No-bake protein bars with 12 grams of protein per bar, almond butter, almond flour, and hemp hearts. Soft and chewy, protein-dense, and topped with melted chocolate chips.
I created this recipe over 5 years ago. It may be my reader community's favorite recipe; it's still a recipe I make on repeat for my husband and me to devour. If you prefer energy balls, make these, and for another no-bake almond flour bar, try these chocolate chip cookie dough bars.
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Ingredients, nutrition insight, and optional swaps
In my recipe blog posts I like to add a little bit of my knowledge in nutrition as well as key tips for swapping ingredients if you run out of something! Here are the deets on these almond butter protein bars.
Note: These no-bake protein bars are gluten-free, dairy-free (if you use dairy-free chocolate chips), grain-free, and vegan. If you would like to make these bars nut-free, see the details below.
- Almond flour is the main ingredient for these bars (almond flour is blanched almonds which is then ground into flour). If you don’t have almond flour you can make your own almond meal to use. All you need to do is blend about 1 cup of unroasted almonds in a high-power blender or coffee grinder until it turns into a sand-like texture. Then use 1 cup of almond meal instead of 1 cup of almond flour for this recipe.
- Hemp hearts increase the protein in these bars as these seeds contain 9.47 grams of protein in 3 tablespoons! They are perhaps my favorite source of plant-based protein (I use them in many high-protein recipes) because they are so versatile and protein-dense.
- Almond butter holds the bars together (to make your own almond butter, use my 1 ingredient recipe). I have made these bars with crunchy almond butter and that works well too! You can replace almond butter with peanut butter, sun butter (made from sunflower seeds), or tahini (ground-up sesame seeds).
- Maple syrup sweetens these bars but honey can alternatively be used.
- I like to use dark chocolate chips in my recipes as they contain higher nutrient levels per calorie compared to milk or semi-sweet chocolate (those are higher in sugar), however, any chocolate chips will work for this recipe!
- A bit of coconut oil is mixed with the chocolate chips in this recipe to help the melting process and make the chocolate more runny for spreading over the top of the bars.
- Sea salt is optional for the top. I like to sprinkle maldon sea salt on top as the large crystals are pretty and tasty.
- Optional: Like you will see in the photos I used, rose petals sprinkled on top are pretty but they don’t change the taste and are optional. I bought my rose petals from Organic Matters.
How to make a nut-free version of these protein bars:
Replace 1 cup almond flour with 1 cup buckwheat flour (to make your own: ground buckwheat groats in a high-power blender until it becomes flour). Then replace the almond butter with 1 cup of tahini or sun butter.
Step-by-step photos from my kitchen for protein bars
Step 1: Ground the hemp hearts in the blender or food processor until they look similar to the texture and size of large sand. Mix the ground hemp hearts with the almond flour in a bowl. Next, add the almond butter and maple syrup.
*If you are in a pinch for time or don't have a food processor you can skip blending the hemp hearts.
Step 2: Mix everything until well combined - it will form a dough-like substance.
Step 3: Spread the dough evenly into a greased 8x8 square pan, and press it down with the back of a measuring cup.
* If you want thicker bars, use a smaller pan.
Step 4: In a pot, melt the chocolate and coconut oil over low to medium heat (or use a microwave), stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn. Using a spatula, cover the bars evenly with chocolate. Sprinkle on the sea salt and rose petals as desired.
Step 5: Let the bars sit in the fridge for 30 minutes and then warm a knife in hot water; dry it off and use the warm knife to cut them into 16 bars. Store the protein bars in the fridge or freezer until eating.
Watch how I make almond butter protein bars
Recipes you may like
If you like almond butter as much as I do, try these homemade fudgesicles with almond butter next! For another nut butter and hemp heart protein recipe, make this berry chocolate smoothie.
🌞Did you make these almond butter protein bars? Could you take 10 seconds to give a star rating and review just below the recipe? That means a lot to me and helps the growth of Beside the Mountain blog.
Almond Butter Protein Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour or almond meal
- 1 cup hemp hearts
- 1 cup almond butter crunchy almond butter works too
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips or baking chocolate
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Optional:
- chunky sea salt
- rose petals
Instructions
- Ground the hemp hearts in the blender or food processor until they look similar to the texture and size of large sand.
- Mix the ground hemp hearts with the almond flour in a bowl. Next, add the almond butter and maple syrup and mix until well combined. It will form a soft dough. Spread the dough into a greased 8x8 square pan. Set aside and prepare the chocolate.
- In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate chips with the coconut oil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly so it doesn’t burn. Using a spatula, cover the bars evenly with chocolate. Sprinkle on the sea salt and rose petals as desired.
- Let the bars sit in the fridge for 30 minutes and then use a hot knife to cut into 16 bars. Store these bars in the fridge or the freezer until eating (I like eating them frozen).
Notes
Nutrition
Danika Vanderpyl, C.H.N
I create snack recipes with healthy ingredients that are mostly already in your kitchen. I'm certified in Holistic Nutrition and I care about giving my kids real food. Let me share my nutrient-dense easy snacks with you.
Jesse says
These have been great! Really delicious, super easy to make.
I never thought about rose petals on food before and they just add that small touch that just makes it incredible.
I doubled the batch and put it in a 8x12 pan which worked great.
The first time I made them to thick and to much chocolate. Having the bottom layer only 1/2” thick with a thin layer of chocolate on top was a great ratio.
Wish I could add a picture of this beautiful recipe
Danika Vanderpyl says
Thanks for sharing Jesse, so good to hear. Making them in a double batch is brillant.
Aaliyah says
Super yummy and might become addictive…
Danika Vanderpyl says
I feel the same way! I find they only last if I keep them in the freezer.
Meagan says
Absolutely love this recipe! My kids ask for them all the time and they are so fast to whip up. I also constantly sneak them out of the freezer 🙂
Danika Vanderpyl says
Yay! Love hearing this, it's always so good to have a recipe you all love. Have you tried these almond butter protein bars with chocolate?
Becky says
Made these with peanut butter as a snack prep for a postpartum friend. So perfect to have on hand for healthy, tasty and easy snacking!
Danika Vanderpyl says
Awe yay! These are perfect for a postpartum snack!
Larissa Layton says
I switched out the almond butter for natural peanut butter. So yummy!! They definitely satisfied my sweet tooth and the kids loved them too!
danikavanderpyl says
Awesome to hear you enjoyed these bars!!
Holly says
I made these with natural peanut butter instead of almond butter. First of all- these are delicious and so SO easy to whip up. However, I didn't find that they hardened to a bar-like consistency with the peanut butter, even in the fridge, so I popped them in the freezer. The chocolate gets a little harder, but the bar consistency is PERFECT for popping in your mouth straight from the freezer. I also cut them into smaller bars so I could have a bite-sized snack.
danikavanderpyl says
Hi Holly, thanks so taking the time to share your feedback! Peanut butter is runnier - add more almond flour until you get a dough like consistency before placing it in the pan. I will share this in the recipe card too! Glad you enjoyed these!
Amanda says
So delicious, while family loved them
danikavanderpyl says
Yay! Awesome to hear thanks for sharing!