Top 9 Most Nutritious Keto Bars You Can Buy

A ketogenic diet can be a tough one to follow, given its restrictive requirements for intake of the basic macronutrients – carbohydrates, fat, and protein. In an ideal world, the solution would be to make every meal yourself, so you know exactly what is in your food and how much of it.

But it’s not an ideal world, and much of the time, convenience is king. In that case, snack bars check off all the boxes: ready-to-eat, nutritious, filling, and easy to consume on the go.

But for those following a ketogenic diet, most bars found on store shelves don’t hit the mark. They’re often made with oats or fruit ingredients, making them too high in carbohydrates, and due to the health halo around “low-fat” foods, they’re also made to be very low in fat.

Even if they are keto-friendly as far as macros are concerned, they are often loaded with added sugar and artificial ingredients.

Our tips for shopping for keto bars, along with this list of the 9 best keto bars you can buy – ranked by carbohydrate content – are bound to help you find plenty of easy, nutrient-packed snack options to stash in your keto-friendly go-bag.

How to shop for keto bars

The snack bar section at the grocery is a dizzyingly colorful maze of complicated labels and questionable health claims. However, once you know what you’re looking for, it doesn’t have to be all that confusing. Here are the main components to consider when shopping for keto bars:

• Macronutrient composition. Typical keto diets contain 70-80% fat, 10-20% protein, and 5-10% carbohydrate (1). With basic ingredients like rice, chicken breast, eggs, or spinach, it’s easy to track carb, fat, and protein intake. When it comes to snack foods that are comprised of more than just a few ingredients, monitoring your daily macros can be much less straightforward. Choosing snacks that fall somewhere within these ranges can help make it easy to stay within these guidelines in your diet as a whole.

• Percent daily value. Another important figure to look at on the nutrition label is the percent daily value per serving, which represents how much one serving contributes to the daily recommended amount of a specific nutrient. When it comes to snack bars, the percent daily values can help you understand how the amounts of carbs, fat, and protein in a single bar fit into your diet as a whole. For keto bars, look for options that are closer to 5% of the DV of carbs or less. If you’re looking for an excellent source of protein or fat, choose bars with ≥20% of the DV.

• Added sugar.  We analyzed hundreds of granola bars and discovered that 80% of them are loaded with added sugars (7). The American Heart Association recommends no more than around 6 teaspoons of added sugar daily for women and 9 teaspoons for men (8).

GreenChoice Picks

1. Epic Provisions Sriracha Chicken Bar

This savory gluten-free bar is made with chicken and sriracha spice blend. It provides 11g of protein, 5g of fat, and only 3g of carbs, or 1% of the DV, per serving.

2. Bulletproof Vanilla Shortbread Collagen Protein Bar

These vanilla shortbread protein bars are packed with fiber and collagen protein. One bar offers 8g of fiber, 11g of protein, 12g of fat from MCT oil and cashew butter. It contains only 12g of carbs which is equal to 4% of the daily value. In addition, it’s free from gluten or dairy.

3. Quest Snack Bar Chocolate Mixed Nuts

These nut bars contain only 14g of carbs, 5% of the DV, and 0g of added sugar per serving. They’re also a good source of protein and an excellent source of fiber. This bar has no added sugar and is instead sweetened with sugar substitutes – stevia and erythritol.

4. Vega Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein Bar

This Vega protein bar contains 20g of carbs which is equal to 7% of the daily value. Also, it provides 10g of plant-based protein that comes from pea protein, brown rice protein, and peanut butter. Notably, this may not be the choice for those looking for a low-sugar bar – this one contains 11g of added sugar.

More Keto Bars

5. Larabar Maple Cinnamon Crunchy Nut & Seed

This nut & seed bar is made with almonds and pumpkin seeds. One bar offers 5g of protein and 16g of fat – 24% of the DV. It has just 12g of carbs, which is equal to 4% of the daily value. Also, it contains 5g of added sugar that comes from maple syrup and honey.

6. Bulletproof Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Collagen Protein Bar

This keto-friendly bar is made with collagen protein which supports healthy skin, bones, and joints. It provides 11g of protein, 9% of the DV, 12g of fat, 15% of the DV, and 12g of carbs, 4% of the DV, per serving. It’s also an excellent source of fiber with its 8g of fiber content. Also, it contains 0g of added sugar, with its sweetness coming from organic stevia leaf instead.

7. Freeland Foods Sprouted Bar

This highly nutritious bar is made with only 5 ingredients: sprouted pumpkin seeds, dates, sprouted flaxseeds, agave nectar, and sea salt. It offers 16g of carbs, which is equal to 6% of the daily value. Also, it’s packed with 12g of protein and 18g of fat.

8. Health Warrior Coconut Chia Bar

This plant-based bar is packed with fiber and protein. Each bar contains only 3g of added sugar and 16g of carbs, which provides 6% of the recommended daily value.

9. Everhemp CBD Bar Green Power

This highly nutritious bar is made with 25mg of CBD from hemp and it’s rich in omega-3s, magnesium, manganese, iron, thiamin, and phosphorus. It provides 19g of carbs, 14g of protein, and 12g of fat. In addition, it’s free from dairy, soy, or gluten.

Key takeaways for choosing keto bars

The standard keto diet contains 70-80% fat, 10-20% protein, and 5-10% carbohydrates, but that means that the nutritional composition of most snack bars on store shelves makes them a poor fit for a solid keto meal plan (1).

However, knowing what to look for can make the search for keto bars easier. Choose bars that are low in carbs, aiming for not much more than 5% of the recommended daily value. Additionally, keep in mind that many bars can be packed with different types of syrups and sweeteners, so be sure to check the amount of added sugar as well.

We hope this list of the best 9 keto bars will get you well on your way to stocking up on the best on-the-go snacks that fit your dietary needs.

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GreenChoice, PBC has evaluated and rated more than 340,000 food & beverage products across hundreds of attributes related to diet, health, and sustainability. Easily find the best products for you, the planet, & your budget. Sign up to access the GreenChoice marketplace, the first carbon-neutral online grocery marketplace for healthy, climate-friendly shopping.

Sydney W

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Merve

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