Best Protein Bars Without Artificial Sweeteners
Bars in our database with no sucralose, no acesulfame potassium, no aspartame, no saccharin, no erythritol, and no sugar alcohols. Ranked by Labelgrade. The trade-off is real: every bar in this list contains either substantial natural sugar (dates, honey) or substantial added sugar (cane sugar, brown rice syrup, tapioca syrup). There's no "low-sugar, low-artificial-sweetener, high-protein" bar on the US market — the formulation math doesn't allow it without one of the three.
The ranked list
1. Pure Protein — Protein Bar, Chocolate Deluxe
A- 87 / 100 · 21 g protein per bar · 3 g sugar · 180 calories
Pure Protein Protein Bar, Chocolate Deluxe delivers 21g of protein per 1 BAR (USDA FDC 2666605). Full Labelgrade A- (87/100) breakdown — protein density A+, ingredient quality B-, sugar load A+, sodium load A-.
2. Eas — Pure Milk Protein Bars, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
A- 85 / 100 · 15 g protein per bar · 9 g sugar · 190 calories
Eas Pure Milk Protein Bars, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough delivers 15g of protein per 1 BAR (USDA FDC 2489216). Full Labelgrade A- (85/100) breakdown — protein density A+, ingredient quality B-, sugar load A+, sodium load B.
3. EAS — Pure Milk Protein Bar Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
B+ 80 / 100 · 15 g protein per bar · 9 g sugar · 190 calories
EAS Pure Milk Protein Bar Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough delivers 15g of protein and 190 calories per 1.76 oz bar from milk protein concentrate + whey isolate. 9g sugar, 4g fiber, no artificial sweeteners. Labelgrade B+ (80/100).
4. RXBAR — Chocolate Chip Protein Bar
B+ 80 / 100 · 12 g protein per bar · 13 g sugar · 220 calories
The standard retail RXBAR Chocolate Chip delivers 12g of protein and 220 calories per 1.83 oz bar with just 7 whole-food ingredients (dates, egg whites, almonds, cashews, chocolate, natural flavors, sea salt). No added sugar. Labelgrade B+ (80/100).
5. RXBAR — Protein Bar
B+ 80 / 100 · 7 g protein per bar · 10 g sugar · 130 calories
RXBAR delivers a whole-food protein bar with just dates, peanuts, egg whites, strawberries, and natural flavors — no protein isolate. Full nutrition per bar, Labelgrade B+, and how it compares to mainstream protein bars.
6. Premier Protein — Premier Protein, Gluten Free High Protein Bar, Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Peanut Butter
B+ 80 / 100 · 30 g protein per bar · 8 g sugar · 290 calories
Premier Protein Gluten Free High Protein Bar, Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Peanut Butter delivers 30g of protein per 1 BAR (USDA FDC 1870294). Full Labelgrade B+ (80/100) breakdown — protein density A+, ingredient quality C, sugar load A+, sodium load C-.
7. Kind — Fruit & Nut Delight Bar
B 77 / 100 · 6 g protein per bar · 9 g sugar · 200 calories
Kind Fruit & Nut Delight is a snack bar — not a protein bar. It delivers 6 g of protein and 200 calories per 40 g bar with a whole-food ingredient list led by mixed nuts, honey, and dried fruit. Full Labelgrade B breakdown.
How they compare
| Rank | Bar | Labelgrade | Protein per bar | Sugar per bar | Sweetener strategy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pure Protein | A- 87 | 21 g | 3 g | — |
| 2 | Eas | A- 85 | 15 g | 9 g | Cane sugar + tapioca/brown rice syrups |
| 3 | EAS | B+ 80 | 15 g | 9 g | Cane sugar + tapioca/brown rice syrups |
| 4 | RXBAR | B+ 80 | 12 g | 13 g | Dates only (no added sugar) |
| 5 | RXBAR | B+ 80 | 7 g | 10 g | Dates only (no added sugar) |
| 6 | Premier Protein | B+ 80 | 30 g | 8 g | — |
| 7 | Kind | B 77 | 6 g | 9 g | Honey + glucose + dried fruit |
Pick by use case
Best for clean ingredients above all else: RXBAR Chocolate Chip
Seven ingredients (dates, egg whites, almonds, cashews, chocolate, natural flavors, sea salt). Zero added sugar — all 13 g of sugar per bar are from dates. 12 g of protein from egg whites. Highest protein density of any whole-food-only bar in our database (23 g protein per 100 g). The trade-off is the sugar count itself — dates are 60-70% sugar by weight.
