Yesterday.was.nuts. Almonds… not peanuts 😉
I know I said I was looking forward to getting back into a normal routine after the holidays, but yesterday was not normal — either that or I lost some of my work-related fitness after taking a few weeks off for Christmas vacation. Should have been doing [number] crunches or something. Dang. But I digress.
I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve posted a recipe here on Spoons, and that’s probably because… well… it has been [what feels like] forever. The last one was the holiday cookie energy bites that I posted waaaaaay before Christmas, so I’m well overdue for another — especially since my goal this year is to share more recipes. So… here’s one for granola bars! (how’s that for an intro? 😉 )
And because that picture makes them look kind of puny and insignificant, here are some better ones…
Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about… It almost looks like those one of those fancy glamour shots they take of McDonalds’ Big Macs… Except that when you make these, they actually come out looking like they do in the picture, and not like that sorry excuse for meat, lettuce, and bread that they throw at you and try to pass off as a burger. But I digress.
I’m picky when it comes to my granola bars, and it pains me to say that none of the pre-packaged ones have been able to live up to my standards. Okay, that’s not even close to being true. The reality of the matter is that it pains me to say that I have no idea whether or not the pre-packaged bars would live up to my standards because I can’t eat 99.99% of them — let’s just say that “may contain traces of peanuts” is definitely up there on my list of phrases I hate to hear the most. But, again, I digress. The point is… what? (brain fart). AH! The point is, if I want a bar, I have to make a bar; and when I make a bar, it has to be juuuuuuuuust right.
This means: soft, chewy, dense, chocolatey, nutritious, and filling. In other words, these:
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Soft and Chewy Protein Granola Bars
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 12 bars 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups (160 g) quick oats
- 1/2 cup (40 g) vanilla protein powder
- 2 Tbsp (14 g) ground flax
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (64 g) almond butter (or any nut butter)
- 1/4 cup (80 g) honey, or brown rice syrup if vegan
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (60 g) mini chocolate chips (dairy-free if vegan)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and prepare an 8×8 (20x20cm) baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, protein powder, flax, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine almond butter, honey, almond milk, and vanilla. Mix until fully combined. Pour wet mix into dry mix and stir until fully incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour into prepared baking pan. Using a spatula or your hands, spread the mixture evenly in the pan, pressing down firmly.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until edges begin to turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 20 minutes before cutting into bars.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
Click here for nutrition facts.
Bars are one of my favourite snacks because of how portable and filling they are. I’m sure there are a lot of great storebought bars out there, but for those of us who have allergies, or who are looking to save some money, homemade bars are the way to go — not only are they a breeze to whip up, but you can customize them to your heart’s content… Not feeling chocolate? Toss in some raisins, dates, or dried cranberries instead. Need a little extra oompf? Add some nuts, seeds, or coconut shreds. The possibilities are endless, and the results are delicious.
Enjoy your Tuesday, friends! And don’t forget to start Thinking Out Loud 😀
Yum! These granola bars look awesome! I’m not a fan of protein powders, though — what would you recommend as a substitute? Thanks!!
You could probably just sub it with an equal amount of flour, or oat flour if you wanted to keep them gluten-free. You may have to add a few extra tablespoons of milk if the mix feels too dry.
I feel so bad about your pesky allergies because I know you would LOVE a lot of the bars on grocery store shelves. You would REALLY love the cookie dough Quest Bars even if they have a lot of weird ingredients, they are pretty dang good! And I definitely think all fast food restaurants should be in court for false advertising! There is never something which looks as good as it does in an ad/commercial. Total letdown!
Even though I eat Paleo, I have to admit, you still got my attention with these… & my mouth watering for one of these granola bars. Yum. 😉
Sending warm thoughts your way (I know it’s gotta be freezing there – it sure is here!)
I admire how you can whip up these recipes. :o)
What brand of protein powder did you use? I always used to buy Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard whey protein, but I have recently gone gluten free and their products are not guaranteed GF
I use Proteins+ from Genuine Health http://www.genuinehealth.com/store/proteins#.UsxecqUzDwI Their whey is guaranteed GF.
Oh these sound good! I hope today is a little easier with getting back into the swing of things. I know the first few days after a vacation are hard, i usually miss my mid day nap! Stay warm!
WHAAAAAAAAAAAT. These are basically vegan if I use my Vega protein instead of whey. Happy dance. Making them. I just need to go buy a bag of (vegan) chocolate chips!
I have actually never tried to make my own protein bars, but I probably should. Love the simple ingredient list on these and pinned to my “recipes I will actually try to make”. Can you sub chia seeds for the flax or no? Thanks for sharing!
