Homemade Chocolate Nut Protein Bars
By Hannah Healy
Updated June 18, 2024
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These healthy homemade paleo protein bars are packed with nuts, seeds and drizzled with chocolate. They make a delicious quick and easy vegan high protein breakfast that will help keep you fuller longer!
I created this paleo granola bar recipe without peanut butter (I used almond butter instead), but if you prefer peanut butter, you can substitute the almond butter for peanut butter.
Quick & Easy Meal Bars for Breakfast On The Go
These are HEFTY protein bars for the everyday person. I intended these to be a sort of homemade meal replacement bar if you know you’re going to be traveling and you don’t want to be stuck with pastries or bagels. Or you can use these bars as a quick breakfast if you’re having a tough time getting something to eat before work in the mornings.
However, if you’re a gigantic bodybuilding enthusiast who has to eat heaps of food everyday, then these would probably just be a lite snack for you 😉
They are pretty big for snacks for the rest of us, but you can easily cut them into smaller bits if you prefer to have them for snacks.
Protein Powder Substitutes
I used collagen gelatin protein powder for this recipe because it is my favorite type of clean protein powder to use (read here why gelatin is one of the BEST superfoods!). Not only is it super healthy and allergy friendly, but it also doesn’t really taste like anything. You can try other protein powders, but do so at your own risk! I can’t guarantee that it will come out the same or even taste any good for that matter.
However, if you’re vegan you’ll want to use something else…
I think when it comes to vegan protein powders hemp or pea protein is the healthiest option in general, BUT if I’m being totally honest those are pretty gross tasting, so I think those would affect the tasty flavor of this bar.
Rice protein is a good substitute for this recipe that wouldn’t ruin the flavor (even though I’m not a huge fan of rice protein nutritionally speaking), I think it’s ok every once in a while. Feel free to experiment with your own favorite flavorless (or vanilla flavored) vegan protein substitutes….just don’t get mad at me if you try a weird one and it tastes bad….you’ve been forewarned! 😉 You might have to add more honey or almond butter for stickyness depending on the protein powder that you use.
Homemade Paleo Protein Bars Recipe (Vegan & GF):
Homemade Chocolate Nut Protein Bars
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup coarse almond meal
- 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 3 tbsp shredded coconut
- 3/4 cup grass-fed collagen protein (sub rice protein powder for vegan)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp almond butter or peanut butter
- 1/4 cup honey (sub maple syrup or coconut nectar for vegan)
- 2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate or 1/4 cup chocolate chips if you want it sweeter
Instructions
- Combine the almond meal, ground flax seeds, chia seeds, protein and shredded coconut in a mixing bowl. Mix with a spoon.
- Add the almond butter and honey to the bowl and mix with a spoon, then use your hands to fully combine all the ingredients. The result should be a crumbly texture (it shouldn't be all stuck together like dough).
- Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Press the mixture into the pan firmly. You'll really want to press in hard all over to pack in the mixture tightly--this will ensure that the bars hold their shape.
- Place the bars in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 3-5 hours. After it's been refrigerated take it out of the pan with the parchment paper and use a sharp knife to cut it into 5 bars.
For the chocolate drizzle:
- Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. While it's melted drizzle the chocolate evenly over the bars and place in the freezer for a few minutes to set the chocolate.
- Keep the bars in the refrigerator. You can also freeze them to keep them around for longer, they will last at least a month in the freezer in a freezer bag. Just be sure to defrost them before eating them out of the freezer.
