9 Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars Ranked Worst To Best
Nature Valley's crunchy granola bars are popular for a reason: They're among the best granola bars around. How do they manage to be so dependably delicious? It's pretty simple, actually. These bars are made up of high-quality ingredients like whole-grain oats, roasted almonds, and dark chocolate. None of the bar flavors try to do too much: They feature a simple yet effective combination of flavors and textures, be it peanut butter and dark chocolate or oats and honey.
These bars also have a wonderfully distinctive crunch. A soft granola bar is nice every once in a while, but there's something undeniably delectable about the crisp crunch of oats, nuts, and dried fruit between one's teeth. This also makes these bars impressively versatile, especially in terms of breakfast. If you haven't crumbled a crunchy Nature Valley bar over a vibrant smoothie bowl, luscious Greek yogurt, or smooth chia pudding, then you need to head out to the store and get the fixings to do so as soon as possible.
Yet, not every crunchy Nature Valley bar is created equal. Some try to incorporate a unique ingredient and fail miserably. Some seem to fall apart into an ashy pile of oats the moment you unwrap them. Some let a single flavor dominate the entire bar. Which crunchy Nature Valley bars rise above the rest into the realms of granola glory, and which sink to the stale, too-sweet, and awkwardly textured bottom?
1. Oats 'N Dark Chocolate
What on earth could be so bad about Nature Valley's Oats 'N Dark Chocolate Crunchy Granola Bar? People tend to like oats, whether it's in a warm bowl of oatmeal or a raisin-studded cookie. And people definitely like chocolate, even if its dark variant might be a bit much for some sensitive palates to endure. How could these celebrated ingredients possibly combine into something so widely criticized? One glance at the reviews littering the bar's product page makes the reason clear: Nature Valley apparently changed the recipe at some point, and people aren't having it. Multiple customers cite an absence of chocolate chunks, synthetic-tasting flavor, and an overabundance of saccharine sweetness in the bar.
But what about those of us who haven't ever had an oats and dark chocolate bar before? Will the uninitiated also be disappointed? Sadly, yes. This underwhelming rectangle of compressed oats tastes like an utterly generic granola bar. The promised dark chocolate is difficult to detect: All we found were a few thin flakes and the merest whisper of flavor. Though the oats are obviously present, their characteristic nuttiness is missing in action. Mostly, this bar just tastes sweet. Not sweet in an interesting or distinct way, mind you: It just tastes like plain old sugar. This bar's one virtue is that it's not actively bad; anyone could get one down without too much difficulty. But when that's a foodstuff's only praiseworthy aspect, something has seriously gone wrong.
2. Apple Crisp
Nature Valley granola bars seem like the kind of convenient breakfast bar option you can eat on the subway or in your car as you make your way to work. But anyone who tries this bar is sure to dust their fellow riders or their own lap with a blizzard of crumbs. This isn't ideal, but it's also a widely-known fact: The internet is positively stuffed with memes about the infamous crumbliness of Nature Valley's bars, and complaining about it feels a little like complaining that ice cream is prone to melting. It's just something we all need to accept if we want to enjoy the food in question.
However, the Nature Valley Apple Crisp Bar is quite dry, so it falls apart if you so much as breathe near it. Eating it sucks all the moisture from your mouth, leading to a wad of apple-studded oats you can't get down without a sip of water. Those who embark upon this alleged treat should also prepare for a scraped-up mouth. Most frustratingly, the autumnal flavor is seriously lacking in these bars. Apples are certainly present and accounted for, but this isn't just an apple bar, it's an apple crisp bar. You'd think this bar calls for classic spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Yet only cinnamon is present, and barely, at that: It's the penultimate entry on the ingredient list, and it shows. This bar is a lackluster and mouth-lacerating flop.
