![Quick and Easy No Bake Protein Bars Quick and Easy No Bake Protein Bars](/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/veganproteinbars-8865.jpg)
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!
![Dry and Wet Ingredients for Quick and Easy No Bake Protein Bars Dry and Wet Ingredients for Quick and Easy No Bake Protein Bars](/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/veganproteinbarsrecipe.jpg)
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!}
![Chocolate Drizzle ready to put on the cooled bars. Chocolate Drizzle ready to put on the cooled bars.](/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/veganproteinbars.jpg)
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.
![veganproteinbars-8876 veganproteinbars-8876](/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/veganproteinbars-8876.jpg)
![Quick 'n Easy No-Bake Protein Bars](https://ohsheglows.com/gs_images/2013/08/veganproteinbars-8865-21-768x768.jpg)
Quick 'n Easy No-Bake Protein Bars
![](https://ohsheglows.com/wp-content/plugins/osg-recipes/images/ornament_long_artichoke.png)
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.
These bars are awesome! Seriously so good. I found them a bit too sweet the first time I made them (but I used honey instead of maple syrup), so the second time I put in 1/3 cup honey and a bit more milk. Also didn’t use coconut oil with the chocolate and it still turned out great!
Do these bars have to be eaten straight out of the freezer? I made these before and loved them, but was wanting to make some to take on our flight tomorrow. Are they ok when thawed or should they be eaten frozen?
Great protein bars! They taste great and were easy to make. I used the recipe as written with the change of adding the mini chips to the mixture instead of melting them, and doubled the recipe. I thought it might be less messy to eat. It took a fair amount of work to do the mixing although I warmed the peanut butter up to soften it a bit. Once they set in the freezer they cut beautifully. I will make them often.
Can you use a different type of oil? I am allergic to coconut :P
Thanks for showing nutritional info! This looks like an awesome recipe!
I made these for my husband after reading the ingredients in his morning power bars. We love meat, gluten, and dairy, so I was concerned vegan and gluten free wouldn’t be delicious, but they turned out great and he likes them so much I have been cutting them into six giant bars. I bought the vegan Sun warrior protein as well and it seems higher quality and healthier than a lot of the whey ones. Thanks!
Please add me to your emails
I tried these once when the recipe first came out and had disappointing results. Today I tried them with Cookies ‘n’ Creme Plant Fusion, halving the maple syrup and making up for it with almond milk. Very tasty!
These are amazing. So easy to make and very tasty
How much protein is in each bar? I’m into bodybuilding and it’s hard to find a gluten free protein bar that’s not too expensive so really need to look into making my own with at least 20g of protein per bar
I bought your book (love it by the way!) and tried to make glo bars yesterday. I made a double batch and subbed maple syrup instead of the rice syrup. They taste delicious, but I ended up with a crumbly mess. I don’t have a pastry roller, so I pressed this double batch into a large baking sheet using wax paper and a rolling pin. Was it not lacked enough? Is maple syrup not sticky enough? Advice on substitutions that work and don’t work would be much appreciated. Thank you!
Hi Karin,
The brown rice syrup is what holds it all together. I have yet to find a substitute that gives a similar flavour.
OMG – Reese’s has nothing on these – can you say peanut butter cup? That’s what these bars taste like with the added goodness of rice crunch – very decadent and yummy but seems more like a candy treat than a protein bar! I did skip the protein powder and added a little extra flour – worth making for a special treat!!!
Do you think I could sub out hemp seeds for the protein powder or just leave it out and add more of the other ingredients? I don’t have any protein powder on hand and I am not crazy about the stuff. Thanks!! Btw, love love love your blog and your book!
These sound delicious! I’m always looking for a quick and healthy protein pick-me-up that doesn’t have all the added stuff of commercial protein bars! I can’t wait to try them! I only lack one of the ingredients!
Beth
I am headed to the store if you want me to get the ingredient for you.
Hi Angela
These are delicious but do you have any suggestions for using less syrup? I have lost some of my sweet tooth but adore peanut butter and chocolate! Just want to make certain they stay together without maple syrup binding them. Thanks for all your recipes – they have helped me convince my husband of vegan food!
So I made this recipe last night…and OHMYGOODNESS!!!! I absolutely love it! I didn’t have all of the ingredients it called for, so I improvised a lot. I tried to stay as true to the recipe as possible ……but wow, is it good!
In hopes that they may be helpful to other cooks out there, I though I should share…
Instead of oats, I used oat bran
Instead of maple syrup I used 3 boiled down dates and a banana (for sweetness)
I used Peanut butter (usually I would use almond butter, but again, I didn’t have any)
and instead of crisped rice (or nuts as I see some viewers have used) I used a 1/4 cup of chia seeds and 1/4 cup of flaxseeds.
i put a teaspoon and half of cinnamon in it (I try and out cinnamon in as many things as possible)
Oh and for the best part- (heehee) the chocolate!!! I didn’t have any chocolate chips left ( I also use Enjoy Life) I used 4 tablespoons of organic, unsweetened cocoa powder and about 1- 1 1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil
I hope this helps someone that may have been looking for some!!
Enjoy!
Just made these, they taste AMAZING!!! Used almond butter that I quickly whizzed up before starting the recipe, felt like it added a little homemade touch, and I have to say, the combo tastes great.thank you so much for this fab breakfast treat!!! Xx
I’ve been looking for a protein bar recipe and most say not to use whey protein…will this one work with whey protein?
thanks
Hi there.
I need help!
Made the classic glo bar today and followed the recipe. However, after taking them out of the freezer and cutting them, the bars aren’t crunchy and when I started to cut, they disintegrated! Suggestions? They were in the freezer for 25 minutes or so! Can you please help!
Thanks,
Sidna
I’ve made these SEVERAL times now and everytime they are a HIT!! I do add a few things, such as Pumpkin, Chia, sunflower seeds, walnuts, pistachio’s, pecans and almonds. I use organic Almond butter, real/organic Maple syrup and Multigrain puffs, (brown rice, buckwheat and millet (“Simple Treasures!”) vegan protein powder. This is all made in a food processor. I melt vegan chocolate chips
One of my better recipes, I’ve found, that “Oh She Glows!”