5 Ingredient No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars
5 Ingredient No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars take less than 10 minutes to make and are gluten-free, oil-free, and refined sugar-free!
Hello hello! Did you guys have a good weekend?
The weather here was too beautiful to be inside so we actually went out and did stuff this weekend like normal people. We went to the garden store to buy herb boxes, fresh herbs and a few tomato plants, then we ventured to another store in Berkeley for a kombucha starter kit so that I can start brewing my own ‘buch!
I’m just waiting for a glass container that I ordered online to come in the mail and then IT IS ON.
Although, I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit worried that once I see “the mother” I’m gonna chicken out and not be able drink it. I just have to keep reminding myself that it’s good bacteria, right? Even if it looks like a big disgusting loogie.
Moving on to more attractive topics…let’s talk about protein bars!
This is officially my go-to recipe for making them at home. They are so ridiculously easy to make that now it just seems kind of silly to buy them from the store. Plus I love that you can customize them with your preferred protein source and whatever flavors or add-ins you like.
My personal favorite is hemp protein mixed with honey, chocolate and peanut butter. The flavors are so good together that I end up snacking on these bars all throughout the day! I’ll steal a little bite for breakfast, after lunch, and sometimes even after dinner. I might have to start limiting myself.
To make them, all you have to do is melt the honey (or brown rice syrup) in a saucepan with whatever nut butter you choose, add-in the rice cereal, protein powder and chopped nuts or seeds (if using) and stir together.
Then if you’re using chocolate, add that in last and be sure it’s frozen prior so that it resists melting when you stir it together. You can also use dried fruit instead if chocolate’s not your thing.
After it’s all combined, transfer the mixture to a lined baking dish and use your hands to firmly press it down until the surface is nice and smooth. Then refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
Once they’re set, remove them from the dish, cut them into 12 separate bars and that’s it! They’re good to go.
I hope you guys enjoy this one! If you make it, please let me know how it turned out in the comments or by sharing a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #makingthymeforhealth so I can find it. Your feedback is what keeps me going! :)
5 Ingredient No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars
Yield: 12 bars
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
- 3 cups brown rice cereal (or rolled oats)
- 1/2 cup honey (or brown rice syrup)
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter*
- 1/4 cup protein powder of choice (I used hemp protein)
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (chilled in freezer)**
- 1/2 cup chopped peanuts (optional)***
Directions:
Line an 8 x 8” square dish with parchment paper and set aside.
Next combine the honey and nut butter in a small saucepan over low heat and stir together. Cook for a few minutes until they are melted and thoroughly combined then remove from heat and set aside.
Add the brown rice cereal, chopped nuts, and protein powder to the saucepan and stir everything together until well-combined. Lastly, add the frozen chocolate chips (this helps keep them from completely melting) and stir a few times.
Transfer the mixture to the lined baking dish and then place another piece of parchment paper on top. Use your hands to smooth the mixture down into the dish, pressing firmly until the surface is as even as possible. Place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight. Alternatively, you can freeze them for 1-2 hours.
Once the mixture has set, use the parchment paper to lift it out and place on a surface for cutting. Use a large knife to cut it into 12 bars. Store in an airtight container on the counter or refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
**you can substitute almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter
***you can substitute dried fruit like cranberries or raisins
***you can substitute extra 1/2 cup rice cereal, oats, other chopped nuts, or seed of choice
Note: add a pinch of salt if using unsalted nut butter
Did you try this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out by leaving a comment below or sharing a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #makingthymeforhealth. I love hearing your feedback!
OH MY GAH, YOU’RE BREWING KOMBUCHA NOW, I’M SO EXCITED I CAN BARELY STAND IT! Agh, sorry, this is the best news I’ve heard on a Monday morning in a long, long ass time! And I’m jelly of your herb boxes…I’m thinking I need to pick some up lickety split to get my herb on for the summer season!
Deez bars. I needs ’em all. That photo with the peanut butter and honey seriously made my mouth drip. Real drips, yo! Cheers to the ‘buch and to fabulous no-bake pb treats!
Hi Sarah! Yummy! You know, I’ve never actually made my own protein bars, because I always have so many of the store-bought ones on hand, but I’d love to try this recipe. And as far as kombucha and that bacteria — eww — I don’t think I’m ready to keep that in my house hahah. Good luck though! And happy Monday! :)
I love that these are no-bake. I may need to whip some of these up as travel snacks this week.
I’ve never had kombucha before and I’m not ashamed to admit that it looks really scary to me. So scary that it’s likely I will never try it in my lifetime haha.
