Vegan
Kitchen-made Protein Bars for the Table
I’ve been working out a lot more the past month and have been loving these Kitchen-made Vegan Protein bars! I
- Serves 8
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 1 hour
- Total 1 hour
I’ve been working out a lot more the past month and have been loving these From-scratch Vegan Protein bars! I wanted to share the recipe which is slightly adapted from one of the PARTICULARLY first recipe posts that I ever made on my blog:) I know that you’re going to love these! You should also check out my Vegan Protein Pancakes for more protein filled goodness!
I haven’t talked about it much on Instagram lately but I’ve been doing SUCH a good job working out regularly the past month and it feels DEEPLY GOOD! I found a hot yoga studio close to our new house that I genuinely like. I’ve been going regularly to their hot yoga and hot pilates classes and love them both! I’m hoping to add a little more weight training into the mix soon as well.
As a result, I’ve tried to pay closer attention to my protein intake and these protein bars have been ESPECIALLY helpful in helping me get extra protein in my diet! BONUS: they’re satisfying!
Over the years of making this, I altered it a little. The original recipe calls for honey which I more often than not swap for maple syrup (which conveniently makes these fully vegan). I also put more or less chocolate on them depending on my mood.
I suggest only adding a thin layer of chocolate to the bottoms of these and then testing them out before adding any to the top. While it would be nice to only completely smother everything in like with chocolate, it’s probably a decent bit of extra sugar and calories that are only overall unnecessary.
PLEASE dear goodness still add at least a *little* chocolate to these. However, feel free to keep it minimal:D
If desired (and this keeps things a little less messy), you could also fold chocolate chips (I find that mini chocolate chips work go-to here) into the protein dough before pressing it into the pan. Then simply omit the melted chocolate coating on the outside.
ALRIGHT. Let’s make this vegan protein bars recipe!
Th beauty of this method is that it all comes together right in the base of a food processor. Add all of the ingredients in and pulse until it’s all combined. UNFUSSY. If you’re wanting to add in chocolate chips as I mentioned above, now is the time to fold them in.
Take that dough and press it TIGHTLY into a square pan and then chill. DONE.
I like to store these in the fridge and eat them within about a week. I hope that you enjoy it!
The recipe
Kitchen-made Protein Bars at Home
Straightforward and satisfying Vegan Protein Bars!
- Serves 8
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 1 hour
- Total 1 hour
Ingredients
- ¾ cup of dates (pitted and lightly packed)
- 1 cup of natural nut butter (a drippy kind is go-to)
- ½ cup of flax seed meal
- ½ cup of unsweetened coconut flakes
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- ¼ cup of coconut oil (melted)
- 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey
- ½ cup of plant based protein powder
- 3 –6 oz of dark chocolate (this simply depends on how much you want, some for top and some for bottom of bars)
Method
- 1
Put all of your ingredients (MINUS the chocolate) into a food processor and process until fully combined. You’ll know it’s ready once you can roll the mixture into a ball and it stays together easily. (if needed, you can add more nut butter, maple syrup, or fruit to the mixture to make it stick together)
- 2
Once the mixture is ready, dump it all in a square dish. I used an 8x8 pan.
- 3
Now, this is important: You need to press it ALL in there truly good. It needs to be nice and tight and compact in the dish.
- 4
Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- 5
Melt dark chocolate and pour over top.
- 6
Refrigerate for an additional 30 minutes or until the chocolate has fully dried.
- 7
Once the chocolate is fully hardened, cut out your bars (in whatever size you so desire). Getting the first bar out of the pan might be a little messy. However, the rest will come out only fine.
- 8
If desired, drizzle chocolate over top of the other side of the bars, let chocolate harden, and ENJOY!
