ONE Protein Bar Flavor Ranking | Which Bar is the Best?

ONE protein bars are one of my favorite protein bar brands on the market today.

In terms of popularity, they are right up there with Quest bars, and it’s clear to see why so many people view them as the best protein bars.

ONE bars come in a ton of really fun flavors, have 20 grams of protein, only 1 gram of sugar, and have great taste.

Sure, not every flavor is a home run. But generally speaking, I find these bars to be much better than many other typical protein bars on the market.

Since there are so many flavors available, I’m going to rank them all so you can determine which bars are worth buying for you. We all have different taste buds, so your preferences may differ from mine, but since I’ve tried every flavor, I feel it’s my duty to break them down for you.

If you do decide to give any flavors a try, I recommend checking out Target as they always seem to have them in stock. You can typically find a box of 4 bars for $8 at Target.

Note: For this review, I’m going to rank the regular ONE protein bars only. ONE Brands also carries ONE Basix, ONE Plant, and ONE Crunch, but they all deserve separate reviews from this one.

ONE Bar Nutrition Facts

Each flavor of ONE bars is going to be slightly different, but they are mostly the same across the board.

We’ll use the Birthday Cake flavor as an example as it is one of the most popular flavors they sell.

A ONE bar contains 220 calories, 8g fat, 23g carbs (1g sugar, 3g fiber, and 6g sugar alcohol), and 20g protein.

The calories of each bar will vary, but all flavors are right around 200 calories. In terms of sugar alcohol and fiber, you’ll also see the amounts varying a bit based on flavor. For example, the S’mores flavor contains 8g of fiber, which is a bit higher.

Regardless of flavor, you’ll find that each ONE bar contains 20 grams of protein and just 1 gram of sugar, making it a great option for most diets.

In terms of artificial sweeteners, the main sweetener used in ONE bars is Maltitol. As far as sugar substitute goes, I actually find that Maltitol does not cause me any gastrointestinal discomfort, but that’s going to vary based on the individual.

ONE Bar Texture

ONE strawberry shortcake bar

With a lot of protein bars (like the Dive Bars I reviewed) I find the textures to be extremely inconsistent between flavors.

In my opinion, ONE bars are actually one of the more consistent bars out there.

Each flavor of ONE bars has a soft chocolate or white chocolate coating on the outside, and the inside is a chewy nougaty texture. Yes, it’s thicker and denser than the nougat of a candy bar, but it is much less chewy overall than other protein bars out there.

You won’t find any caramel layers inside these bars, but they mix in a generous amount of add-ins like sprinkles and chocolate chips that each bite is more than just a generic protein bar.

You’ll have to do your own taste test to see exactly what I mean, but in my mind, ONE bars are a very pleasing consistency.

OK, now let’s dive into the rankings!

19. Butter Pecan

The butter pecan ONE bar is one of two flavors that I truly do not like.

While I can see what they were going for, the artificial / chemical taste is just far too strong in this one to make it enjoyable. The bar is very sweet overall, but the aftertaste is just too strong.

On the bright side, this bar is jam-packed with lots of pecan pieces, which is great to see. But that’s not enough to raise this one in the rankings for me.

18. Marshmallow Hot Cocoa

Much like butter pecan, the marshmallow hot cocoa flavor has a very strong aftertaste to it. You definitely taste chocolate on the initial bite, but the aftertaste really packed a punch. If you’ve ever experienced the flavor of overpowering sugar alcohols, that’s what this bar reminds me of.

Overall, this just tastes like a chocolate protein bar. Hot cocoa is a very distinct flavor, and that just doesn’t come through in this one, and the marshmallow flavor certainly takes a back seat.

17. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

If you love chocolate chip cookies, you’re likely not going to love this protein bar.

Does it resemble cookie dough? No, not really. The interior is soft and chewy, and there’s a slight buttery flavor to it, but it mostly just resembles a generic protein bar flavor. And while there’s a chocolate coating, there’s a serious lack of chocolate chips in this bar, which is very disappointing.

Whether you’re after actual chocolate chip cookies or chocolate chip cookie dough flavor, this falls short on both fronts.

16. Cookies & Cream

This bar should be called “Very Sweet White Chocolate With Tiny Crunchy Cookie Pieces.”

If you’re looking for an Oreo flavor, you’re not going to find it in this bar. Overall, you mostly taste white chocolate, and very sweet white chocolate at that.

Yes, there are small cookie pieces in the bar, but not enough to contribute any kind of taste.

15. Almond Bliss

If you love Almond Joy candy bars, feel free to completely ignore this review, because these protein bars may be incredible to you.

Almond Bliss is one of the ONE’s most popular flavors, (as evident by their best sellers variety pack) so clearly, I am the crazy one here.

