Protein bars have become a popular choice for many people thanks to their convenience, decent nutritional value, and ability to satisfy hunger — all in the form of a tasty snack packed with protein. If you’ve never tried one, you might be surprised by the wide variety available. Some taste surprisingly great, while others… not so much. In this review, we’ll see how the Kirkland Signature Protein Bars from Costco measure up in terms of flavor and overall taste.
Location in Store
The protein bars are located in the snack section, near the front of Costco. They’re beside the RXBAR Protein Bars and the Simply Protein Bars. The item number is 1324865.
Taste
The Costco Kirkland Signature protein bars have a chewy, soft, taffy like texture. There are two flavors in the box, cookies and cream and peanut butter. I tried both bars and wrote notes on each flavor.
Chocolaty peanut butter flavored chunks
I was surprised that I found this wasn’t very flavorful. After chewing it I notice a faint artificial chocolate peanut butter flavor that’s more peanut butter than chocolate tasting. It tastes like a typical protein bar but not as rich in flavor as others.
The texture is chewy and soft and there’s a noticeable artificial sweetener taste. This one has chunks of chocolate/peanut butter in it.
Cookies & cream
The cookies & cream protein bar is similar to the chocolaty peanut butter. It’s not very flavorful but tastes a little better than the chocolate peanut butter because of the cookie pieces. It has a bit of a chalky texture and a bit of crunch from the cookies. The vanilla flavor is in the bar and the chocolate flavor is in the cookies.
Cost
The box comes with 20 protein bars and costs $29.99 Canadian which is just over a dollar per bar. In 2019 the Kirkland Signature Protein Bars cost $23.99 Canadian, so they’ve definitely gone up in price like everything else.
Convenience
Protein bars make an awesome snack or meal replacement and can easily be stored in purses, glove compartments, diaper bags, brief cases, gym bags, etc. The protein bars stay fresh in the box and have quite a long best before date.
If you’re like me and don’t eat an entire bar, no problem simply keep the bar in the original wrapping and put the bar in a ziplock and it stays pretty fresh for a day or two. It will get hard if you leave it for longer. The bars are a product of the USA.
Nutrition
Calories
Chocolaty Peanut Butter Flavored Chunks
One bar contains 210 calories, seven grams of fat, 23 grams of carbohydrates, six grams of fibre. five grams of sugar, two grams of sugar alcohols, 22 grams of protein and 170 milligrams of sodium.
Cookies and Cream
One bar contains 210 calories, six grams of fat, 24 grams of carbohydrates, six grams of fibre, five grams of sugar, three grams of sugar alcohol, 22 grams of protein and 170 milligrams of sodium.
Ingredients
Although protein bars seem pretty healthy I wouldn’t say they’re nutritious or full of clean ingredients. Both flavors have ingredients like sunflower oil, natural flavour and glycerin.
The bars contain cashews, milk and peanuts and may contain soy and other tree nuts. If you have a sensitive stomach these protein bars have quite a few ingredients that may cause digestive upset like whey, milk protein isolate and erythritol.
Scoring
Taste: 7/10
Cost: 7/10
Convenience: 10/10
Nutrition: 7/10 Not really nutritious but they’re loaded with protein and fibre.
Overall
Give it a try!
The more I ate these the more I liked them. They’re not amazing but they’re satisfying and sweet, you can definitely taste the artificial sweetener which I don’t love but they’re still tasty enough.
FAQ
In the USA.
Five grams.
21 grams of protein.
Have you tried the Costco Kirkland Signature Protein Bars? What did you think of them? Drop a comment below!
Please note that this review was not paid for or sponsored by any third party. This product was purchased by Costcuisine for the purpose of producing this review. The opinions in this review are strictly those of Costcuisine. Costcuisine is not affiliated with Costco or any of its suppliers. In the event that Costcuisine receives compensation for a post from the manufacturer of a product or some other third party, the arrangement will be clearly disclosed (including where the manufacturer of a product provides Costcuisine with a free sample of the product).
From my own experience, your review was spot on. The taste was OK, you know you’re definitely eating a protein bar and not a candy bar. I agree with your “chalky” description, I was thinking gritty, but chalky is a better adjective. The chewy chalky texture is not the most pleasing. The price was good on these Kirkland bars, but I was surprised at how mediocre they were. For me, the Robert Irvine bars or the Zone bars are superior, albeit a bit more expensive, but they taste more like candy bars and are frequently on sale.
Cost for us (BC) recently went from $30/box to $32/box. Still decent price for a 20+gram protein bar.
I generally prefer the taste of the Chocolate Brownie / Cookie Dough combo pack, but those (particularly the cookie dough ones) do have quite an overpowering artificial and bit-too-much sweetness to them.
When purchasing in-store, I always pull a box from the middle-to-bottom of the pallet because, as mentioned above, they age quickly and best-before of a month from purchase can make them less palatable.
I used to eat these all the time. Not having a Costco nearby for several years, I recently ordered some at Costco.com (US $24.98). I got the (2) shown here but also the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (US $26.98). I think most (me included) like these better than the other (2)…notice they are higher in price. First thing I checked when they came was the best by date. The combination pack didn’t have much of a best by date left, so I asked for a replacement, which Costco sent. Guess what? It also had the same dubious best by date! UGH! So they sent another replacement…this one was sent from a different fulfillment location (which I suggested they do) and it was acceptable. The Cookie Dough was fine. When I formerly bought these in the actual store, I learned quickly to check the best by date because they could be hard if they had been on the shelf awhile. I haven’t noticed any change in taste and I do like them, so I’ll keep buying them…(and checking that best by date!)
Bought these once and did not like them. Think I gave them away. Now I don’t buy anything that contains erythritol.
I have been consuming these bars for a number of years and have noticed that they have changed the recipe/formula at least twice in response to consumer complaints. Earlier versions caused major gastrointestinal issues for many people and while the new version seems better, I am finding that the added texture/chunky pieces are crumbly and dry. The nutrition stats have changed as well – they used to be lower in (net) carbs. Yes, it sucks that the price has increased but there are better, more tasty bars on the market.
i live in Kenya but have family in Canada . all i ask when they come down is for them to get me these I absolutely love them .
Is there any way I can get some un-opened bars softer after they were not used right away. I have a box of bars that got very hard after 5 weeks. They are really hard to eat now.
Please let me know, I don’t want to throw them away.
Thanks
Heat them in the microwave for 30 – 40 seconds (remove the rapper and put the bar on a china plate). I do this even on a fresh bar – the taste is amazing.
My husband and I thought these bars were the worst. The consistency is gross and we didn’t like the flavor at all. It was like eating a melted glob of paste that had been left out in the sun. We are throwing them out, but wish we could get a refund. I would only eat these if they were the only thing left while I was in a bomb shelter. I guess they are nutritious, but not something I would ever buy or recommend unless you want to loose weight just by not eating them.
Take a picture of the f’n ingredients!
The best thing about these is they don’t melt!
Many bars are coated in chocolate / “chocolate”, which melts in a hot car or in your pocket. These often stick to the wrapper, but usually leave just a thin film or a small spot of melted chocolate, rather than fully coating the wrapper in a thick mess that’s nearly impossible to keep from spreading everywhere.
They’re also slightly less sweet than average, which reduces the sweetness fatigue from frequently eating energy bars during athletic activities.
That’s such a good point!