The ketogenic, or keto, diet is a very low-carb, high-fat diet associated with several health benefits, including weight loss. If you’re following this diet, protein bars can be a convenient grab-and-go option when you need a quick meal or a filling snack. However, finding a keto-friendly bar can be difficult - most protein bars are too high in carbs or too low in fat or contain ingredients that don’t fit on a keto diet, such as dairy. Even protein bars that meet the keto criteria are not always healthy options. They often contain large amounts of artificial ingredients, additives, and preservatives. Still, if you look carefully, you can find protein bars that are both keto-friendly and nutritious. Alternatively, you can make them on your own.
Understanding the Keto Diet and Macronutrient Balance
On keto, protein shouldn’t be the enemy. Adding extra protein into your diet can help you burn body fat and keep you full between meals. There are tons of keto-friendly protein bars that make it convenient and easy to add more protein into your diet. There are several versions of the keto diet, though the most popular one encourages getting at least 70% of your daily calories from fat, 20% from protein, and no more than 10% from carbs. If you’re following a standard keto diet, you’ll want to stick to this macronutrient breakdown as closely as possible. For a 200-calorie bar, this ratio would equal 16 g of fat, 10 g of protein, and no more than 5 g of net carbs.
The Role of Protein in a Keto Diet
Proteins are vital for the body. Every cell in our body contains protein, and our body uses protein to make and repair cells. Children, teens, and pregnant women need protein for proper growth and development. During digestion, proteins are broken down into parts called amino acids. The body needs sufficient amounts of certain amino acids to maintain proper health. Amino acids are found in animal products such as meat, fish, eggs, and dairy, as well as plant-based sources like beans, legumes, soy, nuts, and seeds. The amount of protein you need in your diet depends on your overall caloric intake. The recommended daily intake of protein for healthy adults is 10% to 35% of your total daily caloric intake. Healthy amounts of protein are necessary on any diet, including keto. When first starting keto, it can be difficult to know how much protein to eat. Many people limit carbs and protein and eat tons of fat, fearing too much protein will kick them out of ketosis. This isn’t necessarily bad, but it may not be the best way to approach keto. Carbs are the only macronutrient that really messes with ketosis. That’s why you should limit your carbs and find the amount of carbs that works for you. Protein doesn’t interfere with ketosis. As long as you’re eating high fat, you can eat high protein, too. Not only does protein give your body necessary nutrients, but it can help you reach your keto goals. Protein is more satiating than fat, so people on low-protein diets tend to overeat, stalling weight loss. By increasing your protein intake, you can eat less and still feel full. Protein also has fewer calories than fat (four calories per gram versus nine, respectively). You can lower your caloric intake by switching out some of your daily fat for protein, which can increase your weight loss or break a weight loss plateau. A word of warning: Adding more protein to your diet may be helpful, but watch out for any extra calories that come with it. Remember, you won’t lose weight if you’re taking in more calories than you're burning.
Evaluating Pure Protein Bars for Keto Compatibility
Pure Protein Bars provide high-quality protein for a convenient pre-workout or post-workout snack. However, Pure Protein Bars advertise the amount of sugar (3g) on the packaging to make it seem low carb. Don’t forget that carbs exist outside of sugar. A product may be low in sugar, but high in carbs. Pure Protein bars are sweetened by Maltitol, which is a sugar alcohol with a glycemic index of 36 (more than half the GI of table sugar). Some people may wish to avoid sugar alcohols because they may cause digestive distress. The Pure Protein "PLUS" bars use Isomalto-Oligosaccharides too. They're just not made for keto dieters, with the inclusion of Maltitol and Isomalto-Oligosaccharides, it's obvious they don't care about raising your blood sugar. As you can see, when comparing Pure Protein bars to the best keto-friendly treats out there by net carbs per 100 calories, which is the most consistent indicator of keto friendliness, they're not even close.
