Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (128 g) no-stir nut/seed butter**
- 1/2 cup (160 g) brown rice syrup, or honey if not vegan
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (80 g) oats, ground into a flour***
- 1/2 cup (40 g) quick oats
- 1/2 cup (40 g) vanilla protein powder****
- 1/2 cup (15 g) crispy rice cereal
- 1 – 2 Tbsp (15–30 ml) unsweetened almond milk, if needed
- Optional: 3 Tbsp (45 g) chocolate chips, for melting
Instructions
- Prepare an 8×8 (20cm x 20cm) baking pan by lining it with a sheet of aluminum foil or parchment paper, leaving a few inches of overhang on the sides to allow for easy removal. Set aside.
- Add almond butter and liquid sweetener to a microwave-safe bowl and nuke on high until the ingredients are fully melted and combined, about 1-2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the microwave, add vanilla extract, and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool and thicken.*****
- Combine the oat flour, quick oats, protein powder, and crispy rice cereal in a large mixing bowl, stirring until well combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. The mix might seem a little dry and tough to work with at first, but continue mixing until the ingredients start to incorporate, adding 1-2 Tbsp (15-30 ml) of almond milk to soften it up, if needed.
- Transfer the mixture to your prepared pan and use a spatula to distribute it evenly, making sure to press down firmly. Place the chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and nuke on high in 20 second intervals, mixing between each round. When the chocolate is fully melted, drizzle it over the top of the packed mix using a spoon.
- Cover the pan with a sheet of foil and place it into the fridge to set, at least 2 hours. When the bars have set, remove them from the pan using the foil overhang, and use a sharp knife to cut them into individual bars. Store them in the fridge or freezer for best results.
Notes
* Cook time refers to chill time. ** I like to use almond butter since it has a sweet and mild taste, but feel free to sub this out with any nut butter you like, or use a seed butter to make it nut-free. The only thing I suggest is to use a store-bought no-stir variety, since the oils in the natural butter could alter the texture of the bars. *** To make the oat flour yourself, simply run your oats through a coffee grinder or blender until they’re the consistency of a fine powder. Or you can use 3/4 cup (80 g) of pre-ground oat flour. **** I used a rice protein powder, but you can sub this out with whichever protein powder you have on hand. Since different protein powders absorb liquid differently, you might have to adjust how much almond milk you add. ***** Alternatively, you can melt the almond butter and honey on the stove in a small saucepan set over medium heat.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hours