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.
Quick 'n Easy No-Bake Protein Bars
Yield
12
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
15 minutes
Total time
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
- 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.
- 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.
- Press into pan and roll out with a pastry roller until smooth. Pop into the freezer.
- 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.
- 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.
I will be trying these. May I ask, is there a way to raise the protein in these?
I hope your having a great Friday! I just stumbled upon your blog this morning and am in love! I was wondering if you have any idea how long these bars would stay good if not frozen. I’m trying to find a good protein bar recipe to make and send overseas to my man. These sound delicicious and sound as though they would last but just wanted to see what your experience on leaving them out has been.
Is there an alternative to coconut oil? I know it’s really healthy but I’m allergic to it( weird, right?). Maybe canola?
Just went vegan… Again. Gets easier every time. I just made these and had to give one a try (a little before freezing all the way). Yummy and super easy. I sprinkled some coconut on top, too.
Jessica,
I ran out of coconut oil so I used safflower oil instead. It worked fine. It’s just to help make the chocolate thinner.
I came across these bars last night. I just had to try then! They are so delicious. I’ve actually never tasted a bar like it. Although I wasn’t sure if a 1/2 cup was literally a small tea cup or if it was like half a mug. Anyways, absolutely brilliant!
Made the bars (but a not vegan version since I’m not vegan), fell in love (with some help of the green monsters prior to making this) and just had to order your cookbook!!! Greetings from Germany! :)
I made these over the weekend and my non-vegan completely skeptical about everything boyfriend at almost the whole lot. I got two of them. They are amazing. Mine didn’t quite set up firm, they were very soft, but delicious nonetheless. Maybe I should try more oat flour…
Hi Angela,
This recipe looks delicious, can’t wait to make them! How long do they typically keep for? Would you recommend freezing them?
do you know approximately how many grams of fat and how many grams of protein are in each bar?
I was looking for a no-bake protein bar recipe where I could use rice protein powder and I found yours. Let me tell you, I made it right away, I used some crushed almonds + some pine nuts instead that the cereals and they turned out perfect, with some crunch inside :)
It’s the first time I am really happy with the result using an all-natural, unsweetened protein powder so THANK YOU :D
These are so freaking good. Best no bake protein bar i’ve tried so far!
Hi, really looking to making these although I was wondering could i use coconut flour instead of the oat flour? and how much would you say i should use, 1.5 cups still?
I am new to baking but would love to try this as had spend so much on buying bars… would love to make fresh ones.
1. In order to blend the gluten-free rolled oats to flour, which machine do you recommend? (Blendtec / Vitamix / other reliable brands)?
2. Was thinking to put “Lemon & Yogurt” paste on top of the bars for finishing, instead of the chocolate drizzle. Do u think its a good idea?
3. Do you know how to make the “Lemon & Yogurt” topping?
Thanks alot for your sharing.
Ever since I first made these two weeks ago, I have made 3 more batches so that we are never without them. THEY ARE AMAZING, and especially great for this heatwave! I didn’t have enough oats the first time, so I threw in a half cup of raw buckwheat groats to blend into flour. Also didn’t have rice crispies so I crunched up some raisin bran and tossed in some extra raisins. I liked it so much I have done it this way ever since. This is such a delicious and versatile recipe, much Gratitude to you!
Did you mention how much protein is in about each bar? Tried these today and they are yummy! I’m preggo so i’m trying to keep track of my protein intake (;
These protein bars are amazing! The store bought bars are chalky and have a weird aftertaste. The taste and texture of these bars were outstanding. I highly recommend this recipe and I will definitely make it again.
Thank you for posting…
Lisa
They taste great, but very sticky when out of the freezer. Did I do something wrong? I hope I can adjust for next time. Thanks!
We love these bars! I have made them many, many times with several variations. My go-to version is to substitute chopped nuts for the rice crisps (which I never have on-hand) and raisins for the chocolate (I know but I am allergic to chocolate). Delicious and adaptable!
Dang it! I made these. The flavor was yummy on the layer, but my crust did NOT turn out well at all. I used coconut flour because I thought the taste would be yummy, but it fell apart. I definitely think that waaaaay more liquid is needed on the crust. I cant wait to try these out again now that I see where I failed. LOL.