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The Ultimate Built Bars Taste Test: Our Team’s Thoughts on 18 New & Improved Flavors!

By Taylor | Staff Writer

Apr 23, 2020 @ 9:17 PM MDT

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If you haven’t noticed, we LOVE Built Bars here at Hip2Save. They onlinee in some of the best flavors that put so many other protein bars to shame, they’re low-carb and low-cal, and they turn into mini cakes when you heat them up in the microwave! Sounds pretty terrific, right?

When I tasted the original bars months back, I was so excited about the unique flavors, but not every bar hit the spot and some weren’t even worth a second bite. Now, a few months later, Built Bar has gone back to the drawing board and onlinepletely revamped their flavors, and I’ve gotta say, they’re leaps and bounds tastier than their predecessors.

If you missed Collin’s previous Built Bar review, she taste-tested and rated all 18 of the original flavors, so here we are doing a brand-new team taste-test to find out just how tasty these exciting new flavors are.

My Hip sidekicks Sara, Angela, and Emily all joined me as fellow taste-testers to share their honest thoughts on each and every bar, along with a rating on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the absolute best). Follow along to see how each new and improved Built Bar ranked!

*Each rating is an average calculated based on Sara’s (S), Angela’s (A), Emily’s (E), and my own (T) score.

Here’s what we thought about the 18 new Built Bars we tasted (+ the one that was the clear winner):

1. Mint Brownie

I didn’t expect to like this flavor very much because I personally think mint in a protein bar is strange, but this bar tasted so much like a peppermint pattie that I felt like I was eating candy, not a protein bar. The dark chocolate is perfectly balanced by notes of mint, without either flavor being too overpowering. This one was also a hit for Sara and Angela!

This one smells incredible and tastes just like mint chocolate chip ice cream. If you have a major sweet tooth and need a fix, this one is amazing. It literally tastes just like a junior mint. We give this one an 11 out of 10! – Sara

“One of my favorite bars! Mint just makes my mouth feel all refreshed, reminds me of a York peppermint pattie.” – Angela

Average score: 8.8/10 (S: 11, A: 10, E: 6, T: 8)

2. Orange

This Built Bar flavor reminded me of those chocolate orange creme eggs that I put in my kid’s Easter baskets, but without an insane amount of sugar. The orange flavor is really zesty and the rich chocolate onlinepliments it so well. While I like this flavor, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea if you’re not a fan of fruity chocolate blends.

“I’m really not a fan of orange but this one is nice and creamy. If you’re a big fan of anything orange flavor, I think this one would be a winner for sure! Since I don’t care for orange I gave it a lower score, but for orange lovers, I could see this being a hit!” – Sara

“This is another of my favorites, I love orange/citrusy flavors and this is so yummy without tasting fake.” – Angela

Average score: 7/10 (S: 5, A: 10, E: 6, T: 7)

3. Toffee Almond

This flavor wasn’t anything special in my opinion and didn’t really impress my fellow taste-testers either. It tasted slightly reminiscent of toffee, but it actually had more of a dominant coffee flavor and just wasn’t very memorable overall.

“This one seemed extra chewy but I did enjoy the chunks of almond. It tasted more like coffee than toffee, but still good. Definitely not my favorite flavor but it’s yummy.” – Angela

Average score: 5.8/10 (S: 5, A: 7, E: 5, T: 6)

4. Cherry Barcia

When I first tasted Built Bar’s original Black Cherry Chocolate Creme flavor, I thought it had more of an artificial cherry taste and I wasn’t a huge fan. However, the new and improved cherry flavor really surprised me and was actually one of my favorites.

It’s really tart and the chunks of cherries make the texture so good! This flavor would be delicious heated up and transformed into a cake!

“I think this one would be good to hack for some kind of holiday treat. It reminds me of those boxes of chocolate-covered cherries that onlinee out every holiday season.” – Angela

“Tastes exactly like dark chocolate covered cherry – so if you love cherries, this is the bar for you! I did notice a slight after taste, but it was still delicious and fruity.” – Sara

Average score: 7.3/10 (S: 7, A: 7, E: 7, T: 8)

5. German Chocolate Cake

If you love rich dark chocolate, you will love this decadent Built Bar flavor! It tastes very similar to real German chocolate cake and is quite a treat.

