Huel Complete Bar Review | Is the 4th Iteration Any Good?

In this Huel Bar review, we shall find out if the UK based giant has finally hit the nail and created a good meal replacement bar. This is their 4th try and the 4th time they relaunch their bars.

As a matter of fact, Huel’s has had very little success with meal replacement bars. Despite them having some of the best meal replacement shakes, the bars have been below average to put it mildly.

The first, Huel Bar v1.0 was also known as the brick. v2.0 wasn’t much better, and the v3.0 wasn’t the success the company expected.

Soon after v3.0, Huel released the v3.1 formula in 2020. It came with 6 flavors and offered an exciting proposition. However, when we tasted the bars, it was clear that this was another miss.

So what’s different with Huel Complete Nutrition bar? Is this finally the Huel bar that we can recommend without any hesitations?

Ultimately, is it a contender to be the best meal replacement bar in the market?

For those who are knew to Huel meal replacement bars, the new Complete nutrition bars are 180kcal fully plant-based bars, with 13g of protein, 27 vitamins and minerals, only 2g of protein and come in two flavors: Peanut Caramel and Chocolate Caramel.

Our top meal shake recommendation

Rootana Real Food Shake

For readers open to a shake instead of a bar, Rootana is our top everyday meal option. It needs mixing before drinking.

Rootana is our top everyday meal shake, with premium plant-based nutrition from oats, pea protein and golden flaxseed. Its carefully balanced nutritional profile combines protein, complex carbohydrates, fibre, essential fats, vitamins and minerals in a satisfying, convenient meal.

The clean ingredient list uses organic coconut sugar for subtle sweetness, with no stevia, sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame K or monk fruit. Our review found a mild, pleasantly oaty flavour and smooth texture, without the intense sweetness or lingering sweetener aftertaste of many meal shakes. It becomes creamier with milk or a milk alternative.

Visit Rootana ↗Read our Rootana review

Complete ingredients & label facts

Complete ingredients by flavour

Original: oat flour, pea protein isolate, organic coconut sugar, gold flaxseed powder, sunflower lecithin, sunflower oil powder, vitamin and mineral blend (potassium chloride, sodium chloride, calcium carbonate, magnesium phosphate, ascorbic acid, d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, niacinamide, phylloquinone, retinyl palmitate, zinc oxide, manganese citrate, cholecalciferol, D-calcium pantothenate, sodium selenite, biotin, folic acid, copper sulfate, pyridoxine HCl, thiamin HCl, riboflavin, chromium picolinate, cyanocobalamin, potassium iodide, sodium molybdate), guar gum, xanthan gum.

Dark Chocolate: oat flour, pea protein isolate, organic coconut sugar, gold flaxseed powder, sunflower lecithin, sunflower oil powder, cocoa, natural flavors, vitamin and mineral blend (potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, magnesium phosphate, sodium chloride, ascorbic acid, d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate, niacinamide, phylloquinone, retinyl palmitate, zinc oxide, manganese citrate, cholecalciferol, D-calcium pantothenate, sodium selenite, biotin, folic acid, pyridoxine HCl, riboflavin, thiamin HCl, chromium picolinate, cyanocobalamin, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, sodium molybdate), guar gum, xanthan gum.

Both current US labels show 14 servings per pouch. Contains oats.

Rootana: current US labels, per serving

Nutrient	Original · 102 g	Dark Chocolate · 105 g
Energy	400 kcal	400 kcal
Total fat	14 g	14 g
Saturated fat	2 g	2 g
Trans fat	0 g	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	440 mg	400 mg
Total carbohydrate	44 g	46 g
Dietary fiber	8 g	9 g
Total sugars	12 g	12 g
Added sugars	11 g	11 g
Protein	20 g	20 g

