Exo
Cookie Dough
TL:DR
In 2 Sentences
A rare protein trio—cricket + egg + pea—delivers complete aminos, a meaningful B12 boost, and cookie‑dough flavor with real chocolate chips and restrained sweetness.
When to choose Exo Cookie Dough
Dairy‑free protein seekers and the ingredient‑curious who want a lighter, lower‑sugar snack that still tastes like a treat—and are open to sustainable insect protein. If you avoid all animal products, note it contains crickets and egg whites.
What's in the Exo bar?
This Cookie Dough bar builds its flavor the old-fashioned way—sunflower butter, oat flour, vanilla, and real semi‑sweet chocolate chips—then takes a decidedly modern turn with its nutrition. You get 14g of protein from an uncommon trio: cricket + pea + egg, a mix that delivers complete, highly digestible amino acids.
Sugar stays low because sweetness leans on allulose and monk fruit, not spoonfuls of sucrose, and calories land on the lighter end at 160. A fun bonus: vitamin B12 pops thanks to the cricket flour—something most plant‑based bars can’t match.
- Protein
- 14 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Carbohydrates
- 21 g
- Sugar
- 2 g
- Calories
- 160
Protein
1415MIDMost of the 14g of protein comes from a cricket–pea blend, with egg whites and pea crisps (pea protein isolate) rounding it out. Cricket and egg proteins are complete and highly digestible, while pea adds volume and texture; together they cover amino acids well without dairy. Expect a mixed-source protein experience—minimally processed egg/cricket plus refined pea isolate—for a mid‑pack protein punch.
Fat
79MIDFat is modest (7g) and mostly from sunflower butter and ground flaxseed—sources rich in unsaturated fats—plus a smaller saturated dose from cocoa butter in the chocolate chips. That balance supports satiety without feeling heavy. It’s more heart‑friendly than bars built on palm or soybean oils, with a touch of omega‑3 ALA from flax.
Carbs
2120MIDCarbs (21g) come from prebiotic tapioca concentrate (a cassava‑derived binder), oat flour, and a bit of rice flour in the pea crisps, with allulose providing bulked sweetness. This leans more processed than a bar built entirely on whole grains, but the oats and soluble fibers should blunt sharp spikes compared with straight sugar syrups. Expect steadier energy than candy‑bar carbs, though still not the same as a truly whole‑grain base.
Sugar
24MIDSugar is low at 2g, mostly from the semi‑sweet chocolate chips. Sweetness instead relies on allulose (a low‑calorie rare sugar) and monk fruit (an intense, no‑calorie sweetener), so you get cookie‑dough flavor without a big sugar surge. If you’re sensitive, very high one‑sitting doses of allulose can cause GI rumbling, but the amount in a single bar is typically well tolerated.
Calories
160210LOWAt 160 calories, this is on the lighter end for a protein bar. The trim total comes from moderate protein, restrained fat, and the use of low‑calorie allulose to replace part of the sugar. Calorie-wise, the load is shared between protein and sunflower‑butter fats, with carbohydrate calories softened by allulose’s lower energy (~0.4 kcal per gram).
Vitamins & Minerals
Vitamin B12 (30% DV) is the standout, and that’s a signature of cricket flour; egg whites contribute a little, too. Vitamin E (~10% DV) likely comes from sunflower butter, while the 10% DV iron is helped along by insect/pea proteins and cocoa. It’s a rare protein bar that meaningfully boosts B12 without dairy.
Additives
You’ll see a few modern helpers: allulose and monk fruit deliver sweetness with fewer sugars, and soy lecithin in the chocolate keeps it smooth. “Prebiotic tapioca concentrate” is a refined cassava‑based binder, and the pea crisps are extruded for crunch. Overall, it’s a blend of whole‑food pieces (oats, sunflower butter, flax) supported by a short list of refined texture‑ and sweetness‑aids.
Ingredient List
Cassava root starch
Sunflower seeds
Farmed house crickets
Yellow pea seeds
Corn or beet fructose syrups
Eggs
Yellow peas
Yellow and green peas
Rice grain (Oryza sativa)
Sugarcane and sugar beet
What are people saying?
Sources
Range
“Depends on your preferred source of protein here, but I enjoy Exo. They're made with crickets and pea protein. No, you don't taste either, and they're decently nutritious. 3g of sugar, too.”
“Additionally, I haven’t had them in a while but I remember liking the exo cookie dough one when I tried it.”
“Cricket protein is cheap to produce so it's a huge markup for sure. Exo protein is much better and cheaper anyway, and has more protein too”
Main Praise
Across Reddit, Amazon, and food media, the pleasant surprise is how normal it tastes—no ‘cricket’ flavor, just cookie‑dough comfort with real chocolate chips.
Bon Appétit praised the soft, chewy bite and its not‑too‑sweet profile, and NPR found it slightly sweet yet filling, the kind of bar that actually holds you over for a few hours.
Several buyers like that it keeps sugar in check without a messy chocolate coating, so it travels well in pockets and packs. Sustainability is a recurring plus: fans appreciate a protein source that can carry a smaller environmental footprint than typical animal proteins.
And a few regulars flat‑out crave Exo, calling it a simple, reliable bar that curbs a sweet tooth without feeling like candy.
Main Criticism
Texture divides people. Some compare Exo’s chew to RXBAR—dense and a bit sticky—and a few Amazon reviewers found certain bars dry enough to want a glass of water.
Price is a sticking point too; more than one shopper sees a novelty premium compared with mainstream whey bars. Flavor isn’t universally adored: peanut butter variants drew ‘meh’ or odd notes for some, and at least one reviewer reported a metallic aftertaste.
If you love a coated, ultra‑soft bar, Exo’s uncoated, minimalist style may feel spartan.
The Middle Ground
How do you square ‘soft and chewy’ with ‘dry and sticky’? Expectations.
If you like dense, date‑style bars, Exo reads pleasantly chewy; if your benchmark is nougat or a chocolate‑coated protein candy bar, it can feel sparse or dry. Nutrition‑wise, 14g of protein at 160 calories is a smart snack, not a meal replacement—great mid‑morning or post‑meeting, less ideal if you’re chasing 30g after a heavy lift.
Sweetness comes from allulose and monk fruit, which keep sugar low without the syrupy spike of straight sugar; most people tolerate a single bar fine, but sensitive stomachs should note how they feel.
Cost is real: you’re paying for an unusual, dairy‑free protein and a sustainability story. And yes, Amazon user msk declared ‘crickets should not be in food’—that’s a personal line.
If you’re curious about alternative proteins, Cookie Dough is a gentle, almost sneaky entry point.
What's the bottom line?
Exo Cookie Dough is a thoughtful curveball: a dessert‑leaning flavor that hides a cricket‑egg‑pea protein blend, slips in a B12 bonus, and keeps calories lean. It’s not pretending to be a 20‑gram gym brick or a candy bar; it sits in the middle—tasty enough to crave, tidy enough for a pocket, and interesting enough to talk about.
If you like a chewy bar, want sweetness that doesn’t shout, and are open to insect protein, it’s an easy recommend. If you want a coated, ultra‑soft bar or the absolute most protein per dollar, there are better fits.