Homemade Protein Bars

These homemade protein bars are no-bake, endlessly customizable energy bars. Just like Luna and Power bars, and made with your favorite protein powder.

This protein bar recipe is not like those other fussy, confusing recipes out there! It's easy to follow, and easy to customize. You can even easily make it without peanut butter!

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Why we love this protein bar recipe

When my kids were younger, they played a lot of sports. That means that we were often on the run, so they ate a lot of protein bars.

And of course, each kid had his or her own favorite variety of bar. But all those packaged protein bars have one thing in common: they're crazy expensive.

This recipe for homemade protein bars started out as just a healthy snack that I was just making for my family, and that was that. After much hesitation, I had finally purchased some Vega Essentials protein powder.

I mean, they even sell protein powder at CVS now! I could use a coupon! I was just playing around with it. That's the kind of experimenting I rarely get to do anymore, where I just throw a bit of this and a bit of that into a recipe.

My kids couldn't get enough of these bars. They had even gotten good enough that my husband mentioned them out of the blue one day. I mean, they have the soft texture of a brownie, and they're not too sweet.

“You know, those protein bars were really good.” That's high praise for him. My kids had started asking, “Are those bars hard to make?” That's code for “please make them again.”

I also get “are these bars good for you?” That's also code for “can I eat them all day every day and be healthy?”

They always felt good about these bars because they have the soft texture of a brownie, taste rich and always satisfying. I always felt good about them because they don't have any added sugar, have lots of whole grains, and 13 grams of protein in one small bar.

Plus, I can customize the flavors to suit each individual child's tastes. Now, I mostly make them for my son since he discovered going to the gym and loves the way that makes him look and feel.

Recipe ingredients

There are two main versions of these bars: with dates, and with peanut butter. Most of the ingredients in these bars are the same in both variations, but some are only in one, some only in the other.

In both variations

• Oats: We grind old fashioned oats into oat flour at the start of the process in a large food processor. They add lots of whole grain nutrients and form the backbone of the bars. If you'd rather, you can start with oat flour in the same amount, by weight. For 250 grams of oat flour, if you're measuring by volume, you'd need 2 cups + 1 heaping tablespoon of oat flour.
• Protein powder: This adds a ton of protein to these bars, and adds some flavor if you use a flavored protein powder. If you use a chocolate protein powder, it adds more richness to the bars. If you use whey protein isolate, it has no flavor and adds the most protein by volume.
• Salt: Brightens the flavor of the bars and balances the gentle sweetness.
• Milk: Adds richness and moisture to the bars and helps hold the ingredients together. Add milk slowly because if you add too much, the bars won't set up properly.
• Maple syrup: Adds depth of flavor, sweetness, and helps hold the bars together. You can use another liquid sweetener like honey, but you'll probably need a bit less of it and it will change the flavor.
• Chocolate: Adds flavor, richness, and is largely responsible for helping the bars hold their shape once they set. By using unsweetened chocolate in the bars, they don't add any sugar. First, we melt it, and then it becomes solid again as it cools. If you add the optional chocolate coating to the bars, it adds more flavor and helps hold them together, too. Be sure to use chocolate for coating that has some sugar, or the coating will taste flat and unpleasant.

In only the dates version

• Dates: They hold this version together really well with their stickiness. I prefer Medjool dates because they're stickier and have more of a rich caramel flavor. Deglet Noor dates are smaller, a bit drier, and less sweet.
• Vanilla: Adds more depth of flavor to this version, which has less strong flavors than the nut butter variety.

In only the peanut butter version

• Peanut butter: Always use a “no-stir” type of peanut butter, which is more solid at room temperature than the super drippy natural kind that usually only has the single ingredient (peanuts). You want something that has had some sort of solidifying oil blended into it that will help hold the bars together and keep them from being oily. There are peanut butters like this (I like Skippy brand best), and Barney Butter makes a great no stir gluten free almond butter. I bet Wow Butter would work for a nut-free version.
• Cocoa powder: Adds richness and deep chocolate flavor to the peanut butter bars, and helps mix with the nut butter to provide stability. I prefer Dutch-processed cocoa powder, since it is richer and deeper, but natural cocoa powder works well, too.

How to make homemade protein bars

Process oats, protein powder & add wet ingredients

• Place oats in the bowl of a food processor, and grind them into a powder. If you'd prefer, you can begin with oat flour instead and you won't have to process it.
• Add protein powder, and maple syrup, melted unsweetened chocolate, and milk.
• Add either pitted medjool dates for one variety, or or cocoa powder & nut butter for another.

Process the mixture, & press into a pan

• Process the wet ingredients with the dry just until the mixture holds together.
• Add more milk a little at a time if needed.
• Press everything into a pan, and chill.

Slice the bars, drizzle with chocolate, & serve!

• Once the bars are chilled, slice them into bars with a sharp knife.
• Drizzle with some melted chocolate for extra flavor.

Two recipes, endless options

Have you ever noticed that most of the recipes out there for homemade protein bars are so specific? I am a fan of baking recipes being specific, since baking is chemistry. But these are no-bake.

