Protein Bars

Here’s the recipe for how to make the best protein bars at home, with five different flavor options and no baking required!

Easy homemade protein bars

If you are still buying protein bars at the grocery store, this quick and simple vegan protein bar recipe might just change your life.

They can be oil free, gluten free, nut free, and dairy free, with just four ingredients.

And the best part is that, unlike many other protein bar recipes, this one has no chalky texture or artificial aftertaste.

I make a batch of these bars for myself at least once a month and love how easy the recipe is to customize.

You will honestly never need to buy another packaged protein bar ever again!

Also try this Protein Cookie Dough

Reasons to make your own protein bars

The best reason to make your own bars at home is that you get full control of what protein bar ingredients to include.

Many so called healthy protein bars on the market, even from health food stores, are filled with processed ingredients. These ingredients include corn syrup solids, maltodextrin, sucralose, sugar alcohols, GMO soy isolate, and so much added sugar and oil it is hard to believe they could possibly pass for a health food.

My personal preference is to avoid the sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners found in many packaged options, so I like to use pure maple syrup to sweeten the recipe.

Even if you go with real sugar instead of erythritol, stevia, or monk fruit, each bar contains under three grams of sugar and packs in twelve grams of protein or more!

Plus, the flavor possibilities are endless. And you can choose to make them soy free, keto friendly, paleo, low carb, nondairy, or sugar free to fit your own personal dietary requirements.

Another benefit of making your own DIY protein squares or bars is they are both much cheaper and more environmentally friendly. Think of all the wrappers you will save.

And the final benefit is that you get an entire pan of homemade protein bars for not much more money than you would pay for just one single bar at Whole Foods.

Trending this week: Protein Brownies

Protein bar flavors

Chocolate Protein Bars: Replace two tablespoons of the protein powder with cocoa powder. Stir a handful of mini chocolate chips into the dough. You can also use a chocolate flavored nut butter or chocolate protein powder if desired.

Peanut Butter Protein Bars Recipe: Use peanut butter in the base recipe below. Feel free to dip them in melted chocolate like I did. Now you have a protein bar that tastes like a Reese’s peanut butter cup!

Banana Bread Bars: Omit the maple syrup and use a fourth cup of overripe mashed banana instead. Add a pinch of ground cinnamon and frost the finished snacks with melted coconut butter if you wish.

Cookie Dough Protein Bar Recipe: Stir mini chocolate chips into the batter. Add a fourth teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and an optional eighth teaspoon of baking soda (this gives it a cookie dough flavor). I especially like to use cashew butter or macadamia nut butter for this version.

Chocolate Nutella Bars: Replace the peanut butter with Homemade Nutella or a store bought chocolate hazelnut butter. Sprinkle finely chopped hazelnuts on top.

Protein Bars without Protein Powder: Use the base recipe below, with one cup oat flour in place of the three fourths cup of protein powder. Increase the sweetener to a third cup. Even a small oatmeal protein bar (one sixteenth of the total recipe) made with peanut butter and no protein powder will still have seven grams of protein.

Do you have a favorite protein bar flavor?

Let me know what flavors to try next!

My list of ideas is getting long and includes cinnamon roll, cake batter, lemon cookie, fudge brownie, salted caramel, white chocolate peppermint, pumpkin pie, cookies and cream, coffee, vanilla, maple, s’mores, and blueberry.

Step by step recipe video

Above – watch the video how to make protein bars

What type of protein powder?

At the grocery store, you can find bars made from all sorts of different protein powders, such as brown rice protein, pea protein, whey protein, pumpkin seed, egg whites, hemp protein, collagen, casein, and soy protein.

Popular brands include Perfect Bars, Clif Bars, Luna Bars, RXBAR, Quest Bars, Kind, Think, Pure, One, Gatorade protein bars… the list goes on and on. 

In this recipe, I found unsweetened protein powder to work best, because the bars are already sweet enough without any extra sugar or artificial sweeteners from the powder.

However, if you have a specific brand of flavored protein powder that you love, feel free to experiment, and let me know how it goes if you do.

Depending on the kind of protein powder you choose, each of the bars in this healthy protein bar recipe will have at least ten to twelve grams of protein

Or cut them into larger bars (sixty gram bars) for a higher protein option with over twenty grams of protein each.

Leftover peanut butter? Make Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

The best recipe for protein bars

People eat protein bars for a variety of different reasons. These can include muscle gain, weight loss, post workout portable snack or meal replacement, to curb hunger or help feel full longer, as an easy way to add protein to one’s diet, or simply because they like the taste. 

When I became a vegetarian in high school, I initially relied on energy bars as a convenient way to replace protein from meat. 

I’ve started to make my own because I prefer bars made with sugar over erythritol or monk fruit and have recently noticed fewer of those options available. Some other bars contain an overly chewy texture or taste too sweet.

In my years consuming energy bars, I have tried a lot of different brands and recipes online. This is hands down the best recipe you will find, in both taste and texture.

Try one of the flavors above, or throw a handful of shredded coconut, chia seeds, or chopped dark chocolate into the dough to make your own custom flavor!

More High Protein Recipes

Chickpea Cookie Dough Dip

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

Black Bean Brownies