Ingredients to Watch Out For
Try to avoid bars with a long list of ingredients you don’t recognize, such as artificial sweeteners or preservatives, as these indicate that the bar is more heavily processed. Research suggests that diets high in ultra-processed foods are linked to an increased risk of chronic health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and obesity. Instead, choose bars made mostly from whole foods such as oils, spices, natural sweeteners, nuts, and seeds. Because the keto diet is high in fat, you should also look for healthy fats such as nuts and nut butter, MCT oil, avocado oil, and flax, chia, or hemp seeds. Cheap fiber and fillers that act like carbs should be minimized as much as possible. Chicory root fiber, also known as inulin, is a smooth functional fiber with a slightly sweet flavor. Isomalto-Oligosaccharide (IMO) new research shows IMOs are actually partially digested, not insoluble fiber as once thought. Soluble Corn Fiber (SCF) SCF replaced IMO in many popular protein bars. Current research says SCF doesn’t have any impact on your blood sugar or carb count like IMO. Fake ingredients help preserve low-quality meal replacement bars on the shelf.
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Specific Ingredients in Pure Protein Bars and Their Impact
Overall factors: These Pure Protein bars are sweetened by Maltitol, which is a sugar alcohol with a glycemic index of 36 (more than half the GI of table sugar). I'm counting 50% of the Maltitol in these bars as net carbs for simplicity, which is low-balling since it's closer to about 67%. Hidden net carbs from Maltitol is reflected in the net carb counts and grades below. The Pure Protein "PLUS" bars use Isomalto-Oligosaccharides too, in which case I'll be counting 50% of these bars fiber as net carbs.
Alternatives to Pure Protein Bars
If you’re looking for a meal-replacement or snack bar, I’d recommend Keto Bars. If you can’t find the right store-bought protein or keto bar, or you just love to bake, making your own bars from scratch can be the perfect way to get the extra protein you’re looking for.
Recommended Keto-Friendly Protein Bars
- MariGold Protein Bars: Best high protein. MariGold Protein Bars are made with just a few ingredients, including whey isolate from grass-fed cow’s milk, cashews, filtered water, chicory root fiber, L-glutamine, grass-fed ghee, organic flavors, coconut oil, stevia extract, salt, and sunflower lecithin. Whey protein is a popular supplement because your body can quickly absorb this type of protein. As a result, it may promote significant increases in strength, muscle mass, and even fat loss. MariGold bars are also free of sugar alcohols, which are natural or manufactured carbs that taste sweet yet contain half as many calories as sugar. Instead, these bars are sweetened with stevia, although a few of the flavors also contain very small amounts of coconut nectar, coconut sugar, and maple syrup.
- EPIC Bars: Best meat-based. EPIC bars are meat-based bars that contain just a handful of ingredients. For instance, the Venison Sea Salt + Pepper bar is made using grass-fed venison, sea salt, encapsulated lactic acid (not from milk), water, black pepper, cultured celery powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. While these bars are low in net carbs, they’re very high in sodium, providing 600-750 milligrams (mg) of sodium per bar, depending on the flavor.
- Keto Bars: Best allergy-friendly. In addition to being high in fat and low in net carbs, these bars are vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and soy-free. All three flavors have short ingredient lists and are made with a base of unsweetened chocolate, coconut, and nut butter. To keep the bars sugar-free, the brand uses two alternative sweeteners - stevia and erythritol - in place of added sugar.
- BHU Keto Bars: Best organic. BHU’s keto-friendly protein bars have a fudgy texture and are made without any artificial sweeteners or preservatives. As a result, they need to be kept refrigerated. One unique ingredient in these bars is organic tapioca flour, which contains prebiotic fiber. This indigestible fiber helps feed beneficial bacteria in your gut, supporting proper digestion, immune system health, and heart health.
