Healthy No-Bake Protein Bars (Low-Carb, Vegan, Gluten-free)
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These Homemade Protein Bars are no-bake, easy to make, and so good! Skip the overpriced store-bought bars, and make these instead for a healthy breakfast, snack, or treat on the go or anytime!
I'm always on the lookout for healthy snacks for my family, especially easy recipes since I am pretty busy. We love my recipes for healthy chocolate truffles, no-bake cookies, and kale chips, but this recipe for homemade protein bars is one of our all-time favorites.
It's a great grab-and-go snack and is full of yumminess that you and your family will love.
If you've been buying protein bars in the store, here is your chance to make them at home for much less money and likely with much healthier ingredients.
You'll save a ton of money, have total control over the ingredients, and well, they taste great too.
How are These Homemade Protein Bars Healthier?
- Seeds and nuts give a great dose of healthy fats that are good for you and great for leveling out your blood sugar levels.
- The optional organic protein powder provides a nice dose of protein. (Yes, I know this is not necessarily considered a “real food”, but for those of us dealing with food allergies, sometimes this is the best we can do)
- Coconut oil is a great healthy fat as well
- No preservatives
- No questionable “natural flavors”
- No highly processed protein powders (depending on what you choose if adding a protein powder.)
- No extruder-processed puffed grains and such that have been cited for questionable effects on health
- Low carb – there's a low-carb option for those who need it
- Allergy free – make these bars however you need to in order to avoid allergens or sensitivities
These originated as a recipe for Almond Power Bars on Elana's Pantry. I tweaked the recipe a bit, made it more suited to variation, and gave nutrient-boosting and sugar-free alternatives.
Warm Weather Tips
The only problem with these homemade protein bars is that they don't travel well in warm weather. So take a cooler bag along with you if you plan to eat them on the road when it's not cool.
Making these homemade vegan protein bars with cocoa butter instead of coconut oil will make them a lot more stable.
Storage
You can keep these bars at room temperature for about 4-5 days, or store in the fridge for up to two weeks.
I like to make these Homemade Protein Bars in bulk and then place them in the fridge or freezer for a fast healthy snack for the family. They'll keep well in freezer for up to 6 months at least when packed in a freezer-safe container.
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
- Sweeteners: Use vegetable glycerine, xylitol, or erythritol (add in about 1/3 more) as the sweetener for a low-carb version. If you don't need low-carb, use Sucanat or honey or even maple syrup for more natural options. 1/32 teaspoon stevia extract is also a good choice.
- More Protein: Substitute up to the total amount of the flax meal with the same amount of rice protein for an extra punch of protein. Nutribiotic makes a great brand from non-GMO brown rice. You could also use some of this great grass-fed gelatin to firm up the bars and give more protein.
- Be Careful Processing! Please note the recipe says to process the nuts to a coarse meal. If you over-process, you'll end up with nut butter. That will still taste great but will make the bars more dense and not solid unless you freeze them. Still yummy, though!
- Nut Options: For nuts, almonds, and organic macadamias are good options. Mixing several kinds works well too. You can also substitute 1 1/3 cups of coconut butter or seeds for nut-free. If using seeds, organic sunflower and organic pumpkin seeds work well.
- Flax Meal: Here is a good brand of organic flax seeds for making flax meal. You can also use rice bran or organic protein powder instead of flax meal.
- Coconut Butter: You can also substitute coconut butter for the nut or seed butter.
- Coconut Oil: You can substitute an alternative solid fat for the coconut oil. Use organic cocoa butter or butter for a more warm weather-stable bar.
- Stevia: You can use 1/32 teaspoon (1 scoop) of stevia extract (see How to Use Stevia) instead of xylitol.
- Chocolate Chips: If you would prefer to make your own chocolate chips, here are my Homemade Chocolate / Carob Chips. My Homemade Chocolate / Carob Bar (1 cup of chips per bar recipe) is another option.
- THM: This recipe qualifies as an “S” for those on the Trim Healthy Mama plan.\
More Processed Food Replacements
Here are some of our favorite recipes to take the place of store-bought products.
- Powdered Sugar Substitute
- Homemade Chocolate Chips
- DIY Liquid Stevia Drops
- Homemade Marshmallows (SF option)
Hope you enjoy the taste and the healthy boost that these Homemade Vegan Protein Bars bring to your wallet!
