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Home » Recipes » Adventure Friendly Snacks

Incredible Almond Butter Protein Bars

Updated: Mar 22, 2025 · Published: Mar 23, 2023 by Danika Vanderpyl · This post may contain affiliate links · 14 Comments

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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.

Almond butter protein bars with chocolate on top and sprinkled with maldon sea salt and rose petals on platter.
Jump to:
  • Ingredients, nutrition insight, and optional swaps
  • Step-by-step photos from my kitchen for protein bars
  • Watch how I make almond butter protein bars
  • Recipes you may like
  • Almond Butter Protein Bars
  • Danika Vanderpyl, C.H.N

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 butter, hemp hearts, almond flour, maple syrup, coconut oil, chocolate chips all measured out for protein bars.
  • 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

Almond flour, ground hemp hearts, maple syrup, and almond butter, in a bowl.

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.

Protein bars dough in a ball.

Step 2: Mix everything until well combined - it will form a dough-like substance. 

Protein bars pressed into a 8x8 pan.

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.

Chocolate being spread on protein bars.

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. 

Pan of almond butter protein bars cut and stacked.

Watch how I make almond butter protein bars

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A post shared by danika vanderpyl // healthy snack recipes (@besidethemountain)

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.

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🌞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.

No bake almond butter protein bars with chocolate on top on platter.

Almond Butter Protein Bars

Danika Vanderpyl
Six whole-food ingredients make these high-protein bars! The base of these bars is made from almond flour, almond butter, and hemp hearts - each bar contains 12 grams of protein.
5 from 6 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Fridge Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 45 minutes mins
Course Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 16 Bars
Calories 334 kcal

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

For step by step photos or more notes on ingredient swaps, scroll up to the blog post. 
Almond flour: If you don’t have almond flour you can make your own almond meal and use that. All you need to do is blend about 1 cup of raw 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.
Almond Butter: To make your own almond butter with just almonds, use my recipe. You can replace almond butter with peanut butter, sun (sunflower seed) butter, or tahini (ground-up sesame seeds). These nut butters can be runnier than almond butter so you may need to add more almond flour until you get a dough-like consistency.
Nut free: Replace 1 cup almond flour with 1 cup buckwheat flour (to make your own buckwheat flour, ground buckwheat groats in a high-power blender). Then use 1 cup of tahini or pumpkin seed butter instead of 1 cup of almond butter. 
For other almond flour bars, try these cookie dough bars.

Nutrition

Calories: 334kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 12gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0.1mgSodium: 14mgPotassium: 199mgFiber: 4gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 66IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 142mgIron: 3mg
Keyword Chocolate, Energy, Gluten Free, Grain Free, High Protein, No Bake
Did you love this recipe?Make sure to leave a comment below!
danika sitting in a chair

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.

Learn more about me →

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Comments

    5 from 6 votes

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Jesse says

    September 25, 2024 at 11:32 am

    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

    Reply
    • Danika Vanderpyl says

      September 27, 2024 at 5:18 am

      Thanks for sharing Jesse, so good to hear. Making them in a double batch is brillant.

      Reply
  2. Aaliyah says

    August 19, 2024 at 1:46 pm

    5 stars
    Super yummy and might become addictive…

    Reply
    • Danika Vanderpyl says

      August 20, 2024 at 10:20 am

      I feel the same way! I find they only last if I keep them in the freezer.

      Reply
  3. Meagan says

    January 27, 2024 at 10:09 am

    5 stars
    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 🙂

    Reply
    • Danika Vanderpyl says

      January 27, 2024 at 10:34 pm

      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?

      Reply
  4. Becky says

    January 08, 2024 at 4:50 pm

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
    • Danika Vanderpyl says

      January 08, 2024 at 8:22 pm

      Awe yay! These are perfect for a postpartum snack!

      Reply
  5. Larissa Layton says

    August 14, 2023 at 10:46 am

    5 stars
    I switched out the almond butter for natural peanut butter. So yummy!! They definitely satisfied my sweet tooth and the kids loved them too!

    Reply
    • danikavanderpyl says

      August 15, 2023 at 6:38 am

      Awesome to hear you enjoyed these bars!!

      Reply
  6. Holly says

    May 15, 2023 at 9:31 am

    5 stars
    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.

    Reply
    • danikavanderpyl says

      May 17, 2023 at 6:24 am

      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!

      Reply
  7. Amanda says

    April 18, 2023 at 12:00 pm

    5 stars
    So delicious, while family loved them

    Reply
    • danikavanderpyl says

      April 21, 2023 at 7:42 am

      Yay! Awesome to hear thanks for sharing!

      Reply
Danika-vanderpyl-hiking-with-mountains

Hey hey! I'm Danika.

I'm certified in holistic nutrition and I create snack recipes! Because unprocessed, wholesome, nutrient-dense snacks are hard to find but I want everyone to know they are easy to make!

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