Find out what Clif Bars are, what flavors they come in, and which options of energy bars by this brand are safe for a gluten-free diet.
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If you find yourself on the go a lot, you may have a protein or energy bar stashed in your car, purse, or laptop bag. Just the same, if you head to the gym regularly, you might keep one of these bars on hand for a quick pick-me-up before or after a workout.
If you also follow a gluten-free diet, you know that some energy bars, protein bars, and snack bars often contain gluten. Maybe not in the ingredients themselves, but due to cross contamination of those ingredients that are used.
That’s why we’re going to dive into the Clif Bar brand of energy bars and get you all the information you’ve been looking for about whether or not to keep this option on hand for all your snacking and pre/post workout fueling.
If you’re a fan of Clif Bars and have been wondering if this brand of energy and protein bars are safe for your gluten-free diet, you’re in the right place.
In this post, we’re going to talk about what Clif Bars are, what the different flavors and varieties they come in, and discuss how they fit into a gluten-free diet.
Before we wrap the post up, we’ll go through a full list of options and flavors of energy bars made by this brand that are safe for you if you’re trying to stick with a gluten-free diet.
What are Clif Bars?
Clif Bars are a brand name of protein bars, energy bars, or snack bars. They are promoted as a pre-workout fuel or post-workout recovery snack to give people energy to show up energized for their workout.
Clif Bars are manufactured by the Clif Bar & Company. Clif Bars are the most popular variety of bars that this brand makes, but they also make Clif Kids bars, Luna bars, and even dog treats.
These bars are a convenient snack option to have on hand while on the go, heading to or from the gym, or to keep in your car for easy snacking between meals.
Read on: Gluten-free protein bars
Read on: Gluten and dairy-free snacks for road trips
What flavors and varieties do Clif Bars come in?
Clif Bars come in a few different varieties: Clif Bar, Clif Bar Minis, Nut Butter Bar, Clif Bar DUos, Clif Cereal, Clif Thins, Builders Protein, Clif Shot Energy Gel, Clif Bloks Energy Chews, and Clif Family Aristan Chews.
Since we’re talking specifically about the bars in this post, let’s go over the flavors of each of the bar varieties here:
Clif Bar
- Blueberry Almond Crisp
- Oatmeal Raisin Walnut
- Chocolate Chip
- Crunchy Peanut Butter
- Chocolate Brownie
- Cool Mint Chocolate
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Flavor
- Peanut Butter Banana with Dark Chocolate Flavor\
- Coconut Chocolate Chip
- Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch
Clif Bar Minis
- Chocolate Brownie Minis
- Chocolate Chip Minis
- Crunchy Peanut Butter Minis
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Minis
Nut Butter Bar
- Chocolate Chip & Peanut BUtter
- Chocolate & Peanut Butter
- Peanut Butter
- Chocolate & Hazelnut Butter
Clif Bar Duos
- Chocolate Brownie + Crunchy Peanut Butter
- Cool Mint Chocolate + Chocolate Chip
- Chocolate Brownie + White Chocolate Macadamia Nut
Clif Thins
- Chocolate Chip
- Chocolate Peanut Brownie
- White Chocolate Macadamia Nut
Builders Protein
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Flavor with Caffeine
- Chocolate Peanut Butter
- Chocolate Mint
- Cookies ‘N Cream
- Chocolate
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Minis
- Vanilla Almond
- Crunchy Peanut Butter
- Chocolate Mint Minis
Luna Bar
- Mash-Ups: LemonZest + Coconut
- Mash-Ups: LemonZest + Raspberry
- LemonZest
- Chocolate Cupcake
- Nutz Over Chocolate
- Chocolate Peppermint Stick
- Chocolate Dipped Coconut
- Blueberry Bliss
- Mash-Ups: LemonZest + Blueberry
- White Chocolate Macadamia
- LemonZest Minis
- Chocolate Peppermint Stick Minis
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Keto Brownie Bites
- Chocolate Mint Keto Brownie Bites
Clif Kid ZBars
- Blueberry Muffin
- Chocolate Chip
- Iced Oatmeal Cookie
- Chocolate Brownie
- S’mores
- Chocolate Chip Protein
- Cookies ‘n Creme Protein
- Chocolate Mint Protein
- Cinnamon Crunch Protein
Ingredients in Clif Bars
The ingredients in the Blueberry Almond Crisp Clif Bar are:
“Organic rolled oats, organic brown rice syrup, soy rice crisps (soy protein isolate, rice flour, barley malt extract), organic roasted soybeans, organic tapioca syrup, organic cane syrup, chicory fiber, organic soy flour, organic almonds, dried blueberries, apple juice concentrate, sunflower and/or soybean oil, natural flavors, salt, citric acid, mixed tocopherols (antioxidant).
