Taste Test: Quest Bar Flavors Ranked
If you're a fan of either IIFYM or flexible dieting, a healthy eating advocate, or if you're just deeply invested in eating healthy things that don't taste healthy, then you have undoubtedly experienced the fiber-rich healthy food phenom dubbed the Quest Bar. You can find Quest Bars in convenience stores like Wawa and 7-Eleven, or you can find them in supplement stores like The Vitamin Shoppe. Bodybuilders, Crossfitters, and healthy folk alike all love them because of their high protein content and overall guilt-free nutritional profiles and ingredients lists.
Quest Nutrition currently produces 18 flavors of Quest Bar, and we went to our in-house Quest Bar "expert," our Healthy Eating Editor Christian Kogler (also the person writing these words right now) to rank these flavors from least important to "OMG you must eat one to two of these a day." Without further ado, see what he (I mean I) has to say about Quest Nutrition's increasingly popular protein bars.
#18 Lemon Cream Pie
If we told you we'd ever tried this flavor, we'd be lying. As you'll see, though, fruit-flavored Quest bars tend to miss the mark. Thus, we assume that this one would be the worst of the bunch.
#17 Mixed Berry Bliss
Please see "Lemon Cream Pie," but insert "second" before "worst of the bunch."
#16 Apple Pie
Does it remind us of apple pie? Yes, the Apple Pie Quest Bar tastes like apple pie, but there's a certain gritty synthetic aspect to it that results in its stance at the bottom of the pack.
#15 Strawberry Cheesecake
This sounds great in theory, however, you could easily cycle the Strawberry Cheesecake protein bar's position up or down one or two spots. Sometimes it tastes better than other times, and we're just not sure why.
#14 White Chocolate Raspberry
Quest Nutrition absolutely crushes chocolate flavors, and it does so seemingly by solely using fiber (this isn't true, but it's fun to imagine). This White Chocolate Raspberry is much better than the first four bars we ranked, but the fruity aspect still has a certain mouthy, fake taste to it.
#13 PB & J
If you're a peanut butter and jelly nut like some of us are, then you're familiar with the way a fake PB & J protein bar tastes. This tastes just like that, but with the added benefit of 20-odd grams of protein and a bunch of fiber.
#12 Peanut Butter Supreme
As the list gets more and more decadent, peanut butter starts to rank supreme. (See what we did with the name and the sentence?)
#11 Banana Nut Muffin
This one really does taste like a naughty treat. For some reason, it feels like it should be made out of tightly compacted muffins, solidified into bar form after being shoved through two closely-spaced fence pickets. Spot on, Quest.
#10 Chocolate Peanut Butter
This tastes nothing like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, but it's still good. It gets the 10 slot because, for some reason, it carries a bit of that synthetic chewiness that many of the previously discussed bars do.
#9 Vanilla Almond Crunch
Ever have a bisque ice cream? It has that strangely enjoyable, anonymously sourced, pearly pink bathroom soap taste that you sometimes get when biting into an almond. If you're as into that as we are, this bar is for you.
#8 Cinnamon Roll
This does not taste like a cinnamon roll. Rather, it tastes like a slightly gritty, delicious, cinnamon nutrition rod. Enjoy with a glass of milk.
#7 Coconut Cashew
Coconut and cashew alike have distinct flavors. We'd never mixed them before having this Quest Bar flavor, but trust us: It works.
#6 Mint Chocolate Chunk
Chocolate mint protein bars are huge. They're usually one of the best flavors regardless of brand, and Quest's Mint Chocolate Chunk is no different. Très yummy.
#5 S'mores
Much like the Cinnamon Roll bar, this tastes nothing like any s'mores we've ever had, but that doesn't mean it's not good. You may get a slight marshmallowy flavor on the back of the tongue, but, mostly, you'll enjoy the smooth flavors of graham cracker and chocolate.
#4 Double Chocolate Chunk
We'll be honest, this one isn't too different from the Chocolate Brownie we ranked two places ahead on the list. If you like chocolate, eat this.
#3 Cookies & Cream
Cookies & Cream is sort of misleading. We'd like to rename this "Healthy Oreo Delight." Enjoy with caution, because one leads to two and two leads to, well, probably just two. Any more than two Quest Bars in one sitting will leave your stomach feeling like it has a cement brick housed inside of it. We know from experience.
#2 Chocolate Brownie
Remember what we just said about the Double Chocolate Chunk? It applies here as well. If you like chocolate, eat this, and don't be afraid to pop it in the microwave for a warm, soft treat.
#1 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
If you eat Quest Bars regularly or occasionally and don't rank Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough at the top, then... we don't know what to say. This is hands down the best Quest Bar flavor there is and ever will be. On certain lonelier evenings, one Healthy Eating Editor you may or may not know has been rumored to eat anywhere between three and five of these in one sitting. They're that good. PRO TIP: Don't eat these without a dietary babysitter standing nearby to slap your hand with a wooden spoon when you reach for another. No one wants a cement brick in her or his belly.