Get two new free healthy recipes each week. Sign Up

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars

These homemade chocolate peanut butter protein bars are like biting into a Reeses peanut butter cup!

Homemade Protein Bars - Avoid the unhealthy processed ingredients by making your own HEALTHY chocolate protein bars at home - These bars taste like a Reeses peanut butter cup!!! https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2016/01/06/homemade-protein-bars-chocolate-peanut-butter-vegan/ @choccoveredkt

pin-it

3 Reasons You Should Try Making Your Own Homemade Protein Bars:

1. If you like the idea of protein powder but never really know quite what to do with it, this is the perfect way to use up some of that protein powder hanging out in the back of your kitchen cabinet.

2. Most packaged protein bars on the market these days are filled with processed ingredients such as isolated soy protein, maltodextrin, corn syrup solids, sucralose, and added sugar.

3. Ummmm… remember the part where I mentioned these bars taste like biting into a Reeses peanut butter cup?

brownie batter

It’s also much cheaper to make your own protein bars at home –

Just throw all of the ingredients together, and you end up with a whole batch of homemade protein bars for not much more than you would’ve paid for just one bar at the grocery store.

They can be gluten-free / dairy-free / egg-free / grain-free / soy-free / and oil-free

Avoid the unhealthy processed ingredients by making your own healthy chocolate protein bars at home.

Homemade Protein Bars - Avoid the unhealthy processed ingredients by making your own HEALTHY chocolate protein bars at home - These bars taste like a Reeses peanut butter cup!!! https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2016/01/06/homemade-protein-bars-chocolate-peanut-butter-vegan/ @choccoveredkt
NO flour, NO refined sugar chocolate protein bars - tastes like eating a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup... but GOOD for you!!! - https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2016/01/06/homemade-protein-bars-chocolate-peanut-butter-vegan/ @choccoveredkt

You can use your favorite chocolate protein powder or experiment with other flavors as well.

If you aren’t into protein powder, these bars are also wonderful if made with 1/2 cup quick oats instead of the protein powder.

Although their protein count will not be as high, they will be just as delicious!

NO flour, NO refined sugar chocolate protein bars - tastes like eating a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup... but GOOD for you!!! - https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2016/01/06/homemade-protein-bars-chocolate-peanut-butter-vegan/ @choccoveredkt

pin-it

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Adapted from Black Bean Brownies

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Total Time: 13m
Yield: 8-10 bars
Print This Recipe [mrp_rating_result show_count="false" show_rich_snippets="false"]

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup chocolate protein powder (70g)
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 15 oz can black beans
  • 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, agave, or honey
  • pinch stevia or 2 tbsp additional sugar (liquid or granulated)
  • 1 tbsp milk of choice (omit if using liquid sweetener above)
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter or allergy-friendly alternative
  • 1/3 cup to 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips (not optional; omit at own risk)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F and line an 8-inch pan with parchment (or grease very well). Drain beans and rinse them extremely well to get rid of any aftertaste. Combine all ingredients in a good food processor until completely smooth. (A food processor will yield a much better taste and texture, but you can use a blender if you keep this in mind.) Smooth batter into the prepared pan, scraping every bit from the processor. Use a second sheet of parchment to press down evenly – keep pressing down, making sure batter doesn’t go up the sides, and eventually it does spread to the edges of the pan. Bake 13 minutes on the center rack. They will look underdone, so take out and refrigerate the pan–loosely covered–overnight. This is my favorite trick to firm up baked goods while still retaining their moisture and not overcooking. The bars will be firm enough to cut by the next day, and you can top with more peanut butter if you wish.

View Protein Bars Nutrition Facts

Links Of The Day:

flourless cookies smaller

Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies

banana pancake recipe

Flourless Pancakes – 3 Ingredients

chocolate oatmeal fudge bars

Oatmeal Chocolate Fudge Bars

hello-breakfast-recipes.png

More About The Cookbook

Published on January 6, 2016

Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been 
featured on The 
Today Show, CNN, 
Fox, The 
Huffington Post, and 
ABC's 5 O’Clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

Learn more about Katie

Get Free Recipes

Don’t Miss Out On The NEW Free Healthy Recipes

Sign up below to receive exclusive & always free healthy recipes right in your inbox:

Chocolate Covered Katie The Healthy Dessert Blog Recipes

Popular Right Now

Reader Interactions

58 Comments

Leave a comment or reviewLeave a rating
  1. Shelly says

    I LOVE your black bean brownies so I CAN’T WAIT to try these! What type of chocolate chips did you use? I plan on using the Enjoy Life GF =) I’m curious for the nutrition information.

  2. Cathy says

    What if I just have natural flavoured (aka no flavour) protein powder? Add more cacao and sweetener? But how much? For the rest this looks like an amazing recipe, Katy 😀
    I’m excited to try it out, after you or someone else answers my questions of course haha 😛

  3. Becky Przy says

    These are ahhhmazing! I wanted to eat the entire bowl of batter! I used my vitamix and it blended perfectly. I also ended up using about 1/2 vanilla and 1/2 chocolate protein powder because that is what I had on hand. I omitted the chocolate chips as well and they still turned out very chocolately. Soooo good!

  4. Nina says

    Wow! I just had my first bite. These are so good and I like knowing that they are not filled with a bunch of things I can’t even pronounce. Thanks CCK for another great recipe.

  5. Rachel says

    These look great! I wonder if they would work with whey protein, though. My supermarket doesn’t carry plant-based protein powder and I’m worried these would be gloopy with whey.

  6. Josie says

    I love the Black Bean Brownies! Question: Do you you actually blend the chips with the batter? Then why not just use normal dark chocolate?

