No-Bake Protein Bars {kid-friendly}

No-Bake Protein Bars {kid-friendly}

These No-Bake Protein Bars are easy to make at home, super tasty, and much more affordable than store-bought. A quick little "merienda" or snack, neatly wrapped and ready to go.

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Chilling Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings bars

Calories 315kcal

Author Oriana Romero

Equipment

Square Baking Pan

Ingredients

1 cup old fashioned whole rolled oats
1 cup rice puff cereal or quinoa puff
1/4 cup protein powder (plain, unflavored recommended)
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped (see notes)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup M&M's chocolate candies of your preference (see notes)
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Line an 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
Add rolled oats, puffed rice, protein powder, pistachios, cranberries, hemp seeds, coconut flakes, and M&M's in a large mixing bowl. Toss to combine. Set aside.
Stir brown rice syrup, honey, salt, and vanilla together in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat until boiling, stirring occasionally. Let the syrup boil until it reaches about 260º F, occasionally stirring for about 4-5 minutes.
Pour syrup evenly over the oat mixture and quickly stir it until it is evenly coated with the syrup.
Quickly transfer the mixture to the lined baking dish. Then, tap and compact the mixture into the pan in an even layer using the bottom of greased/sprayed drinking glass or a measuring cup. Place the pan in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour.
When firm, carefully lift the parchment paper from the baking dish and transfer it to a cutting board. Cut the bars into your desired sizes.
To store transfer bars to an airtight storage container with parchment paper between layers. For on-the-go convenience, use parchment paper pieces to wrap individual bars.

Notes

PROTEIN POWDER: You can use vanilla or chocolate protein powder, but we recommend using unflavored, pure 100% whey protein powder, made without fake/artificial sugars and with no funny aftertaste.

NUTS: I added pistachios because they're safe for my daughter, but if you cannot eat nuts, just omit them or replace them with roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or sunflower seeds.

M&M: You can substitute for regular chocolate chips.

STORAGE: I recommend that you keep them in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. To store, transfer bars to an airtight storage container with parchment paper between them. For on-the-go convenience, use parchment paper pieces to wrap individual bars.

FREEZER: Place bars in an airtight freezer-safe storage container and freeze them for up to 3 months. Wrap them individually or place parchment between each piece so you can pull them out as needed.

QUICK TIPS:

Feel free to change things around. Try using dried mangoes, apricot, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and more! This way, your kids won't get bored!
Want to make this extra decadent? Drizzle some melted chocolate overtop before chilling the no-bake bars.
Brown rice syrup is a sweetener derived from brown rice that is gluten-free and vegan. If you cannot find it at your local stores, I have linked it to my recipe card to buy online!
Don't let the mixture sit too long after stirring together, or it might start setting, making it hard to press into the pan.

ADAPT THESE SNACK BARS TO OTHER ALLERGIES

DAIRY-FREE: Substitute chocolate candies/chips for a dairy-free alternative. My fave are these.
NUT-FREE: Substitute nuts for roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or sunflower seeds.
GLUTEN-FREE: Use gluten-free rolled oats.

★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!

Please note that nutritional information is a rough estimate, and it can vary depending on the products used.

Nutrition