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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.
Needed to add warm water to form the batter after adding the half cup of coconut mylk atop the almond butter. There was not enough moisture with just the mylk. Otherwise, all good!
Unbelievable!
Even the mixture tasted good before the bars were ready!
Love that this has 15g of protein in it and is so easy to make. I used almond flour, Legion salted caramel whey protein powder, Georgia Grinders creamy peanut butter, and unsweetened almond milk. Tastes yummy. Can’t beat the macros though… 15g protein, 10g fat and 5g carbs with the ingredients I used.
I really like these bars because they are plenty sweet for me just with the coconut flour and (unflavored, unsweetened) protein powder. I add a teaspoon of vanilla extract, and they are perfect. I do not suggest using whey protein by itself, though. Both times I’ve used it, the batter was really sticky — like glue sticky — and they did not firm up or cut well, and the gooey texture affected how they tasted, if that makes sense. My previous batches with unsweetened unflavored plant protein powder looked like the photo in the recipe and the texture was very good, even though they required a lot more milk.
I am not sure what I did wrong, but I had to add at least an additional cup and a half of almond milk and barely got the mixture thick enough to hang together when I pushed it into the pan. Is half a cup of almond milk supposed to moisten 3 cups of flour and powder? I am feeling like a failure … 🙁
I have been making these bars consistently for the past three months after finding your recipe. I have exhausted every option of Paleo/Dairy-free protein bars and nothing comes close to this. My partner jokes that these bars are all I eat now. They are so good- chewy and creamy and nutty and full of protein. Thank you thank you for sharing this! (By the way, I use Universal Egg Pro Vanilla Protein and oat milk).
I love that 🙂
Hi Arman, I don’t know if you are still seeing comments for this recipe but I was curious why they need to be eaten within 7 days. The “milk” is the only perishable ingredient and almond milk, at least, is good for a couple weeks after it’s opened.
I’ve been making your white chocolate recipe for about a month now, and I’m going to make some chips to go on top of these protein bars!
Hi Denise! They definitely keep longer than that- I’ll fix it 🙂
Question: Can you, all, please tell me what your favorite protein powders are– both vanilla and chocolate? I have a pea based one, and it seems like a lot of the pea based ones taste gross. I think I’ll enjoy this recipe a lot more once I have a better protein powder. Looking forward to your recommendations! Thank you! Happy, blessed New Year!
I cannot live without these things you have totally saved me. Love this recipe and so versatile and delicious eat these everyday!
Do you have the servings/nutritional info for these?
Hi- Yes, it is in the recipe card
Please can you let me know the calories, protein, carb and fat grams for these?
Sure! If you go to myfitnesspal and plug in the ingredients, it will provide it for you!
Could I sub the coconut flour with maybe, almond flour? I dont like coconut and im assuming this makes the bar taste like it.
You won’t taste the coconut flour but you could experiment with almond flour, just double the amount as needed.
Hey! I dont get coconut flour here! What do i use instead?
How many bars does this make?
This makes 4-6 bars, depending on how thick you slice them.
Hi! Question – do you think these would retain their shape/hold up better for on-the-go travel if they were baked for a little while in the oven? If so, do you have any recommendations for temp/how long to cook? Thanks!!
Hi! You can freeze them beforehand and enjoy as is 🙂