3. Oats 'N Honey
Nature Valley's Oat 'N Honey Bars are some of the simplest granola bars on the market. These bars don't fuss around with dried fruit, chocolate chunks, flavored icing, or an exotic mixture of multiple different grains: It's all about the two titular ingredients here, and that makes for a fairly tasty bar. It's crisp without being sharp and sweet without being cloyingly candy-like. The natural flavor of the oats comes through, as does the earthiness of the honey. These bars may technically contain a lot of sugar going by the ingredients list, but it doesn't overtake the sweet syrup's distinctive taste. Many allegedly honey-flavored granola bars fail on this account, which makes Nature Valley's success all the more impressive.
But there are two major problems with the oats and honey bar. First, there's the fact that it's not much more than a solid granola bar. Simplicity is nice, now and again, but this snack keeps things so low-key that it borders on boring. Secondly, there's the fact that multiple reviews on the website indicate a recent downturn in quality. These commentators, many of whom profess to be fans of the classic bar, describe sudden staleness, changes in texture, and frustrating packaging, among other flaws. Has Nature Valley changed the recipe? We can't be sure, but these reviewers certainly think so. The oats and honey bar is decent enough to gamble a few dollars on, but don't be surprised if you don't like what you find inside the wrapper.
4. Cinnamon
Cinnamon is one of the world's most popular spices for a reason: It's delicious, comforting, and endlessly versatile. It's no surprise, then, that it makes frequent appearances in granola bars. Nature Valley's Cinnamon Crunchy Granola Bars are a cinnamon treat that pretty much anyone can enjoy. This snack is dependably crunchy without being unpleasantly brittle or sharp, and it stays so on the shelf for a long period of time. It's also less prone to crumbling than other crunchy bar flavors. Finally, it features a nice balance of oat-to-cinnamon flavor.
However, the cinnamon bar does come with a major caveat: It's really, really sweet. Now, it's nowhere near as sugary as many other granola bars on the market, as those who've tried them know all too well. The cinnamon crunchy bars border on candy when compared to Nature Valley's other products. The source of this sweetness is mysterious: These bars don't exceed the rest of the lineup in terms of sugar content. In fact, the cinnamon bars have less sugar than the maple brown sugar or peanut butter dark chocolate bars. But the fact remains that when this bar hits your tongue, it electrifies your taste buds with pure sweetness. If you have a sweet tooth, you're in luck, but if you don't, you might want to steer clear of this bar.
5. Maple Brown Sugar
There's nothing quite like the warm flavor of maple syrup. It's sweet, to be sure, but the best maple syrup retains a bit of earthiness that comes straight from the tree that produced it. This dark undertone provides a depth of flavor that also highlights the syrup's candy-esque top notes. Unfortunately, a lot of foods that claim to be maple-flavored don't actually contain the beloved syrup's robust qualities. They're really just sweet, with perhaps the faintest hint of molasses.
This isn't the case when for Nature Valley's Maple Brown Sugar Bars: It tastes of straight-up maple, fresh from the tree. Texturally, this bar is also a winner. Sure, it sheds crumbs as readily as most Nature Valley crunchy bars, but it doesn't fall apart at the merest vibrations like the most fragile flavors do. It's also decidedly crunchy without being sharp. Furthermore, this bar is versatile: Crumbling it into a bowl of yogurt is an especially delicious way to enjoy it.
The one problem is the brown sugar: When Combined with maple syrup, this extra shot of sweetness can be a bit much. In some bars, it even threatens to overwhelm the maple flavor. The fact that it comes before maple in the ingredients list is unsurprising to anyone who's tried it. A little brown sugar can nicely complement other flavors, but a lot just detracts from the overall experience.
6. Pecan
All Nature Valley granola bars are excellent snacks that are capable of delivering a quick hit of energy when you need it most. But the Pecan Bars offer way more than a brief burst of flavor. These mighty little rectangles can fuel you when you don't have time for breakfast or when dinner gets unavoidably postponed, and even in the midst of strenuous activity.
If there was ever a granola bar that was meant for your gym bag, it's this one. This incredible flavor is mostly due to the pecans: These dark-brown nuts are absolutely packed with vitamins and nutrients. Nature Valley doesn't skimp on them, either. Every single bar is studded with a wealth of pecan pieces, and not itty-bitty tidbits, either: We're talking about big, robust chunks.
