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Learn how to make protein oatmeal bars with this simple healthy recipe. Pick and choose your favorite: peanut butter protein bars, brownie protein oat bars or Raffaello protein bars. Gluten-free, egg-free and vegan!
An average morning in my life looks like this. The alarm goes off at 05:30 am, I eat a quick pre-workout snack and head off to the gym. When I get back home from my workout, I am so ravenous that I could eat the whole kitchen. That’s why I like making breakfast the biggest meal of my day!
Sometimes I eat rice and salmon, sometimes I go for oats and sometimes I have both. Nevertheless, I normally don’t have a large meal until midday. But to keep my energy levels up while working, I snack a lot.
Tired of overpriced protein bars, I decided to make my own and came up with these high protein oatmeal bars. It was love at first bite. So I made them again. And again. And again. In 3 different ways!
3 ways to make protein oat bars
There is a bar for everyone because my protein oatmeal bar recipe comes in three different versions. Pick and choose your favorite:
- Peanut butter protein oatmeal bars
- Protein oatmeal brownie bars
- Raffaello protein oatmeal bars
The basic recipe remains the same, so that you can stock up on groceries. What changes are the extra ingredients. Peanut butter and chocolate for the first, cocoa powder and chocolate for the second, coconut and almond butter for the third!
The macros for each recipe will also change, so that the peanut butter protein oatmeal bars have the highest protein content.
Ingredients
You only need simple ingredients to make a batch of protein bars with oats. After baking, they stay fresh for up to 4 days, so that you’ll have protein snacks for the week.
Here are the three ingredients you need for the basic recipe:
- Bananas
- Rolled oats
- Protein powder
Whenever I make this recipe, I find that the bananas make my bars sweet enough. But if you have the sweet tooth, then you should add a couple tablespoons of maple syrup or honey. My recommendation is to taste the dough before baking: if it is too bland, go for the syrup!
Peanut butter protein bars
For the peanut butter bars, extra ingredients are:
- Peanut butter
- Chocolate chips
Protein oatmeal brownie bars
For the brownie oat bar recipe, extra ingredients are:
- Cocoa powder
- Chocolate chips
Raffaello protein bars
For the Raffaello protein bars, extra ingredients are:
- Almond butter
- Desiccated coconut
Which protein powder for protein oat bars?
This oatmeal protein bar recipe works well with vegan protein powder, casein or whey (I used vegan protein powder). However, different types of protein powder behave differently when baking, and you will need to adapt the recipe accordingly.
As a rule of thumb:
- Vegan protein powder and casein are more absorbent. Therefore your recipe may require 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk to get fixed.
- Whey protein powder mixes very well and dissolves easily. Therefore your oatmeal bar dough may require more oats to get fixed.
Best protein powder flavors
This protein oatmeal bar recipe works with both flavored and unflavored protein powder. And if you opt for the first option, here are my favorite flavors:
- Peanut butter protein oatmeal bars: peanut or vanilla flavor
- Protein oatmeal brownie bars: chocolate or vanilla flavor
- Raffaello protein oatmeal bars: vanilla (or coconut) flavor
I highly recommend that you use mild, simple protein powder flavors, such as vanilla. Intense flavors, instead, will spoil the taste of your oat bars.
How to store
After baking, let your oat bars cool and slice. When completely cooled, add your oatmeal protein bars to a food container and cover with a lid so that they won’t absorb humidity. At room temperature, they will last for up to 4 days.
You can serve cold or pop them in the oven for a couple of minutes for a warm snack. They are delicious for breakfast, as a snack or as a healthy dessert.
More protein recipes with oats
- Protein banana bread with oat flour
- Protein banana pancakes with oats
- Macro-friendly protein overnight oats
- Casein protein oatmeal
High Protein Oatmeal Bars (3 Ways!)
Ingredients
Base Recipe
- 2 large ripe bananas
- 100 grams (1 cup) rolled oats
- 50 grams (1/2 cup) protein powder, (see notes*)
- maple syrup or honey, (optional to taste, see notes*)
Peanut butter protein oatmeal bars
- 60 grams (1/4 cup) peanut butter
- 3 tbsp dark chocolate chips, (sugar-free)
- pinch of salt
Protein oatmeal brownie bars
- 50 grams (1.8 oz.) dark chocolate, melted, (sugar-free)
- 2 tbsp dark chocolate chips, (sugar-free)
- pinch of salt
Raffaello protein oatmeal bars
- 50 grams (3 tbsp) almond butter
- 2 tbsp desiccated coconut
Instructions
- Heat oven to 180 Cº (350 Fº) and fold a 15 cm x 15 cm (7 inch x 7 inch) brownie pan with parchment paper.
Peanut butter protein oatmeal bars
- Start by mashing the ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add to the banana mixture peanut butter, maple syrup (optional) and pinch salt. Stir until you get a well combined mixture.
- Add rolled oats, protein powder and chocolate chips to the wet dough. Mix well until you get a doughy texture (see notes*).
- Transfer peanut butter protein oat dough to the parchment paper covered baking ban and top with more chocolate chips.
- Bake in hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes and let cool at room temperature before slicing into 6 bars.
Protein oatmeal brownie bars
- Melt dark chocolate (with hint of coconut oil, if necessary).
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas. Add to the banana mixture melted chocolate, maple syrup (optional) and pinch salt. Stir until you get a well combined mixture.
- Add rolled oats and protein powder to the wet dough. Mix well until you get a doughy texture (see notes*).
- Transfer oat brownie dough to the parchment paper covered baking ban and top with more chocolate chips.
- Bake in hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes and let cool at room temperature before slicing into 6 bars.
Raffaello protein oatmeal bars
- Start by mashing the ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add to the banana mixture almond butter and optionally maple syrup. Stir until you get a well combined mixture.
- Add rolled oats, protein powder and desiccated coconut to the wet dough. Mix well until you get a doughy texture (see notes*).
- Transfer Raffaello oatmeal dough to the parchment paper covered baking ban.
- Bake in hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes and let cool at room temperature before slicing into 6 bars. Serve with a sprinkle of coconut flakes on top, if you desire.
Notes
- You can use vegan protein powder, whey or casein (see recipe description for more details).
- If using vegan protein powder or casein, your dough may require 1 to 2 tbsp of milk to get fixed (dough has to be thick but not too dry).
- If using whey protein powder, your dough may require some more oats to get fixed (dough has to be thick but not too dry).
- Bananas sweeten these bars naturally. For sweeter oatmeal bars, add a couple tablespoons of maple syrup or honey. Taste the dough and adjust with maple syrup or honey if necessary.
Nutrition
Nutritional values per bar
- Peanut butter bars: 198 kcal 13 g protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 8 g fats
- Protein brownie bars: 187 kcal 11 g protein, 20 g carbohydrates, 7 g fats
- Raffaello protein bars: 179 kcal 12 g protein, 17 g carbohydrates, 7 g fats
Hi Matteo, very keen to try this. Just wanted to check what you’d adjust (time, temp etc) if I only have an 8 x 8 pan? Thank you. Your vegan recipes look great.
Hey dear Louisa,
thank you for your comment! I recommend keeping the same temperature, but will probably need to increase baking time by some minutes…Just be careful you don’t overbake them, or your bars may get dry.
I hope I could help!
Have a great day,
Matteo