No Bake Maple Vanilla Protein Bars (Keto, Low Carb)
These keto no bake protein bars are packed full with protein and are low carb, egg free & gluten free!
Homemade Keto Protein Bars
One of the joys of being a food blogger and being able to do this for a living is the excitement of developing a new recipe, using an ingredient in a unique way that you hope no one else had already thought of. One of the rewards of being a sugar-free and gluten free food blogger is that often creating one of a kind recipes with little to no sugar is a constant, making the recipe stand alone against the crowd.
Yes you might have made protein bars using protein powder before. But often, even if the main ingredient has been used a dozen times in recipes, variety is the spice of life. A food blogger who truly values their own work, trusts their gut and expertise will work their tail off to put a new twist on a recipe you may not have thought of before. My twist? These taste like maple fudge!
Of course there are a million protein bar options you can purchase at any market today, but often they are full of sugar, and some have a whopping amount of calories.
My desire and what I thrive on when creating recipes has always been to make healthy recipes that don’t ever taste “healthy”. Basically tricking your taste buds to believe you’re being indulgent when it’s anything but.
These protein bars for example; your first bite will make you feel naughty with this creamy, silky fudge texture. If you didn’t read the ingredients before eating these and someone offered you a maple vanilla bar, you would have no clue you’re enjoying a low carb, protein filled healthy snack. AND you would ask for another!
The Best Protein Powder
If a protein powder has just a few ingredients and no added sugars I often look for that first, but also I want the following:
- It’s gluten free
- It’s lactose free
- It contains NO artificial colors, flavors or preservatives or Sweeteners
- my rule of thumb with any product I purchase has always been that any type of sugar needs to be listed 5th or higher
The brand I’ve been using in most recipes is the unflavored whey protein from Jay Rob brand as well as the vanilla whey protein.
I loved the chocolate flavor in my High Protein Chocolate smoothie.
Here are some other recipes you might like including vanilla protein powder for an added boost.
- Vanilla Egg Protein Custards
- Iced Coffee Protein Frappe
- No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Fudge, which is the recipe I adapted to make these bars.
Making your own protein bars at home is quick and easy as these have no baking required. They are much less expensive than purchasing bars at any health store and a whole lot better for you as well! I hope you enjoy my “Sinfully Delicious, Secretly Healthy” protein bars!
No Bake Keto Maple Vanilla Protein Bars
No Bake Maple Vanilla Fudge Protein Bars
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup coconut butter softened
- 1/2 cup coconut oil softened
- 1 teaspoon sugar free maple syrup I used Lakanto
- 1 teaspoon maple extract optional
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla liquid stevia or 1/3 cup of choice sweetener
- 4 scoops vanilla protein powder
- 2/3 cup ground flaxseeds
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk or water, coconut milk or heavy cream
- optional: 1/4 cup chopped walnuts NuNaturals Cocoa Syrup
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix together first 5 ingredients until combined. Taste and adjust sweetener as needed. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl whisk protein powder and flaxseeds, then stir in milk.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the protein powder mixture and stir until combined.
- Line an 8 by 8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Press batter onto parchment paper and level evenly as much as possible.
- If using walnuts press them into the top of the batter.
- Refrigerate 1 hour then holding the edges of the parchment paper, lift onto a cutting board.
- Slice into 12 bars and keep refrigerated.
Notes
- You could substitute the almond milk for any milk of choice.
- Nutritional information is without the optional chopped walnuts.
- PLEASE NOTE: If you have celiacs disease or severe gluten sensitivities, please remove the maple extract as it contains barely which is NOT gluten free.
Nutrition
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
why are these so high in fat? 63 grams per bar? is that correct? These look amazing, but the amount of fat kind of freaks me out! I am 4 months post op from having the bariatric sleeve. I have really upped my protein and watch my carbs and sugars so these look amazing along with everything else you post.
Thanks for pointing that out. I double checked and there was a big error so now it’s all updated and accurate, thanks!
Can I substitute the coconut butter with peanut butter?
That should work.
These are amazing! I used quinoa instead of amaranth. I did 3/4 cup sun butter and 1/4 cush cashew butter. They needed to spend a little more time in the freezer for me to be able to cut them. I love this recipe!
I made this recipe but with a few alterations, instead of maple syrup and extract I used a tsp of acacia honey and I melted sugar free dark chocolate (xylitol) as a topping with the walnuts. The bars are quite flaky still and prone to crumbling, is there something I’m doing wrong? How could I make the bars stronger? The flavour itself is delicious
I hate it when I pick up a protein bar and it’s got like, 800 grams of sugar. I dunno, totally defeats the purpose, no? I love how your bars are 1.7 grams of sugar, are maple flavored, and look amazing!
Mmm the bars look yummy & the protein powder would do me well
I add protein powder to my smoothies, and I also add to Greek yogurt along with unsalted nuts for a quick to go breakfast.
I have only used protein powder in recipes, but am inspired by some of these recipes!
protein powder, frozen bananas, cocoa powder in blendtec = “ice cream”
My favorite way to use protein powder is in pancakes. Super yummy!
I like to use the protein powders in my smoothies.
I love making my own protein bars! They are so much healthier than a lot of the pre-made ones. Therefore I think its great when you post these types of recipes! I also love the low carb low sugar and protein powder recipes!
Absolutely love this recipe, healthy and delicious. It’s the perfect combination
I would love to try this protein powder. These bars sound yummy!
My husband is always picking up protein bars at the store but I would much rather him eat these! Thank you!
YUM! These bars look fab! Would you believe I’ve never tried protein powder?
I keep it pretty simple with protein powder. I usually mix it with a little bit of almond milk and powdered peanut butter to make a high protein dip for apples or to spread on rice cakes. I also love pumpkin pie protein shakes and gingerbread protein bars in the fall… For the protein bars, all you need is oats ground into a flour, vanilla protein powder, molasses, gingerbread spices, and applesauce. They’re super yummy. Thanks for the giveaway!
I love that you have the nutritional value on your recipe! These look delicious!
What a great way to think you’re indulging while getting a dose of protein.
I love no bake protein bars made with just whey, oats, pb, and water! Simple and delicious.
I love baking with protein powder! These look so delicious I can’t wait to make them!
Banana protein pancakes
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/229331805997075945/
I haven’t tried baking with protein powder yet!
I make protein smoothies all the time. This recipe sounds great. But since I have a different type of protein powder on hand, I’m wondering it the scoop sizes of the two brands (yours & mine) are the same. How many ounces are in 1 scoop of yours. I don’t want to mess the recipe up by using the wrong amount.