“I could taste everything a decadent slice of German chocolate cake should have. The chunks were nice and blended in the bar and it was a rich chocolate taste. So yummy!” – Sara

“I feel like I’m not the biggest fan of German chocolate cake but WOW did I love this Built Bar flavor. It’s true chocolate heaven and was one I was really excited to keep chowing down on!” – Emily

Average score: 8.3/10 (S: 9, A: 8, E: 9, T: 7)

6. Coconut

Coconut is typically something you either absolutely love or totally hate, but to all the coconut fans out there, you will LOVE this Built Bar! It’s packed with coconut and the texture is nice and chewy.

“Loved this one! I’m a coconut fan and this bar is perfect.” – Angela

“Packed with tons of coconut flavor – I loved it so much! Since it has a rich, chewy texture it makes it taste like a delicious, chewy coconut treat.” – Sara

Average score: 8.5/10 (S: 10, A: 10, E: 4, T: 10)

7. Raspberry

This fruity flavor is a big improvement from the original raspberry and it reminded me of a raspberry truffle you’d find in a valentines day chocolate box. It was really creamy and the raspberry was so delightful. On the other hand, it left Angela with a lingering cough syrup aftertaste, but hey, we’ve all got different taste buds!

“If you like chocolate and fruit, this one is on point yet again. I really enjoyed the texture of the bars and likes the fruit flavor which surprisingly doesn’t have a bad after taste like a lot of fruit-flavored bars.” – Sara

Average score: 6.5/10 (S: 7, A: 5, E: 7, T: 7)

8. Peanut Butter Brownie

Before the Built Bar flavor revamp, this one ranked pretty low during Collin’s taste test, but we were pleasantly surprised by the new version this time around!

It was hands down, a team favorite that every Hip taste-tester loved! I was impressed by the authentic peanut butter flavor because a lot of other peanut butter protein bars have more of an artificial taste and the chewy and slightly crunchy texture of this bar made it even better.

“OMG this has to be the best protein bar I’ve ever had. It really truly tastes and has the texture of a peanut butter brownie. The flavor is spot on and I actually ate multiple pieces during the taste test because I could not resist myself.” – Emily

“I loved how they incorporated chunks of nuts throughout this bar! It made the texture that much better. There was definitely a rich dark, chocolatey taste and the perfect hint of peanut butter that made me feel like I was actually eating a fudgy brownie!” – Sara

Average score: 9.5/10 (S: 10, A: 8, E: 10, T: 10)

9. Cookies ‘n Cream

This was a big hit with Sara’s kiddos and we all agreed that the creaminess of this bar is AMAZING! It has a lighter milk chocolate flavor and is definitely a big improvement onlinepared to the original cookies ‘n cream flavor.

“I like the new flavor on this one much better than the old one. It has a very light flavor and I really liked that!” – Angela

“I can definitely taste the cookies in this bar, it actually tastes like an Oreo, to be honest. My kids loved this one and said it tasted like a delicious ice cream milkshake.” – Sara

Average score: 7.3/10 (S: 10, A: 7, E: 6, T: 6)

10. Caramel Brownie

While this bar had a nice and smooth texture, it left all of us wanting a lot more caramel and the chocolate was also a bit overwhelming. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the caramel brownie that our taste buds wanted to enjoy.

“Loved the soft texture. Wasn’t overly sweet but didn’t taste too much caramel, to be honest. Caramel is one of my favorite sweet flavors so I was a bit disappointed. I still enjoyed it though!” – Sara

“You would think by the name this would be so decadent and dreaming, but the caramel flavor really didn’t pull through which was a bummer!” – Emily

Average score: 6.8/10 (S: 7, A: 7, E: 7, T: 6)

11. Apple Almond Crisp

I was really excited about this flavor because I’m a sucker for fall-themed foods, but the apple flavor was lacking and not quite as festive as we had hoped. This is also one of the more unique flavors that may not be everyone’s cup of tea as chocolate and apple isn’t your typical flavor onlinebination.

“Apple flavors are usually a miss for me with protein bars and I wasn’t a fan of this one either.” – Angela

“I really love apple crisp so I had high hopes for this one but it was a disappointment for me. I thought it could have had more tartness and apple flavor however, it was still edible and had the most texture out of all the bars.” – Sara

Average score: 5.3/10 (S: 4, A: 5, E: 7, T: 5)

12. Carrot Cake With Walnuts

Another fun fall flavor that we were excited to try as we’re all fans of carrot cake! However, after tasting it, we were still left wanting a piece of carrot cake because the authentic flavor just wasn’t there. It was still tasty though!