- Dang Bars: Best vegan. Dang Bars are a great option if you’re following a plant-based keto diet or simply prefer a vegan-friendly snack bar. Many of the ingredients in Dang Bars - such as nuts, pea protein, and chia and sunflower seeds - are instantly recognizable as nutritious and keto-friendly. Plus, these bars contain chicory root fiber, which is an excellent source of gut-healthy prebiotic fiber. However, it’s also high in short-chain carbohydrates called FODMAPs, so these bars may not be the best option for individuals with digestive conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
- No Cow Dipped Bars: Best high fiber. With 11-15 g of fiber per bar, No Cow Dipped Bars have the highest fiber content of all the bars on our list. Consuming enough fiber each day is associated with a number of health benefits. No Cow Dipped Protein Bars are vegan and keto-friendly bars made using all plant-based ingredients. They’re also certified gluten-free and kosher, soy-free, and Non-GMO Project verified.
- CanDo Keto Krisp Bars: Best-tasting. Keto Krisp offers a unique texture twist: crispy yet still soft and chewy. These bars also come in unique flavors such as Butter & Salt, as well as more traditional flavors such as Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk. All the varieties are gluten-free and sweetened with stevia and erythritol to keep the sugar content low. With the exception of the Butter & Salt flavor (which contains collagen), they’re also plant-based. Keto Krisp bars also contain MCT oil, which may be helpful for weight loss, as well as fiber to promote fullness.
- CORE Keto Bars: Best with probiotics. CORE Foods offers keto bars made with probiotics, which may be beneficial for gut health. They contain the strain Bacillus coagulans GBI-30 6086, which may help your body absorb protein more effectively. However, because they contain live probiotics and no preservatives, these bars should be refrigerated. These bars are also non-GMO, plant-based, and sweetened with allulose and monk fruit extract.
- think! Keto Protein Bars: Most widely available. These keto-friendly protein bars from think! are available at many grocery store chains, including Walmart, so you can purchase them in person or as part of your regular grocery order rather than needing to order them online. They’re available in dessert-like flavors and are highly rated for taste. They’re also gluten-free and sweetened with erythritol and stevia. However, it’s important to note that these bars are made with milk protein, so they’re not vegan-friendly.
Homemade Keto Bar Recipes
- Nutty Chocolate Energy Balls: These nutty chocolate energy balls (or bars if you shape them that way) have over 7g protein and 27g of fat. They’re packed with almonds and pecans and bursting with flavor.
- Easy Keto Protein Cups: Four ingredients, five minutes and you’re done. These homemade keto protein cups are easy to make and offer 9g protein, 10g fat, and only 2g net carbs per serving.
- Customizable Keto Protein Bars: These protein bars use only a few customizable ingredients, so you can add your own flavors, protein powder, or anything else you want. Plus, they only have 1g net carbs.
- Coconut Chocolate Keto Bars: These homemade keto bars are as close to the real thing as possible. They can be made in less than 30 minutes, have only 3g net carbs and are full of coconut and chocolate. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Meal Replacement Bars: A Closer Look
Meal replacement bars are supposed to keep you just as a full as a real meal. In order to do that, they need to be fairly comparable to the nutritional weight of your normal breakfast, lunch or dinner. You need it to trigger your body to stop sending out hunger hormones and start suppressing your appetite after you eat it. A meal replacement bar should contain anywhere from 15 to 25 grams of protein. Anything less than this is more like a protein bar for between-meal snacking. Carbs are the biggest sore spot when it comes to narrowing down your choice of bars. Meal replacement bars, just like real meals, should also be an excellent source of fiber. You may not be familiar with all the ingredient names that hide sugar. They bury the sugar content in what often sounds like natural ingredients. Despite these natural-sounding names, sugar is sugar when it comes to being processed in your body. Most brands know consumers won’t stand for “health” bars that contain as much sugar as candy bars. So now they’re starting to use artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols. When you learn what to look for, it will be easier and faster scanning ingredient labels. If you see these sketchy ingredients, put the bar down. It also has a slightly sweet taste. And since it’s not metabolized like sugar and behaves more like a sugar alcohol, it won’t raise your blood sugar. You’ll see this ingredient often when you go low-carb. Meal replacement bars are no substitute for fresh, whole foods.
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