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These paleo bars need only 3 ingredients and ZERO baking! They’re healthy, filling, and pack over 20 grams of protein!
On the hunt for more paleo recipes? Try my coconut energy balls next.
Finding a good protein bar is hard enough, and don’t even get me started on finding one without refined sugar, artificial flavors, or gluten.
That is until you try my paleo protein bars. Made with a shortlist of paleo-approved ingredients, they’re the perfect grain-free, gluten-free bar that’ll keep you full for hours…and they actually taste good!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Only 3 ingredients. All you need is coconut flour, protein powder, and milk!
- Made in 5 minutes. With five minutes of prep work, you’ll have a healthy and protein-rich snack for the entire week.
- Perfect texture. These protein bars are soft and chewy, as they should be.
- They’re fun to customize. Add all sorts of paleo mix-ins, dunk them in chocolate, or dust them with powdered sugar. The possibilities are endless.
Ingredients needed
- Coconut flour. I love making no-bake bars with coconut flour because it absorbs moisture and gets a soft, cakey texture that’s hard to replicate without an oven. Make sure to sift it first to remove clumps.
- Protein powder. Use your favorite flavored or unflavored protein powder.
- Milk. I used unsweetened almond milk but any milk works.
- Nut butter. Optional, but for added richness, I like a little creamy almond butter or cashew butter. For a nut-free version, use sunflower seed butter.
- Chocolate chips. Again, optional, but what’s the harm in adding a handful of dairy-free unsweetened dark chocolate chips?
How to make paleo bars
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep. Line an 8×8-inch baking tray with baking paper and grease with cooking spray.
Step 2- Make the batter. In a large bowl, combine the flour, protein powder, and nut butter if using.
Step 3- Add milk. Add milk ¼ cup at a time until a thick batter is formed.
Step 4- Chill. Transfer the batter to the lined pan and press into place. Top with optional chocolate chips and refrigerate for 30 minutes, then slice into bars.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Drizzle the chocolate instead. If you don’t mind dirtying an extra dish, I like to melt the chocolate in the microwave and drizzle it over the bars.
- Wrap them individually. Once you slice them into bars, wrap each individually in parchment paper so you can take them on the go.
- Adjust the consistency. Depending on the brand of coconut flour I’m using, sometimes I need more milk. Just keep adding it until you have a malleable but firm dough consistency.
Variations
- Sweeten with maple syrup. If you want the protein bars to be sweeter, add some pure maple syrup to the mixture.
- Add other mix-ins. Swap the chocolate chips for paleo-friendly mix-ins, like pecans, walnuts, chia seeds, or chopped Medjool dates.
- Enhance the bar flavor. Sprinkle sea salt on the bars or fold in one teaspoon of vanilla extract for a richer flavor.
Storage instructions
To store: Leftover bars should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
To freeze: Wrap bars in parchment paper, place them in a freezer bag and freeze them for up to three months. Allow the bars to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before eating.
Frequently asked questions
When made with a no added sugar protein powder, these bars are keto-friendly.
More protein-packed snacks to try
- Protein popcorn
- Cookie dough protein bars
- Protein granola bars
- Protein trail mix
- Or any of my high protein snacks
Paleo Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut flour sifted
- 2 cups protein powder flavored
- 1/2 cup milk of choice * See notes
- 1/2 cup almond butter optional
- 1 cup Dairy free chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Line an 8 x 8-inch baking tray with baking paper, grease it and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the coconut flour and protein powder and mix well. If using the optional nut butter, add that in now.
- Using a 1/4 cup at a time, add your milk of choice until a very thick batter is formed.
- Transfer the batter to the lined pan and press firmly in place. Top with optional chocolate chips and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Slice into bars and keep refrigerated.
I am on the Dr Poon diet, my daily sugar intake is 5g or less, this paleo bar makes this diet much more enjoyable and a fun alternative to simply snacking on chicken, thank you for sharing your creation
You are so welcome, Sherry!
i need it to have at least 15g/serving for me to consider it a protein bar. your recipe is too easy not to try, i will definitely give it a go!
Please do, Grace!
Which kind of flavor did you use for the protein powder? Did you use chocolate, or could you use vanilla as well?
Hi Sarah! I used vanilla, but definitely use chocolate if you prefer 🙂
Hi. What is the nutritional info for these bars? Protein, Carbs, Sugars etc.
Hi Michelle! If you go on myfitnesspal.com it will provide the information for you 🙂 Enjoy!
I made these with complete nutrition’s elite gold annex chocolate peanut butter protein powder…which I don’t think is paleo cause it has soy and whey protein in them, but they turned out really good. I added almond butter and only 3 scoops of the protein powder and added a little organic coconut flakes on top instead of chocolate chips. They taste pretty good following a workout. Thanks for recipe!!
No worries at all, Susie- so glad you enjoyed it- I’ll need to try out the Gold Annex brand 🙂
I just made these. It took a lot of almond milk to get the batter somewhat moist and the the 1/2 in fridge didn’t really firm them up for cutting
Hi Angela- This varies because of the protein powder you use and the brand of coconut flour. Because of the nature of coconut flour, you would need significant amount of almond milk to get a batter. You could try adding the optional nut butter, but I’ve never had issues using just 3 ingredients.
Need to find Casein that doesn’t have Sucralose in it. That non-sweetener is Spenda that is not good for us.
Hi Joanne! I know some brands use stevia in their casein (I think this brand has a natural version).
Thanks for the recipe! What flavor protein powder did you use?
Hi Suzanne! You are so welcome! I prefer using vanilla as it’s a blank slate for everything 🙂
I tried these and love ’em. I ended up needing a cup of almond milk to get them to stick, probably could have gotten away with a bit less. Definitely need water to wash these down, but I love the taste/texture. I used regular creamy pb (jif) in my first batch. Thinking of using PB2 (powdered PB) for the next batch. Thoughts? Anyone try this?
Hi Jenn! Thanks for the feedback- That does often happen with these sort of bars using coconut flour 🙂
I haven’t tried it with peanut flour in these recipes specifically, but I can see it working- I think peanut flour has texture between oat flour and coconut flour, so is very firm! 🙂
What about whole wheat flour instead of coconut?
Hi Valerie! I’d recommend oat flour over whole wheat! 🙂
How many bars is this to make approximately?
Hi Amalia- I made around 9 bars, but you can adjust them to any size you wish 🙂
Hi Arman! These bars look delicious! I can’t wait to try them! I know that you tried them with paleo/casein/vegan protein powder; would they work with whey too, or would the texture be off?
Hi Alessandria! I honestly find whey to be so hard to work with- Because of it’s pure form, it makes it difficult to stick well 🙂
This is definitely a recipe for Gigi! Maybe you could make something like this for her to taste test 😉
🙂 haha good idea!