Quaker

Update Review, 2024

Quaker, along with their obviously popular cereals and granola bars, also makes a fairly large product line of rice snacks.  Large format standard rice cakes, smaller, crunchier Rice Crisps, super thin and even crispier Rice Thins, and triangular Rice Chips.  All come in a variety of flavors.

Rice Crisps

"'With so many crunchy ways to snack, you might not be able to pick just one. They’re a great lunch time sidekick, after school snack or movie night munchie."

The rice crisps look just like rice cakes, but, smaller.  They are however fairly distinct, not just due to the size, but due to the crispy factor.  They are much crunchier/crisper, less airy and fluffy. They come in 10 flavors, some sweet and some savory.  I tried a few.

Caramel.

"These sweet, buttery, caramel flavored rice crisps are a low fat snack the whole family will love."

I love caramel corn.  I appreciate healthier snacks.  These seem like such a perfect snack for me.  And yet ... I always want to like them more than I actually do.

The crispier and thinner than regular rice cakes or caramel corn form factor isn't quite as enjoyable for me.  I prefer a bit more puff to my snacks.  The two-bite size works, but, overall, the rice crisps form lets me down a bit.

The flavor also lets me down.  It is intensely caramel-y.  Very sweet.  Very very sweet.  Again, this seems like I should like it, full of buttery caramel notes just as promised.  But they lack any addicting salty counterpart, and thus are just sweet on sweet.  I like to dunk them into whipped cream, but just eaten on their own as a snack, I want a big more balance.

I want to love these, but generally think they are barely ok, and kinda need to talk myself in to finishing off a bag.  **+.

Apple Cinnamon.

"What do you get when you combine the flavors of tangy apple with tasty cinnamon and crispy crunchiness? Totally delicious rice snacks that will leave you speechless – mostly because your mouth will be full."

I didn't select the apple cinnamon flavor, but my mom had them in her cabinet, so of course I tried them.  They delivered strongly in both the apple and cinnamon flavors.  Very classic fall flavors, warming spices.  Not really what I go for, but, I give them credit for really amping up the flavor.  **+.

Original Review, 2013, with updates from 2020

If you read my blog on Fridays, you know that I've been on an epic quest to find some granola.  I've kinda failed, concluding that the granola from Target is my favorite so far, even when compared to all sorts of expensive, artisan granolas, but its not like I'm running out to get more of the Target stuff.

Chewy Granola Bars

So now, I turn my attention towards granola in a slightly different form: granola bars.  Like with granola, the variance is high.  What percentage is oats? Is it chewy or crispy?  Loaded with fruit and nuts?  Loaded with sugar? Weird protein powders?  They can be 100 calorie light snacks or 500 calorie sugar bombs.  The choice is yours.

I've reviewed a few granola bars in the past, but I'm going to dive in for the next few weeks, doing a different brand every Friday. To start this series, I'll begin with a classic: Quaker.  Yes, the oatmeal people.  I've tried some of their "Chewy" product line over the years. 

The "Chewy" product line is available in several forms: classic granola bars, 25% less sugar, Big Chewy (60% bigger), yogurt (coated), Dipps (dipped in chocolate). 

Classic Chewy Granola Bars

"Quaker®Chewy Granola Bars are a delicious snack that you can feel good about giving to your kids. All classic flavors of Chewy are made with 100% whole grains and other yummy ingredients, like real chocolate chips and raisins, and no artificial flavors or added colors."

The basic chewy bars claim to be decent healthy choices, made with whole grains and no high fructose corn syrup.  About 100 calories each. 

The granola base for all is oats and brown rice crisps in several formats.   They are available in 7 flavors, 4 fairly basic (dark chocolate chunk, oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip, peanut butter chocolate chip), plus a handful of slightly more fun ones (peanut butter and marshmallow, s'mores, and chocolate-brownie-licious).

Chewy Granola Bars Assorted Pack.

I got the assorted pack, which contains 4 varieties, all of which I tried.

I haven't really liked any - they taste incredibly sweet, fake, and generic.  My tasting notes are not very extensive, as I just haven't really wanted anything to do with these, and handed them off to my niece (who, does adore them). Meh.

Chocolate Chip.

"Nothing gets chocolate lovers cheering like a Chocolate Chip Quaker® Chewy Bar. Every chewylicious bite is made with real, mouth-watering chocolate chips the kids will love."

Most varieties use the chocolate chip as the base.

The little chocolate chips are ... fine.  The mix of crispy things in the base is fine.  It *is* chewy as advertised, pleasantly so.

But it is just a sweet, generic granola bar, targeted at kids, and, I found nothing interesting with it. *+.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip.

"If you like the delicious flavors of peanut butter and chocolate chips, you’ll love Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Quaker® Chewy Granola Bars."

I moved on to the peanut butter chocolate chip.  Made with the same base of oats and crispy rice, with little tiny chocolate and peanut butter chips.

I had it when I was craving chocolate and peanut butter.  After eating it ... I was still craving chocolate and peanut butter.

This was a pretty standard chewy granola bar, very sweet, and not anything special.  I love peanut butter and chocolate together, but neither was very strong in this product, both sets of chips seemed to be more waxy than flavorful.  There were not actually any peanuts in here, only the "peanut flavored chips". 

It was sweet and kinda gooey, so I guess there is that? *+.

S'mores.

"Our S’mores Quaker® Chewy Granola Bar takes a family favorite from the campfire to your cupboard."

Swap out the peanut butter chips for mini marshmallows and you get the s'mores bar.  My review is exactly the same.  It really is the same product, just with tiny tiny marshmallows that get easily lost in it.  Chewy, too sweet, meh. *.

Oatmeal Raisin.

