Lenny & Larry’s is a popular plant-based brand of protein cookies, bars, and pretzels. The Complete Cookie is one of their most popular products, available in multiple fun flavors with more protein than your average cookie.
I love a nice plant-based treat, especially one that can help me get more protein as a physically active person. But are they really healthy? In this Lenny and Larry cookie review, I’ll analyze the nutrition facts and ingredients and explain the situations where these cookies will be the most helpful.
No product review would be complete without a taste test, so I tried five different flavors to see whether they actually taste good. I also paid attention to the texture, as protein products can be a bit chalky and unpleasant.
I hope that after reading this review, you’ll have a better understanding of which health and fitness goals these cookies are the most helpful and how these cookies can fit into a balanced diet.
This is not a sponsored post.
Lenny & Larry’s The Complete Cookie: a brief overview
Lenny & Larry’s The Complete Cookie is a soft-baked cookie with 16 grams of plant-based protein and 10 grams of dietary fiber per cookie, available in 4-ounce or 2-ounce sizes.
On its website, the company advertises them as a “tasty and filling choice for a healthier snack option” that offers “a convenient source of plant-based proteins.”
Each cookie is certified vegan, non-GMO, soy-free, and made with RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil and fair trade cocoa. They’re also free from artificial sweeteners, flavors, and colors.
They’re made with wheat flour and vital wheat gluten, so they aren’t appropriate for gluten-free diets.
For this post, we’ll review the larger 4-ounce size since that’s the one you’ll see most often at the grocery store.
Nutrition profile
Let’s take a look at the nutrition facts for the Chocolate Chip cookie:
| Nutrient | Per serving (½ cookie) | Per whole cookie |
| Calories | 220 | 440 |
| Fat | 5 g | 10 g |
| Saturated fat | 3 g (15% DV) | 6 g (30% DV) |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 100 mg | 200 mg |
| Carbohydrates | 35 g | 70 g |
| Dietary fiber | 5 g (18% DV) | 10 g (36% DV) |
| Added sugars | 11 g (22% DV) | 22 g (44% DV) |
| Protein | 8 g | 16 g |
| Iron | 2 mg (10% DV) | 4 mg (20% DV) |
The first thing to note is that one serving is half a cookie. To get the 16 grams of protein and 10 grams of dietary fiber listed on the front of the wrapper, you’ll need to eat the entire cookie.
Some of you may have noticed that one cookie has a whopping 440 calories and 22 grams of added sugars. Isn’t that a lot for a “healthy” cookie? Well, this really depends on your goals.
For someone focused on building a lot of muscle, the extra calories and protein are necessary. For someone trying to lose weight, yes, the calorie content probably isn’t ideal for meeting your health goals. We’ll discuss this in more detail later on.
One thing I like about this product is the dietary fiber content. Over a third of your daily fiber content from a cookie? I’m sold! Just make sure to drink plenty of water to help with digestion. If you aren’t used to eating a lot of fiber, you might experience some gas and bloating, which is normal.
The iron content is impressive with 20% of the Daily Value per cookie, and the cookie is lower in sodium than I would have expected.
I do wish this cookie contained more healthy fats. As it is, one cookie provides almost a third of the daily limit for saturated fat.
RELATED: Your Guide To Vegan Fats (And Which Are The Healthiest)
Ingredients
The ingredients for the Chocolate Chip cookie are listed here:
INGREDIENTS: Enriched Wheat Flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Protein Blend (vital wheat gluten, pea protein, rice protein), Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, dextrose, natural vanilla extract), Inulin, Cane Sugar, Invert Sugar, Vegetable Glycerine, Palm Fruit Oil, Sunflower Lecithin or Canola Lecithin, Natural Flavor, Baking Soda, Salt, Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum.
As you can see, it’s made primarily from refined flour enriched with B vitamins and iron and a plant-based protein blend containing vital wheat gluten (the protein in wheat), pea protein, and rice protein, plus some chocolate chips.
Some of the remaining ingredients may be less familiar to you, so I’ll discuss them here:
- Inulin – A prebiotic dietary fiber derived from chicory root used to boost the fiber content of processed foods.
- Invert sugar – Table sugar that has been broken down into its individual glucose and fructose molecules, making it taste sweeter.
- Vegetable glycerine – A liquid derived from vegetable oils that helps foods retain moisture and prevents sugars from crystallizing, providing a smoother texture.
- Palm fruit oil – This is a tropical oil rich in saturated fat, similar to coconut oil.
- Sunflower or canola lecithin – Emulsifiers derived from sunflower oil or canola oil that improve the texture of foods.
