Raising the (Granola) Bar

It is quite possible to go camping and entirely subsist on bars. Or so I’m told. I haven’t camped since high school because indoor plumbing is a modern marvel and it feels silly to purposefully remove myself from its splendor. But I enjoy hiking and kayaking and being outdoors, and sometimes I can use my brain to imagine hiking for many days at a time while sleeping on the floor in between. And on a real, non-imagined daily basis, I always need to have a granola bar in my bag in case of an emergency, something that makes my entire life feel a lot like camping. So in the realm of snacking bars, I am an expert.

The abundance of bars has made “granola bar” more of an umbrella term than a descriptor of particular ingredients. There are cereal bars and fruit and nut bars, bars with protein and Bars for Girls. Some say they’re for “nutrition,” while others tout protein or energy or fiber as their main draw. But there is something to be said for the classic granola bar, an amalgamation of grains and fruits and chocolate held together by the barest hint of sugar glue.

Given how many bars are out there, for the purposes of this taste test, I tried to adhere closely to what I think separates granola bars from those whose goals are meal replacement or jacking you up with protein. Granola, to me, is a well-rounded snack to keep you going, not the nutritional equivalent of an extruded chicken breast. There should be some sort of grain or nut base, and a variety of textures and visible ingredients. If it’s chewy, it shouldn’t be mushy, and if it’s crunchy, it should snap. And mostly, it should taste like the stuff that’s in it. If that sounds like what you’re looking for in a granola bar, then please enjoy my highly subjective rankings of some popular ones. 

Nature Valley Oats ‘n Honey Crunchy Granola Bar 

This bar got such a bad reputation for turning to dust in your backpack that Nature Valley changed the formula to make it less crumbly, which solved the one problem it had. This is my go-to bar. Its flavor is simple, and avoids the cloying sweetness of the stickier, chocolate-laden bars that just make you want to chug water, which inevitably leads to you having to pee in the woods and probably get bitten by a snake. You also won’t get chocolate or peanut butter all over your fingers eating it on the go. Yes, it comes in other flavors, but why mess with a classic? 9/10

Munk Pack Chewy Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Bar

This chewy bar boasts no added sugar — its sweetness comes from allulose — and is also a self-described low-glycemic and keto-friendly food. Although it’s packed with visible chunks of chocolate, almond, and coconut, its lack of sugar and salt unfortunately made me feel like I was chewing wax chips after a while. 4/10

Kodiak Chocolate Chip Crunchy Granola Bar

Despite its 10 grams of protein — from wheat protein isolate and pea protein — this is solidly a granola bar. It’s got a relatively straightforward ingredient list, with your classic rolled oats, sugar, chocolate chips, brown sugar, and oils. Structurally, it’s sturdier than Nature Valley, without the oat confetti that immediately greets you upon unwrapping. And while there is some protein chalkiness, it’s effectively masked by the nutty, caramelized flavor of the brown sugar. Crunchy and filling, new favorite I’ll be stuffing into my tote bag. 8.5/10

MadeGood Mixed Berry Granola Bar

This chewy, nut-free bar was a sleeper hit for me. No nuts means it’s heavy on oats, which can make you feel like you’re biting through a ream of paper at times, but its mixture of raisins, dried cranberries, freeze-dried raspberries, and currants give texture and a symphony of sour and sweet flavors. And though it’s a small bar, its oats surplus kept me full until it was mealtime. 7/10

Quaker Chewy Granola Bar

Ahh, the workhorse of day camps everywhere. This is squarely kid food, coming in flavors like s’mores and cookie dough as well as classic chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin. The base is an oat and rice crisp granola, with a lot of corn syrup holding it together. That makes this bar, regardless of the flavor, intensely sweet and prone to squishing almost immediately in a pocket or a bag. There are those for whom nothing else will do, but for everyone else, there are better options. 5/10

Kind Cranberry Almond Nut Bar

There is no brand with more visible ingredients than Kind: their whole deal is entire nuts barely held together. This makes them difficult to chew sometimes, especially if they’ve gone the least bit stale. But that many nuts is good for keeping one full, and the dried cranberries feel quietly luxurious. 6.5/10

Special K Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Meal Bar

Okay, I know I said protein bars aren’t granola bars, but these are just marketing terms anyway, so who cares. Special K’s bars consist of peanuts and other crunchy things coated in chocolate, which, yes, makes them a little melty. But they’re also crispy, light, and taste more like a peanut butter cup than a protein bar. I’d happily demolish one in the middle of a long bike ride. 7.5/10