Protein snacks: bars, cookies and something savoury

A soft-baked cookie, a seed-and-nut bar and a chocolate-coated protein bar can be very different foods under the wrapper. Here's how the protein snacks on our shelves compare, plus a few savoury picks and easy snacks to put together from the fridge.

First, compare the whole bar

The protein number is a good place to start, but the size of the snack matters too: a 50 g bar and a 68 g cookie aren't the same portion. Fibre, sugars, the protein source and the allergens give you the fuller picture. These figures are for one whole bar.

This isn't a ranking. It shows how different the recipes are: the two Younited flavours share a protein number but not everything else, and the Love Good bar brings more protein and less fibre than the others. Which one tastes good to you, and which ingredients work for you, matter just as much.

Four directions on the sweet side

TRUBAR Oh Oh Cookie Dough is a dense, chewy plant-based bar built on rice and pea protein with cashews and real cocoa. It's vegan and gluten free, sweetened with cane sugar, and it contains cashews.

Younited bars are made from whole foods: organic sunflower seed butter and pea protein crisps with almonds, cashews, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, hemp, flax and chia, sweetened with organic agave and stevia. The Chocolate bar has a layer of stevia-sweetened dark chocolate, and Crunchy Peanut Butter Cup takes the same idea in a peanut butter direction.

Love Good Peanut Caramel is a chocolate-coated bar with a chewy, creamy centre and real peanuts, with 20 g of protein from collagen, whey, milk and soy proteins. It's keto-friendly, with 2 g of sugar and 2 g of net carbs, and it isn't a plant-only bar: it contains peanuts, milk, soy and gluten.

More plant-based bars

IronVegan Sprouted Protein Bars use five sprouted proteins for 16 g of protein and only 4 g of sugars in the Double Chocolate Brownie. GoMacro's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip MacroBar, the bar that started the company, has 11 g of sprouted brown rice and pea protein in a soft, chewy 65 g bar that's organic, vegan and gluten-free.

A local, soft-baked cookie

Made with Local began around a kitchen table in Nova Scotia, when founder Sheena Russell baked a few dozen bars for her neighbourhood farmers market. Its Peanut Butter Sea Salt Protein Cookie is soft-baked with creamy organic peanut butter, chunks of organic peanuts and a pinch of sea salt, and it has 16 g of protein and 10 g of fibre. It's sweetened with a touch of organic honey and made without dairy, soy or sugar alcohols, so it's plant-protein but not vegan.

Made with LocalPeanut Butter Sea Salt Protein CookieSoft-baked, organic peanut butter, made in Nova Scotia.Shop →

There isn't one right protein snack: chewy, crunchy, chocolatey or savoury, the best one is the one you'll look forward to.

When you'd rather have something savoury

A protein snack doesn't have to taste like dessert. Country Prime Meats Honey Garlic Pepperoni is a naturally smoked, dry-cured 40 g stick, gluten-free and lactose-free, and it contains mustard. Country Prime is a family company in Lac La Hache, British Columbia, that has smoked and air-dried its meat sticks since 1996.

For a plant-based savoury snack, Primal Spirit Teriyaki is a chewy vegan jerky made from wheat gluten marinated in naturally brewed soy sauce. It's vegan with no MSG added; it contains wheat and soy, so it isn't a gluten-free pick.

Three snacks to put together

Packaged snacks earn their place for convenience. When you have a few minutes and a fridge or cooler, these combinations give you more room to play.

1. A yogurt bowl. Spoon about ¾ cup of plain Greek yogurt into a container, add ½ cup of berries and finish with a spoonful of seeds or chopped nuts. Keep it cold until you eat it.
2. A small savoury plate. Pair a pepperoni stick with an apple and a few crackers. Slice at home, or pack the wrapped stick and whole fruit separately.
3. A plant-based trail snack. Take a pack of vegan jerky, a piece of fruit and a small handful of nuts, or seeds if nuts are out.

Organic Meadow 4% Plain Greek Yogurt is made from organic, 100% Canadian milk with active cultures: creamy enough for a snack bowl, a smoothie or a dip.

Organic Meadow4% Plain Greek YogurtOrganic Canadian milk, active cultures.Shop →

Questions we get a lot

Which protein bar has the most protein?

Of the bars here, Love Good Peanut Caramel has the most, at 20 g in a 55 g bar. Younited and IronVegan bars have 16 g each, with more fibre and plant protein.

Are there vegan protein bars?

Yes: TRUBAR, Younited, IronVegan and GoMacro are all plant-based. Check each wrapper for nuts, peanuts and the may-contain line.

Is a protein cookie the same as a protein bar?

Not quite. A cookie is usually larger and softer, and recipes differ, so compare the whole snack's size, protein, fibre and sugars rather than the name.

What's a good savoury protein snack?

A pepperoni stick or beef jerky if you eat meat, a vegan jerky if you don't, or a quick plate of Greek yogurt, cheese, nuts or seeds.

What does "keto-friendly" mean on a bar?

It usually means low in sugar and net carbs. Love Good Peanut Caramel, for example, has 2 g of sugar and 2 g of net carbs per bar.

Protein bars and snacks are at both stores: 486 Starboard Drive in Bedford and 590 Portland Street in Dartmouth, open seven days. For shakes, see our guide to protein powder types, and for more low-sugar ideas, our keto snacks guide. In HRM, order by 11 am with Luminate Express for same-day delivery, or choose pickup. Anywhere else in Canada, orders over $80 ship free.

Sources: Made with Local; product labels and listings.