KIND Bars Ranked

If you've never heard of KIND bars before, you don't know what you're missing. KIND bars are known for providing a healthier snack alternative to choosy customers by packing more protein, nuts, and less sugar than traditional snacks. They come at affordable prices and, sometimes, are even sold individually for a quick grab when you're on the go. 

KIND bars have traditionally made their nut bars the focal point of their sales, but in recent years, they've ventured out to offer customers more options outside the typical nutty fare. In this post, we'll review some of their original nut bar varieties while also giving you our own insider opinion on whether some of the other KIND bar varieties released are actually worth your buck.

If that sounds interesting to you, be sure to stick around. We're giving you our real, raw, and honest opinion on some of the hottest KIND bar picks around in today's feature on KIND bars ranked worst to best.

KIND Almond & Coconut nut bars are an interesting flavor combination, to say the least. We don't immediately associate almonds and coconuts when thinking of dynamic flavors, so we were initially very curious to see how this one would fare.

Taking a quick peek at the ingredients, we noticed this one contained all almonds (as opposed to other nut types), which isn't the case for all KIND nut bar varieties. Upon opening, the buttery and tropical scent of coconut hit our noses immediately, which worked to make us rather excited to dig in.

The first bite? Honestly, it wasn't quite what we hoped. Once our teeth could break through all those chewy coconut flakes, we realized this bar packed a blander flavor than the others. It tasted distinctly like a mouthful of coconut but not in a good way. The almonds did nothing for the flavor, as they, being mere nuts, were already bound to be uninspiring. Even the texture was difficult to stomach, especially since the coconut stuck awkwardly to our teeth, making it hard to get down. All in all, we're sorry to say it's a hard pass for us on this one; the lack of sweetness, flavor, and overall texture didn't make for a pleasant experience.

A caramel blondie drizzled with chocolate? Sign us up! That's what we thought when we first heard about the KIND Salted Caramel Almond Flour Blondies Soft Baked Squares variety. Sadly, this one failed to live up to our expectations, and frankly, we aren't quite sure how.

At first glance, the bar looks appetizing. The warm caramel color of the blondie and the enticing drizzle of chocolate definitely excited us to take a sample. The blondie gave us a strong whiff of caramel upon opening, which made us even more eager to give it a go. Unfortunately, it was the first bite that took us for a loop, despite our previously high hopes.

The bar is utterly soft but in an annoying kind of way. In fact, it was so soft that it almost became sticky, clinging to our teeth with every new chew. On top of that, the caramel came across too strong and became sickeningly sweet almost from the moment it hit our tongues. Hey, we wanted to love this one — we really did! But given the overwhelming caramel flavor and unpleasantly sticky texture, we're going to have to sidestep this promising flavor, too.

After our not-so-appetizing rendezvous with the KIND salted caramel blondie, we'll admit that we approached this one with caution. Still, the fact that these Peanut Butter Almond Flour Blondie Soft Baked Squares contain the word "peanut butter" in them had us crossing our fingers that this one wouldn't disappoint us in the same way that the caramel blondie did. After all, peanut butter tends to fare well on almost anything, especially soft and pliable baked goods (we're thinking peanut butter cookies here). Right?

Wrong. Actually, we were surprised at the taste of this one, despite its amazing appearance and promising peanut butter scent. Once the blondie hit our tongues, the story took a weird twist. It went from, "Wow, this is great!" to "Ew, this is bad" in a hurry. For some reason, the peanut butter essence here takes a peculiar, bitter turn mid-chew, which doesn't make total sense to us. We're not sure if it needs more sugar or what's going on, but that usually pleasantly sweet chocolate peanut butter combo was missing for us with this one.

Overall, we were disappointed with these blondies, though we really thought we'd love them. If you see this in-store, feel free to sample it, but in our opinion, it might not be worth the purchase.

Well, this one sounds delish, doesn't it? The KIND Chocolate Peanut Butter Nut Butter-Filled Snack Bar boasts of a rich dark chocolate with a soft bar texture crammed with lots of creamy peanut butter and sprinkled with delicious, chopped peanuts on top for a quick flavor-rich snack that's easy to enjoy on the go.

Upon opening, we were struck by the visually appealing way the bar looked. The backdrop of the rich, dark chocolate was the perfect contrast to the perfectly placed toasty-brown chopped peanuts generously sprinkled on top. We did notice how small the bar was, and we will admit that it was a bit disappointing. Still, we were excited to dig in to see exactly what KIND offered us with this decadent-looking unique treat.