"Oatmeal Raisin Quaker® Chewy Bar is a delicious snack made with raisins, oatmeal cookie pieces, 10 grams of whole grains and other yummy ingredients. "

My favorite of the lineup was strangely the oatmeal raisin.  It at least had some spices in it (cinnamon, etc) and the raisins were not hard pellets.  That said, it was still just sticky sweet, which made no sense with the healthier flavor, and I didn't want a second bite. *.

Prior tasting notes: "Sweet, meh. Not tasty."  Lol.  I had few words back then.

[ No Photo ]
Maple and Brown Sugar.
(Discontinued)

Standard granola bar, ok maple flavor.

Prior tasting notes:  Pretty good when crumbled up on top of fruit and whipped cream, but very sweet, too sweet to just eat as a bar.  *+.

Chewy Yogurt

"Quaker Chewy Yogurt Granola Bars are made with real fruit pieces, whole grains, a delicious yogurt-flavored coating and other yummy ingredients. These BERRY tasty bars are a snack that the family will love!"

Even though I didn't like the Classic Chewy bars, I still tried a bar from the yogurt lineup, when my little niece rejected her box full.  Available in strawberry or blueberry only.

Strawberry: Top.

"Quaker® Chewy Strawberry Yogurt Granola Bars are made with 14 grams of whole grains, real strawberries pieces, a delicious layer of yogurt flavored coating and other delicious ingredients. With a taste your whole family will love, this yummy snack won't last long in your cupboard!"

The first thing I noticed when I opened the yogurt bar is that it is much bigger, thicker.  Perhaps more like the Big Chew bars? It also was a dryer style, less gooey.

I liked the granola base more than in the classic bars, the mix of oats, brown rice crisps, etc worked better for me here for some reason.  And I even liked the little pops of intense fruitiness from the bits of dried strawberries.  But it was very, very, very sweet, the base has sugar, honey, glucose, invert sugar, and brown sugar after all, and the dried strawberries are sweetened with glucose syrup and fructose too.  

Much better texture for me, but still, wowzer, sweet.  

Strawberry: Side.

The part I really did like though, embarrassingly, is the "yogurt" coating.  Yup, that would be the sugar, vegetable oil, palm oil, why, soy lecithin, etc, etc.  It too was very sweet. But it was creamy, and I kinda liked it.

I'd be lying if I didn't say that I cut off the bottom (it was entirely coated) and just, uh, ate that.  The box was going in the trash otherwise, no other adults wanted to try them, and alas, 2 year old declared "yucky"!

Best Quaker granola bar product I tried, for the yogurt coating only :) **.

Update Review, 2018

Quaker is not exactly an unknown brand to me.  I grew up with their instant oatmeal (maple and brown sugar, with extra maple syrup added, FTW!).  Their granola bars were probably the first granola bars I ever had.

I recently tried some of their breakfast bar products.  They make two varieties, harder style "Breakfast Flats" (like Belvita perhaps?) and softer "Breakfast Squares" (like Nutri-Grain).  I tried the later.

Breakfast Squares

"Your morning just became more satisfying with Quaker® Breakfast Squares. Available in Strawberry, Baked Apple Cinnamon and Peanut Butter flavors, these filled soft baked bars are an easy way to fill up and help start your day. Not to mention, each square is made with whole grain oats and other delicious ingredients to make this one fulfilling square."

Breakfast Squares seem to be their version of something like a Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Bar, just, square shaped.  Your basic soft baked oatmeal based bar in a few flavors, handy grab-n-go breakfast.

I tried two varieties, strawberry and apple cinnamon.  The fruit fillings weren't really winners, but I did like the oatmeal bar itself.

Packaging.

The bars come individually packaged, in a plastic wrapper with a clear section showing through to the bar within.

The packaging is interestingly *not* a square, so I assumed that inside would also actually just be a oblong bar.

Strawberry: Top View.

"The sweet taste of strawberries is always refreshing. That’s why Quaker® Strawberry Breakfast Squares are a great way to help start your day. Whole grain oats, whole wheat, strawberry puree and other tasty ingredients create the satisfying breakfast snack you’ll love to enjoy. "

But, they are actual squares.

From the top, it looks just like a fairly standard oat based soft-ish bar.

I did like the oatmeal based bar.  It wasn't quite as soft as I was hoping, but it had good texture from the oats, and a nice sweetness level from brown sugar.  Basically, yup, oatmeal in bar form. *** from that component.

Strawberry: Side View.

From the side you can see the generous strawberry filling layer that runs through the center.

The strawberry I didn't really like.  It was fruity, but, not in a "yay, fresh strawberries!" sense.  No worse than any other bar of this nature, just, not something I like.  It really was generously stuffed though, so if I had liked it, I would have been pretty thrilled.

I just peeled off the oatmeal bar bits and enjoyed it that way, but kept finding myself wishing I had some of my mom's strawberry jam handy to slather on.  So yes, if that strawberry filling had delivered, this would be a great choice. ** overall though.

Baked Apple Cinnamon.

"Apple & cinnamon, the classically delicious duo that blends sweet and spice. We love this combination in our Baked Apple Cinnamon Quaker® Breakfast Squares, the surprisingly satisfying breakfast snack. Enjoy 23 grams of whole grains, cinnamon, sweet apple puree and other tasty ingredients in a square that may become your new favorite apple cinnamon snack!"

Next I tried the baked apple cinnamon.

My review is basically the same.  The oatmeal bar was actually pretty good, nice sweetness and texture.  The filling though?  Mush, that was like low end apple sauce, spiced in ways I didn't like.

I again just peeled off the oatmeal bar, and ate that part (uh, dunked in whipped cream).  **.