I’ve never tried it, but I would assume that you probably could. I really only threw them in there as a last-minute idea for some added nutrition.
These sound amazing! All my favorite ingredients. I’ve never thought of baking them since I always go for the no-bake method…but now I’m intrigued. Thanks for sharing!
Wow these look perfect! Like so perfect you would swear you just unwrapped them from one of those big shot granola bar makers and took pictures of them. Delish!
I’ve actually been looking for some decent bar recipes to pack for lunches and such. Thanks for sharing and I hope you get your work fitness on. HA.
I really love the taste of (most) boughten protein bars, but don’t love the price! but since i love to bake and eat natural ingredients, well, lets just say i already printed this recipe out!
Yes!!! That is what kept going through my mind as I read this recipe. I have absolutely every ingredient to make these EXCEPT the almond butter. And that, my friend, is because almond butter costs about $15 a jar where I live, and I have a hard time believing that any nut is worth that. HOWEVER, I actually might invest in some to make these. And maybe I’ll actually like it!
Gah! $15 a jar is criminal. But you can always try making your own almond butter, OR just use PB instead…
Oh my goodness! Pure awesomeness here my lady!! I love yummy breakfast recipes ! Delish and nutritious!<3
I had the same ‘wait..i have to work 5 whole days this week’?! Thought too. 🙂 These look lovely!
Love these! Do you know why I love these? Because they include ingredients that I actually have around the house. I’ve never made my own granola bars for the fact that many contain 25 strange ingredients that I wouldn’t be able to find in the grocery story. But these….these look perfecto! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Yum! I love making my own bars over buying them for 5x the price. I saw these on Instagram yesterday and was so excited for you to post this!
Drooling over these, Amanda! You always have the best recipes for on-the-go snacks (omg those other protein bars you posted) and I love the shorter ingredient list! I’m pretty sure I have most of the thing I need to make them, so hopefully these will be in the tum soon ;).
Beautiful pictures! Your photography looks fantastic!
TWINS! 2 Protein Bar recipes on one day and both are from US!
I love you. And them.
These look amazing love! I’m trying to get better about making granola and protein bars at home rather than buying them – it seems like one of the easiest ways to save a bit of money. As for favourite add ins? Chocolate, of course 😉
I was about to say I can’t make these since I don’t have protein powder in the house but I think someone gave me a sample packet. If I do in fact have some, I am making these. I try not to buy packaged granola bars and have made some myself but haven’t in a while. I do need packaged stuff on occasion for my son to grab as a snack in between activities. I try to give him fresher things but packaged things happened for two reasons – for one, he thinks I am weird when I get all ” fresh” on him and two, I don’t want the other kids to think we are totally weird. lol.
Hey now… I was the weird one in school, and I think I turned out alright 😛
I think that if you wrap a wax paper wrap inside another wrapper and tape it shut no one will notice that it is not a store bought one but you and maybe him but who cares? You need to take care of your family that is why we make our own.
These look so much like Chewy brand granola bars!! Amazing. You’re a bar genius.
Another spoons recipe!!! I definitely need to make these since I’m not on a strict apartment hunt budget and can’t spend all my money on granola bars…I’m out of my gingerbread bars too so these will be the perfect replacement.
Keep the recipes coming!
For me it will be dangerous to prepare these bars… We will be honest, I never will be able to stop on one 😉
It seems like my Monday wasn’t the only one that felt completey off. The first full week of work after the holidays and I’m already longing for the weekend on a Tuesday?! That’s not right.
At the risk of loosing my blogger credibilty I’ll have to admit I’m not a fan of bars. Can we still be friends? I’m convinced part of it is to blame on my dad always packing a certain kind of granola bar for any kind of bike tour, hike or whichever other family activity when I was younger. More often then not in a flavour I did not like. Later on, when I got interested in healthy living, I studied the ingredient label of one of those bars and did not (!)like what I saw. Hard to believe what companies put in there – and how many ingredients at that! Far from what your bars look like. Oats, honey, almond butter – that’s the kind of ingredient list I like. You may or may not get me into the bar business ;). And if we’re talking -chocolate- bars, however, I’m all in anyways.
Wellll, I guess we can still be friends 😛 But these taste like a bar of baked oatmeal if that’s any motivation to make em 😀
These look so good! I’ve always been too lazy to make my own bars, but I’m really starting to think I should!
These look absolutely fantastic! Perfect snack for at work and better than regular ol’ granola bars!