“I love carrot cake so this was a disappointment. The flavor just didn’t feel there and any hints of cinnamon or carrot tasted very artificial to me.” – Emily

Average score: 5.8/10 (S: 8, A: 6, E: 4, T: 5)

13. Lemon Almond Cheesecake

If you’re trying to wrap your head around this Built Bar flavor, you’re not alone! It’s a very unusual protein bar flavor, but it was GOOD and very refreshing! It didn’t quite hit the spot for Sara, but the rest of us were big fans of this flavor!

“I am on a lemon kick these days so that may be why I liked this flavor so much. That being said, I didn’t really taste the cheesecake part, just the lemon which I was fine with.” – Angela

“This was my second favorite which was soooo surprising as Lemon Cheesecake + chocolate (the coating) would not seem to go together but the flavor was so light and real. It’s a nice change-up from the chocolate heavy line as well.” – Emily

Average score: 8/10 (S: 3, A: 10, E: 9, T: 10)

14. Banana Bread

I was so excited to try this one because banana is one of my all-time favorite flavors and boy, was this bar delicious! I could easily order a whole box of this flavor alone! It had the perfect amount of banana flavor, without tasting too artificial and the texture was really good too.

“Any time you can have something that’s fruit-flavored AND keto-friendly is a win. I love this bar.” – Angela

“It definitely tastes like a banana! I’m not even a fan of banana but this was good. If you like the banana Laffy Taffy, this one will be your favorite!” – Sara

Average score: 9.3/10 (S: 10, A: 9, E: 8, T: 10)

15. Peanut Butter

Calling all peanut butter lovers! This Built Bar tasted similar to the Peanut Butter Brownie flavor in my opinion and although I wanted a little bit more peanut butter, it was really yummy overall and the peanut pieces throughout made the texture really great!

“This bar was yummo! I do wish it had a tad bit more peanut butter flavor to it, but it was still delicious anyway.” – Angela

“Love the silky rich peanut butter taste and the little pieces of peanuts throughout. This one is a winner! I could easily eat an entire pack of these!” – Sara

Average score: 8.3/10 (S: 10, A: 8, E: 6, T: 9)

16. Coconut Almond

Collin and Angela were already big fans of the original Coconut Almond flavor, but they liked the new bar even more! If you love Almond Joys, this will make your taste buds jump for joy! The texture is more like a Mounds candy bar and it’s altogether melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

“I am not a big fan of coconut and/or coconut with chocolate, but I will say the Coconut Almond bar is just like an Almond Joy if that’s your jam.” – Emily

“This flavor is incredible. Definitely another favorite so far. If you love Almond Joy’s this literally tastes exactly like it without the guilt!” – Sara

Average score: 8.8/10 (S: 11, A: 10, E: 4, T: 10)

17. Salted Caramel

This bar was tasty, but our team of taste-testers had some mixed thoughts on the amount of caramel flavor. Some thought it wasn’t enough while others thought it was just right.

“I really liked this flavor and would say it was another one of my favorites. I thought the caramel and salt flavor was the perfect amount.” – Sara

“I normally love Salted Caramel everything but I didn’t think the flavor was strong enough (or at least as much as I was hoping for) on this one.” – Emily

Average score: 6.3/10 (S: 7, A: 6, E: 6, T: 6)

18. Double Chocolate

I expected this Built Bar to be pretty straightforward because it’s just chocolate, but something tasted a bit off with the flavor and it didn’t really impress any of our palates.

“This one wasn’t one of my favorites, it wasn’t bad really, but onlinepared to all of the other choices it is at the bottom for me.” – Angela

“This one had a really strange taste in my opinion. For some reason, I was getting a hint of dog food LOL not that I’ve ever tasted dog food but if I did, this is what I think it would taste like.” – Sara

Average score: 4.3/10 (S: 2, A: 6, E: 6, T: 3)

Ready to stock up on Built Bars? Here are the deals you don’t want to miss!

Now that you’ve got the lowdown on 18 amazing Built Bar flavors, go stock up on the flavors you think you’ll love OR get yourself the mixed box and try them all like we did!

Buy 1 Built Bar 18-Count Box (any flavor) $38.70
Use coupon code HIP2SAVE20 (10% off – new customers only) or SAVE12 (12% off – all customers)
Shipping is FREE
Final cost as low as $34.06 shipped – just $1.89 per bar!

*Includes every flavor Built Bar makes, excluding limited release flavors.

We love these yummy bars and are forever grateful to the Built Bar team for creating some seriously delicious and unique protein bars! If you’ve tried any of these exciting new flavors, let us know what your thoughts are in the onlinements below!

We taste-tested pumpkin pies from Sam’s Club and Costco—find out which pie we liked more over here!