Best for maximum protein without artificial sweeteners: EAS Pure Milk Protein Bar
15 g of protein per bar (25% more than RXBAR) from a milk + whey isolate stack. Sweetened with real cane sugar, brown rice syrup, and tapioca syrup — added sugars, but no sucralose, acesulfame K, or sugar alcohols. About 30 ingredients total, but each is recognizable. Best choice if you want the maximum protein and don't mind real added sugar.
Best for snack use (not protein): Kind Fruit & Nut Delight
A whole-food snack bar that happens to contain 6 g of protein. Mixed nuts + dried fruit + honey + glucose. Calories per gram of protein are high (33), making it inefficient for hitting protein targets. But as a between-meal snack with recognizable ingredients, it works.
What's not on this list, and why
- Quest bars — contain sucralose plus erythritol (sugar alcohol). Excluded.
- Premier Protein bars — contain sucralose and maltitol. Excluded.
- Built Bar — contains sucralose. Not yet in our database.
- IQBar — uses monk fruit + stevia (not artificial, but non-nutritive sweeteners). Whether to include monk fruit/stevia in a "no artificial sweeteners" list is a judgment call; we exclude all non-nutritive sweeteners (natural or synthetic).
- Lärabar — whole-food bar (dates, nuts, fruit) similar to RXBAR but lower in protein (3-5 g per bar). We'll add it in the next refresh.
- One Bar — contains sucralose.
The honest trade-off
Every bar on the US market that delivers 15+ g of protein without artificial sweeteners has substantial sugar — either added (EAS Pure Milk, Built Bar's "Natural" line, MyProtein Lean Bar in some markets) or naturally-occurring from whole-food sources (RXBAR, Lärabar). The formulation math is binding: protein extruded into bar form needs binders and sweeteners; without artificial sweeteners, those binders are sugar-based.
If you want low sugar AND high protein AND clean ingredients in a single bar, the category doesn't really exist — you'd need to step outside it (Greek yogurt, protein shakes, jerky, or eating actual food).
How they were graded
All bars graded using the same five-dimension formula at /methodology. Data from USDA FoodData Central.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which protein bars don't contain artificial sweeteners?
RXBAR (all flavors), Kind Fruit & Nut Delight, and EAS Pure Milk Protein Bar are the brands in our database with no sucralose, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, or saccharin. RXBAR and Kind use whole-food sweeteners (dates, honey, glucose). EAS Pure Milk uses real sugar plus tapioca and brown rice syrups — also no artificial sweeteners, though substantial added sugar.
What's wrong with sucralose and acesulfame K?
Both are FDA-recognized as safe and have been studied extensively. The case against them is mostly about preference and gut response: some studies suggest non-nutritive sweeteners may alter gut microbiome composition, some people report digestive discomfort, and there's an argument that "training" your palate to expect sweetness without calories disconnects sweetness signals from satiety. None of this is settled science. If you'd rather avoid them, this list shows the alternatives.
Which bar has the most protein in this list?
EAS Pure Milk Protein Bar at 15 g per 50 g bar (30 g protein per 100 g), beating both RXBAR (12 g per 52 g bar) and Kind (6 g per 40 g bar). EAS achieves the higher protein through a milk + whey isolate stack; RXBAR and Kind use whole-food sources only.
Are RXBARs really sweetened only with dates?
Yes, for the original whole-food line. The dates contribute about 13 g of natural sugar per bar — substantial, but no added cane sugar, no honey, no syrups, no artificial sweeteners. RXBAR sells some flavors with chocolate chips (the chocolate contains a small amount of sugar from the chocolate-making process), but they have zero added sugar overall.
How does the sugar load compare across these bars?
EAS Pure Milk has the lowest sugar (9 g per bar) but uses real cane sugar + syrups (added). RXBAR has 13 g per bar but all from dates (naturally-occurring, zero added). Kind has 9 g per bar from a mix of honey and dried fruit. Per 100 g, EAS is at 18 g sugar, RXBAR at 25 g, Kind at 22.5 g.
Are these bars all gluten-free?
Most variants in this list are labeled gluten-free. RXBAR Chocolate Chip and Kind Fruit & Nut Delight are explicitly gluten-free; EAS Pure Milk Protein Bar varies by flavor (some contain wheat-derived ingredients). Always check the actual package label.
What about Quest bars?
Quest bars contain sucralose and erythritol (a sugar alcohol) and are explicitly excluded from this list. We have a Quest Protein Chips Sea Salt page (which is sucralose-free) but Quest's bar line uses non-nutritive sweeteners.
What about Built Bar, MyProtein Lean Bar, IQBar?
Not yet in our database. We'll add them in future ingestion rounds. Generally: Built Bar uses sucralose, IQBar uses monk fruit + stevia, MyProtein Lean Bar uses sucralose. None match RXBAR's "whole food only" positioning.