And up they go on my list of things to make when I am going back home in May and have an oven again. I have the feeling I am going to live of a lot of baked goods this summer 😉 But yeah, definitely a great recipe, lady. I love making my own granola bars. Good thing that some of them are no-bake so I can even get them done in my tiny French kitchenette.
Ok sometime this week, I’m going to make these bars. You always post these creations that look amazing, and I can’t not make them anymore. Plus, we’re always looking for good snacks, but I refuse to pay for bars and whatnot these days because they’re expensive and not overly filling. Smack me if I don’t make these!
Gah! Can we just go with a gentle nudge instead? 😉
Well my goal this year is to make more snacks for the kids from scratch so our minds must have synced up with this one! This is perfect.
I’m super excited about this recipe! I always buy my granola bars, but I’ve really wanted to try making my own. They seem so easy to make and your recipe sounds like a perfect way to get started. Pinned and can’t wait to try them!
Well they look delish!! I have an old bottle (are they bottles?) of whey. I needed something to do with. I might give this a go!! Thanks!!
If a granola bar isn’t dense and chewy, then I won’t eat it. I really don’t like the ones that taste like air! These look perfect. I (obviously) didn’t know you had a peanut allergy, so no wonder you can’t eat most bars! I do like Luna bars, but homemade – always better. Pinning this one!
Your food photos are always so beautiful! They make everything look so appealing! These look awesome! I am curious…what plugin/service do you use for your writing up your recipes?
Thanks girl! I use Recipe Card — http://wordpress.org/plugins/recipe-card/
Oh these look so good, Amanda!! Almond butter + chocolate is one of my favorite combos! I can’t wait to give these a try! Thanks for sharing!!
I don’t recall ever making any snack/protein bar but I think I really should get on it. I love the TREK and NAKD bars my store carries but damn!… R15 – R20 a bar?! Can’t keep at it that’s for sure. Makes a sugary chocolate bar seem more appealing. Your recipe looks simple and delicious. Perfect for kitchen disaster-prone people like myself 😉
Yesterday was not too normal for me either – I took the day off work … hehehe.
These bars of yours look heavenly and I know what they must taste like, cos -minus the flax powder- those are the ingredients that make up my oatmeal bowls on some mornings (in different quantities of course). While I have never had a MacDonald’s big Mac and have no desire to – I would love some of these – seeing they make 10, I could have 5 and my daughter 5 – perfect portion sizes don’t ya think 😉
Confession: I’ve never had a Big Mac either, but I’ve had the pleasure of seeing friends order them. And after two days with these bars, I can say that 5 definitely sounds like an accurate portion size 😆
Great minds think alike….I have a granola bar recipe coming up too! They are one of my favorite snacks also and yours look way better than any prepackaged bars I’ve had.
Oh yay! So glad to see these are gluten-free because they looked too marvelous to pass up. I am a sucker for soft and chewy anyyyyything. These look scrumptious! 🙂
Who cares about diploma exams – I’m making these today! All of the homemade protein bar recipes I’ve seen use Rice Krispies or the like, and I just can’t make myself go out and buy a box of something that I will NEVER eat. They also usually have nuts, and since getting my wisdom teeth out I have to be nut-free until mid-February. So thanks for rescuing me! 🙂
Hey now… bars make for excellent study fuel, so you’re really only improving your chances of success by taking some time off to make these 😉 Good luck with the exams!
Do you happen to know the Protein, Calories etc. in each of these bars?
Sorry, Sharon, but I don’t calculate the nutritional value in my recipes — I just try to focus on using good ingredients 🙂
Hi Sharon head to http://www.myfitnesspal.com and type in these ingredients. The website will calculate the nutrition values.
Greetings Amanda !! Thank you for sharing your recipe ! The ingredients listed is exactly what I want to use, with the exception of chocolate chips, so I’ll sub using raisins.
Could you please tell what type of consistency is correct for the dough, after mixing everything together ? I am a novice baker, so I think this could be very helpful !! Thanks again !! Roberto
Amount Per Serving (calculated by Yummly.com)
Calories 440 Calories from Fat 150
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 17g 26%
Saturated Fat 3.5g 18%
Trans Fat
Cholesterol less than 5mg 1%
Sodium 150mg 6%
Potassium 510mg 15%
Total Carbohydrate 59g 20%
Dietary Fiber 9g 36%
Sugars 19g
Protein 19g
Vitamin A 8%
Vitamin C 8%
Calcium 15%
Iron 25%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Hi Mary, I’m not sure how you got those values, but that isn’t anywhere near what I came up with. For mine it was 150 calories, 20g carbs, 6g protein, 6g fat, and 9g sugar.