Are Quest Bars Keto Friendly?

At the time of writing this post I’ve been on the ketogenic diet for over five years and logged over 250 blood ketone tests in an effort to estimate the effects of food and ingredients on my ketosis, including those in Quest protein bars.

I think keto dieters naturally gravitate towards protein bars like Quest's looking for a convenient sweet treat that won’t kick them out of ketosis, but are protein bars the right place to look? In this post, I’ll evaluate a keto dieter favorite, Quest protein bars, give them keto friendly grades, and see how they stack up to other low carb treats!

Savage Fuel Keto Friendly Grades:

• A: Completely compatible, positive or no impact on ketosis.

• B: Highly compatible, but don't go too crazy.

• C: Moderately compatible, be mindful and limit intelligently.

• D: Barely compatible, detrimental to ketosis and not recommended.

• F: Not compatible, overdo it just a little and kiss your ketosis goodbye.

Keto Friendly Grading Factors:

Rule of Thumb: 0-4% great, 5-8% ok, 9-12% caution, 13%+ red alert

• Percent of Total Calories from Net Carbohydrates: Since servings sizes often vary significantly, this is the most consistent metric of keto-friendliness.

• Net Carbs per Serving: What is a serving size and how many carbs are in it?

• Glycemic and Insulin Index of Ingredients: Not all carbohydrates and protein have the same effect on our blood sugar and insulin levels.

• Hidden Carbs: Hidden carbohydrates are based on the caloric values and glycemic indexes of ingredients sometimes classified as fibers or sugar alcohols.

• Nutritional Density: Foods that are higher in percent of total calories from net carbs but are also high in nutrition per calorie can still be worth eating like broccoli.

• Easy to Overeat: Some foods are difficult not to overeat and require extra willpower to avoid overindulging which is an important factor to consider.

Quest Protein Bars Keto Friendly Grades:

Overall factors: 14-16g of fiber per bar (depending on flavor) from a mix of soluble corn fiber, almonds, and sometimes chocolate or other ingredients. I'm going to go with Keto Connects estimate and count 10% of soluble corn fiber grams as carbs and also estimate at least 10g of the 14-16g of fiber is soluble corn fiber to add 1g of hidden net carbs to each bar (not added to net carbs below but factored into grades). Also low nutritional density and very easy to overeat.

Alphabetical order (right to left):

• Apple Pie: F-
  7g net carbs per 190 calorie 60g bar
  15% of calories from net carbs (Red)
  3g Sugar
  

• Chocolate Brownie: F+
  5g net carbs per 190 calorie 60g bar
  11% of calories from net carbs (Orange)
  1g Sugar
  

• Cinnamon Roll: D
  4g net carbs per 180 calorie 60g bar
  9% of calories from net carbs (Orange)
  1g Sugar
  

• Double Chocolate Chunk: D
  4g net carbs per 180 calorie 60g bar
  9% of calories from net carbs (Orange)
  1g Sugar
  

• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip: F+
  5g net carbs per 190 calorie 60g bar
  11% of calories from net carbs (Orange)
  1g Sugar
  

• Rocky Road: D-
  5g net carbs per 210 calorie 60g bar
  10% of calories from net carbs (Orange)
  1g Sugar
  

• Vanilla Almond Crunch: D
  4g net carbs per 200 calorie 60g bar
  8% of calories from net carbs (Yellow)
  1g Sugar

• Birthday Cake: F+
  5g net carbs per 180 calorie 60g bar
  11% of calories from net carbs (Orange)
  1g Sugar
  

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: D
  4g net carbs per 200 calorie 60g bar
  8% of calories from net carbs (Yellow)
  1g Sugar
  

• Coconut Cashew: D
  4g net carbs per 190 calorie 60g bar
  8% of calories from net carbs (Yellow)
  1g Sugar
  

• Mint Chocolate Chunk: D
  4g net carbs per 200 calorie 60g bar
  8% of calories from net carbs (Yellow)
  1g Sugar
  

• Peanut Butter Brownie Smash: F
  6g net carbs per 190 calorie 60g bar
  13% of calories from net carbs (Red)
  2g Sugar
  

• S'Mores: D
  4g net carbs per 190 calorie 60g bar
  11% of calories from net carbs (Orange)
  1g Sugar
  

• White Chocolate Raspberry: F
  5g net carbs per 200 calorie 60g bar
  10% of calories from net carbs (Orange)
  1g Sugar

• Blueberry Muffin: F+
  5g net carbs per 190 calorie 60g bar
  11% of calories from net carbs (Orange)
  2g Sugar
  

• Chocolate Peanut Butter: D-
  4g net carbs per 170 cal 60g bar
  9% of calories from net carbs (Orange)
  1g Sugar
  

• Cookies & Cream: D
  4g net carbs per 200 calorie 60g bar
  8% of calories from net carbs (Yellow)
  1g Sugar
  

• Mocha Chocolate Chip: D
  4g net carbs per 180 calorie 60g bar
  9% of calories from net carbs (Orange)
  0g Sugar
  

• Peanut Butter Supreme: D-
  5g net carbs per 200 calorie 60g bar
  10% of calories from net carbs (Orange)
  1g Sugar
  

• Strawberry Cheesecake: F+
  5g net carbs per 180 calorie 60g bar
  11% of calories from net carbs (Orange)
  2g Sugar

Quest Bars Keto Friendly Conclusion:

Quest Bars vs Keto Friendly Snacks

Percent of Total Calories from Net Carbs

Quest protein bars are just too high in net carbs and soluble corn fiber for me to recommend, especially when compared to Keto Bars. If you’re like me and your interest in Quest Bars comes from wanting an easy keto friendly treat, then I highly recommend ChocoPerfection instead.

Also check out our Keto Shop for more expert selected keto friendly products or my first YouTube video “5 Tips to Get Back Into Ketosis Fast” below!

Want to get into ketosis fast? These 5 tips I've learned from over seven years on the keto diet will help you get back into ketosis quick and easy! My Favori...