This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.
These healthy and easy to put together protein bars are the perfect snack to start the year off right! It’s so simple and delicious, you will never buy them from the store again!
Some other healthy snacks for the new year that you should try are these protein poppers, protein waffles, and this delicious green smoothie. They are all some that you MUST TRY this new year!
The Best Protein Bars
I know that you can just go out and buy protein bars at the store but trust me when I say that these are SO MUCH BETTER. Plus, they aren’t filled with all of the ingredients that you can’t pronounce! These are filled with healthy ingredients like flaxseed and oats. And then you bring in the flavor with your protein powder, honey, peanut butter, and a few mini chocolate chips.
The great thing about these protein bars is that once you have all of these ingredients on hand then you can just make these whenever! Make them ahead of time and use them all week long. They are a great source of protein and actually taste super delicious. You will never go back to your store-bought ones again! You can use these as a midday snack or pair them with a delicious smoothie or oatmeal for breakfast. They only take a few minutes to put together so there shouldn’t be anything stopping you!
Ingredients to Make Protein Bars
Just buy all of these ingredients in bulk so that you always have the stuff on hand to make this. Once you try them, you won’t be able to quit! See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.
- Peanut butter: This gives these protein bars a great flavor.
- Honey: The honey acts as a natural sweetener.
- Flaxseed: I like to use ground flaxseed. It’s healthy and easy to find.
- Rolled oats: You can use slightly ground oats or oat flour will work too.
- Protein powder: I used vanilla but chocolate tastes amazing too!
- Salt: This enhances all of the flavors of the ingredients.
- Vanilla extract: Adding a little more sweet flavor.
- Mini chocolate chips: These are optional but I always like to add them in for extra taste and texture.
Let’s Make Some Protein Bars!
These are done and ready to eat in less than 30 minutes. Make an entire batch or even double it so that you are set for the entire week!
- Prep: Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- Combine everything except chocolate chips: In a medium bowl, add all of the ingredients except the chocolate chips. Stir and mix ingredients until combined. The mixture should resemble cookie dough.
- Fold: Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Press into pan: Using your hands, press the mixture into the prepared pan.
- Chill: Place in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes to make cutting easier. You can speed up this process by placing the bars in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Cut: Once the bars are chilled and hold its form, use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Evenly cut into 10 bars. Enjoy!
Variations
These protein bars are great as is but you can totally switch a few things up to make a variety. Here are a few ideas to try!
- Protein powder: I used vanilla in this recipe but feel free to change it up to whatever your favorite flavor is! Chocolate, strawberry, cake batter…I mean the options for flavors of protein pwder are endless!
- Mix-in: I used mini chocolate chips to mix into these but make them fun by adding in mini m&m’s, reeses pieces, sprinkles, or whatever you love! Mix in whatever you enjoy so that you love these even more.
How to Store Protein Bars
Cook up a few batches of these at once. They last a long time (over a month) and so it’s nice to make a lot of them to last!
- Refrigerator: Once you have made a batch (or two!) of these protein bars, you will want to store them in an airtight container and put them in your fridge. This will keep them nice and chewy. They will last about a month in your fridge.
- Freezer: You can totally freeze some of these protein bars for later. Wrap each bar in some parchment paper and then place them in a ziplock bag that is labeled with the date. They will last about 3 months. When you are ready to eat them just set it out on the counter until it is thawed and then enjoy!
More Healthy Snacks to Try
We all love some sweets but now that the holidays are over, my body is craving some healthy snacks! And don’t get me wrong, I love a good dessert… But who says that things have to taste bad if they are healthy?? These snacks will prove that wrong! You can eat healthier AND enjoy yourself!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Homemade Protein Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed
- 1 1/4 cups rolled oats, slightly ground (oat flour works too)
- 1/2 cup vanilla protein powder (chocolate can be used)
- pinch salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a medium bowl, add all of the ingredients except the chocolate chips. Stir and mix ingredients until combined. The mixture should resemble cookie dough.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Using your hands, press the mixture into the prepared pan.
- Place in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes to make cutting easier. You can speed up this process by placing the bars in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Once the bars are chilled and hold their form, use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Evenly cut into 10 bars. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How do you mix everything to get the consistency you show?
Thank you for your question Trisha! I just mix with a spoon or by hand. You can try using a hand or stand mixer but this mixture is going to be really thick so I don’t know if it will work.
These are good but mine are always very dry. When I follow the recipe as is, it requires more flour to form any type of I that will hold shape. I use the bare minimum, and they still need to be refrigerated to hold any kind of shape . Does anyone else have this issue? And how do you correct it, the boys can only eat them a tiny bite at a time with something to drink
Did you use oat flour instead of oats? There is no actual flour called for in the recipe. If you’re making it with the ingredients called for, it might be the peanut butter you are using that is making them to soft. Some brands are runnier (especially the more natural ones) causing the bars to not hold their shape. Let me know if that helps!
Simply amazing. I love this recipe, I use different flavors of Orgain Protein powder to switch the flavor profile. There are endless options to add in besides the choc. chips. These are so much better than store bought. My son’s love these as well. Thank you for a great recipe
Love these!!! Made them a few days ago and was able to share with a friend visiting! I offered her a protein bar and she declined, but when she saw they were homemade she changed her mind!! After tasting them she asked for the recipe🤩🤩!! They are delish!! Thanks for sharing
Yay!! You’re welcome!
yipee!
I didn’t want the added sugar from the honey so I added 1/3 cup of powdered erythritol and a little oat milk. They’re so good!
Great idea!!
What could replace the peanut butter in the basic recipe?
I haven’t tried it before but I imagine that almond butter could work instead!
i like this recipe, bc its body building on a budget if u will. tho i will add that for a less caloric and sugary version u can swap the Peanut Butter for PBfit, and the honey for a sugar free maple syrup. i like to use the Optimum Nutrition Cookies and Cream for the powder. and it yields at 17ish grams of protein for like 81 cents a bar, pretty good imo
how much pb fit did you add/
Very nice recipe
nice, I’m tired of my store bought protein bars, makes too much sense to just make my own and even better to better control the ingredients, so thank you!