Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars are a reasonably healthy snack, but they’re not as wholesome as the packaging suggests. A single bar has 110 calories, 2 grams of fat, and 2 grams of fiber, which looks solid on paper. The catch is the sugar: 10 grams per bar, with a meaningful portion coming from added sweeteners rather than the figs themselves.
What’s Actually in the Bar
The full ingredient list for the original whole wheat fig bar is: whole wheat flour, fig paste, cane sugar, brown rice syrup, canola oil, whole grain oats, glycerin, fruit juice (for color), sea salt, citric acid, and baking soda. No artificial flavors, no preservatives, and the bar is Non-GMO Project verified, vegan certified, and kosher certified.
Whole wheat flour as the first ingredient is a genuine plus. Many competing snack bars lead with refined white flour or rice flour, so you’re getting more fiber and micronutrients from the grain itself. The fig paste comes second, providing natural fruit sugar along with some fiber and potassium. After that, though, you hit two added sweeteners back to back: cane sugar and brown rice syrup. These are just sugar by another name, and their placement high on the ingredient list tells you they’re present in significant amounts.
The Sugar Situation
Sugar is the main reason to think twice about calling these bars “healthy.” A single bar (28 grams) contains 10 grams of total sugar. If you eat the standard twin pack that comes in most boxes, you’re looking at a 57-gram serving with 19 grams of sugar. That twin pack is roughly 33% sugar by weight.
Some of that sugar comes naturally from the fig paste, but the added sweeteners (cane sugar, brown rice syrup, and glycerin) contribute a substantial share. The Environmental Working Group estimates a twin pack contains about 5 teaspoons of combined added and natural sugar. For context, the American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day for women and 9 for men. A single twin pack could use up a large chunk of that budget before you’ve even thought about the rest of your meals.
If you stick to one bar instead of the twin pack, you cut those numbers in half, which keeps the sugar more manageable at around 10 grams total.
Nutrition Compared to Other Snacks
At 110 calories and 2 grams of fat per bar, these are genuinely low in calories and fat compared to most packaged snack bars, granola bars, and cookies. The 2 grams of fiber per bar is decent but not exceptional. You’d get more fiber from a medium apple or a handful of almonds.
Where the fig bar falls short is protein. There’s very little in the bar to slow digestion and keep you full. If you’re eating one as a mid-afternoon snack, you’ll likely feel hungry again within an hour. Pairing it with a handful of nuts or a cheese stick would make it a more balanced snack that actually holds you over.
Compared to a candy bar or a package of cookies, a fig bar is clearly the better choice. Compared to whole fruit, nuts, or yogurt, it’s a step down nutritionally. It sits in that middle ground: a processed snack that’s better than most processed snacks, but still a processed snack.
The Gluten-Free Version Is Different
If you’re reaching for the gluten-free variety, know that it’s a nutritionally different product. The base swaps whole wheat flour for brown rice flour and adds a five-grain blend of amaranth, quinoa, millet, sorghum, and teff. It also includes flaxseed, date paste, and several additional ingredients like xanthan gum and locust bean gum that the original doesn’t contain.
The gluten-free version has a longer, more complex ingredient list overall. It uses the same added sweeteners (cane sugar and brown rice syrup) but also includes naturally milled sugar in the fruit filling. If you don’t need to avoid gluten, the original whole wheat version is the simpler, more straightforward product.
Who These Work Best For
Nature’s Bakery Fig Bars are a smart pick when you need something portable that won’t fall apart in a bag, lunch box, or gym locker. They’re individually wrapped, shelf-stable, and unlikely to cause the blood sugar crash you’d get from a candy bar, thanks to the whole wheat flour and fiber slowing things down somewhat.
They work well as a quick pre-workout snack when you want easily digestible carbs without a lot of fat or protein slowing absorption. They’re also a reasonable option for kids’ lunches, where the bar replaces something worse, not something better. For anyone watching their sugar intake closely, whether for weight management, blood sugar control, or general health, the twin pack’s 19 grams of sugar is worth watching. Stick to a single bar when you can, and treat it as what it is: a lightly sweetened snack, not a health food.