What is gluten?
Gluten is a protein found in most wheat products, and acts as the “glue” that helps to hold wheat, barley, kamut, spelt, farro, durum, bulgur, rye, and semolina together to maintain their shape.
You can find gluten in whole grains, but also in many processed foods as well. If you purchase wheat bread, there will be gluten in it, because wheat by nature has gluten.
Many processed foods have hidden gluten in them in the form of gluten or wheat derivatives. These are also in the form of flavorings, binders to keep ingredients together, or other additives.
Read on: What is gluten?
Are Clif Bars gluten-free?
According to the the Clif Bar website on many of the product description pages, “No, Clif Bar Energy Bars are not gluten-free.”
The two main reasons Clif Bars aren’t considered gluten-free are the oats and the barley malt extract used. While oats are naturally gluten-free, they are often processed on shared equipment as wheat-containing grains making them at high risk for cross contamination with gluten.
The other ingredient that makes Clif Bars not gluten-free is the barley malt extract. This ingredient may or may not contain gluten, but knowing that the Clif Bar manufacturers come outright to say that their bars are not gluten-free, we can say with more certainty that this ingredient likely does contain gluten.
The Clif Bar brand does, however, have a gluten-free collection. On this page, they have their products narrowed down to those that are safe for folks on a gluten-free diet. These products have been tested and have gluten-free labels on the packaging.
While Clif Bars specifically aren’t gluten-free, some of the other products manufactured by Clif Bar, like their Builders Protein, Luna Bars, and Clif Kids Zbar Protein Bars are. We’ll go through a full list of their gluten-free offerings in the next section.
Read on: 5 best gluten-free dairy-free snack bars
Which flavors and varieties of Clif Bars are gluten-free?
Looking at the Gluten-free Collection page on the Clif Bar website, these are the options that are considered gluten-free by the brand. You should be able to safely enjoy these flavors and varieties of Clif Bars while on a gluten-free diet.
Builders Protein
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Flavor with Caffeine
- Chocolate Peanut Butter
- Chocolate Mint
- Cookies ‘N Cream
- Chocolate
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Minis
- Vanilla Almond
- Crunchy Peanut Butter
- Chocolate Mint Minis
Luna Bar
- Mash-Ups: LemonZest + Coconut
- Mash-Ups: LemonZest + Raspberry
- LemonZest
- Chocolate Cupcake
- Nutz Over Chocolate
- Chocolate Peppermint Stick
- Chocolate Dipped Coconut
- Blueberry Bliss
- Mash-Ups: LemonZest + Blueberry
- White Chocolate Macadamia
- LemonZest Minis
- Chocolate Peppermint Stick Minis
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Keto Brownie Bites
- Chocolate Mint Keto Brownie Bites
Zbar Protein
- Chocolate Chip Protein
- Chocolate Mint Protein
- Cinnamon Crunch Protein
- Cookies ‘n Creme Protein
If you’ve been wondering if Clif Bars are safe for a gluten-free diet, I hope this information has helped you get the answers you’re looking for. While the namesake Clif Bars are not gluten-free, some of the other products manufactured by Clif Bar & Company are.
Keep your eyes peeled for products with a gluten-free label to help you make decisions about what to purchase when you’re at the store shopping for energy or protein bars.
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