The result? Eh. We didn't absolutely hate this one, but we didn't love it, either. It had an oddly bitter cocoa flavor that didn't so much encapsulate the essence of rich, sweet, decadent chocolate as we'd hoped. The peanut butter was unremarkable; in fact, it was almost indiscernible, which might be a major bummer for anyone hoping to get a fresh blast of peanut butter with these. All in all, we think these were — unexpectedly — yet another flop.

KIND has graced us with another peanut butter and chocolate treat — this time in the form of a nut bar. The KIND Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Nut Bar is loaded with yummy peanuts, all intertwined with a hearty drizzle of chocolate that we were just certain would be a wonderful flavor mashup. In our minds, we were counting on Reese cup-esque vibes, but, of course, a bit on the lighter side. However, what we got in return was a mouthful of bland-tasting peanuts ... definitely not what we expected!

That's right. The peanut butter dark chocolate bar mainly tasted of dark chocolate and nuts, which we'll admit isn't horrible. However, given the "peanut butter" in the title, we were seriously longing for a stronger peanut butter taste. Sadly, the dark chocolate seemed to overwhelm the bar causing it to taste nothing like the healthy version of a Reese's cup we were hoping for.

Was it terrible? Definitely not. Was it what we expected? No way. Still, KIND doesn't totally disappoint, as they do have more flavorful options out there. Stick with us; the tastier picks are on their way!

Mmm, chocolate brownie soft baked squares? We'll try it! Indeed, we were excited to try KIND Chocolate Almond Flour Brownie Soft Baked Squares. After all, it's hard not to be enticed by anything that includes the words "brownie" and "soft" in its description.

At first blush, we were definitely impressed by the sight and scent of this one. It had the aura of freshly baked brownies right from the very beginning. As for the initial taste, it wasn't too bad. That sticky, soft, chewy texture that the other soft baked squares had somehow seemed to work better here with the chocolate brownie flavor. Having said that, we could tell that this "brownie" is healthier than the traditional sort. It certainly had a healthy taste, which isn't bad, but it may throw some off if expecting true brownie flavor.

All in all, we think this one comes down to expectations. If you want a quick, healthier alternative to a brownie, then this one might be a great fit for you. If you're in search of something that offers an authentic, sweet, decadent chocolatey taste, we'd say look elsewhere — or go ahead and whip up a quick and tasty batch of brownies on your own.

The KIND Cranberry Almond Nut Bar was an interesting option for us. On the one hand, we could totally see this flavor combination coming together well. Cranberries and nuts often fare well together in trail mix, so melding them together in a bar should work well, too. Or so we thought.

It isn't that the cranberry almond flavor is terrible. It just isn't fantastic. Since the bar is made exclusively of almonds (as opposed to other nut types), it makes for a very coarse texture that's difficult to chew. Not only this, but the cranberries add a particularly gooey and sticky element to the bar that we haven't experienced with any of the other KIND nut bar varieties.

As for the flavor, we'd say it's decent. The cranberry taste is a bit more muted than we would have, and we would've liked to enjoy that refreshing, tart, sweet tang in the forefront. Overall, we'd have to rate this KIND nut bar as okay, at best. It's good for a snack but definitely isn't our go-to KIND bar favorite.

The KIND Drizzled Milk Chocolate Chunk Healthy Grains was a curious find. At a cursory look, it appears to be an oatmeal square drizzled with lots of yummy milk chocolate. Looking over the ingredients, however, we noticed that in addition to yummy oats are millet, buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, and a few other fun ingredients.

So, how'd it taste? Not bad, actually! The initial whiff smelled a lot like those chewy chocolate chip granola bars you pack in kid's lunch bags. The first bite didn't deliver the flavorful experience we had anticipated, especially since we had barely tasted any chocolate. Instead, we were overwhelmed by the flavor of sweetened oats without any chocolate notes or nuances we would've liked to have come through.

Maybe KIND could upgrade this one a bit by adding dark chocolate to the mix instead of milk chocolate. The oats are definitely the dominant flavor, so if that sounds like it would suit your fancy, you might just find this to be a simple and delicious treat.

Let's be honest. Having been underwhelmed by most of the other flavors with "peanut butter" in the name, we weren't overly excited to try the KIND Caramel Peanut Breakfast Bar. In fact, we thought the sound of peanut butter and caramel was an odd matchup in the first place. But despite the previous average KIND peanut butter flavor experiences, we were actually surprised to get peanut butter at the forefront this time around ... and in a very tasty way, at that!

Upon opening the caramel peanut butter bar, we were struck with the smell of tasty, sweetened peanuts and were surprised when not one but two bars came tumbling out of the pack. We bit into it and got a burst of delicious peanut butter flavor, which we've longed for all along. It has a satisfyingly soft yet uniquely crunchy texture that we hadn't experienced up until this point.

