These gluten & dairy-free peanut butter protein bars are packed with protein and are incredibly creamy and have a nice crunch to them. It contains three layers that consist of a shortbread, peanut butter, and chocolate layer. They are easy to make and a great “healthier” choice for a dessert!
I am not going to lie.. I used to be scared of desserts when I was very lean. You would never see me eating any type of sweet. I considered dessert a bowl of berries at the time. This was back in late 2017 into early 2018 when I was extremely lean and my body fat percentage was about 6% lower than it is right now. We have to accept the fact that, yes, desserts in excess can cause weight gain and make it more difficult to lose weight. But, you can still eat desserts in moderation and meet your fitness/ health goals. I am fit and healthy and I enjoy a sweet a day and so can you!
Getting that out of the way, I have three tips to keep sweets from being high in calories, fat, carbs, and sugar in one serving.
tips to help keep your desserts “healthier”.
- Portions, portions, and portions. This is the key to keeping a serving lower in calories, fat, carbs, and sugar. If you want to enjoy a dessert on a regular basis you have to keep your portion sizes under control. Notice that this recipe calls for 18 bars. I cut my bars or anything (cookies, cake, ice cream, ect) into smaller servings. These bars are about 1-2 inches by 1-2 inches. That is how I am able to keep these bars relatively low in calories, fats, and sugars in a serving. I know this seems obvious…. but it is extremely important. If you were to keep these bars the size of a candy bar you would be at just about 1,000 calories in a serving… yikes! It is all about willpower my friends (something I am still working at every day).
- Let’s face it. There isn’t a lot of nutritional benefits from desserts (besides it’s good for the soul and can make us happier, which is important). One thing I like to do with my desserts is see if there is a way I can add protein. This may not matter to everyone, but as a person who eats majority plant-based I try to add protein to a lot of my snacks to make sure I am meeting my macros. Next time you are making one of your desserts see if there is a creative way to add protein powder to it!
- Lastly, this has to do with portions again. Another way to keep the calories, sugar, fats, and/or carbs to a minimum is to keep things “skinny”. What I mean by skinny is, I could have easily made these bars with a thick .5-1 inch layer of peanut butter. Would it taste better? Maybe. But, keeping the portions down on some of the ingredients is an easy way to keep the calories lower. In these bars, you still get the consistency, flavor, and texture of the peanut butter in just a less amount. It tastes just as delicious and it saves you a lot of calories.
I hope some of these tips help and you can take these suggestions to your kitchen so that you can be guilt-free and enjoy more desserts in your life!
peanut butter protein bars.
ingredients.
crust.
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup gluten free all purpose flour
- ½ cup vanilla protein powder
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ⅓ tsp salt
peanut butter layer.
- ⅓ cup coconut oil melted
- 1 cup peanut butter
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt
chocolate layer.
- ¾ cup coconut oil melted
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- pinch of salt
instructions.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 13×9 baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together all of the crust ingredients until well combined.
- Press into the bottom of the baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until the edges are golden. Let the crust cool at least 15 minutes.
- Add peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt to a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat for about 2-3 minutes or until melted together.
- Pour over cooled crust and place in freezer for 30 minutes.
- While in the freezer, make the chocolate layer by adding coconut oil, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt and heat between 2-3 minutes or until all melted together.
- Pour over top of the frozen middle layer. Set in the freezer for at least an hour before serving.
- Cut into bars and store in the freezer.
macronutrients.
Protein 6.5g
Net Carbs: 20g
Fats: 24g
*All nutritional information is an estimate*
other great snack recipes.
Rice Krispie No-Bake Granola Bars
shop what i used to make this recipe.
Protein Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ cup gluten free all purpose flour
- ½ cup vanilla protein powder
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ⅓ tsp salt
Peanut Butter Layer
- ⅓ cup coconut oil melted
- 1 cup peanut butter
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp salt
Chocolate Layer
- ¾ cup coconut oil melted
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a 13×9 baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together all of the crust ingredients until well combined.
- Press into the bottom of the baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until the edges are golden. Let the crust cool at least 15 minutes.
- Add peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt to a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat for about 2-3 minutes or until melted together.
- Pour over cooled crust and place in freezer for 30 minutes.
- While in freezer, make the chocolate layer by adding coconut oil, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt and heat between 2-3 minutes or until all melted together.
- Pour over top of frozen middle layer. Set in freezer for at least an hour before serving.
- Cut into bars and store in freezer.