20 Healthy Protein Bars You Can Easily Make at Home

Written by Michael Matthews

Strawberry Limeade Protein Bars

If granola bars and fudgy protein bars aren’t your thing, all hope isn’t lost. Make these awesome dessert-style protein bars instead.

Similar to a creamy lemon square, they’re made with fresh limes and topped with strawberries. You could also sub in lemon juice if you’d rather have a strawberry lemonade snack.

And these sugar-free protein bars use xylitol, so not only are you avoiding added sugar, but there’s less than 100 calories per bar.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Protein Balls

It’s probably best not to eat a slice of cheesecake every day, no matter how healthy the ingredients are. But you can indulge in just a bite with these pumpkin protein balls.

They’re a delicious way to use up extra pumpkin puree, or if you have a banana that’s turning brown, you could mash that up as a replacement. These no-bake protein bites can also be made into any size whether you want bigger or smaller servings to fit your meal plan.

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Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars

If you love peanut butter cups, you’ll love the flavor fused with all the benefits of a protein bar.

Keep in mind that when it comes to chocolate, the darker it is, the more healthful it is. Research shows that dark chocolate can improve blood flow, lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol profile, and lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

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Low-Carb Chocolate Protein Bars

To make these low-carb protein bars, you’ll need two kinds of protein powder. The whey helps to thicken up the filling. Then, pea protein keeps the texture smooth while contributing iron.

And both types of protein provide a good amount of leucine – that’s the essential amino acid that promotes muscle protein synthesis, or in other words, supports your muscle growth.

These can be made with any kind of nuts like cashews, pistachios, or peanuts. Or if you’d rather make a nut-free protein bar, opt for either tahini or sunflower seed butter, and adjust the amount of yogurt as needed to create a soft texture.

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High-Protein Chewy Granola Bars

Rather than relying on packaged granola bars, which sometimes have only one measly gram of protein, make your own at home.

These are made with nutrition in mind, using oats, peanut butter, and two scoops of whey protein powder. And you can tweak the macros even more to your liking with mix-ins like almonds, seeds, and dried fruit like cranberries or shredded coconut.

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Fudgy Brownie Chocolate Protein Bars

Chocoholics take note: This is one dessert you can have every day with no guilt.

The brownie base is made with black beans instead of flour, and they’re sweetened with a mix of stevia and honey. To seal the deal, these also have chocolate chips for a little melt-in-your-mouth chocolatey flavor.

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No-Bake Berry Coconut Almond Protein Bars

Homemade protein bars topped with toasted coconut? Yes, please.

They’re also bursting with flavor from other good-for-you ingredients like almond butter, blueberries, and cranberries. Use honey to get even more out of these bars.

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Homemade Dark Chocolate Coconut Protein Bars

If your favorite candy bar is Mounds, stop everything you’re doing and make these for dessert.

Much like some protein bars, they’re glorified candy, but still a step above the stuff at the convenience store. They have the same luscious coconut filling and hard dark chocolate shell, except you’ll also get 6 grams of protein per serving.

Just keep in mind you’re still only supposed to eat one…

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Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Protein Bars

Instead of making a bowl of cookie dough just so that you can eat half of it and bake the rest for dessert, your time will be better spent making these protein bars. And the result will satisfy the same craving.

There’s no raw egg or dairy so you don’t have to worry about food safety or storage and it’s really as easy as mixing, forming, and waiting an hour for them to chill in the fridge.

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Homemade Strawberry Protein Bars

Although this bar tastes like a chocolate-covered strawberry it’s packed with nearly 10 grams of protein. And at only 150 calories each, you can eat two to replace a small meal.

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Homemade Trail Mix Granola Protein Bars

These no-bake bars have a soft, chewy texture thanks to dates, but they’re also loaded with rolled oats, nuts, and dried fruit. Plus, you can easily swap out the type of nut butter and berries to suit any taste.

