Protein Granola Bars
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This 4-ingredient protein granola bar recipe takes 10 minutes to make and yield thick, chewy and satisfying bars. 20 grams of protein each.
Looking for more recipes with protein powder? Try these peanut butter protein balls, homemade protein bars, protein balls, and protein popcorn next.
If you enjoy my healthy granola bars but want to amp up the protein, then my protein granola bar recipe fixes those issues.
Don’t get me wrong, most granola bars do a good job of providing whole grains and fiber, but they often miss the mark on protein. Not anymore!
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Easy to customize. I’ll give you the base recipe (my favorite!) plus a handful of flavor combos so you can make them your own.
- 20 grams of protein per bar. Making them the perfect morning, midday, or post-workout snack.
- A no-bake recipe. These bars come together in minutes and have the perfect chewy yet soft texture.
- 4 key ingredients. Each one can be customized depending on what you have on hand.
Ingredients needed
- Rolled oats. Also known as old-fashioned oats. These give the protein granola bars an extra chewy texture and are much more satisfying.
- Protein powder. Vanilla or unflavored protein powder is preferred. I used a vanilla brown rice protein powder, which also provided extra sweetness.
- Peanut butter OR alternative. Smooth and creamy peanut butter with no added sugar. Depending on which protein powder you use, you may also want to choose peanut butter with no added salt, as some protein powder brands have tons of sodium in them.
- Honey or brown rice syrup. I prefer these to other sticky sweeteners (like maple syrup or agave) since they’re super sticky and will help bind the bar batter the best.
- Chocolate chips. Optional, but what’s the harm?!
How to make protein granola 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 work. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.
Step 2- Mix the wet and dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats and protein powder. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the peanut butter and honey and whisk until smooth.
Step 3- Combine the ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine. Stir in chocolate chips if using.
Step 4- Shape and chill. Transfer the bar mixture to the pan and press until smooth. Refrigerate the bars for an hour, then slice.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Leave some parchment paper sticking out. So they’re easier to pop out of the pan when it’s time to slice.
- Swap the nut butter. Use almond butter, cashew butter, or even protein cookie butter.
- Make the nut-free. Swap the peanut butter for sunflower seed butter or tahini, or make these nut-free granola bars.
- Adjust the consistency. Sometimes, the bars turn out a bit dry for my liking. If this happens, add a splash of almond milk to thin out the batter until it reaches a moldable consistency.
- Slice with a warm, sharp knife. My #1 tip for dealing with sticky bars is to use a sharp knife that’s been run under hot water. It’s the only way I’ve found to guarantee clean, even cuts.
- Instead of rolled oats, use equal parts of my protein granola.
Flavor variations
- Dark chocolate. Dip the prepared bars in melted dark chocolate. Refrigerate them until the chocolate has firmed up.
- Coconut chocolate chip. Fold through 1/4 cup of shredded coconut flakes and 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips.
- Monster cookie. Fold through 1/2 cup of mini M&M candies, along with the chocolate chips.
- Salted caramel. Drizzle 1/2 cup of vegan caramel on top and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
- Cherry almond. Fold through 1/4 cup of dried cherries and 2 tablespoons of chopped almonds. For a more intense almond flavor, use almond butter.
- Cinnamon raisin. Fold through 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and ¼ cup of raisins.
- White chocolate cranberry. Fold through ¼ cup of white chocolate chips and ¼ cup of dried cranberries.
Storage instructions
To store: High protein granola bars are best stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 weeks.
To freeze: Place individually wrapped bars in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months.
More granola bar recipes to try
Protein Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups protein powder * See notes
- 1 cup peanut butter smooth and creamy ** See notes
- 1/2 cup honey or brown rice syrup *** See notes
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your rolled oats and protein powder and mix well. In a microwave safe bowl, add your peanut butter and honey and microwave in 20-second spurts until the peanut butter has softened. Whisk together until smooth and thick.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. If using chocolate chips, fold them through at the end.
