What Is GoMacro MacroBar Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip?
GoMacro is a family-owned, Wisconsin-based company that's been making organic, vegan protein bars since 2004, well before "clean label" was a marketing category. The MacroBar line is its flagship product, sold in more than a dozen flavors, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip is one of the best-sellers — a straightforward, brown-rice-syrup-bound bar built around peanut butter, sprouted brown rice protein, and organic chocolate chips.
Unlike a lot of protein bars that chase a high gram count with isolates and sugar alcohols, GoMacro leans into a shorter, recognizable ingredient list and markets the bars as much on "clean" credentials — organic, vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO, kosher — as on macros. That makes it a useful comparison point against bars like Larabar and RXBAR, which occupy similar shelf space but take different approaches to hitting a similar niche.
Ingredients
The full ingredient list for the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip MacroBar is:
- Organic brown rice syrup – the primary binder, holding the bar together and providing most of its sweetness.
- Organic peanut butter – the main flavor driver and a source of fat and protein.
- Organic protein blend (organic sprouted brown rice protein, organic pea protein) – GoMacro's house protein source, plant-based and allergen-friendlier than soy or whey.
- Organic puffed brown rice – adds crunch and structure.
- Organic chocolate chips (organic coconut sugar, organic cocoa, organic cocoa butter) – dairy-free chocolate made without milk fat or milk solids.
- Organic peanuts – whole peanuts for texture.
That's it — six ingredient groups, all organic, with no soy protein isolate, no sugar alcohols, and no artificial preservatives. The bar is made in a facility that also processes tree nuts, so cross-contact is a real consideration for anyone with a peanut or tree nut allergy, even though tree nuts aren't in the recipe itself. If you're scanning a box in-store and want to double-check any ingredient you don't recognize, the spvegan.com ingredient checker is a fast way to confirm it's plant-based.
Is GoMacro MacroBar Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Vegan?
Yes. GoMacro bars are vegan across the entire product line, not just this flavor, and the company states this clearly on its packaging alongside its organic and gluten-free certifications. The chocolate chips are the ingredient worth double-checking on any "chocolate chip" product in general, since most conventional chocolate chips contain milk fat — but GoMacro's are made from organic coconut sugar, cocoa, and cocoa butter, with no dairy anywhere in the formula. There's no honey, gelatin, whey, or egg in this bar or anywhere in the MacroBar lineup.
Nutrition Facts
Here's how one Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip MacroBar (2.4 oz) stacks up against two of the most common vegan-friendly bars in the same aisle.
| Product | Serving | Calories | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Sugar | Protein | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoMacro Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip | 1 bar (68g) | 290 | 10g | 39g | 2g | 8g | 11g | 15mg |
| Larabar Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip | 1 bar (45g) | 221 | 11.7g | 23.6g | 3.9g | 16.2g | 5.3g | 69mg |
| RXBAR Peanut Butter (Plant Protein) | 1 bar (52g) | 210 | 9g | 25g | 4g | 17g | 10g | 65mg |
GoMacro comes out highest in both calories and protein of the three, which tracks with it being noticeably larger (68g versus 45–52g for the other two). Per gram, its protein density is actually in the middle of the pack rather than the leader — Larabar has the least protein by a wide margin since it's really a date-and-nut bar rather than a protein bar, while RXBAR's plant protein version gets more protein per calorie than GoMacro does. Where GoMacro pulls ahead is sugar: 8g per bar is meaningfully lower than the 16–17g in the other two, even though it's a bigger bar overall, and its sodium is the lowest of the three by a wide margin.
Taste and Texture
The texture is soft, dense, and chewy rather than crumbly or dry, closer to a no-bake energy bite pressed into bar form than a traditional protein bar. Brown rice syrup gives it a sticky, cohesive bite that holds together well in a bag or backpack without falling apart, and the puffed rice adds just enough crunch to keep it from feeling like a solid block of nut butter. Whole peanuts stud the bar for texture, and the chocolate chips are distributed generously enough that you get chocolate in most bites rather than the occasional stray chip.
Flavor-wise, peanut butter is the dominant note — this reads more like a peanut butter bar with chocolate chips than a chocolate bar with peanut butter, and it's not oversweet given the sugar numbers above. The tradeoff for the clean ingredient list is that it tastes a bit more "whole food" than a candy-bar-style protein bar — there's no smooth fudgy coating or artificial vanilla sweetness — which some people prefer and others find less indulgent than competitors packed with sugar alcohols and chocolate coating.
