Short-Order Kitchen
No-Bake Keto Protein Bars
- Servings
- One 8x8 pan or loaf pan of bars
- Prep
- 10 to 15 minutes
- Cook
- None (no-bake), plus 1 hour chilling
- Method
- No-bake
- Difficulty
- Easy
Part 9 of the thread Protein cookies, cheesecakes and bites
- Mix, press hard into a lined pan, chill at least 1 hour, cut.
- Too crumbly? Add almond milk one teaspoon at a time.
- Add cocoa powder for chocolate bars, or chips for texture.
- They soften at room temperature. Keep them cold.
Ingredients
You'll need
- 8x8 baking dish or loaf pan
- Parchment paper
- Large bowl
- Sturdy spatula or spoon
Directions
- Line the pan with parchment, leaving some overhang on two sides to lift the slab out later.
- In a large bowl, combine the protein powder, almond butter, coconut flour, sweetener, vanilla and cocoa if using.
- Mix until it's a thick, even dough. It'll be stiff. If it won't press together, add almond milk or water one teaspoon at a time.
- Fold in chocolate chips if you're using them.
- Press the dough into the pan very firmly and evenly with your hands or the back of a spoon.
- Refrigerate at least 1 hour, until firm.
- Lift the slab out by the parchment and cut into bars.
- If you like, drizzle melted sugar-free chocolate over the top and let it set.
wesellis.com/blog/keto-protein-bars/
Store-bought protein bars are expensive and most of them taste like sweetened drywall. These are four real ingredients plus sweetener, pressed into a pan and left in the fridge. There's no oven involved, and most of the time goes to waiting.
The dough is supposed to be stiff
The first time you mix it, it'll feel wrong: dry, heavy, hard to stir. That's correct. Almond butter and coconut flourFlour made from dried, ground coconut meat. It soaks up a lot more liquid than wheat flour, so a spoonful goes a long way and doughs made with it need adjusting in tiny amounts.More: Blueberry Scone Cookies make a dough that's closer to modeling clay than cookie dough, and that's what lets the bars hold together once they're cold.
Heads up
Add liquid one teaspoon at a time. Coconut flour takes a minute to absorb it, and it's very easy to go from crumbly to sticky with one pour.
Press harder than you think
Loose dough means crumbly bars. Really pack it into the pan, especially the corners, and smooth the top. Lining the pan with parchment with an overhang makes it easy to lift the whole slab out and cut clean bars on a board instead of hacking at them in the dish.
How many bars you get depends on how you cut them, which also changes the numbers per bar.
For a low-carb breakfast you can also prep ahead, try Keto Overnight Oats. If you want a bar that's more dessert than snack, the Sugar Cookie Protein Bars go that direction.