This easy, no bake raspberry almond protein bar recipe tastes just like dessert!
Healthy food bars have to be one of my favourite things to make. I’ve had a soft spot for them since running a café in one of my gyms years ago. I look back to those days with (mostly) warm, fuzzy memories.
Maybe making a 100 or more bars a week by hand wasn’t ideal, but it was the experience that I enjoyed the most – the process of growing a business and having others enjoy something I created from scratch.
I still make protein bars but now instead of a café I sell them in the gym vending machine. I have to split my time between making them for sale and making them for my family to enjoy. Regardless I still enjoy making healthy protein bars whenever I can just for the heck of it.
I’ve made this protein bar recipe a few different ways in the past sometimes with peanut butter, one with almond butter, and the last with sunflower seed butter. All worked out lovely, although the roasted peanut butter was probably my favourite, flavour wise (no surprise here).
Rest assured you can make these nut-free simply by using tahini (sesame seed paste) or sunflower seed butter.
For variations, add different nuts, coconut, different dried fruits, use white chocolate chips, swap out the flavor of protein powder—the variations are never ending!
The recipe is forgiving so feel free to play around with it – as long as your dough isn’t super dry and crumbly you should be fine! We are aiming for the consistency of cookie dough here. Just add a little milk or water if it seems to dry.
Store bought protein bars can be nice (or sometimes not!) and I do not like the price and the added not-so-healthy ingredients so the do-it-yourself option is the way to go.
The good thing about making your own is – a) you know what goes into them – b) the price is awesome and you can often make many bars for the same price you would pay for one store bought and – c) you can easily adjust the protein, fat and carbohydrate concentrations.
Adding simple whey protein powder is recommended to achieve high protein levels while keeping the carbohydrate and fat levels down. Without these powders, you may have to add extra peanut butter, cashew or almond butter to pump up the protein concentrations, although these ingredients also add extra fat and carbs.
Protein powders also act as binding agents and help to hold the mixture together. Using these powders, you will also achieve a denser and fudge-like consistency, which is always good!
If you are a little shy on supplies, however, no fear, as protein bars (or protein balls) typically only require a few readily available ingredients. A typical homemade protein bar recipe would usually contain simple base ingredients such as oats, peanut butter, protein powder, honey or maple syrup.
Cocoa powder, nuts, vanilla or other extracts, coconut, or dried fruit can be included depending on the desired flavour and nutritional characteristics. These ingredients are also typical constituents of protein ball recipes and often it is just the shape that is different.
You can choose on the day whether you want a bar or a ball. If you are lacking motivation or maybe feeling lazy, then balls may be the way to go.
Due to their convenience, I prefer no-bake protein bar recipes. These require no oven or cooking time, but some freezing, cooling of the mixture may be required to achieve an ideal hold and consistency.
Another positive is that the ingredients, especially the protein, are not subjected to high temperatures, which may be damaging.
The recipe below will produce eight protein bars, each containing around 10 grams of protein. This can be adjusted if less or more protein is required.
Who knew one snack could have so many names?! Protein bars, protein balls, energy bites… I’m sure there are even more out there. No matter what you call them, one thing is for sure: they are one of the best snacks to have on hand for easy, healthy snacking!
Raspberry-Almond Protein Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup almonds or walnuts
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
- 1/2 cup protein or collagen powder
- 1/2 cup almond (or any other nut or seed) butter
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 cup raspberries fresh or frozen, (unthawed, drained) ½ to go into mixture and ½ for the topping
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a 7 x 5-inch loaf pan or dish with parchment paper on the bottom and sides leaving some overhanging to act as a handle to get the bars out easier for cutting.Place oats, almonds and coconut into a food processer and process until broken down and crumbly. Add protein powder, almond butter, almond milk, coconut oil, honey and ½ cup of raspberries and continue to process until mixture is sticky and well combined. Be careful not to over process as its nice to have texture variance and different sized “bits” in your protein bars.Fold in chocolate chips and if the mixture seems too dry, add more milk or water a tablespoon at a time until it comes together. Sometimes different brands of protein powder can absorb more moisture so just adjust accordingly. Scoop out mixture into the bottom of your pan or dish and spread out evenly with a spatula or back of a spoon. Press the remaining ½ cup of raspberries into the top of bars. Freeze bars for at least an hour before slicing into 8-10 bars or more smaller squares. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months. If frozen let sit for 15 minutes to soften before eating.
If you are looking for more delicious, healthy, no bake desserts and treats to help you reach your health, wellness and fitness goals, you will love my collection here: Blended Bites