Grain-Free No-Bake Homemade Protein Bars
Ingredients
Base:
- 2 cups nuts (preferably soaked and dried)
- 1/2 cup flax meal (flax seeds ground in a blender or spice grinder)
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened and organic if possible)
- 1/2 cup seed or nut butter (made from soaked and dried nuts or seeds is preferable)
- 3/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons low carb sweetener (or other granulated or liquid sweetener–see Recipe Notes)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 or more tablespoons protein powder, collagen, or colostrum (optional for more protein)
Topping:
- 1 cup sugar-free chocolate chips (melted; or try these Homemade Chocolate Chips or this Homemade Chocolate Bar for a DIY option)
Instructions
- Place nuts or seeds, flax meal, coconut, seed or nut butter and salt in the bowl of a food processor.
- Process until the nuts or seeds are ground into a coarse meal.
- Melt coconut oil over low heat. If the temperature of your home is around 76 degrees, you can skip this step and add the oil directly to the food processor as it will be soft enough to process easily.
- Add coconut oil, sweeteners and vanilla to processor bowl and process until well combined to form a thick, yet crunchy paste.
- Press the mixture into an 8×8 square pan (you can be quite flexible here. A 9×9 will work just fine. A larger pan will produce thin bars, while a smaller pan will yield thicker ones)
- Place in refrigerator to chill.
- If you are making your own chocolate/carob chips or chocolate/carob bar, prepare while the protein bars are chilling, but do not harden the chocolate chips or bar.
- Top bars with the chocolate chips or bar. Top either before the bars chill, or melt the chocolate topping and top with it.
- Press the topping onto the chilled bottom layer.
- Place back in refrigerator to chill (if you can wait that long :-)!)
- Cut into squares and serve.
- Store in refrigerator.
Notes
- Sweeteners: Use vegetable glycerine, xylitol, or erythritol (add in about 1/3 more) as the sweetener for a low-carb version. If you don't need low-carb, use Sucanat or honey or even maple syrup for more natural options. 1/32 teaspoon stevia extract is also a good choice.
- More Protein: Substitute up to the total amount of the flax meal with the same amount of rice protein for an extra punch of protein. Nutribiotic makes a great brand from non-GMO brown rice. You could also use some of this great grass-fed gelatin to firm up the bars and give more protein.
- Be Careful Processing! Please note – the recipe says to process the nuts to a coarse meal. If you over-process, you will have a nut butter, which will still taste great, but will make the bars more dense and not solid unless you freeze them. Still yummy, though!
- Nut Options: For nuts, almonds and organic macadamias are good options. Mixing several kinds works well too. You can also sub 1 1/3 cups coconut butter or seeds for nut free. If using seeds, organic sunflower and organic pumpkin seeds work well.
- Flax Meal: Here is a good brand of organic flax seeds to purchase to make flax meal. You can also use rice bran or organic protein powder instead of flax meal.
- Coconut Butter: You can also substitute coconut butter for the nut or seed butter.
- Coconut Oil: You can substitute an alternative solid fat for the coconut oil. Use organic cocoa butter or butter for a more warm weather-stable bar.
- Stevia: You can use 1/32 teaspoon (1 scoop) of stevia extract (see How to Use Stevia) instead of xylitol.
- Chocolate Chips: If you would prefer to make your own chocolate chips, here are my Homemade Chocolate / Carob Chips. My Homemade Chocolate / Carob Bar (1 cup of chips per bar recipe) is another option.
- THM: This recipe qualifies as an “S” for those on the Trim Healthy Mama plan.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and preparation methods. Optional ingredients are not included. Net carbs are typically calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) from total carbohydrates. This information should not be relied upon for medical or nutritional purposes.
Would you eat these Homemade Vegan Protein Bars for breakfast, snacks, or on the go?
Photo Credits: Naomi Huzovicova
Are these gluten free? and can you use real sugar?
Yes, they are gluten-free since there are no grains in them. You can use regular sugar if you’d like. Hope you like them!
Thank you so much, I am excited to try them for my brother. Do you know how much sugar I should use?
You’re welcome. I’m going to be changing up how the recipe is written – you should be fine w/ 2 Tbsp in the base. You can just melt chocolate chips for the topping unless you would like to make my chips. Let me know!
Any idea how many grams of protein this would be?
Hi Kara. We are working on getting nutritional data up for our recipes but it’s taking awhile. Thanks for your patience. In the meantime, you can add the ingredients into an online calculator.