- Natural flavor – This is a vague term for flavors obtained from natural (not artificial) sources. Since these cookies are vegan-certified, we know they’re derived from plants and not animals.
- Xanthan gum – A soluble fiber made in a lab when sugar is fermented by the Xanthomonas campestris bacteria.
- Guar gum – A soluble fiber that helps thicken and stabilize foods. It’s derived from the Indian cluster bean plant.
All of these food additives are safe to consume in the small amounts present in foods.
RELATED: Is Guar Gum Vegan? (And Why It’s In Your Coconut Milk)
It’s hard to answer this question with a straightforward “yes” or “no”. It’s important to remember that no one food will make you healthier or less healthy. True health is about your overall dietary pattern.
Are you eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, lentils, and healthy fats? If so, I wouldn’t stress over a few food additives.
Similarly, foods aren’t inherently “unhealthy” just because they’re processed. Here, we need to pay attention to their nutrition profile rather than obsessing over how processed a specific food is.
In my opinion, these cookies are best suited for people actively trying to build muscle by optimizing their protein intake and regularly lifting weights.
Building muscle requires extra calories and protein, about 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For people who struggle to get this much protein from their meals alone and who still want to enjoy a sweet treat, these cookies can come in clutch.
That said, these cookies probably aren’t the most helpful choice for people on a calorie deficit trying to lose weight. A high-protein diet is still important for preserving muscle during weight loss, but there are lower-calorie options out there, such as the Lenny & Larry Cookie-Fied Bars.
They also may not be the best fit for people trying to build muscle slowly without putting on much body fat. These people would benefit from a higher protein, lower calorie alternative.
Apart from muscle-building or weight-loss goals, these cookies are also a good choice for anyone wanting a more nutrient-dense alternative to conventional cookies and sweets. They’re much higher in protein and dietary fiber, nutrients that significantly slow down how quickly sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream.
This means that even though these cookies have 22 grams of added sugars, they won’t spike your blood sugar as quickly as a conventional cookie low in protein and fiber.
Of course, it’s still wise to limit your added sugar consumption. However, these cookies can be a good swap for people who want a healthier dessert option.
The saturated fat content is high for my liking, with almost a third of the recommended limit for saturated fat in one cookie. However, if the rest of your diet is low in saturated fat, these cookies can still have a place.
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Flavor & texture
I tried five flavors for this review, including:
- Chocolate Chip
- Choco-Mint
- White Chocolate-Flavored Macadamia
- Peanut Butter
- Snickerdoodle
Snickerdoodle was the winner, hands down! The cinnamon-sugar coating was delicious and made this cookie the most flavorful one of the bunch. It also tasted the most like a regular cookie.
Chocolate Chip came in second. It has a great cookie-to-chocolate ratio, which keeps it from being boring. I also liked the White Chocolate-Flavored Macadamia cookie, which has a good balance of white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
The Choco-Mint was nice, although I felt it could have used more mint chips for a stronger flavor. The Peanut Butter cookie wasn’t peanutty enough for me, so I probably wouldn’t buy it again.
I liked that all the flavors were just sweet enough to feel like a treat without being overwhelmingly sweet. If you prefer a really sweet cookie, these might not be for you.
These soft-baked cookies have a dense, cake-like texture which is hard to describe, but pleasant. They’re not as buttery as a regular cookie, but they’re not chalky either.
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Price
I got my Lenny and Larry cookies for $1.98 each at my local HEB. I’ve seen them priced at $2.49 at Tom Thumb, $2.75 at REI, and as high as $2.99 at Albertsons.
You can get a box of 12 for $22.95, or $1.91 per cookie, directly from the Lenny & Larry’s website. They’re a little cheaper on Amazon, where you can get a box of 12 for about $18 with the price varying slightly based on the flavor.
At about $2 per cookie, these aren’t exactly a cheap snack, but they’re in line with similar products like protein bars.
These cookies are a more nutritious alternative to regular cookies thanks to their higher protein and dietary fiber content.
They’re higher in saturated fat than I would like, especially when eating the whole cookie, but this shouldn’t really be a problem as long as the rest of your diet provides some healthier fats.
In terms of fitness goals, these cookies are most well-suited to people trying to put on as much muscle mass as possible, which requires additional calories.
People trying to lose weight can still enjoy them, but will probably need to watch their portion sizes.
Putting fitness goals aside, these cookies are a satisfying substitute for less nutrient-dense sweets. I’m definitely going to keep the Snickerdoodle in mind the next time I want a healthier cookie that still tastes great!
Looking for other products to boost your plant-based protein intake? Check out my Naked Nutrition Pumpkin Spice Protein Shake Review!