All vitamins and minerals, per serving

Rootana: complete vitamin and mineral amounts

Nutrient	Original · 102 g	Dark Chocolate · 105 g
Vitamin D	3.8 mcg	4 mcg
Calcium	270 mg	280 mg
Iron	8.1 mg	10.5 mg
Potassium	860 mg	1070 mg
Vitamin A	180 mcg	180 mcg
Vitamin C	18 mg	18 mg
Vitamin E	3 mg	3 mg
Vitamin K	24 mcg	24 mcg
Thiamin	0.24 mg	0.24 mg
Riboflavin	0.26 mg	0.26 mg
Niacin	3.2 mg	3.2 mg
Vitamin B6	0.3 mg	0.3 mg
Folate	80 mcg DFE	80 mcg DFE
Vitamin B12	0.5 mcg	0.5 mcg
Biotin	6 mcg	6 mcg
Pantothenic acid	1 mg	1 mg
Phosphorus	340 mg	370 mg
Iodine	30 mcg	30 mcg
Magnesium	75 mg	90 mg
Zinc	2 mg	2 mg
Selenium	11 mcg	11 mcg
Copper	0.2 mg	0.2 mg
Manganese	0.5 mg	0.5 mg
Chromium	7 mcg	7 mcg
Molybdenum	9 mcg	9 mcg
Chloride	730 mg	630 mg

US labels: Original 102 g; Dark Chocolate 105 g. Official ingredients and nutrition.

Huel Complete Nutrition Bar Review at a Glance

Flavours: Peanut Caramel & Chocolate Caramel.

Opinion

As mentioned above, the Huel Bar has never been a hit. Despite being one of the first items after their powder meal replacement, it was never of the liking of the customers.

This was mainly to the bars being too dry, flavourless and rather hard. Therefore, Huel has always been looking to make a more chewy and moist bar.

Because Huel bars do not taste good. They are a chore to eat, hard on the first bite and the powdery in your mouth.

Me, previous Huel Bar review

They changed the texture in the last iteration. They also made a 200kcal bar, as opposed to a fully fledged meal bar with 400kcals.

This time, they’ve changed the name: “Huel Complete Nutrition Bar”.

The irony is that the Huel Bar has always been nutritionally complete.

On top of that, they’ve reduced the amount of calories to under 200kcals, going even further into snack territory. Lastly, it’s worth noting that they’ve gone from 6 flavors to just only 2. While it’s certain that they will release more flavors, this also seems like they are testing the market first.

So, will the Huel consumer like the new bars? And are they actually directed to them?

What I like

1. Improved texture. The caramel layer makes them less dry.

2. Taste is OK and familiar if you are used to protein bars.  

3. Plant based, soy free, gluten free and includes all essential nutrients.

4. Available worldwide.

What I dislike

1. Even more expensive than before.

2. Less omega-3.

3. Minimum order is £66 (2 boxes).

4. Not very filling.

Nutritional Breakdown

The new Huel Complete Nutrition Bar has less than 200kcal per bar, instead of the 400kcals that many meal bars have, such as the Plenny Bar. As such, it does not provide you with enough calories to replace a full meal, and it clearly intended to be used as a snack.

Besides, it’s a vegan meal replacement bar, high in fibre and protein. It includes all 27 vitamins and minerals.

Huel Bar Nutritional Overview

	Huel Bar (Chocolate Caramel)
Kcal/meal	180
Macros (C/P/F)	37/28/35
Vegan	Yes
Keto	No
Features	Soy Free
Non-GMO	Y
Organic	No
Includes Probiotics	No
Artificial Sweeteners	Yes
Synthetic Additives	Yes
Contains All Micronutrients	Yes
Controversial Ingredients	Maltitol

Carbohydrates

Based on Chocolate Caramel:

• Total Carbs: 10.0g, 4% of RI.
• Sugars: 2g,2% of RI (based on EU).
• Fiber: 6g, 21% of RI.

This is where one of the biggest shifts between the two bars has happened. Huel has lowered the amount of carbs on the bars, and substituted the sugar (brown rice syrup and concentrated grape juice) that was used as a binder for maltitol.

Maltitol is a sugar alcohol commonly used in protein bars, half as sweet as sugar, approved by the FDA as an artificial sweetener.

The one downside of maltitol is that in rare cases it might cause bloating and diarrhea, as it can act as a laxative.

Another feature of meal replacement bars is usually the high fibre content, which is the case for Huel Bar. They’ve further increased the amount of fiber in the bars, which could cause some laxative effects for those unused to fiber content.

That said, considering that only 7% of US adults consume enough dietary fiber, it might be a good thing.