How It Compares to Other Vegan Protein Bars
| Product | Best for | Protein source | Sugar level | Price per bar (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoMacro Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip | Balanced snack with real protein, low sugar | Sprouted brown rice + pea protein | Low-moderate | $2.50–$3.00 |
| Larabar Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip | Minimal-ingredient, whole-food snacking | Peanuts (not protein-forward) | High | $1.50–$2.00 |
| RXBAR Peanut Butter (Plant Protein) | Higher protein-to-calorie ratio | Pea + almond protein | High | $2.00–$2.50 |
If low sugar and a genuinely satisfying protein count matter more to you than price, GoMacro is the strongest pick of the three. If you just want a short, recognizable ingredient list and don't care about hitting a protein number, Larabar is cheaper and arguably even simpler. RXBAR's plant protein line splits the difference — more protein-efficient than GoMacro per gram, but with noticeably more sugar and a smaller bar. Worth flagging: regular RXBAR flavors (not the "Plant Protein" line) use egg whites and are not vegan, so if you're grabbing RXBAR off a shelf, check that it's specifically labeled Plant Protein.
Where to Buy and Price
GoMacro MacroBars are widely stocked at natural grocery chains like Whole Foods and Sprouts, and they've also made their way into mainstream chains including Kroger, Target, and Walmart, which has helped narrow the availability gap with Larabar and RXBAR. They're sold individually, in 4-count boxes, and in 12-count cases, and pricing runs roughly $2.50 to $3.00 per bar at retail, dropping closer to $2.00–$2.50 per bar when bought by the case online or through a subscription. That's a real premium over Larabar's typical $1.50–$2.00 per bar, and it's the single biggest knock against GoMacro if you're buying by the box for regular snacking rather than as an occasional treat.
The bars are shelf-stable and don't require refrigeration, though GoMacro recommends storing them somewhere cool since the brown-rice-syrup base can soften in heat — leaving a box in a hot car for a few hours will leave you with a noticeably gooier bar than one stored in a pantry.
Other GoMacro Flavors Worth Trying
If Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip isn't quite your flavor, the MacroBar lineup is large enough that there's likely a variant worth trying. Coconut Almond Butter Chip swaps the peanut base for almond butter and shredded coconut and tends to run slightly lower in sugar. Protein Pumpkin (seasonal) and Sunflower Butter + Chocolate are both solid nut-free-adjacent options for anyone avoiding peanuts specifically, though the sunflower butter version is still produced in the same peanut-processing facility. Across the line, the ingredient philosophy stays consistent — organic, vegan, gluten-free, and built around the same brown rice and pea protein base — so if you like the texture and clean label of this bar, the rest of the lineup should deliver a similar experience with a different flavor profile.
Who Should Buy This Bar?
GoMacro Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip makes the most sense for people who want a substantial, low-sugar snack with a genuinely clean ingredient list and don't mind paying a premium for organic certification and a shorter allergen list than soy- or whey-based bars. It's a good fit for pre- or post-workout fueling given the 11g of protein and relatively low sugar, and it travels well for hiking, commuting, or keeping in a bag as an emergency meal stand-in.
It's a weaker fit if you're strictly optimizing for protein-per-dollar or protein-per-gram, since RXBAR's plant protein line and dedicated protein bars with isolates will out-perform it there. It's also worth skipping if you're managing a peanut or tree nut allergy, since peanuts are a primary ingredient and the facility also processes tree nuts.
Final Verdict
GoMacro MacroBar Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip delivers on its core promise: a short, organic, entirely plant-based ingredient list in a bar that's satisfying enough to double as a meal replacement in a pinch, with meaningfully less sugar than most of its direct competitors. It's not the leanest option on a per-calorie or per-dollar basis, and the brown-rice-syrup-forward sweetness and softer texture won't be for everyone coming from a candy-bar-style protein bar. But for a genuinely clean-label vegan bar with real protein and organic certification across every ingredient, it's one of the more dependable options on the shelf.
Rating: 8.1/10 — a satisfying, low-sugar, fully organic vegan protein bar that costs more than some competitors but backs it up with a cleaner ingredient list and a bigger bar.
