Easy 5-Ingredient Protein Bars (Peanut Butter Chocolate!)

I made these and they came out amazing! Huge hit my husband said they taste like recees cups! I added a little maple syrup to help get the consistency up, worked great! Keep in the freeze for sure!

These are delicious and so easy. I followed the recipe exactly (including a 6th date); love that they are not very sweet but customizable. Goodbye store-bought protein bars!!

I’ve made so many recipes from this site which have all been great but this one was a huge disappointment for me. I gave it a go for such a simple recipe with such a high rating. The bars were dry and tasteless, there was just no flavour there at all. I doubled the topping and it still wasn’t enough – everything just tasted bland with an unpleasant texture. Confused if all the other reviews made the same recipe as me.. or if people are just rating it without trying.

My son and I just made these tonight. I’m trying to choose more healthful snacks that provide nutrients and satiate me.
They are awesome. I used Almond butter 6.5 dates, hemp seed hearts, chia seeds, and 1/2 cup of vegan vanilla protein powder. Next will use 1/3 of cup of protein powder.
They taste like a desert, no after taste, not too dry, and they are filling.
They cut easily into bars and freeze well and are also visually pleasing.
So glad I found this recipe.

These bars are wonderful! I used an organic maple almond butter and vanilla protein powder by Vega protein (the one with the least ingredients.) Everything else I followed per the recipe except I did add a tiny bit more Almond butter to get the cookie dough consistency. I made these for my son as a way to get in some nutrients before work. I melted a mix of Lily’s dark chocolate chips and Lily’s chocolate salted caramel baking chips (not vegan)to layer on top. They set nicely after about 3 hours and storing them in the freezer. They are a great alternative to store bought, so glad I found this recipe💗

Thank you for the recipe. I used 10 pitted dates, PE Science cake pop protein powder and promix chocolate protein puffs which added extra crunch. I toasted them in my air fryer at 300 x 6 min each side, had a ard time not eating the whole batch.

Second time making these and they are brilliant. I used what I had – a toss between peanut, almond butter and tahini. I used 3 more medjool dates and a teaspoon of water, as my mixture was too thick to process. As I used plenty of hemp protein powder – it was too dry for the recipe. I shall use a different one next time. The chocolate drizzled over the top is a must for me – feels like a luxury treat full of a goodness.

Love this recipe! I Brazil we don’t have hemp seed, so I used sunflower seeds instead, and it did well, better than store-bought

I made these to replace the store bought protein bars. My two boys and my husband love them. The kids take them to school every day for their lunch! Great find. Thanks Minimalists Baker!

I made these for my husband and he loved them. Subbed unsweetened coconut flakes for the chia seeds and date molasses for the dates. Super easy recipe and a better option to packaged bars. Thanks for sharing this recipe! I foresee making these regularly.

Oh my GOODNESS, these are good! Where has this recipe been all my life?? Wow!!
I used 8 dates, whole flax instead of chia seeds (cheaper/what I had), and almond butter, with just a pinch of cardamom (can’t taste it in the finished product, helps with digestion).
I’m so glad I found this recipe!! It’s really hard to find granola bar type recipes that a) have things I can eat (yay food sensitivities!) and b) don’t call for exotic/expensive ingredients. Thank you!!! :D

I am in love with this recipe!

Simple ingredients and so easy to make! You also don’t have to use a food processor/blend — I simply cut my dates up super small and make sure to mix and mash them together well with the peanut butter. I’ve also tried subbing in flax seeds for the chia seeds and the bars are equally as delicious!

Thanks for the recipe :)

This is a great recipe!! I’m so impressed with how good these taste. I soaked the dates in warm water first to make them a bit easier to blend. I didn’t chop them up very well the first time and it definitely put my processor to the test. I add mini chocolate chips to the top and I just love it!!

Can’t remember if I left comment already. I make these every week or so. Perfect for healthy work from home break time: pop one out of refrigerator, make tea/coffee, enjoy, back to work.
Most of the time, I make as is, with 3:1 or 4:1 peanut butter to almond butter. And typically 1/3 c each hemp, chia, flax; blends very nicely. I usually go for the whole hemp seed and lightly grind them first. I leave it in freezer for at least a few hours. I came here today to scout the comments for variations to try from other MB fans.

BTW, after trying many protein powders for smoothies, I have been on a subscription to Love Complement for a while; known ingredients, no after taste, blends nicely. I wonder what others think?

I also usually add a TBL or 2 or cacao in the mix instead of chococate on top etc. Also, lately I have been at times adding either frozen or dried blueberries. (The food processor struggles with the dried ones, but then, it struggles with the dates as well. ) Despite these things, I still call this “as is,” and just the best.

Finally a recipe without oats! These are really good, much better than the Larabars I normally eat. I guess I should add more dry ingredients next time though because they get soft and mushy quite fast when I take them out of the freezer.

These were great! Used a combo of sunflower seed butter and peanut butter, Orgain vanilla protein powder, and added Lily’s chocolate chips. SO MUCH better and cheaper than the RX Bars I love at the store!

Excellent!!! Love having these available for whenever you need an extra boost or instead of a sweet. Subbed sesame seeds for chia seeds and it is sooo good!

These unfortunately came out soft and gooey for me, and the few that I ate didn’t taste great. Added more of the seeds and protein powder to try and firm it up but that didn’t help. One of the rare misses on here but just felt like I wasted a bunch of ingredients.

