Cutting down on sugar is an unequivocal win for your family’s health. As study after study have shown, both kids and adults consume way too much sugar, leading to higher rates of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease, as well as problems in school, depression, and other mental health challenges.

But life is too short to cut out sweets. Thanks to ingenious food scientists, we now have plenty of options to have our candy and eat it sugar-free (or close to sugar-free).

We’re only going to review treats that are sweetened with zero-glycemic sweeteners like erythritol or allulose (read our review of these great sweeteners here). You can find “sugar-free” versions of popular candies online and at your local drug store, but many are sweetened with higher-glycemic sugar alcohols like mannitol and sorbitol that we try to avoid. Not only is there little point in eating a sugar-free candy if the sugar alternative raises blood sugar as well, but most sugar alcohols can cause upset tummies.

Taste, nutrition, and ingredient simplicity

How do these low-sugar sweets below stack up to their sugary counterparts when it comes to taste, nutrition, and ingredient simplicity? We’ve chosen the best ones, so when it comes to taste, they pass the kid test.

In regard to nutrition, these are far better options than their sugary counterparts. Not only do several of them have more protein with fewer calories, but all of them have far fewer net carbs, which means they won’t raise blood sugar nearly as much.

Compare the Quest chocolate peanut butter cups to Reese’s. Quest’s cups come in at 11 grams of protein to 5 in Reese’s, and Quest has one gram of sugar vs. 22 grams in Reese’s.

For ingredient simplicity, some do better than others. High Key and Lily’s sweets are pretty straightforward, which Quest leans more heavily on the wonders of food science.

What are the drawbacks of low-sugar sweets?

The main drawback is cost. Each of these treats is more expensive than their regular sugary counterpart. For example, two Quest peanut butter cups, when purchased in a box, go for $1.74, while two Reese’s peanut butter cups are $1.09. The difference is more apparent between High Key’s vanilla wafers ($1.60/serving) and Nabisco’s Nilla Wafers ($0.40/serving).

Here’s a quick overview, with links to Amazon for purchase*. Because we have no affiliation with any of these companies, we’ll just go in alphabetical order:

Highkey Vanilla Wafers

Macronutrients per serving: 3 g protein | 1 g Net Carb | 0 g sugar | 130 calories

Main sweetener: Erythritol

Kids review: “Their vanilla wafers tasted like the real thing."

Pro/Con: The vanilla wafers are great and chocolate chip cookies are reminiscent of Little Amos cookies, but they're pricey.

Cost per serving: $1.60

Amazon link

Quest Hero Bar - Cookies & Creme

Macronutrients per serving: 17 g protein |  3 g Net Carb | 1 g sugar | 150 calories

Main sweetener: Allulose

Kids review: “The taste is really good and it's really filling."

Pro/Con: They're a great substitute for a candy bar, but can have a strange mouth feel.

Cost per serving: $1.87

Amazon link

Lily’s Sweets - Milk Chocolate Bar

Macronutrients per serving: 3 g protein | 1 g Net Carb | 1 g sugar | 170 calories

Main sweetener: Erythritol

Kids review: "Tastes creamy. It's a real chocolate bar."

Pro/Con: Great flavor and texture for a zero-added sugar chocolate, but it can be pricey.

Cost per serving: $2.02

Amazon link

Quest Peanut Butter Cup

Macronutrients per serving: 11 g protein | 1 g Net Carb | 1 g sugar | 190 calories

Main sweetener: Erythritol

Kids review: “These are really good. I eat the chocolate outside and save the peanut butter inside for last."

Pro/Con: Pretty close to the real thing and a nice way to get extra protein, but easy to overeat.

Cost per serving: $1.74

Amazon link

Lily’s Sweets Chocolate Covered Almonds

Macronutrients per serving: 5 g protein | 1 g Net Carb | 1 g sugar | 150 calories

Main sweetener: Erythritol

Kids review: “They're good but the almonds seem too healthy to be a treat."

Pro/Con: They're delicious and healthy, but impossible to stop eating at one serving.

Cost per serving: $1.71

Amazon link

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