Fats

Based on Chocolate Caramel:

• Total Fats: 7.0g. 9% of the RI.
• Saturated Fats: 3.0g. 15% of DRI.
• Monosaturated (MUFA): 2.0g.
• Polyunsaturated (PUFA): 2.0g.
• Omega-3 (ALA): 0.1g.
• Omega-6: 1.5g.

Once again, there have been some changes I do not favour in this aspect. Even though the omega-3 in the previous Huel Bars was from ALA – which your body does not convert into actual omega-3 (DHA, EPA) very efficiently – they’ve lowered it from 0.4g to 0.1g.

The amount of omega-6 has also been lowered, and the medium chain triglycerides remove.

Without know the reason for this, it feels like they’ve removed quality nutrition.

Protein

Based on Chocolate:

• Total protein: 13.0g, 26% of DV.
• Source: rice protein and pea protein.
  

Huel’s products are all vegan and most of the time the protein source is a mix of pea and rice protein. These two protein sources work well in conjunction, since they balance out the deficiencies in the amino acids of each source. In fact, both of them together provide one of the best vegan protein sources.

However, it is worth noting that Huel has increased the amount of rice protein in the bars, and decreased the amount of pea protein.

Micronutrients

Every Huel Bar will provide you with at least 15% of you daily vitamins and minerals.

Allergens

Huel bars contain peanuts and wheat.

Tasting Test

As far as the taste goes, at the time of writing this Huel Bar review, they only offer 2 flavors: Chocolate Caramel and Peanut Caramel. This is a downgrade from the 6 flavors offered before (seen below)

In summary, how do Huel Bars taste? Well, not so different to most caramel protein bars in the market. They have a chewy texture, and the caramel coat does wonders not to make the bar dry. Huel bars are not extremely sweet, which is nice.

Best flavour	Peanut Caramel
Best to Worst	Peanut Caramel (A), Chocolate Caramel (A-)
Taste	Nicely sweet, with a extremely noticeable caramel layer. What you would expect from a caramel based protein bar.
Texture	Big change, as they are not as dry as the 3.1.
Satiety	For some reason, not as filling as their last version.
Afterthoughts	I wish they would have a more crunchy texture.

More about Huel Bars

Huel Bars are part of Huel’s complete food line up. The UK based meal replacement company started in 2014, and since has become the largest complete food manufacturer.

As such, besides the bars they offer powder based meals, a ready to drink, a warm complete food, and a complete protein. All of them, plant-based, without soy, and high in protein. I discuss each of them in more detail in my Huel review.

Pricing

Now, going back to the bars, let’s discuss one of the most important aspects: the price.

This will vary according your region (US, UK, EU), how many you buy (there’s bulk discount), and whether you are subscribed (20% discount in the US, 10% in Europe).

However, in all regions bars come in boxes of 12, and you need to purchase at least 2 boxes (£66 for both). Alternatively, you can try them as an add-on when you buy other Huel products (as single bars).

It is worth noting, that in the new website (for the UK and EU), Huel automatically applies a subscription discount. Thus, when you change, the price of the bars will increase.

	EU (€)	UK (£)	US ($)
Expensive (2 boxes)	2.54	2.75	3.40
Cheapest	2.29	2.19	2.71

Are Huel Bars Worth It?

I am a big advocate of Huel products. I believe that Huel H&S is the best warm complete food option, bar none. Their powder-based meal replacement shakes are excellent, and Huel Black is fantastic.

However, I think Huel keeps missing the target with the bars. I actually thought that the v3.1 was quite good. Not all flavors were fantastic, but the average was decent and the price reasonable.

On the contrary, now bars cost almost double what the old ones did! They do not offer double value. At that price range, you are competing with the healthiest meal bars in the market, like Lyfefuel Essential bars.

In short, the new Huel Bars are not worth it.

Shipping

Huel Bars are available in most places worldwide. Few exceptions include Canada.

For the EU, UK and the US, buying 2 boxes will qualify you for free shipping. In the UK this is next day delivery.

Huel Complete Nutrition Bar Customer Reviews

There are not many reviews of the latest Huel bars, but here are a few from the forums. Most people like the improved texture, and believe this even taste better. However, there were a few users that weren’t happy about the nutritional changes.

I like the Peanut ones. The other ones are decent but they have a kind of Turkish delight texture inside that is not my favourite but the taste is good.