They look like cookies but don’t have to go in the oven. And they’re great for breakfast, as a hiking snack, or to chow down post-workout.

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Homemade Nutella Fudge Protein Bar

Whether you make your own version of hazelnut chocolate sauce or go with classic Nutella, these vegan protein bars will satisfy your cravings for the addictive dessert.

They take little more than Nutella and chocolate protein powder to make. The hardest part is waiting for them to firm up in the fridge overnight.

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Carrot Cake Oatmeal Protein Cookies

When you don’t need to eat a whole protein bar, which can have the macros of a small meal, snack on a protein cookie instead. This basic oatmeal raisin cookie recipe has been upgraded to taste like carrot cake.

But the flavor isn’t the only improvement. Even with icing, these low-fat, high-protein snacks have just 100 calories each with 7 grams of protein – that’s over three times the protein of a packaged oatmeal cookie.

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Homemade Cookies & Cream Protein Bars

There are a bunch of ways that you can use cookies and cream flavored whey protein powder. Stir it into plain Greek yogurt for a quick parfait, bake it into muffins, or make an unbeatable protein milkshake.

Or, as in this recipe, stir together a quick batter to make oatmeal protein bars. They taste like a cookie, especially if you choose to top them with shredded coconut, yet they offer balanced nutrition that you can enjoy for breakfast.

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Single-Serve Chocolate Protein Bar

Ran out of protein bars? You don’t need to run to the store and spend a few bucks, or worry about making an entire batch at home.

This low-calorie chocolate snack doesn’t even have to be baked. Mix together whey protein, cocoa powder, coconut butter, and coconut oil. A little bit of boiling water helps to bring everything together, and stevia sweetens it without sugar.

Instead of going in the oven, this single-serving protein bar firms up in the fridge for a few minutes before it’s ready to nom.

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Orange & Goji Whey Protein Bars

Tired of packaged bars, even in fun flavors like chocolate pretzel and white chocolate raspberry? When you need something new in your meal plan – unlike anything available in stores – make these orange and goji berry protein bars.

This is the recipe to go for if you love cream-filled truffles and chocolate-dipped fruit. It’s a homemade candy bar loaded with protein that delivers big on taste, including coconut, almonds, and chili powder.

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No-Bake Whey Protein Bars

These easy protein bars only require four ingredients, yet taste awesome thanks to peanut butter and coconut cream.

In addition to that, you just need to mix in a bunch of uncooked oatmeal and a heap of protein powder. Press into a pan, let them chill for a couple hours, and cut into bars. These can be kept in the fridge for up to a week, and you’ll have a quick breakfast protein bar or a filling snack.

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Vegan Chickpea Peanut Bars (No Powder)

These raisin-studded treats look like blondies, but they’re actually no-bake vegan protein bars. A can of chickpeas is used to replace the flour as a base, and dates make a delicious all-natural sweetener.

Aside from that, it only takes a handful of ingredients to make them taste amazing. Choose your favorite nuts, seeds, and dried fruit for the mix-ins. The bars will firm up nicely in the freezer, which is also where they can be stashed for later.

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Vanilla Hazelnut Protein Bars

Hazelnut is often paired with chocolate, as in Nutella spread. When you want to enjoy it with lighter flavor, try it with vanilla.

These whey protein bars require only five ingredients, and since the whole batch isn’t split into very many servings, each one contains over a scoop of whey protein powder. For such a simple protein bar recipe, these have impressive macros at over 30 grams of protein with under 200 calories.

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Maple-Bacon Protein Bars

Craving pancakes and waffles, but following a low-carb meal plan? This protein bar – no flour or oats required. Yet there’s still plenty to love about this breakfast bar with maple extract and bacon.

That’s practically all that’s in the recipe, aside from whey protein powder. The final ingredient is IMO syrup, a high-fiber alternative to added sugar that has fewer calories and lends a soft texture to protein bars.

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