I’ve eaten a lot of Bear Naked granola. I think I’ve tried just about every line of their granola as well as some of their other cereals and trail mixes.

Just take a look at this list of my Bear Naked reviews so far: Bear Naked Native, Bear Naked Fit, Bear Naked Trail Mix, Bear Naked Peak Protein.

But today I want to review the regular granola. (I started off by only reviewing the Peanut Butter and Jelly flavor, but it wasn’t long before I had sampled every other flavor from Bear Naked!)

So for those of you who want a complete review of the regular Bear Naked granola, here it is.

Bear Naked Ingredients and Nutrition Facts

I’m looking at the Fruit & Nut flavor for this part, but most of the granolas have very similar ingredients, so this overview applies to basically all the regular Bear Naked flavors.

In general, this is a mix of oats, nuts, and fruit. It appears very natural, which is what I like to see.

Fruit & Nut Ingredients:

Whole Grain Oats, Honey, Canola Oil, Almonds, Raisins (Raisins, Glycerin, Sunflower Oil), Coconut, Sweetened Dried Cranberries (Cranberries, Sugar, Glycerin, Sunflower Oil), Pecans, Walnuts, Maple Syrup, Oat Bran, Ground Flax Seeds, Toasted Sesame Seeds.

For the most part, the ingredients are natural and haven’t been processed too much. You could nitpick if you wanted, but for a pre-packaged granola, this is about as good as it gets.

Nutrition Facts:

The Serving Size is 1/4 cup, which gives you:

Calories 140
Total Fat 7g
Total Carbs 17g
(Sugars 6g)
Protein 3g

As with most granolas, this is calorie-dense and contains plenty of fat and carbs. The sugar is fairly low, though, which is nice.

As I’ve said before, it would be healthiest to avoid all processed snacks (even this Bear Naked,) but that’s usually not practical or enjoyable. So if you want some enjoyment, Bear Naked is a pretty healthy way of getting it.

Bear Naked Granola Taste Test

Here are my thoughts on all the Bear Naked flavors…

Apple Cinnamon

Pictured above, apple cinnamon really drew me in. It has a strong cinnamon flavor and is pretty sweet, but not too sweet. The apple chunks are nice and tasty (note that they are like dehydrated apples, rather than the apple chips you buy in the store.)

Overall, it’s pretty good, but didn’t strike me as something special.

Fruit and Nut

This one is awesome. Soft and sticky texture, sweet flavor. My favorite of the bunch. (Almost as good as the Native granolas.)

Peanut Butter

Pretty soft granola chunks with bold peanut butter flavor, plus peanut halves. Pretty good.

Peanut Butter & Jelly

Pretty good. It’s like the peanut butter flavor, but with little chewy raspberry pieces serving as the jelly.

Banana Nut

Good soft granola chunks with walnuts and banana chips. Sweet, but not too sweet. If you like banana nut bread you’ll like this.

(Sweeter than Peanut Butter, but not as sweet as Fruit and Nut.)

Peanut Butter + Heavenly Chocolate Hybrid

Very good mix. Tastes like you’re eating some good homemade no-bake cookies. (The ones that are basically oats, chocolate, and peanut butter mixed together.)

Maple Pecan

N/A

My final verdict is…

Bear Naked granola is great stuff. One of the healthiest, least processed cereals out there. This is one of my favorite snacks in the world.

If you like sweet flavors, try the fruit and nut types. If you like bold flavors, peanut butter is good, and the chocolate + peanut butter is even better.

Official website: BearNaked.com

While regular Bear Naked granola is a natural, whole food made with healthy ingredients, it does contain quite a few calories – 140 in a 1/4 cup.

I eat at least one cup at a time, which would be four servings, or 560 calories. And sometimes I eat the entire 11-serving bag!

So Bear Naked stepped in with Bear Naked Fit, a lower calorie version of their granola.

How much lower? A 1/4 cup serving of Bear Naked Fit contains 120 calories, 2.5g fat, and 3g sugar. Those values are slightly lower than usual (with an emphasis on slightly.)

The Fit granola still contains the typical healthy ingredients (don’t worry, they don’t add sucralose or anything dumb,) but it seems they use less honey and fewer of the calorie-dense ingredients.

For a better idea, continue reading for my taste test of each flavor.