Kingbob10

Sweetness: marginally sweeter than the Complete Protein but not offensively so – I guess moving from the 3.1 bars to these – that maybe more pronounced. Nowhere near the sugar bomb people are expecting. (much less sweet than a Snickers/Mars)

Texture: it’s a pretty nice mouthfeel, a little softer and drier than I expected (maybe the 5 days sat in the depot is responsible for that). Ive put them in the fridge to firm up before I try another.

Taste: Chocolate is nice not too sweet and better than that bland fudgy style chocolate you get on Grenades. It’s obviously not milk chocolate so not that creaminess to it but not bad.

Phil_C

First off, I want to say these bars taste great as a treat. But it’s like a candy bar – not a nutrition bar. They’re just too sweet for me to crave them as part of my daily routine, and the “2g of sugar” figure does not describe the overall sweetness or the contribution from sugar alcohols. The bars are very sweet – how much Maltitol is in here? It may be less of a sugar than sucrose, but you’re still getting 2.1kCal/g. And now you’ve had to add the “warning: excessive consumption may produce laxative effects” label due to this sweetener choice.

ihearbeans

Some people even reported that the Chocolate Caramel tastes a little coconuty:

Having had the new caramel bars for quite a few days now I have decided that I will not be ordering any more when this batch is over. My main reasons are:

• Not filling enough
• Initially I liked the taste but I have recently concluded a bit too sweet for me (at breakfast anyway). Plus the odd artificial/synthetic/coconutty tang bugs me.

dsjb

Huel Bar vs other meal replacement bars

Huel Bars are a very good deal if you live in the UK, since the price is lower there. However, the price is higher than other competitors within Europe. I would look for other Huel alternatives like Powdermatter.; Jake (Vitaminbar); Plenny Bar…

Furthermore, you will have the options to go for light (100kcal) bars or bigger (400kcal) bars; as well as enjoy different textures.

General Information

	Huel Bar	Vitaminbar	Feed	Plenny Bar
serving size	180	333	400	400
serving price	€2.54	€2.20	€3.50	€2.50
price/400kcal	€5.64	€2.66	€3.50	€2.50
Protein (g)	13	19	20	20
Vegan	Y	Y	Y	Y
Organic	N	N	N	N
Sold in	World	World	EU	World
Flavours	2	5	6*	3

Besides those shown above, there are many more options; particularly in Europe. These include, PlennyBar, Satislent Bars or Queal Go bars. 

However, I think that the ones above cover a wide array of option, and include some of the best tasting bars.

Other companies like Jimmyjoy or Feed. opt for bars closer to 400kcal, in which case they are more like a small meal. Both brands have very good tasting bars, but I would go for the latter.

Huel Bars vs

Huel Bars Alternatives in the US

Meal replacement bar options are more limited in the US than in Europe. Jake and Plenny Bars are available in the US, but the latter are often out of stock.

Lyfefuel Essential bars are another product we reviewed. These are fully vegan bars, which also contain 12g of protein, are high in fiber, contain more nutrients than Huel bars, and are optimized to keep you full. There are many reasons to love the Lyfefuel bars, but I love the more natural approach with real food ingredients and the superfood blend. It offers a less bloating, but more filling and energizing bar option.

When looking at popular US snack bars like Clif, Aloha, Kind, Huel seems to do pretty well, but that’s mostly due to the added vitamin and mineral blend. If you value natural ingredients, and lack of artificial sweeteners, there are better options out there.

Huel Bar FAQ

Watch the original review video

Verdict – Huel Complete Nutrition Bar Review, a Step Backwards

Summarizing this Huel Bar review, would I recommend them?

Sadly, unlike the v3.1 Huel bars which I thought they were pretty good, I cannot recommend the new Huel Complete Nutrition bars.

Sure, these are quite tasty, they have an improved texture with the caramel layer, which makes them less dry. Sure, on paper they look nutritionally complete, vegan, and packed with protein – as you would expect from Huel.

However, the price of the bar has doubled, the nutrition of the bars is slightly worse, and even if the flavor is better, it’s not enough to distinguish from a a protein bar.

Honestly, I would recommend buying cheaper protein bars and adding a multivitamin, as you will have more flavor options and they will offer a similar nutritional output.

If you are a Huel customer, you might want to add it to your order for convenience, but otherwise there are better meal replacement bars available.