Made them yesterday! I did not have macadamia nuts and pumpkin seeds so I had to change the recipe a bit, used organic plant protein instead of flax, but still, they are delicious!! I don’t know why I was always buying protein snack bars from the shop when these homemade bars are so easy to make (once you soaked the nuts and seeds :D) and much tastier which I did not want to believe at first 🙂 I took a bunch of them to my dorm and keep them in a fridge so I have a healthy snack when I am busy with Uni.
Thank you, keep doing this!
So great to hear – thank you! If you are so inclined and would be interested in giving the recipe a high star rating, that would be much appreciated. I am working on changing things around w/ the way they are handled, but as you can see a reader gave me a not so great rating due to her stating that coconut is a nut (I will be addressing that in great detail in a post today) so it would be nice to have her negative rating balanced out if at all possible.
Thanks again – I also was planning on working on a higher protein option so you beat me to it! :)…..
Why do you have to refrigerate?
You don’t absolutely have to, but depending on the temp in your house and how much you blended them, they might get soft (and the topping can get soft as well) and they are chopped nuts so if you don’t eat them quickly they can go rancid. AND they taste great cold.
Best recipe ever, these bars are so good. I don’t add the salt or the sweetener and I only add the vanilla if I have it. I use vegan chocolate (3 ingredients) for the topping or melt 100% chocolate with real maple syrup to taste. For my 2 cups of nuts etc I use: sliced almonds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds.
We eat these regularly and use a freezer pack to take with us on the road. Wonderful for diabetics.
So glad you enjoy them as much as we do! Thanks for making my day!
These are delicious! I only had flax seed and almond meal, so searched conversions and made the recipe with gram measurements (weighing ingredients seems so much easier anyway…maybe you can provide weights with future recipes? Please?!). I used half the flax seed and replaced half with gelatin. Next time I will use half the chocolate topping (it’s amazing, by the way!) as they would be just as good, but decrease the calories from 359 to 297 (for 1/16th of the version I made). My numbers worked out to 12 grams of protein. You could boost that if you wanted to use protein powder, but I prefer gelatin. My bars were a little fragile, but totally worth it! I might put them in mini muffin cups next time and drizzle chocolate over them, they’d be easier to hang onto (plus the cup would catch any crumbles!) and would make more servings (and then I could have 2!).
Hi there! Glad you liked them. I am working on something w/ more protein. Not sure how I can do the weights but maybe! I’m already scrambling here to keep on top of everything. I think the fragility has to do w/ how much you blend. Your muffin cup idea sounds great!
I made them again with all gelatin instead of flax (I was out of flax) and skipped the shredded coconut (not a fan of shredded coconut and again, I was out). I rolled them into balls and drizzled the chocolate over the top. I wound up with 28 protein balls and they were awesome! Just like the peanut butter bars I used to love so much! My drizzled chocolate was pretty ugly (I’ve never been good at “pretty” food), and dipping them probably would have been easier, but they taste amazing and the macros on them are pretty much where I wanted them (165 cal, 4 net carbs, 13.5 g fat and 6.5 g protein for each ball). Now to not eat them all at once…
Oh wow that sounds amazing!!! I think I’m going to have to try this b/c I have been meaning to add more protein to the recipe – thank you and sooooo glad you enjoyed them!!! (p.s. I’m not great about pretty food either……..it’s one of my biggest challenges and the reason that I started farming out photography :)………Thanks again!
Coconut is a Tree Nut; Subbing coconut butter for whole nuts does not make it “nut free”
Hello Nova, here is the information from the ACAAI:
“*The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI) states: “Coconut is not a botanical nut; it is classified as a fruit, even though the Food and Drug Administration recognizes coconut as a tree nut. While allergic reactions to coconut have been documented, most people who are allergic to tree nuts can safely eat coconut. If you are allergic to tree nuts, talk to your allergist before adding coconut to your diet.”
So, although the FDA recognizes coconut as a tree nut, it is not. I appreciate your reading my blog but I would appreciate your changing your rating of my recipe b/c it’s a fabulous recipe and your interpretation isn’t accurate according to one of the, if not the expert on food allergies in the US. Thank you in advance.
Thank you for your response, but as a parent of someone who has an allergic reaction to every type of nut including Coconuts this could be a problem.. What if someone makes a batch for a group of people and then states they are “nut free” and it ends in anaphylaxis shock for someone in the group? You have to consider the consequences of your wording when creating recipes. My rating will remain unless this is changed.