- Transfer the mixture into the lined pan and press down on top until smooth. Refrigerate the bars for at least an hour to firm up. Once firm, slice into 20 bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published September 2021, updated and republished May 2024
Confused how you get 20 bars out of an 8×8 size panel
Hi Monica- sorry for the confusion. They make granola bar shaped bars, which are on the smaller side for about 150 calories each 🙂
Chewy! I used dried cranberries instead of chocolate. I feel these would be better with some extra salt (my natural PB didn’t have any), maybe 1/8 to 1/4 tsp in the batter. I’ll use this as a base to make custom ones!
Love the addition of dried cranberries! Thanks for the feedback for that- I’ll make a note in the recipe card as that is super handy to know 🙂 Cheers Andrew!
Hello Arman
What is an alternative to Protein Powder ?
Could I use powdered milk instead?
I live remotely and have no protein powder.
Thanks so much.
I love your recipes
Lee
Hi Lee! No need to replace it- just leave it out 🙂 If the mixture it too wet, add a sprinkling more of oats. Let me know how you go 🙂
Thank you
Easy to make and a fun snack for kids. They gobbled them up!
Thanks so much, Jesminda- so glad the little ones enjoyed it!
5 stars with my modification 🙂
It was super thick and crumbly so I added 12 oz of homemade unsweetened soy yogurt to pull it all together. They live in the freezer. So delicious – everyone in the house is raving about them.
I agree it’s a little crumbly but I would say 5 stars with no mods
Thank you, Wyatt! 🙂
Arman! I love these and will cover them in chocolate next time. Any idea how much to coat?
Hi Elise- I do this with my homemade protein bars. I’d suggest about two cups of chocolate or chocolate chips, melted, then dip each one in them. if you have any leftovers, just cool it, chill it, then re-use next time!
Including the weights of the ingredients would be incredibly helpful IMO. I would much rather weigh out peanut butter and honey into my mixing bowl than try to measure it in a cup and transfer it.
Hi Daniel- I appreciate that feedback. My team and I are working through every recipe to provide metric measurements. You’ll see all new recipes including it, and also updated recipes will show this too. Thanks for your patience!
Could you use peanut butter powder instead of creamy peanut butter?
Hi Julie- I’ve had several readers successfully make it, but they did have to add extra syrup and liquid to compensate. They said they used the powdered form instead of converting it into a paste first 🙂
Man these are delicious!
Can you verify the quantity of oats to wet ingredients? The recipe ratio or 3cups oats to 1.5 of wet seems a little high? My mix came out like apple crumble pie topping (which would be an interesting experiment if I had any apples in the house!). I have added milk, and more wet ingredients (about an extra cup and a half!) and that felt like a better consistency but after 3 hours in fridge it is still too crumbly to hold when cut. 4 stars as tasty, but disappointed with result. Perhaps I am missing something.?
Hi Rebecca- I’m wondering if you used whey protein powder? That is the only reason why I would imagine this mixture to come out crumbly. I do recommend adding extra liquid if needed, but shouldn’t be anywhere near half a cup. I’d love to troubleshoot for you!
If I only have chocolate flavored protein powder, would that work? Thank you!
Yeah, absolutely!
i love homemade granola bars, they’re so much cheaper than buying decent ones from the store.
These are so delicious!
Thanks so much, Jessi- I appreciate you making these!
These are super chewy and helped keep me fueled on my hiking with friends. I sometimes roll them into balls.
Hi Newton! Thanks for the feedback and lovely review. They are great to roll into balls, too. I have a protein balls recipe that you might also enjoy next time!
These are such a hit with my picky teenagers who live on Clif bars, but I don’t think they are super healthy!
Hi Renee- I’m so glad to hear that! Oh I hear you- I used to enjoy Clif bars when I was training for a marathon because they are slightly glorified candy bars- great for long distance runs but not for everyday snacking!