Bear Naked Fit Granola Taste Test

There are two flavors specific to the Fit granola…

Vanilla Almond Crunch.

This flavor consists of granola chunks, whole almonds, and a little spritzing of vanilla.

The granola itself is a little harder and crunchier than usual. After checking the expiration date (which was still months away,) it hit me – the flavors have “Crunch” in the name and they mean it! Even with milk, this granola is crunchy!

As for the flavor, it was pretty plain – not quite as sweet as usual since there’s no honey coating on the granola. You know, the whole “Fit” thing with fewer calories…

The almonds turned out to be the best part. They were good, especially the ones that had a strong vanilla flavor, which is what made it worth eating.

Triple Berry Crunch.

This flavor is based on the same crunchy granola as before, and this time it has some freeze dried fruit (raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries) added in.

I like freeze dried fruit, but overall there isn’t much to this flavor. It’s just dry granola with dried berries. It’s not bad, but it’s not special like the other Bear Naked flavors.

Overall it seems the Fit granola is slightly less sweet, but crunchier than usual. If crunchy is your thing, this could be for you.

The Fit flavors didn’t inspire the same love and affection I have for the regular and Native flavors, but it started to grow on me, so it’s “pretty good.” (The regular Bear Naked is “great” and the Native line is “beyond compare!”)

And this stuff is still best eaten straight out of the bag. Milk just doesn’t add to the flavor or texture.

My final verdict is…

I like the regular Bear Naked granola more than this. This wasn’t that bad, but I doubt I’ll eat any again. If I’m paying this much for a small bag of granola, I’m getting the best tasting, highest-calorie flavor I can find!

But if you’re counting calories and don’t mind a slightly bland flavor and very crunchy texture, this could be right for you. But I’d still encourage you to try the regular flavors instead.

Official website: BearNaked.com

Buy online: at Amazon.com

Some people never quit – along with their new line of Native granolas, Bear Naked has some new flavors of trail mix to try.

This means we’ll have a few granola chunks mixed with dried fruit, nuts, and other “trail mix style” ingredients, but with the scrumptious, healthy formula that Bear Naked does so well.

(No hydrogenated oils, no preservatives, no high fructose corn syrup, etc.)

The flavor I tried is called “hundred mile medley” which looks like a standard trail mix.

The main ingredients I see are:

Cashews, almonds, dark chocolate chips, cherries, granola chunks, sunflower seeds.

Once opened, I finished the bag in no time. All the ingredients are good, and overall it makes for a tasty trail mix.

I liked how the cashews and almonds are plain/raw, instead of being covered in oil and salt like you might be used to. My favorite part had to be the dried cherries, though, since they were an awesome blend of dried fruit texture and sweet cherry juiciness.

The other flavors of Bear Naked trail mix are High Sierra Blend, Pacific Crest Mix, Appalachian Trail Mix, and Continental Divide Blend.

I want to try the Pacific Crest and High Sierra flavors sometime, because they seem to have somewhat more uncommon ingredients, such as dried apples and pistachios.

My final verdict is…

You can look at the mix and tell everything is high quality, but there’s not a lot that separates this from other brands’ trail mixes. This trail mix simply didn’t “wow” me like the Bear Naked products usually do.

It’s just a good mix of food that you’ll probably enjoy.

Official website: BearNaked.com

Buy online: Amazon.com

I’m no stranger to Bear Naked granola. I’ve taste tested and reviewed their PB & J, Peak Protein, and Fruit and Nut granolas, recycled the bags, and got the free t-shirt to prove it.

It’s good enough that I keep going back for more. And when they launch a new line, I can’t wait to get my hands on it! Today, that new line is the Bear Naked Native granola, which uses interesting ingredients “native” to certain parts of the world (that we don’t usually get in granola.)

Each flavor has a story behind it, which you can find printed on the back of the bag. Plus, the bags have a really cool, natural look to them, so this line appeals to your eyes and taste buds!

Health and Nutrition (The Usual)

Not much changes in the health and nutrition department. Bear Naked remains the poster child for natural, unprocessed (or “bearly processed” as they say) ingredients.

With Bear Naked, there are no preservatives, no cholesterol, 0g trans fat, no hydrogenated oils, no artificial flavors, and no high fructose corn syrup. You can’t beat that!

