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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 paleo ice cream, paleo chocolate chip cookies, or 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.
When you say a non-dairy milk, would banana “milk” work?
You can try that! 🙂
Hi. I’m not fussy, but these have 5 ingredients, not three what I can see.
Nope, it’s definitely 3 🙂 Optional ingredients don’t count 🙂
Can you please add the nutrition information for these, eg calories per bar (or grams) ect. 🙂
Hi Bianca! Absolutely- If you go to myfitnesspal and add in your specific protein ingredients, it will provide it for you 🙂 Enjoy!
I don’t like coconut flour, what could be substituted?
You can use oatmeal, but I haven’t tried it with this particular recipe, sorry!
The only problem with making this is that I eat almost half batch in one sitting. Yes, it is very yummy. Awesome option for a healthy protein bar. Loved it
🙂 That’s so good to hear, Hina!
I am going to try to make these with almond butter. We aren’t a protein powder family but have used Vega in a few cookie recipes. Is there a “flavor” that would work best with almond butter?
Hi there! I prefer using vanilla, as it makes recipes not need any vanilla extract 🙂
Hello and thanks for the recipe! Looks really simple, but tasty! I am on a very restricted diet… no grains, no eggs, no legumes, no dairy. The only protein powder I have is collagen protein. Do you think that would work for this? TIA!
Hi Kristin! I’ve never tried it with it, but I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
I had a really hard time judging just how thick the batter should be?? When I went to press it into the baking dish, the batter was sticking like crazy to everything and was not cooperating. Should I have added still more non dairy milk? I had used almost two cups already.
Hi Lisa! Would you mind me asking which protein powder you used? It shouldn’t be sticky- If it was, I would recommend adding some extra coconut flour. 🙂
Thanks for the reply, I used Bodytech whey protein (mocha flavor at the moment), soy milk, and 1/4 cup peanut butter (generic brand). Maybe the peanut butter made it sticky? I kept adding soy milk because my spoon was bending trying to mix it all together. Maybe I’ll knead it with my hands next time.
can I used whey protein?
Hi Kiarelys, unfortunately, I haven’t had much success with whey protein- Unless it is a blended mix, it won’t really work out well!
I’m thinking of adding an ounce of matcha green tea powder along with the first four ingredients, should I adjust anything like how much milk?
Hi Jo Ellen! That sounds like a great addition- Add the powder in first, then adjust the milk- You’ll most likely need more 🙂
Can you please convert those scoops to cups? I don’t know how many grams are in my scoop.
Hi there! These scoops are usually 32-34 grams- Hope that helps! 🙂
Question: what do you think of the quest and Mission bars they are higher in fiber: howevern do have some sugar alcohol.
These bars are great I just made them. Unfortunately, they are not good travel bars to throw into a bag if you need something in the middle of the day
Thanks,
Daniel
Hey Daniel! I love Quest bars for their convenience- When I don’t make my own bars, I do enjoy them in a pinch, especially with international travel.
For these bars, I usually freeze them individually before bringing them with me, to keep shape 🙂