Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars
Aug 25, 2023
Our Registered Dietitians designed these nutritious homemade peanut butter protein bars to contain 17g of protein and 3g of fibre to keep you full and satisfied for longer.
Many homemade protein bar recipes contain a mixture of nuts, seeds, nut butters, and oats. While these homemade bars are a great source of fat, fibre, and carbohydrate, they are not particularly high in protein. As Registered Dietitians, we define ‘high protein’ as a food choice that has >15g of protein. To make a higher protein homemade bar, our nutritionists added a whey isolate protein powder which considerably boosts the protein content!
These homemade peanut butter protein bars are perfect if:
- You are an endurance athlete looking to increase their protein for recovery
- You engage in strength and resistance training and want to build or maintain muscle
- You are hungry and need a snack to keep your blood sugar (and energy levels) stable
- You have a sweet-tooth and want a chocolate-y option that satisfies you
- You are hungry in the evening and want a snack that keeps your blood sugars level for optimal sleep
CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PROTEIN BARS
We sliced the bars into 10 large slices, however, you can also cut these bars into 16 small squares if you prefer a smaller portion.
INGREDIENTS:
- ½ cup (120g) peanut butter
- 6 tablespoons (120g) honey
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 scoops chocolate protein powder
- 4 tablespoon water
- 2 cups (160g) quick oats
- 3 tbsp (30g) seeds (eg. a mixture of ground flax, hemp hearts, and chia seeds)
- ¼ cup (40g) chocolate
DIRECTIONS
- Combine the peanut butter, honey, salt, and cocoa powder in a large mixing bowl. If preferred, you can combine the ingredients in a food processor for easier mixing! Our dietitians prefer using a food scale to measure the honey and peanut butter as it is a tidy, accurate, and efficient way to portion the sticky peanut butter and honey.
- Next, mix one scoop of whey isolate and one tablespoon of water into the wet ingredients. Combine thoroughly. Continue to add a scoop of whey isolate and tablespoon of water until you have added all four scoops of whey isolate and all four tablespoons of water. It will take a lot of mixing as the whey isolate absorbs a lot of liquid.
- Then, add the oats and seeds. The mixture should be crumble-y but stick together when pressed between your fingers.
- Use a spatula to firmly press the oat mixture into a parchment lined baking dish. Set the bars in the freezer for 5-15 minutes.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 15 second intervals until fully melted. Then, remove the bars from the freezer and use a spatula to spread the melted chocolate on top of the protein bars in a thin layer.
- Let set in the freezer for one hour before slicing into bars. We sliced ours into 10 bars. We recommend storing them in the freezer.
KITCHEN TOOLS & INGREDIENTS
DIETITIAN TIPS
When shopping for a protein bar we like to look for >15g of protein and >3g of fibre per bar. This is because a balance of protein, fibre, and healthy fats helps to delay the digestion and absorption of the carbohydrate source in the bar for steady blood sugars and stable energy levels. These bars are protein-packed with 17g of protein when cut into 10 bars!
If you want to save time in the kitchen, below are some protein bars that we recommended as Registered Dietitians:
HUNGRY FOR MORE?
If you like this recipe, you might like our protein energy ball recipe, too!
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