier or doesn’t contain palm oil, this is a good option. It has a higher protein content, lower cost, and the taste is almost as good. As you can see in my Simply Bar review, it’s my #1 overall pick.