Those other recipes either rely on one specific type of protein powder, call for a million different funky ingredients I've never heard of, or they are one flavor and one flavor only. So frustrating!

Medjool date version (protein bars without peanut butter)

So I've included two basic recipe formulas for homemade protein bars below. One is made with super soft, packed-with-fiber, deliciously sticky Medjool dates to hold the bars together and sweeten them, of course.

I buy those dates by the pound at Trader Joe's, and I can even find them sold already pitted. Since they're so high in natural sugar, they actually stay for quite a while in the refrigerator. If they seem dried out, just soak them in hot water for about 10 minutes, squeeze out the water, and use the as usual.

You can include unsweetened melted chocolate in the mixture, or not. It really helps the bars hold their shape and gives them a richer flavor.

If you prefer a more neutral-tasting bar, use a vanilla or unflavored protein powder, and leave out the melted chocolate. If you leave out the melted unsweetened chocolate, you will have to add more milk, and the bars will not hold together as firmly when shaped, but the recipe still works.

Nut butter version

But I realize that you may not know where to buy Medjool dates. Or you may think they're too sweet. So I've also formulated another recipe with nut butter and no dates.

I like this version best made with cocoa powder and melted chocolate. I do still include plenty of options for making it more neutral-tasting (including making it with cashew butter).

I've tried these bars with every single variation I recommend. They each work just as well as the other.

Our favorite protein bar variation

My favorite way to make these bars is the “date version.”  I always include the melted unsweetened chocolate—and with just a drizzle of melted chocolate on top, at most. You can also add mini chocolate chips to the mixture after you have finished processing it and before you press it into the pan.

Without the full chocolate coating, the bars are much easier to handle and transport. Including the melted chocolate in the bar itself makes the bar richer in taste and more firm for easy handling.

You can use any flavor protein powder you like in the date version and leave out the melted chocolate, and you'll change the flavor profile to suit your tastes. If you have another favorite protein powder, use that!

Recipe tips & tricks

Don't just leave out an ingredient

There are lots of ways to customize these protein bars to your family's tastes and nutritional needs. There's no chemical reaction happening, since these bars are no-bake, so the mixture must have a certain texture right out of the food processor.

We want the bars to hold together well, so you'll need ingredients that provide structure, and ingredients that bind the bars together. Plus, you need a protein powder, since these are protein bars after all!

Don't rush the firming time

These bars will take at least an hour in the refrigerator to become firm enough to slice, and to hold together properly. So don't wait until the moment you need them to make these protein bars! Make a double batch, and stock up, so you and your family are never without this healthy, grab-and-go snack.

Don't add more liquid than the recipe calls for

If you add more maple syrup, or increase the melted chocolate, the protein bar mixture will be overly soft and won't set up.

Popular ingredient substitution suggestions

Dairy free

As written and as long as you use dairy free milk and chocolate, this recipe makes dairy free protein bars.

If you prefer a dairy-containing protein powder, try whey protein. At first I was certain that you did need to include the oats…

Oat-free

I have finally successfully replaced the oats in this recipe, and every other oat-filled recipe on this blog (and in my cookbooks!). You can read all about a potential substitute for oats in baking, and finally make this grain-free!

The TL;DR version for this recipe is that you use wide, flat coconut chips. Since this recipe is no bake, the coconut chips take up a similar amount of space as the oats.

If you're looking for a bite-sized version, try my no-bake protein balls. They don't have protein powder at all, and there's no food processor involved.

You do have to roll all those little bites, but there's a grain free variety in that recipe that you might really love.

Sugar free

The nut butter homemade protein bar variation can be made without added sugars if you replace the maple syrup with Lankato brand maple syrup substitute. You may need a bit less, though, since it's quite sweet. Be sure your nut butter is made without added sugars, too.

Flavor variations

A more neutral-tasting bar

Try using cashew butter as the nut butter for a more neutral flavor that really lets the chocolate flavor shine.

A fruity version

Try replacing the cocoa powder with a freeze-dried fruit powder. You can either buy it as a powder, or buy freeze dried fruit by the bag and grind it into a powder.

If you have a dehydrator, you can make any fruit into a powder. You can also dehydrate fruit on a baking sheet in a 200°F oven for hours. I do not have that sort of patience.

A no-added flavor protein powder version

Instead of protein powder, try using collagen powder for a huge nutritional boost with no added flavor at all. You can use whey protein isolate, like in our gluten free bread flour.

I also really like Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides. That's an affiliate link, feel free to shop around for the best price.

I've also started experimenting with Perfect Hydrolyzed Collagen Peptides (affiliate link), and it's less expensive. I've used that brand in my protein granola, and I might just like it better. Plus, it’s less expensive.

Storage instructions

Refrigerating

I like to keep these bars, usually wrapped individually, in the refrigerator. They're easy to eat chilled without having to let them warm to room temperature.

Freezing

You can freeze these bars for longer storage, but don't try to eat them right out of the freezer! They're too hard to bite after they're fully frozen. Just let them sit for a bit first.

Frequently asked questions