Wow, how awesome that you’re going to brew your own kombucha. I love the stuff, I should try brewing my own as well.
These bars are excatly what I need to have for snack at work during the week. They look fabulous.
Yum, these are totally up my alley! Love that they are no-bake too! Now that it’s getting warm, I don’t want to turn on the oven, so that’s perfect.
Ahhh haha, you’re so funny!! I was actually just talking about kombucha with one of my friends! Seriously, I can never ever drink it! Haha… I chicken out even when it’s already bottled! Some girl in my old dorm used to grow it… best of luck to you!! …btw these bars look AMAZING!! Healthy and delicious! Great recipe!
Oh these sound so good – and look even better – perfect for the changing seasons!
Pinning. These. Right. Now. Awesome recipe, Sarah!
LOVE! I’m crazy obsessed with the nut butter, honey, and grain combo, so these are definitely idea of perfection. #pinned!
And mad props for braving the kombucha brewing! It’s something that’s definitely on my foodie bucket list, but I keep chickening out!
Hello, snack perfection! The protein bars available over here are essentially all nasty and contain way too many weird ingredients and/or sugar. I’ve made some similar to yours before but they didn’t look as pretty and the idea of freezing the chocolate chips is genius!
Good luck with your kombucha! I’m probably one of the few bloggers who have yet to try even a sip.
I am going to try making my first batch of bucha too with a scoby from my friend — what type of flavor/tea are you doing first?
I couldn’t find a live SCOBY but I bet that will make it so much easier! The kit I got is Jasmine Green Tea. :)
Everyone is getting on the kombucha wagon and I feel left out! Keep us updated on your trials and your herb boxes too. This weekend I will be doing lots of gardening!
I love how customizeable these are!! I bet they would be crazy delicious with some almond butter :)
Ahhh my friend got the kombucha tea and sent me a picture! My reaction was WHAT. is that… it looked like a tongue. He explained all the benefits to me but I am still wary… Good luck to you haha!
Oh no…a tongue? She must have been feeding it some good stuff, lol!
haha one of my friends brews her own kombutcha and the “thing” (lol) does slightly gross me out every time I’m at her house! But she does say that you get used to looking at it after a bit! lol
These bars sound fantastic! Perfect to have on hand in the house. And now you have me thinking about herbs – I need to plant some this year … time to get on it!
Chocolate is TOTALLY my thing. Holy yum! The only thing I need is chocolate chips and then these treats are on!
I always think of you when I make something with chocolate + PB. ;)
So yummy! These are a lot like these chocolate chip peanut butter rice crispy treats I make with honey, brown rice cereal & chocolate chips – but I love the idea of throwing protein powder in the mix! Makes it more acceptable to eat them for breakfast or a snack, instead of just dessert ;-)
I need these in my life! I just spend so much money on a bunch of granola bars for snacks when I really should have just made my own! I love the chocolate in these too! haha, the Mother, yeah that might turn me off too!
Very cool about brewing your own Kombucha! Can’t wait to hear how it goes. Good luck with your garden, too! I just started mine last night. I ended up planting 19 plants! Wish me luck! I’m going to need it.
These look like they have awesome texture and holding power, even without brown rice syrup!
I love how loaded with good for you ingredients these are. I’m not familiar with hemp protein, but need to check it out!
Nutrition info? Sugar, fat, protein grams for a portion?
Hi Elaine! I don’t calculate nutrition stats because they will vary from person to person depending on the brand and type of ingredients you use. But you can easily find them out by going to My Fitness Pal and entering in the web address for the recipe. It will match up the ingredients and allow you to change them depending on what specific brand you use. Then it will calculate the nutrition stats for you. I hope that helps!
Oh hey I have that protein powder and I’ve been looking for things to make with it! I’m not a big fan of protein powder so I gave it to JZ to try in a smoothie – and he said it was disgusting haha. So I took another route and made it into protein bars this weekend which actually turned out pretty good. I’ll have to try these next!
Just made these – subbed in 1 cup of oats and used sunflower seeds and chocolate protein powder. They came together easy and are already quite firm :) Can’t wait to dig in tomorrow!
Yay! I love your substitutes- I’ll have to try them that way next! :)
Pingback: . link love 5/10 . - . running with spoons .
Pingback: 5 Ingredient No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars – Making Thyme for Health | Planet Karma Cafe
These look awesome! I have a full box of brown rice cereal sitting in the pantry just waiting to be made into these protein bars. I’m not keen on it as a cereal with milk so this recipes is the perfect use for it.
Sounds like these were meant to be! Thanks, Emma! :)
I’ve made them yesterday. They are delicious! Already ate two of those, but this time I don’t regret I had them! Even my boyfriend loves them, perfect snack after the gym. Thank you!!