    • Cait says

      I can’t say with 100% accuracy since obviously I’m not Katie, but in the photo in the blender, it looks like the chocolate chips are lying on top of an already blended recipe? So I’m guessing you either stir them in afterwards, or give a few quick pulses with the blender to mix them in. 🙂

  7. Shannon says

    OMG I made these last night and ate them this morning… so good!! I used Trutein chocolate peanut butter cup protein powder and maple syrup and regular sized chocolate chips (a handful – not exactly an accurate measurement haha).
    I told my very picky 4 year old they were homemade chocolate bars and she ate 2 for breakfast. WOO HOO!!!!

  8. Allison Parenteau says

    I absolutely love these! They taste like brownies. I didn’t have chocolate chips or peanut butter. But low and behold they still turned out magnificent!!! Great recipe!!!

  9. Jan P. J. says

    These protein bars taste EXACTLY like fudge brownies!!! They are sooooo good! As I do not have a food processor, I chopped the beans and chocolate chips in a chopper and then threw everything in my stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment. It came out fine, but I think I may have baked them a little too long. I took the bars out of the oven and cooled them a little and then put them in the fridge overnight. When I cut them into bars after taking them out of the fridge, they crumbled quite a lot. But it is so worth it because it tastes so good! My family said the same. Thank you!

  10. Danai @ Living, Learning, Eating says

    Those look amazing, peanut butter and chocolate are the best combination! I love baking and even making granola bars, but I’ve been wary of protein bars because I’m nervous about getting the right consistency – I’ll have to try this recipe, they look perfect!

  11. victoria says

    Just wanted to comment on an error I made that turned into what I think is a very good twist on this recipe! My kitchen timer wasn’t working, and I must have slightly under baked them (I noticed the dough was just so, so sticky while trying to press it into the pan!). What I ended up with was the most wonderful fudge topped with peanut butter. Better than any protein bar I have ever tasted, and you could easily pass it off as fudge. I added a little powdered sugar to the PB, which was nice. And as an aside, while I could taste the protein powder in the raw dough, after baking, the taste has vanished.

  12. Isabella says

    I think these are the most delicious thing I’ve made. I actually had to make TWO batches this week because my family and I devoured them. They really do taste like brownies and I think I am in love with them.

  13. Cake Delivery in Hyderabad says

    Amazing protein chocolate bars. I ts really worth to watch your blog. I wish to add these bars to my website.

    Thanks for sharing..

  14. Grace says

    These are so delicious! We never have protein powder in the house, so I blended GoLean cereal in the food processor until it was powdery. Perfect post workout snack. 🙂

  15. Katja says

    Made them without the chocolade chips and salt, because I topped them with roasted salted chopped peanuts.
    So good, I had to hide them from myself.

  16. Linda Wilson says

    Hi Katie,
    I just want to tell you how much I appreciate you sharing all your delectable baked treat recipes with the public. Your time and commitment to us, the viewers and receivers, is precious to me, and I just wanted to tell you that. I am so happy to have recipes come to my inbox of delicious sweets, that are vegan and many times grain-free and raw, which are so wonderful for my health. Your sweet spirit and love of baking healthy sweets to share with others radiates through your posts. Just want to say that I absolutely admire you and have a lot of respect for you. Keep on doing what you are doing because you are cherished for it!
    With Love, Linda

  17. Alice Kibling says

    I’ve made these once & they came out very nice..this time I’d like to use my own cooked black beans & am uncertain what quantity would be correct. Can you help me on this? I have your cookbook and have been pleasantly surprised with everything I’ve made thus far!

    • Unofficial CCK Helper says

      It would still be the same amount. There are around 1 1/2 cups cooked beans in a can. Hope that helps!

  18. Lulu says

    So, these are amazing. My midday snack game has been revolutionized!! I used vanilla protein powder and added a peanut butter swirl.

  19. Liz says

    I have used chick peas and refried beans with green chilies (what I had on hand!) instead of black beans for CCK’s brownie recipe and they all taste great. I imagine you can do the same for the protein bars too..

  20. Christina Jordan says

    Hi Katie,
    When you label something as “not optional/omit at your own risk” is that just your preference or will it somehow change the recipe and cause it to be a disaster? For instance the chocolate chips in this recipe, I feel like omitting them would just make the bars less sweet, no? Just wanted to confirm before having a disaster in my kitchen!
    Thanks! 🙂

  21. Amy Green says

    These taste beyond awesome!!! Even after being I’m the fridge all night the middle was too gooey to cut. i baked them again with the same result. Any tips for avoiding this next time? I didn’t use any subs.

    • Jason Sanford says

      Hi! Is your oven calibrated? That or so many other things (such as climate or elevation) could cause them to need to be baked maybe just a little longer. I would recommend just baking longer next time 🙂

  22. Shannon says

    Wanting to try these. If subing oats for powder do you need to blend the oats first? Is it half cup oats or half cup blended oats?
    Thanks!

  23. mary jo says

    I really want to try these wonderful looking bars, but i’m on keto and can’y have the beans you think this would work to sub sour cream?

  24. Daniel Asmus says

    We absolutely love these, and have made them several times now….
    HOWEVER! The raw form may very well be the stickiest substance known to man!! 😂 i mean, this stuff laughs in the face of silicone.
    But while you might swear and curse while scooping and spreading this, possibly throwing the spatula at the wall (never to get it Down again), you absolutely will get hooked, and make these again (when the rage has subsided).

Leave A Reply

Get Free Recipes

Don’t Miss Out On The NEW Free Healthy Recipes

Sign up below to receive exclusive & always free healthy recipes right in your inbox:

Chocolate Covered Katie The Healthy Dessert Blog Recipes