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No-Bake Peanut Butter Protein Bars
⏱ 15 min💪 20g protein per bar🔥 ~235 cal🍽 10 bars
Store-bought protein bars cost three dollars each and taste like sweetened cardboard. These take fifteen minutes, cost about sixty cents a bar, and hit 20 grams of protein without a single ingredient you cannot pronounce. The trick is pressing the mixture hard into the pan so the bars hold together cold.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup
- 3 scoops (about 90g) vanilla whey protein powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, melted, for topping
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 pan with parchment, leaving overhang on two sides so you can lift the slab out later.
- Warm the peanut butter and honey together for 30 seconds in the microwave and stir until pourable.
- In a large bowl, combine the oats, protein powder, and salt. Pour the warm peanut butter mixture over the top and mix until no dry pockets remain.
- Press the mixture into the pan. Press harder than feels necessary, using the bottom of a glass, until the surface is flat and dense.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the top and spread thin. Chill 1 hour, lift out by the parchment, and cut into 10 bars.
- Store in the fridge in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.
Tips
- If the dough crumbles when you cut it, you under-pressed it or your protein powder is very absorbent. Add a tablespoon of milk and press again.
- Casein or a whey-casein blend gives a chewier bar than pure whey isolate.
- Cut the bars cold, straight out of the fridge, with a hot dry knife for clean edges.
FAQ
- Can I make these without protein powder?
- Yes, but you lose most of the protein. Replace the powder with 3/4 cup of oat flour and expect about 8 grams per bar instead of 20.
- Why are my bars greasy?
- Natural peanut butter separates. Stir the jar thoroughly before measuring, or the oil ends up pooling in the pan.
- Can I freeze them?
- Yes. Wrap individually and freeze up to 3 months. They thaw at room temperature in about 20 minutes.
