Quick ‘n Easy No-Bake Protein Bars

Granola bars have to be one of my favourite things to make. I’ve had a soft spot for them since running the bakery. I look back to those days with (mostly) warm, fuzzy memories. Maybe making + shipping 500 bars a week by hand wasn’t ideal, but it was the experience that I enjoyed the most – the process of growing a business and having others enjoy something I created from scratch. I still look back at the pictures and laugh, seeing a 9-foot table buried in packaged bars while I stuck on the front and back label as fast as possible. My mother-in-law used to help assemble all the boxes for me. Some days I’d walk into the living room to see about 200 boxes of various sizes assembled and stacked in towers with all of the shipping envelopes stuck on the top. And then Eric would often help me at night when he got home from work. It takes a village. We’d create an assembly line packing all the boxes with bars, receipts, labels, hand-written thank-yous, business cards, all before sealing them up and attaching the shipping label. It was organized chaos to say the least. Heavy on the chaos part. Ever since I closed the bakery, I’ve had it in the back of my mind that I’d like to open it again some day, if the stars align. We’ll have to see. For now, I still enjoy making granola bars whenever I can just for the heck of it.

By the way – It’s official – I’m including two of the most popular Glo Bar recipes in my cookbook, so keep your eyes peeled for those!

I’ve made these protein bars a few different ways over the past few weeks – one with peanut butter, one with almond butter, and the last with sunflower seed butter. All worked out lovely, although the roasted peanut butter was probably my favourite, flavour wise (no surprise here). Rest assured you can make these nut-free simply by using sunflower seed butter (shown top, right). My go-to is Sunbutter.

This recipe also calls for plant-based protein powder. This is the Sunwarrior powder that I use. I specifically bought the unflavoured version of Sunwarrior because I’ve concluded that stevia gives me headaches (anyone else?) and I’m really not crazy about the flavour of stevia to begin with. If you are using a sweetened protein powder, you’ll likely have to reduce the liquid sweetener in this recipe and make up for the loss of liquid with a bit of non-dairy milk. Just play around with it – as long as your dough isn’t super dry and crumbly you should be fine! We’re aiming for the consistency of cookie dough here.

After mixing the dough together, simply press it into the pan (I like to use a pastry roller to smooth it out – you can find these at the Dollarstore!) and pop it into the freezer while you melt the chocolate.

{Here is a random freezer shot featuring fillo shells, chickpeas, butternut squash, hemp hearts, blueberries, pita bread, torn kale (for smoothies), Amy’s California burgers, and corn!}

Finally, slice into bars, drizzle on the chocolate, and freeze until set. I love keeping them stashed in the freezer – they are the perfect pick me up when my energy is low and I need something fast.

Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!

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Quick 'n Easy No-Bake Protein Bars

Vegan, gluten-free, no bake/raw

★★★★★
4.8 from 46 reviews

Yield
12

Prep time
15 minutes

Cook time
0 minutes

Chill time
15 minutes

Total time
15 minutes

These no-bake bars are thrown together in minutes and make the perfect snack to store in the freezer for a quick burst of energy. Feel free to use sunflower seed butter to make these nut-free. I used an unsweetened/unflavoured protein powder, so if you are using a sweetened protein powder, you will likely have to reduce the liquid sweetener (and make up for the lack of liquid by adding some non-dairy milk). Play around with it if necessary and aim for a cookie dough texture. You can also roll the dough into balls and add in chocolate chips if you don't wish to make them into bar form.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups gluten-free rolled oats, blended into a flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened/unflavoured vegan protein powder (I use Sunwarrior Warrior Blend Natural)
• 1/2 cup rice crisp cereal
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, to taste
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (or liquid sweetener of choice)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)
• 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil

Directions

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with a piece of parchment paper. Mix the oat flour, protein powder, rice crisp, and salt together in a large bowl.
2. Add in the nut/seed butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir well to combine. If the mixture is a bit dry, add a splash of non-dairy milk and mix again.
3. Press into pan and roll out with a pastry roller until smooth. Pop into the freezer.
4. Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil together in a small pot over low heat. When half of the chips have melted, remove from heat and stir until smooth.
5. After freezing the bars for about 5-10 minutes, remove from freezer and slice into bars. Drizzle with melted chocolate and freeze again until set. Store in the freezer for a week or longer in an air-tight freezer bag or container.

Nutrition Information

(click to expand)

Serving Size 1 of 12 bars | Calories 200 calories | Total Fat 9 grams
Saturated Fat 2.5 grams | Sodium 90 milligrams | Total Carbohydrates 22 grams
Fiber 2 grams | Sugar 10 grams | Protein 8 grams
* Nutrition data is approximate and is for informational purposes only.