The plentiful pecans also bring a unique flavor profile to this bar. It's as sweet as the rest of Nature Valley's line-up and just as full of earthy flavor from the whole-grain oats that make up most of each bar. But the pecans' mellow nuttiness brings a whole new dimension to the recipe. If you're sensitive to too much sweetness, this is the bar for you. Unfortunately, the plenitude of pecan pieces does mean this bar tends to fall apart, especially when you accidentally bite away a load-bearing pecan from the larger structure of sugar-sticky oats. But if you remember to keep a napkin handy, you'll have nothing to worry about.
7. Peanut Butter
A lot of foods claim to be peanut butter flavored but fall short of actually capturing the beloved condiment's complexity. Some of these snacks fail because they have too much salt. Some simply don't add enough peanut butter. Nature Valley's Peanut Butter Bars avoid these pitfalls completely, and that's exactly what makes these them so delicious: They're salty and sweet at the same time.
Now, this bar is definitely sweet, landing it more in line with peanut butter cookies than, say, a bag of salt-encrusted roasted peanuts bought at a ballgame. But it's also not afraid of getting a little savory. There's just enough salt in this bar to keep things interesting and bring the nutty taste of the storied legume to the fore. The oats that make up the bulk of the bar soak up this flavor marvelously, making every single bite a terrific experience.
Unfortunately, this bar is a little more prone to shedding crumbs than many of its brethren, but it's far from the worst offender. It also makes up for this by being a wonderful partner to a variety of other flavors. Pair this bar with some fresh strawberries or grapes, and you have yourself a fresh twist on the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Crumble it over yogurt, and you've got a delightful parfait. Or you can just eat it on its own and experience a truly tasty granola bar that gets what peanut butter's all about.
8. Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate
What's better than peanut butter? Peanut butter paired with chocolate? There's something irresistible about the combination of peanut butter's ever-so-slightly salty sweetness and the decadent taste of chocolate. While this double act is most famous in the world of candy, Nature Valley makes an incredibly strong case for it as the basis of an excellent granola bar.
Nature Valley's Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Bar is one of the brand's absolute best creations. It's delectably crisp without being unpleasantly brittle, and it remains so even after being on the shelf: This is the one bar you can pack in an emergency kit or glove compartment, and you'll be safe in the knowledge that it'll still be good when you need it the most.
But the flavor of this bar is what really makes it sing: Choosing dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate is a great move on Nature Valley's part. The intense flavor of these chocolate chunks pairs divinely with the luscious sweetness of the peanut butter. The decision to include roasted peanuts in this bar, rather than just peanut butter, is an inspired one.
The peanuts contrast wonderfully with the chocolate chips: Neither dominates the other and nor do they compromise the bar's structural integrity or blot out the mellow taste of the oats. This bar is a delicious symphony of flavor and texture, all wrapped up in an easily portable form.
9. Roasted Almond
What is it about Nature Valley's Roasted Almond Bars that makes them so special? You probably won't be able to tell how good this bar is just by looking at the ingredients list. After all, these bars are pretty standard: They're mostly made up of the whole grain oats that characterize every Nature Valley bar: Sugar, oil, and, of course, almond pieces. Why are these bars so much better than other similarly flavored bars that have oats and honey? Aren't they basically the same bar?
Those who've had this treat don't ask these questions, though: They know how delicious the Roasted Almond Bar is firsthand. The almonds are a big part of this bar's success: Each well-roasted chunk offers a perfect balance between milky sweetness and salty savor. This bar is delicious on its own, but the magic lies in the way the almonds play off the oats. Whole grain oats boast a similarly blended flavor: They're gently sweet and earthily nutty.
The almonds bring this delicate interplay of taste to the fore. The fact that this bar is made of oats changes the entire game. The roasted almond bar isn't just distinguished by what it adds to the standard formula: It puts the formula itself in a whole new light. That's what makes it the very best Nature Valley crunchy bar and one of the best granola bars currently available at your local grocery store.