This is a coconut protein bar with full almonds on top and a chocolate coating. Maybe that sounds great to you, but as someone who doesn’t really like coconut flavor, I found that flavor to be way too overpowering in this bar. But hey, give it a try and find out for yourself!

14. Chocolate Brownie

To be brutally honest, I don’t find this bar to taste much like brownies at all.

In fact, this tastes like many other chocolate-flavored protein bars I’ve tried. I appreciate what they are going for here, but the chocolate is not rich enough for me to consider this a brownie. It’s an overall pleasant chocolate flavor, but other bars out there (like the Misfits protein bars) better resemble an actual brownie flavor.

13. Cinnamon Roll

I have a love-hate relation with cinnamon roll flavor. I don’t think anybody can argue that cinnamon rolls are one of the best desserts on the planet when done right.

But cinnamon roll flavor is basically just cinnamon, and this cinnamon roll bar is no exception.

Now, maybe I’m in the minority here, because reviews of this flavor are mostly very positive, but I find myself being very disappointed by it. The interior of this bar does have a pleasant cinnamon flavor, but I expected the white chocolate coating to create a cinnamon roll icing flavor, and that just did not come through for me.

Is this a good protein bar? Yes, it definitely is. But it’s much more cinnamon than cinnamon roll in my eyes, making it a bit of a disappointment.

12. Lemon Cake

Lemon Cake is really tough for me to rank because I don’t love lemon-flavored snacks. If I’m reaching for a snack, lemon is one of the last flavors I’m thinking about (outside of mint, that is).

But I cannot deny that this is a pretty solid protein bar. The lemon flavor is very prominent, but it’s not at all overpowering. It’s balanced out by the white chocolate coating and shortbread cookie pieces within the bar, so it resembles what I assume an actual lemon cake would taste like.

If you love lemon, this may be the best tasting protein bar you’ve ever had, but I simply cannot rate it that way based on my indifference toward all things lemon.

11. Peanut Butter Cup

Peanut butter cup just missed my top 10. As a lover of Reese’s, and pretty much all things peanut butter & chocolate, I had really high hopes for this bar.

While the bar does have a peanut butter flavor, and there’s a chocolate coating around the outside, it does not resemble an actual peanut butter cup. In fact, I’ve tried other protein bars that have a very similar flavor to this one, meaning it’s really nothing to write home about.

If you love Reese’s Cups, don’t expect this ONE bar to satisfy that craving. But if you enjoy other peanut butter & chocolate protein bars on the market, you may love this one.

10. Peanut Butter & Jelly

ONE released this limited edition peanut butter & jelly flavor in 2023, and while it’s very fun, it doesn’t quite hit the mark.

If we were rating this on smell alone, it would be a 10/10. When you open this up, you’re immediately transported back to grade school with the identical smell to a true peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

You definitely taste what they were going for here- it’s a peanut butter bar with a strawberry interior. However, the flavor tastes more like peanut butter flavoring than it does authentic peanut butter, which just leaves me wishing for more. It hits on the nostalgia factor for me, but it doesn’t blow me away.

If you love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, there’s enough resemblance here that you may really enjoy this flavor, but it just falls a bit short for me.

9. Birthday Cake

Birthday cake may just be ONE’s most popular flavor, and it’s easy to see why. Personally, I find most birthday cake-flavored snacks to taste far too artificial.

This ONE bar is one of the only products I’ve tried that tastes like actual birthday cake. Since trying this bar, Quest Nutrition revamped their own birthday cake bar, and it’s actually quite good as well, so they are the other exception to the “usually artificial” rule.

The chewy texture of this bar doesn’t resemble actual cake, but the flavor surely does. This bar has a pleasing vanilla flavor, and the vanilla coating tastes like a delicious vanilla frosting. Add some rainbow sprinkles on top for some added texture and flavor, and you’ve got a true birthday cake flavor.

This bar is definitely sweet, but I find it to be the right amount of sweetness overall.

8. Peanut Butter Pie

Most peanut butter flavored protein bars taste like… well, peanut butter protein bars. They typically have a fake peanut butter flavor to them rather than tasting like actual peanut butter.

ONE bar flips the script, and they’ve created a bar that truly resembles peanut butter. In terms of flavor, this one is a peanut butter lover’s dream.

Sure, the interior of this bar does have a bit of a protein powder flavor to it, but it’s not enough to be unpleasant. And the fact that the peanut buttery interior is surrounded by a peanut butter coating, there’s just not much to dislike about this one.

7. Blueberry Cobbler

As I write this ranking, I’m sad that blueberry cobbler is only number 7 on this list, but that just goes to show you how good some of these flavors are because I love this flavor.

