These No-Bake Chocolate Almond Flour Protein Bars are a fantastic anytime snack and just so happen to be my favorite! Easy to customize, these homemade protein bars are gluten-free, grain-free, vegan, and packed with protein.
This recipe is a twist on my popular Mango Coconut No-Bake Protein Bars, but this time, we swapped the fruit for chocolate—which might make them an even bigger hit! I used to make a version of these all the time for my husband when he was training for Ironman races. Since they’re grain-free and lower in sugar, they were perfect for recovery weeks when his body needed fewer carbs but still plenty of nutrient-dense fuel. But even if you’re not in training, they make a great grab-and-go breakfast, a lunchbox treat, or a post-workout snack when you need a little extra protein boost. Basically, they’re a win anytime.
Ingredients For the Bars
Below is an overview of the ingredients and instructions to make chocolate almond flour protein bars. Please be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for the complete details and nutrition information including prep time, total time, calories, protein, carbohydrates, fiber, etc.
For the Bars
- Almond Flour – Be sure to use blanched almond flour for a lighter texture. Unlike almond meal, which is made from ground almonds with the skin on, blanched almond flour is finer and softer.
- Protein Powder – My favorite protein powders are plant-based, but grass-fed whey protein powder or egg white protein works just as well. Whatever you like best will work. It’s really about personal preference and your dietary needs!
Pro-Tip: Use a vanilla protein powder or plain protein powder for the best taste. Or, use a chocolate protein powder for an extra rich chocolatey flavor.
- Kosher Salt – This helps enhance the flavor of the rest of the ingredients.
- Creamy Almond Butter – This adds a delicious nutty flavor and acts as a “glue” helping the bars hold together plus it adds additional plant based protein.
- Pure Maple Syrup – This sweetens the bars and helps them hold their shape. Honey will also work!
- Vanilla Extract – Use pure vanilla extract, not imitation varieties!
For the Chocolate Topping
- Unsweetened Bakers Chocolate – Dark chocolate chips also work, just make sure they are meltable.
- Coconut Oil – This helps create a smooth consistency. Use refined coconut oil if you prefer a more neutral taste versus coconut flavor taste.
- Flakey Sea Salt – Optional but highly recommended, flakey salt adds the perfect finishing touch for a delicious sweet and salty taste.
Flavor Variations & Add-Ins
- Protein Powder – Feel free to swap the protein powder for ground flax, peanut butter powder, egg white powder, oat flour, or toasted chickpea flour. I recommend toasting the chickpea flour before using it for a nuttier flavor.
- Almond Butter – If preferred, you can use creamy seed or nut butter such as peanut butter, sunflower seed butter, or cashew butter. Just keep in mind that the taste and texture will change slightly depending on what you use.
- Chocolate – I love the rich flavor of dark chocolate, but milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, or even white chocolate will also work. If needed, make sure to use dairy-free chocolate.
- Mix-Ins – Feel free to include any mix-ins such as chopped nuts, extra chocolate chips, dried fruit, etc.
- Unsweetened Shredded Coconut – This gives the center a bit more crunch. You can also mix it into the chocolate topping if you’d like.
How to Make Almond Flour Protein Bars
Before you begin, line a square baking dish with parchment paper, and set it aside.
- Combine the dry ingredients. Add the almond flour, protein powder, salt, and coconut flakes, if using, to a large bowl. Whisk until well combined.
Texture Tip– for a more softer middle (once bars and made and chilled) use a little less almond flour. Closer to ¾ cup versus 1 cup.
- Add the wet ingredients. Mix in the almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla until a s soft cookie dough-like batter forms. If the batter is too thick, adjust the maple syrup, adding more as needed. .
- Chill. Press the dough mixture evenly into a pan, and transfer it to the fridge to chill and set.
- Melt the chocolate. Add the chocolate and coconut oil to a small bowl, and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between until the chocolate is smooth and glossy.
Note: If preferred, you can melt the chocolate and coconut oil in a pot on the stovetop over low heat.
- Top. Pour the melted chocolate over the cooled bars, spreading it out evenly with a spatula. Then, sprinkle flakey sea salt on top.
- Chill and serve. Transfer the bars back to the fridge to set. Then, slice them into squares, and enjoy!
More of Our Favorite
Gluten-Free Protein Bars and Bites
Common Questions
Almond meal can replace almond flour, but it’s heavier. So, be sure to weigh it in grams first. Then, adjust as needed to achieve a cookie dough-like consistency.
Once set, you can transfer leftover bars to an airtight container. Store them in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, and eat them straight from the fridge!
Yes, these bars freeze well for up to 3 months. I recommend flash-freezing them on a baking sheet until solid and then transferring them to a sealable bag or freezer-safe container. Or, wrap each bar with plastic wrap to prevent them from clumping together.
Thaw in the fridge overnight when you’re ready to serve.
Chocolate Almond Flour Protein Bars Recipe
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 9–12 bars at 10 grams protein per bar 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Skip overpriced store-bought options, and make these gluten-free, refined sugar-free, no-bake chocolate almond flour protein bars instead!
Ingredients
Dough
- ¾ to 1 cup (around 95 g) blanched almond flour (see notes)
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)
- ½ cup (60 grams) protein powder
- pinch sea salt
- ¾ cup (170-180 grams) creamy almond butter
- ⅓ to ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Topping
- 4 to 5 ounces unsweetened bakers chocolate or ½ cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon refined coconut oil for melting
- ½ teaspoon flakey sea salt, optional
Instructions
- Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the almond flour, protein powder, salt, and optional coconut flakes until combined.