Hi there. I’m so sorry about your problem but my son is allergic to all tree nuts except for almonds and macadamias so I know your concerns.
However, the FDA has this stance and that is for food labeling–not for allergists and not for recipes on the internet. The FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylactic Network) has the stance that coconut is NOT a tree nut and that if you are concerned about an allergy to coconut you should just talk w/ your doctor.
I just talked w/ our allergist’s office–they are a very prominent office. They agree w/ the ACAAI’s stance.
I’m sorry to do this, but if you don’t change your rating I will have to just delete your comment b/c it’s totally unfair given the nature of your concern. I have proven that I am right on this issue and this is a great recipe.
Thank you,
Adrienne
You are absolutely correct it is for food labeling; labeling of ingredients.
They label it as so to warn of possible allergic reactions. Why are you ranting about vaccines and other unrelated information about the FDA that I am already very of; And then threatening to delete my raiting if I don’t change it? I rated it on how I viewed the contents of the recipe and believe it is a good recipe but could have the potential to cause unintentional harm to someone. My rating is a fair opinion. Go ahead and delete it if you wish but screenshots will be taken as a precaution now and will be reported accordingly.
Is it even ethical to delete a rating? Most websites forbid deletation of ratings because it means you get to pick and choose which ratings you like and don’t like. Just like you are now.
Hello again, Nova.
I have been talking about this with other blog owners and they all agree, as does my allergist’s office, and they are experts.
This is the policy of the group that puts out the ratings, so I don’t know whom you are going to report it to, but I am totally within my rights.
So yes, it is totally ethical for me to delete this if I want to.
So here is the problem. You are telling me that you will not change your rating unless I put something on my blog that is incorrect. Isn’t that right?
I will not allow someone to threaten me to put inaccurate information on my site.
Recipe stars are for people to review a recipe that they have made–not to make statements like this.
Should someone give me a 1 star b/c I didn’t write that xylitol could hurt a dog, or that a piece of a nut could get stuck in someone’s throat…or that raisins or chocolate could hurt a dog?
I hope you can see my point. I am following what the food allergy experts say and that is what you are concerned about. You have coconut allergies in your home and that is not b/c you have tree nut allergies.
I am sorry that this conversation even happened. It’s sad. I spend hours and hours making recipes and giving out tons of well researched information for my readers. I researched your concern and showed you that you are inaccurate and yet you still come back here and attempt to bully me. I hope you will respond to this but it’s totally inappropriate behavior.
Hi again, Nova.
I just wanted to make it clear that I specifically asked the allergist’s office about coconut allergy and this was their response (not totally verbatim but the message is completely 100% accurate).
I am not at all trying to be contentious but I can’t allow people to negatively impact all of the hard work that I put into my blog just b/c of faulty information. My heart goes out to you w/ your allergy issues but this is not a food labeling company. It’s a food blog by a food allergy mom. Thanks for your understanding.
Hi again, Ellen. Could you check it out for me again, please? It should be fixed for you. And again, I would greatly appreciate it if you would adjust your rating. Thanks! 🙂
Yikes! I don’t know what is going on. I’m working on it and will get back when it’s done —would you be so kind as to not rate my recipe as bad b/c of this? It’s a great recipe!! My recipe card maker folks are working on it – thanks!!!
Would be helpful if you discussed over blending in the recipe… wasted $15 worth of materials to discover over blending is a problem. Had to come to the comments to read about it…
Hello there.
Thanks for reading. I just added a note to the recipe. I do have explicit information in the post stating to process to a coarse meal, however, so I would appreciate it if you would consider changing your rating of my recipe. I did give proper instructions. And, the bars are still yummy the way you made them. They are not ruined and your ingredients are not wasted. You could add some other nuts and sweetener if you haven’t topped them yet and you can pop them in the freezer for a delicious treat. Hope that helps :)!
Fair enough, but for a person who is trying out recipes for the first time and doesn’t understand the importance of keeping it a corse meal, it’s easy to over blend…
What could be added in order to harden it up, ie make it fool proof against over blending? Gelatin?
Hi again. Thanks so much for changing the rating – much appreciated. I can’t think of anything to prevent it. It’s just the way it goes. You just have to keep an eye on it. I’ve had it become like nut butter before myself….we eat it regardless b/c I can’t stand wasting things. I am working on an update to the recipe to add more protein, however :).