Awesome! I’m so happy you both enjoyed them. :)
Pingback: 62 Superpowered Homemade Protein Bars | Miss Wish
Pingback: 12 No-Bake Vegan Protein Bars | The H2O Standard
Pingback: 5 Healthy & Delicious Homemade Breakfast Bars That Are Perfect For Girls On The Go | Stellar
Pingback: 4 Ways to Use Protein Powder | Vegetarian Guy
Pingback: 10 DIY Protein Bar Recipes With 5 Ingredients or Less
Pingback: 10 DIY Protein Bar Recipes with 5 Ingredients or Less
Pingback: 10 Tasty Homemade Protein Bar Recipes
Pingback: 25 Awesome Homemade Protein Bar Recipes - Fit Mitten Kitchen
I can’t wait to try these. Can you substitute the brown rice cereal for rolled oats?
I think that would work just fine! :)
Just made a batch of these and they are currently in the fridge setting. Being a man and impatient, I had a bit of a nightmare with these. Purely because I didn’t read it properly and forgot to put the PB and honey in a pan to heat up first ( had to scrape stuff out of the rice and try and rescue it ) I also got a really bad conversion page to change stuff from cups to grams and ended up using a whole jar of PB and a full jar of honey due to the amount of cereal rice I used, I’ve basically got twice as much as I should have. That said I’ve has a sneaky bit and I can honestly say these will not last long :-) they are delicious. All the problems mentioned where my own fault and your instructions are very clear ( I just didn’t read them properly ) Can’t wait to eat them so I can make some more, properly this time. Think I might try white chocolate chips and dried cranberries next. I like the idea of rolled oats as well. I may never eat proper food again :-)
Oh no! I’m sorry there was confusion. I really need to update my recipes with grams. It’s a daunting task that I have been putting off but it would help to prevent issues like this down the road. I am glad to hear they still tasted good though! :)
I think the chocolate chips and cranberries sound delicious together!
I’m so glad I found this recipe while on the hunt for some healthier snack options. I love how simple they are to make and how easy it is to tweak the base ingredients a little to get some great variety.
Aside from the amazing standard recipe you have here, one of my favourites included popped Amaranth and rolled oats in place of some of the rice cereal, maple syrup instead of honey and a mix of cranberries and goji berries instead of the choc chips.
I love the idea to use popped amaranth and goji berries! Sounds so good. :)
Hi Sarah, love your recipe!
I’m looking for ways to include hemp protein in my diet and your bars might just be a great way!
If I dont use brown rice cereal, do you think it can be completely replaced with instant oats?
Thanks in advance :)
Yes, oats should work the same! If the mixture seems to wet, just add a bit more oats until it holds together. :)
I love this recipe! I didn’t have enough honey or peanut butter so subbed with some natural maple syrup. Also used carob chips instead of choc chips! Currently setting in fridge-can’t wait to try. Thanks.
Pingback: 4 Protein Bar Recipes You Can Make for Less Than 65 Cents Per Bar | AffirmForSuccess
Pingback: 4 Protein Bar Recipes You Can Make for Less Than 65 Cents Per Bar | Business Guide Africa
Pingback: 4 Protein Bar Recipes You Can Make for Less Than 65 Cents Per Bar – Business Blog
Pingback: 8 Healthy On-the-Go Summer Snacks + MegaFood Gummy Vitamin Giveaway - Making Thyme for Health
Hi Sarah! I made these without honey because the sweetness of the chocolate chips is enough for me. I cut down the amount of oats to makeup for less wet ingredients but the mixture was still very dry. I added milk to bring it together but after many hours in the freezer they came out very crumbly. What do you recommend could help the mixture come together without the added sweetener? Thank you
Hey Emily! The liquid sweetener is a vital ingredient as it provides moisture and helps bind the bars. I can’t think of anything that you could use in place of it and still have it be a no-bake recipe. Sorry I can’t be of more help to you!
That makes sense. Thanks for your reply!
Do you know the calorie and nutritional info for the bars?
I’m sorry I don’t have that information at the moment but I am working on getting a new calculator installed this month. It should be available soon!
I made it tonight with nuts and craisins instead of chocolate, it is good! I am estimating at least 200 calories a piece. I didn’t wait for it to harden
SOOOO good!
I love these bars, they are addicting.
I make at least one batch a week for myself.
I don’t have access to protein powders. Can I leave it out or substitute w/something else? What could work? Thanks!
You could substitute ground flax seed! If you leave it out they might just be a little less firm but still delicious :)