This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
If you want to make one of the easiest, most nutritious snack bars around, these Protein Bars are for you!
Several years ago I went through a major “bar phase”. No, I wasn’t getting smashed all over town, I was consuming Luna, Lara and other similar types of protein bars at a rapid rate. It became such an obsession that two of my girlfriends and I actually set out to form our own bar company — just imagine getting to cook one of your favorite foods all day, every day. We had a name, a mission statement, and developed recipes for every flavor of bar under the sun and they were delicious (I think).
But unlike the majority of bars on the market that are jam packed with additives and sugar, our goal was to make something completely organic, packed with protein, devoid of sugar, and full of flavor. The bigger goal was to do all this using as few ingredients per bar as possible. The bar business became a casualty of our busy lives, but I still produce them for my friends and family.
Which got me thinking. Breakfast can be a real challenge when you’re trying to get your entire family out the door and sending your little one to school with a healthy snack can be just as hard. This Protein Bar recipe is a treat that everyone (over the age on 1 and no history of nut allergies) in the family will love and since the recipe makes 16 bars and they stay fresh for weeks. You’re set!
More Bar Recipes
Wrap them individually and toss them in snack bags or bring them along for an easy, on-the-go treat that you and your family will love. They’re the perfect thing to be sending along with your kids to school as well!
Protein Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup cashews, raw and unsalted
- 1 cup almonds, raw and unsalted
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries or chocolate chips
- 2 1/4 cup dates (about 20)
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon honey or agave
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170°F (or put your oven on it’s lowest setting and adjust the cooking time).
- Place the nuts in a bowl and cover with COOL water and soak for 1 hour.
- Cover the dates with HOT water and soak for 30 minutes. After soaking, drain off the water and pit the dates.
- Place the oats in a food processor and grind to a powder. Place in a separate large bowl.
- Drain the water off the nuts, place on a towel to remove excess water. Place the nuts in a food processor with the dried cranberries (chocolate chips) and pulse until nuts are in small pieces (the nuts will be uneven pieces which is fine. Just make sure they are all chopped.
- Place the nuts in the bowl with the oats.
- Place the dates, vanilla and honey (agave) in food processor and pulse until it makes a puree.
- Place the date mixture with the oat mixture and thoroughly combine all the ingredients (mixture will be thick and sticky).
- Place the date nut mixture on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet.
- Shape into a long rectangle about 1/2 inch thick and measuring about 8 x 10 inches. Make sure the rectangle is flat and even.*
- Bake for 4.5-5 hours or until the log is firm, but not hard (If the lowest setting on your oven is 200 degrees, cook for 4 hours).
- Cool, cut into bars and wrap individually.
Video
Notes
- If using a dehydrator, heat at 135 degrees and dehydrate for 6-8 hours
Hi Catherine. I think you do a wonderful job coming up with great recipes. I really appreciate your efforts. I’m eager to try your protein bar recipe. I think the recipe, the ingredients and the nutritional information all look great. I think sometimes people fail to consider the actual nutritional needs for a small child. For instance, healthy 1-to-3-year-old children need 0.55 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day, which means the average 29-pound toddler needs 16 grams of protein each day. The RDAs for older children are 0.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight for 4-to-6-year-olds; 0.45 grams for 7-to-14-year olds; and 0.4 grams for 15-to-18-year-old boys. The RDA for girls over 15 and boys over 18 is 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight, the same as for adults (https://www.bcm.edu/research/centers/childrens-nutrition-research-center/consumer/archives/proteinchildren.htm). Your protein bars are spot on as far as the amount of protein a child should be eating for a snack. Keep up the great work!
Yes, please and thank you!
That should work great!
My daughter is allergic to cashews, but almonds are okay. Can I just use all almonds and no cashews?
I store these covered on the counter and they last for at least a week!
Hello my daughter love dates so I
will try them soon.I want to know how to store them and for how long?
My children will be attending a nut free school this fall. I feel as though my options are so limited!!! Recipes please!
I soak them for at least 1 hour! See step two!
do you soak and/or sprout the nuts first or just whir them up completely raw and unsoaked?
I was also wondering how these are ‘protein’ bars w/only 4 grams of protein. Could you add peanut butter or something to bump up the protien?
Hi Catherine, and all. Any suggestions on nutritional substitutions for a nut-free home? Thank you.
Estee
You can totally eat them raw! They won’t really hold their shapes as bars, but you can try rolling them into balls instead!
Thanks for the recipe, Catherine! They look delicious.
I’m not “food literate” at all; my husband and I have a very simple diet, only cook with a rice cooker, and never use the stove or oven. Perhaps this is a silly question, but- Can these bars be eaten raw? Do they need to be put in the oven?
Thank you so much!
I use medjool dates!
Hi Catherine,
Any particular type of date?
Thanks!
I’m always looking for healthy and delicious bar recipes, and these look perfect! Your photos are beautiful!