I made these with sun butter, and while the flavor is pretty good, it’s not ascetically pleasing. They also don’t firm up very well..had to keep them in the freezer until ready to eat.

LOVE LOVE LOVE

The BEST! Followed the recipe to a T, used my blender instead if a food processor, and they are amazing!

These are delicious and super simple to make!

Freezer time was more like 2 hours before then being placed into the fridge. Any shorter and they couldn’t be cut easily as it was too mushy.

Thank you :)

These are the best protein bars I’ve made – and I’ve been on a mission for years to find a good recipe.

Thank you for offering alternatives to the dates. I find dates cloying so prefer not to use them as a sweetener.

Really great and easy recipe for no bake protein bar. I tried switching the hemp seeds with flax seeds, and works fine as well. Crunchy and peanutbuttery.

These are delicious and very filling! Also, my toddler loved them. Nice to have a healthy snack on hand!

These are my new go to recipe. They are incredible! Healthy, dates as a sweetener, packed with protein and nutrients and they fulfil my desire for just a little something sweet.

Made these today. And they are delicious! Easy to do as well. Great recipe.

My kids loved these bars. Great texture and a nice change from homemade bars loaded with oats. Super filling too!

I love this recipe, about to make again. I eat a lot of perfect bars but get sick of them because they are just too much. These are so much better!

I made these bars and it was a disaster. After 15 minutes in the freezer they appeared too wet.
More protein powder was added indicated by the recipe, returned the pan to the freezer and it
still was not firm. Instead it tasted dry.

These turned out pretty good. :) I was too lazy to take out my food processor, so I just stirred all the ingredients together. And it worked fine. I hate cleaning the food processor. I also used naked pea protein powder, a half cup, then added a third cup more. And I used a quarter of a cup of honey….these are by far the best homemade protein bars I have tried; and the garbage has seen many lol. I definitely recommend trying this recipe. Thanks:)

Made it and love it! Outstanding simple recipe for better bars at a lower cost than store bought. Thanks!

These turned out great! Mine were a strange green due to the hemp seed protein powder I used but oh so yummy :) Sprinkled shredded coconut over the chocolate drizzle. Thank you!

This recipe was delicious! When my family made them, they hardly lasted a day (there i was, trying to save them for school lunches) I don’t think you could take only using 5 ingredients because the choc topping adds such a good touch.

I cut the recipe in half and made it without the chocolate to have as a snack or dessert during the week. They turned out amazing and will not last long in the freezer :)

My partner is obsessed with these bars – as soon as we finished the first batch he asked me to make another.

We like them straight out of the freezer.

I added a bit of flakey sea salt to the top while the chocolate was hardening.

Very yum and super easy.

These were so good! Topped with mini chocolate chips because I didn’t have cacao nibs on hand.

Just made these bars. Slightly modified- used almond butter, chocolate protein powder and no chocolate topping. Soooooo delicious! Made them strictly for after my workouts but they are calling my name from the freezer as we speak. Will definitely make again:)

This turned out so great for us! We only had one date so we also added a handful of raisins and about a tablespoon of honey to get the right consistency.

This was great. I was looking for an alternative to perfect bars since they can be kinda pricey and this is it. I did have to add maple syrup and coconut oil not for sweetness but because my peanut butter was not that oily, and it turned out great. Definitely making it a staple and hopefully don’t have to but anymore protein bars.

I was excited about this recipe but it just didn’t work for me. I swapped the peanut butter for almond butter and added more protein powder to make it a little drier. I kept everything else the same. I kept it in the freezer for a few hours, and when I cut into it, it was so moist it couldn’t be cut. It had the consistency of a thick nut butter. The flavor was good, but rather than bars, the only way we could eat it was to spoon some into little bowls. I used natural almond butter so perhaps it was too oily for this type of recipe. My advice I guess would be to go on the much drier side with the protein powder than the recipe calls for.

These are so delicious just made them today and followed the recipe exactly!

Super easy and delicious! I have young kiddos and they love to help make these bars… and eat then of course ?

I made these yesterday to have throughout the week – and these are SO good! And so incredibly eaaassssy. Just wow. I used Garden of Life Vanilla protein powder. I haven’t even drizzled chocolate or sprinkled cacao nibs over them yet, and they are already household approved. :o)

I actually popped these into mini muffin molds w/ parchment liners (because I was simultaneously making your vegan-GF banana bread in my bread pan!). I got 22, but it would have been an even 24 if I didn’t fill some of them up so high! haha Can’t wait to drizzle them over with dark chocolate – I’m thinking of these as a kind of take on protein-rich peanut butter cups.

Thanks, Dana!

I made these and subbed about 1/6 cup coconut flour in lieu of protein powder. I probably could have gotten away with even a bit less since it’s so absorbent! I ended up adding 2 extra dates for added sweetness and moisture. I haven’t added the chocolate (yet) but I do think I will prefer it as it seems currently very chia-forward, which is sort of strange for the small quantity it calls for. Next time I think we will try some toasted sesame seeds instead of chia. :)

I didn’t have enough vanilla protein powder so substituted with hemp protein powder plus tons of cinnamon for flavour. I also did it in my Vitamix and to my surprise it turned into a “cookie dough-like” texture easily. I think they still turned out great with the slight “PB-cinnamon flavour” in stead of “PB-vanilla”. It’s now in my freezer ready to be packed as my mid-day snack for the busy work week ahead!
Thanks for a continuous stream of easy and healthy recipes that inspires to action! :-)