We were also pleased that this tasty snack features eight grams of protein and five super grains, making for a nutritious mid-morning snack. This was definitely a surprise win for us; quite frankly, we were thankful. Finally, a KIND bar labeled "peanut butter" that actually tastes like peanut butter. Score!

This is yet another KIND bar we weren't quite sure we would like. Up until now, all the nut bars that only featured almonds were quite difficult to chew and didn't offer that punch of flavor we look for in a really good snack.

Fortunately, the KIND Caramel Almond & Sea Salt packed plenty of flavor, and shockingly, it also lived up to its "caramel" name. We know that when it comes to healthier snacks, traditionally sweet flavors like caramel can be tricky to pull off. We don't know how they did it, but this bar achieved a caramel flavor that was spot on. Not only did the caramel drizzle impart the perfect touch of sweetness, but it also had that irresistible, distinct, salty flavor of caramel we all know and love.

Unlike several of the other all-almond nut bars on this list, this is one we'll keep cycling back to. It packs all the health benefits that almonds can bring to the body, all while giving us a tasty low-sugar option to snack on when the munchies strike. We'll take it!

This one was an exciting find coming from KIND. The Oat and Honey Simple Crunch Bar variety differs greatly from many of the other bars the brand sells. Instead of being made of whole nuts or even soft-textured almond flour, the company has instead chosen to market a very traditional granola bar featuring toasted oats with honey and sugar.

As you can probably tell by its ranking, this simple oat and honey bar had us very impressed. It definitely doesn't look like much, and its dull and rock-hard texture had us less than thrilled to bite into it. However, once we did, we must say, we were shocked to like it so much. It had a warm cinnamon flavor akin to that of a nostalgic graham cracker you'd take with a cold glass of milk. The only downfall was that the hardened texture sent crumbs sprawling out, around, and all over us as we devoured both granola bar pieces within seconds. But hey, if you don't mind a little mess, then you'll totally dig this simplistic KIND granola delight.

It isn't often you'll find the word "blueberry" tagged in KIND bar products, but when you do, it's bound to be amazing. The KIND Blueberry Almond Breakfast Bar was definitely made for all you blueberry fans out there. It's strong in blueberry flavor, and the texture is perfectly chewy yet tender. The bar itself smells strongly of candied blueberries, and we were surprised to see a few cranberries thrown into the bar, too. Once the blueberry taste diminishes, there seem to be hints of vanilla left on the tongue, though we found no evidence of vanilla used in the recipe, according to the box.

All in all, this would make an excellent morning snack, especially if you love the lively taste of fresh blueberries. As for the almonds? We couldn't really detect the taste of them. This is definitely a fruity spin on traditional KIND varieties, and this time around, we're really into it.

When it comes to KIND Dark Chocolate Nuts and Sea Salt, we'd like to describe the flavor as the O.G. of all KIND bar varieties. While it may or may not be KIND's original nut bar flavor, one thing's for certain: the flavor is darn good.

For one, this bar uniquely consists of both peanuts and almonds rather than the plain almond assortment. This makes the bar easier to chew and, thus, more enjoyable overall. But the real aspect in which the dark chocolate nuts and sea salt flavor shines is in the taste. This delightful treat strikes the ideal balance between sweetness and a tantalizing hint of salt, propelling the chocolate bar's flavor into an irresistible overdrive.

Yes, this flavor is simple, and yes, it's been around for years. But a winner is a winner, and this one remains one of our topmost favorite KIND nut bar flavors. Delish!

Finally, we've made it to our top choice for outstanding KIND bar varieties. We had a tough time choosing between the dark chocolate nuts and sea salt and the KIND Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew Nut Bar for the number one spot because, seriously, they're both scrumptious in their own right. Having said that, we think the latter deserved a little more recognition than the former, simply because it melds the delicate flavor of fruit with the robust decadence of chocolate to deliver a deliciously enticing yet still shockingly healthy snack for us all to enjoy.

The KIND Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew Nut Bar contains only 6 grams of added sugar and contains a flavorful mashup of cashews, almonds, and peanuts. The dried cherries infused in the bar are perfectly sweet and chewy without leading to that sticky awful mess we experienced with the cranberry nut bar variety. The final result was a satisfyingly sweet treat that scratched our itch for chocolate while simultaneously giving us a hint of rich cherry flavor that pairs perfectly to deliver our all-out favorite KIND bar flavor. Well done on this one, KIND; we absolutely love it.