Here are the ingredients for the Mango Agave Almond flavor:

Whole grain oats, agave glazed almonds (almonds, sugar, agave nectar, palm kernel oil, salt, natural flavor, rosemary extract), canola oil, sweetened dried mangos (mangos, sugar, glycerin), oat bran, evaporated cane juice, agave nectar, coconut, whole grain crisp rice (whole grain rice, barley malt), brown rice syrup, honey, ground flax seed, cinnamon.

Does any other great-tasting cereal have ingredients like that? I doubt it.

Bear Naked Native Taste Test

Here are my thoughts on the two Native flavors…

Mango Agave Almond

In one word, awesome. I love mangoes, almonds, and agave (as a sweetener), so it’s no surprise I absolutely adored this flavor. The granola was what you’d expect, with some sweet mango chunks in there.

But, as if that’s not enough, this granola also contains “agave glazed almonds” which were out of this world! Basically, each almond is coated with a thick layer of agave nectar, which is kind of like honey, but sweeter. Think honey roasted almonds but with more texture and even sweeter!

Best almonds I’ve ever had! So yeah, this stuff rules.

Yumberry Goji Currant

I wasn’t sure if I’d like this flavor that much, but it impressed me quite a bit! The granola is great, as usual, and it includes dried yumberries, goji berries, and currants. Each tasted great!

If you like blackberries, blueberries, and/or raspberries, you’ll like these berries. The taste isn’t too far off a typical berry, but it’s different enough to be enticing and refreshingly new.

The dried goji berries were probably the best. So skip those over-hyped goji juices and get some of this granola instead!

To sum that up: both of these flavors from the Bear Naked Native line are awesome!

The only thing missing (in both flavors) were the bigger chunks of granola found in some of the regular varieties. The grains seem to be mostly loose in these Native granolas, making it harder to eat with your hand. It still tastes great with a spoon, but sometimes I love to grab the big chunks straight out of the bag.

(That was the best I could come up with for a downside to this granola!)

My final verdict is…

Bear Naked Native granola is the best granola ever! It’s a lot better than the regular Bear Naked, and that’s an accomplishment, because the regular stuff is still awesome. And it’s still healthy as ever.

You absolutely have to try the Native line! (Both flavors are amazing, but I give a slight edge to the mango agave almond.)

While I’m usually hesitant to purchase Bear Naked granola due to the price, the Native line is so good it’s easily worth the price tag. “Affordable luxury” at its finest!

Official website: BearNaked.com

Buy online: Amazon.com

I got a chance to grab some more Bear Naked granola the other day. After trying the Peak Protein and Peanut Butter & Jelly flavors, it was nice to try something more traditional, like this fruit and nut flavor.

It looks like a collection of oats, almonds, pecans, and raisins, all covered in a light, sweet coating of honey. And that’s exactly what it tastes like. It’s almost more of a trail mix.

The flavor didn’t surprise me, but it was a solid flavor. The interesting point was how sweet it was. I found “wildflower honey” and “maple syrup” in the ingredients, which must be how this flavor gets that sweet and sticky taste.

That sweetness is what really what sets this apart and gives it just a slight edge over other “fruit and nut” granola you can find on the store shelves.

Here is the full ingredients list:

Whole grain oats, wildflower honey, expeller pressed canola oil, almonds, raisins, sweetened cranberries, coconut, walnuts, pecans, maple syrup, oat bran, whole grain flax meal, sesame seeds

A variety of healthy, natural ingredients – no surprise!

I thought it was cool how Bear Naked comes in 2oz bags. Yes, I guess it is more wasteful than buying it in the bigger bags, but these 2oz bags fit perfectly in a jersey pocket and could be a decent energy bar replacement!

(The granola is definitely less-processed than every energy bar I’ve used, aside from the Larabar, so it would be a neat snack.)

There’s not much more to say about this that I haven’t said already – it’s just a great granola all around.

My final verdict is…

As with everything else I’ve tried from Bear Naked, this is healthy and tastes good, so it gets my full recommendation. (Of course, healthy food that actually tastes good is kind of expensive, so see if this fits your budget.)

Fruit and Nut might not sound like the most exciting flavor, but Bear Naked does a great job at exploiting this traditional flavor to be the best it can be, and it’s probably the best flavor to try if you like to keep things simple.

Official website: bearnaked.com

* Click here for a free sample!