The blueberry flavor is very strong and authentic, and it’s paired with a cake layer that adds that “cobbler” factor to this bar. The white chocolate layer is also really pleasant, but it gives this bar more of a blueberries & cream flavor than blueberry cobbler. I’m certainly not mad about that, but I would have named this flavor Blueberries & Cream instead.

6. Pumpkin Pie

As someone who finds pumpkin spice flavor VERY overrated, I love this bar. In other words: this flavor tastes like actual pumpkin pie and NOT just pumpkin spice.

There is some cinnamon flavor to this one, but the overall spice is very subtle, which is huge bonus points for me.

The interior of this bar tastes like actual pumpkin, and pieces of shortcake cookie within this bar help to round out the flavor to make it taste like an actual pumpkin pie.

If you want a bar that tastes like a sweet pumpkin pie and not just like a mouthful of cinnamon and nutmeg, your search is over.

5. Maple Glazed Donut

Funny enough, maple glazed doughnut was my favorite ONE bar flavor until new flavors were released, and the 4 flavors I have ranked above this one are all newer flavors. So, even though this one is ranked 5th, it’s not a knock on the flavor at all.

This particular flavor was one of the first ONE bars I tried, and it caught me by surprise as I had never had anything like it before.

It is on the sweet side, but I don’t find it overly sweet by any means. There’s a strong maple syrup flavor to it, and an authentic one at that, and you truly get a cake donut flavor coming through as well.

How do you describe the flavor of a donut? I’m not quite sure. But, all I can say is ONE bar found a way to capture that flavor and infuse it into this maple-glazed donut bar, and I am here for it.

4. Dark Chocolate Sea Salt

Truth be told, I thought I was going to hate this flavor, but it fits firmly within my top 5 flavors.

This is a delicious double chocolate bar, with a rich chocolatey interior and an outer chocolate layer, making it a perfect snack for chocolate lovers.

On its own, it would be a really delicious snack, but the addition of sea salt elevates this bar far more than I anticipated.

The top of this bar contains a sprinkle of thick sea salt, giving you a true sweet & salty combo in every bite.

This may just be the most indulgent flavor that ONE bar has to offer, and if you prefer a flavor that isn’t overly sweet, this one definitely delivers.

Update: Sadly this one has been discontinued in 2022, but here’s hoping they bring it back very soon!

3. Fruity Cereal

If your sweet tooth loves cereal as much as mine does, then you’ll love this bar.

Oftentimes, when a product is flavored like fruity cereal, it falls short. But this bar will transport you right back to childhood with the flavor of actual Froot Loops.

The bar itself is very sweet, but I enjoy that. And while you’re still very clearly eating a protein bar (there’s always going to be a “protein” flavor that you can’t quite completely hide) every single bite will hit you like you just had a spoonful of Froot Loops.

I will say that if you’re very sensitive to artificial flavors, this bar may not be the most pleasant for you. There’s a slight aftertaste to it, likely from the sweetener, but it’s not nearly enough to take away from the overall flavor for me.

2. S’mores

Most s’mores-flavored snacks taste nothing like actual s’mores, but this ONE bar sings a different tune.

When you think of s’mores, you think of chocolate, marshmallow, and graham cracker. The problem is, most s’mores products out there are just a combination of chocolate and artificial marshmallow flavoring, leaving a lot to be desired.

But this ONE bar absolutely delivers.

The interior of this bar has a graham cracker flavor, and it is jam-packed with crunchy marshmallows in every bite. All of this is wrapped up inside of a smooth chocolate coating, which leads to a truly authentic s’mores flavor.

This is the rare case where you taste truly authentic s’mores flavor, and I highly recommend this one as one of the best protein bars they offer.

1. Strawberry Shortcake

At the time of writing this ranking, strawberry shortcake is the newest ONE bar to hit shelves, and it is my favorite flavor by a landslide.

I have a full review dedicated to this flavor that you can find here, but to summarize: this is the perfect protein bar for any strawberry shortcake fan.

If you love those strawberry shortcake ice cream bars, then this bar will not disappoint you. It has a thick white chocolate coating, and a super soft interior that’s packed with real strawberry flavor AND crunchy shortbread pieces.

This is one of my favorite protein bars of all time, not just of the ONE bars, and I’ve tried almost all of them.

ONE Bar Flavors
ONE Bar Overall Review
Summary
ONE Bars are on of my favorite protein bars out there, but it largely depends on the flavor. While I absolutely love some flavors, there are others that I find pretty bad. But overall, I think ONE Bars are one of the better options out there.
Texture
8
Flavor Accuracy
7
Nutrition
8
Overall Taste
7.5
The Good
Not overly chewy
Great chocolate/candy coating on each bar
Excellent macros
The Bad
Tend to be pretty sweet
Some flavors taste very artificial
7.6
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