Happy Monday, friends! 😀
Don’t believe me? How about now… ?
Still no, eh? Tough crowd. I know, I know – Mondays can be a little rough. That’s why I spent part [10 minutes] of my weekend baking up some treats to share with you guys… And by baking I mean throwing a few ingredients in a bowl, mixing them together, tossing the mixture into the fridge, and calling it good. So… no-baking, I guess? I mean, sure, there was some minor stove work involved…
… but let’s not get caught up in petty details – let’s talk about the finished product instead.
Snack/protein/energy bars. Everyone loves them. They’re quick, they’re easy, they’re convenient, and with the proper ingredients, they’re pretty healthy and satisfying too. They’re also the bane of my existence. Why? Two words – peanut.allergy. Almost every single commercial bar out there is either loaded with peanuts or may contain traces of the pesky buggers; and most of the peanut-free versions leave a little something to be desired in terms of staying power. But that’s what weekend afternoon baking sessions are for, right?
If these bars look a little familiar, it’s because they were completely inspired by my Rice Krispie Energy Bites. I loved the flavour of those so much that I wanted to recreate them – only this time with a different texture. So, I swapped out the cereal for oat flour and was rewarded with a softer, denser, and fudgier bar.
I also threw in regular oats and crispy rice cereal to add some texture and crunch; and chocolate because… well… who really needs a reason for chocolate?
The result is, in a word, phenomenal. Imagine a subtly sweet bar that’s packed with flavour and wholesome ingredients. A bar that’s soft and fudgy enough to melt in your mouth, yet dense and textured enough to surprise you with the occasional crunch. A bar that satisfies not only your body, but your soul as well. Deep. Now stop imaging and go whip up a batch! It only takes all of 10 minutes!
I’d love to know if you make this (or any!) recipe! Tag @runwithspoons on Instagram and Twitter, and be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy and delicious recipes straight to your inbox!
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No-Bake Almond Fudge Protein Bars
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 12 bars 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup oats, ground into a flour
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- 1/3 cup vanilla protein powder (I used whey)
- 1/2 cup crispy rice cereal
- 1/2 cup almond butter (or peanut butter)
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Optional: 2-3 Tbsp. chocolate chips for melting
Instructions
- Prepare a 9×5 loaf pan by spraying it with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine oat flour, quick oats, protein powder, and crispy rice cereal. Mix until well combined and set aside.
- In a small pan over medium heat, add almond butter and honey, stirring until the almond butter is melted and fully combined with the honey. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Remove from heat and pour into the dry mixture. Stir until everything is fully combined.
- Pour into prepared loaf pan. Using a spatula or your hands, spread the mixture evenly in the pan, pressing down firmly.*
- Optional: place chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and nuke on high in 20 second intervals, mixing between each. When chocolate is fully melted, drizzle over the top of the packed mix using a spoon.
- Place pan into fridge and allow to cool for ~30 minutes before cutting into bars.
Notes
* make sure to press the mixture into the pan very firmly or the bars may fall apart.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
I have to say that for being ridiculously easy to make, these guys are also ridiculously difficult to resist. Photographing them was probably one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in a while, and it’s a miracle that I had anything left to showcase at all with the amount of snacking that went on behind the scenes. You guys know what I’m talking about… uneven edges, broken pieces, crumbs… a nibble here, a tiny sliver there. Oi. At this rate, I’ll be whipping up another batch very, very soon.
Happy Monday! 😀
Looks great! Do you have nutritional info for these please?
Sorry! I don’t calculate the nutritional info for my recipes.
Hey I just made this, but i’m not sure where to put in the vanilla extract, so i just kind of threw it in after the almond butter and honey were poured in the dry mixture. They’re about to go in the fridge so i’m hoping they’ll be delicious!
Eep! I can’t believe I forgot to add that part in. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Kate! I hope you enjoy them 😀
Looks yummy! Really tempting me to taste. I will try this..
Any idea of nutrional information & serving size?
Sorry Lisa, I don’t calculate the nutritional information for my recipes.
I also thought these looked very familiar to Oh She Glow’s protein bars but I see your recipes uses quick oats! I did this by accident with her version last weekend and they actually turned out 10 times better. The last a little longer out of the freezer and have a better texture 🙂 I’ll have to try your version next time!
I just tried to make these and they turned out horribly lumpy 🙁 Granted, I am nowhere near a domestic goddess but as soon as I added the peanut butter/honey mixture it clumped with the dry mixture and cooled off right away making it impossible to stir. I’m very sad as I was incredibly excited to make these. Perhaps more of the wet mixture would help.
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that! I’ve never run into that problem, but adding an extra spoonful of honey or nut butter would definitely help. I hope you’ll give them another try!
I followed the recipie, but added cocoa powder. In rhe end, the mixture came off totally dry. Then i had to add water, honey, abd almond paste to come up with a more pasty outcome. They came out fine. Wonder whether it was because of the cocoa powder.
Yup! The cocoa powder is definitely to blame. It’s delicious stuff, but it’s like adding more flour so you have to balance it out by adding more liquid. Glad they still turned out!
This recipe looks fantastic. I am tired of spending oodles on money on storebought bars. It would be nice to know how much protein one bar contains…Need a chemist or something.
Hello hello, sounds amazing! Do you have the nutritional breakdown at all?? x
I don’t, sorry. I know it can be triggering for a lot of people, so I try to avoid it. You can plug the ingredients into a site like SparkPeople to get the breakdown, though!
I also have a severe peanut allergy and recently discovered that some quest bars don’t say may contain peanuts! I tried the banana nut ones ( almonds and walnuts ) and coconut cashew! Hope this helps 🙂
Thanks for the heads up, Nadine! I’ll keep an eye out for those ones.
Just made these this past weekend. OMG. I might give up my Larabar and Quest habit after having these. Absolutely delish!!! I made a few small tweeks to your recipe: regular old-fashioned oats instead of quick, crumbled rice chex instead of rice krispies, chunky peanut butter instead of almond butter, and no chocolate (shock! awe! I do not like chocolate…). Thank you SO MUCH for posting this recipe! I can’t wait to experiment a bit more with it: different flavors of protein powder, different nut butters, the addition of various spices and extracts…oh, the possibilities! 🙂
Thanks for letting me know that you made them, Michelle! I’m glad you liked ’em 😀
Ummmmmmmmmmmmmm….yes please. This looks amazing!
Thanks for linking up to #RECIPEFRIDAY! 🙂
NO BAKING ALLOWED in my house because – I WILL EAT IT ALL! I don’t know what a portion is! LOL!!!!!! —
I think I’m going to have to make these 🙂
Umm, it’s a proven fact that crumbs, bits, and uneven pieces totally don’t count…those little nibble never even existed as far as I’m concerned! Also, I think this is absolute fate since I JUST bought some crisp rice cereal yesterday, I’m pretty sure I have EXACTLY 1/2 cup of quick oats in my pantry, and I need to use up some peanut butter that’s not quite my favorite…SCORE!!! I love you and I WILL be making these! 😀
Looks great! Thanks for the recipe.