- Add in the almond butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Mix until a soft cookie-dough-like batter forms. Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Chill in the fridge while melting the chocolate.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate and coconut oil in 30-second intervals, stirring each time until smooth and glossy. Alternatively, melt on the stovetop over low heat.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the dough, spreading it evenly. Sprinkle with flaked sea salt, if desired. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Once set, slice into 9–12 squares and enjoy!
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or the freezer for 3 months.
Notes
Substitute Tips – Almond meal can replace almond flour, but it’s heavier so weigh it in grams first and adjust as needed. Swap protein powder for ground flax, peanut butter powder, egg white powder, oat flour, or toasted chickpea flour. If the batter is too thick, adjust the maple syrup.
Texture Tip – For a softer middle, use ¾ cup almond flour.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Chill Time: 2 hours
- Category: dessert
- Method: no bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 229
- Sugar: 9.8 g
- Sodium: 85.8 mg
- Fat: 13.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 15.1 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 9.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0.6 mg
I’ve already made these three times and the whole family loved them! Super satisfying to bite into. I’ve added the zest of one orange- half rubbed into the dry mix and half stirred into the melted chocolate and it was lovely. Thanks for the great recipe!
Oh I love the orange zest touch! I’ll have to try that next. Thanks so much for your feedback angie!
Can you use peanut butter for almond butter?
Sure! I would just make sure it’s not super thick. Use a natural peanut butter. I have used the costco natural organic peanut butter before and it works great!
Almonds are one of the world’s most nutritious and versatile nuts, and with chocolate, they become more delicious and healthy for the diet.
Good day!! I am making these for the second time. I have left over vanilla protein powder so I used that and no vanilla extract. They were yummy!! Thanks so much, I needed a healthier way to put on weight and have something to eat when out and about and find myself hungry with nowhere healthy to eat!! Thumbs up!!
So glad to hear this, Anita! Glad to help! Let me know if there’s anything else you need.
I was wondering if the nutrients where calculated correctly and if that includes the chocolate topping as well.
Yes, it should be around that much for smaller bars with chocolate. Hope that makes sense.
I made these for a Christmas gift and they were very well received, however, I do have a few comments. It was hard to guage how wet/dry the bars should be and I didn’t see mention in the directions. I ended up making them a bit wet bc I wanted the oats to soften a bit. I also rehydrated the cranberries and cherries I layered on top, then chopped and spread. I ended up baking for 15 minutes to firm everything up and that worked well.
Also, the instructions need to be more explicit on melting the chocolate. If you just do 30 sec increments you will over cook and get grainy, gross chocolate. If you are not using a double boiler, then lower the power setting on the microwave. I started at 7 for the first 30 seconds and then 5, then 3 ( I had a couple extra rounds in there bc I did a double batch). Be very careful after the second heating, that is kind of the danger zone. Also, I found that an extra 1/4 to a 1/3 of a cup of chocolate was needed to get full coverage if you are working with chocolate chips, which won’t melt right. Adding a tbs of heavy cream makes it creamier, but no longer paleo.
The base mixture is very sticky and difficult to spread out (I did a cookie sheet), even when I put some olive oil on the spatula. The easiest thing was to tear off another sheet of parchment and press it down and used a rolling pin to smooth it out over the parchment.
Now all that said, I really liked the recipe. I did half dried cherries and cranberries, I would use a bit less water to rehydrate next time to save the baking step though. Adding in some vanilla to the water when you rehydrate gave it a little punch also.
The person I gave the bars to really liked them and ate 2 in a row. The recipe is solid, just add your own tweaks to suit your tastes. Thank you for a great recipe!
Thank you for sharing! With your permission, I will update the notes with your comments/suggestions.
Hi Lindsay! Sure, if you think they would be helpful, please use them. Thank you for the recipes also! This recipe really helped me out as a gift for someone I had no idea what to give him! Happy New Year!
Thank you! And yes, I do think they would be helpful to others. You’re welcome; so glad these were well received as a gift! Happy New Year to you! 🙂
I was wondering about baking the base thanks for the input I may try this nest time if I redo this recipe as I found my base quite wet as well and did not look like the picture she has. and yes I wish I would’ve done dbl the chocolate top as I did not!
Try sticking them in the freezer first! You could bake them depending on the protein you used. What kind did you use?
OMG girl, these look so good! I love a good no-bake recipe!
I know right?! Love no-bake recipes too! Thanks!
I am going to feel great feeding these to my kids! They will love them!
Yes! You’ve got yourself a total mom score for sure with these!
This could be newest favorite snack! Perfect for the kiddos as well. Thanks for yet another great recipe.
right? Kids love them! for sure!:)
My kids really loved these! They can’t wait for me to make it again!
Oh yay! So glad they loved them Toni!
I love homemade protein bars! These looks so delicious and perfect after an intensive workout ♥
Right? go get your WOD on. 😉
I eat a protein bar every day, I have to try these, they look incredible!
Hope you enjoy these Tanya! Let me know what you think!
This recipe is SO quick + so tasty!! Perfect for #momlife
Great! I aim to please! 😉
I am always looking for new snack ideas for my family and I can’t wait to make these!
Glad to help Lauren! Enjoy!
I’ll give you an AAAAAAAAAMEN! These bars look divine.
haha thanks liz! Feeling blessed. 😉