The name says it all.
Bars that are high in protein and safe to keep in the pantry. Or cabinet. Or work bag, backpack, or wherever else. These are here for you on your busiest, most hectic days.
Instead of going into all that these bars are, let’s start off with what they’re not:
Now these are:
A balanced, nonperishable snack that provides protein is rather hard to find in on-the-go snacks that don’t need to be refrigerated. So rather than settling with a healthy snack + protein shake when traveling, out of the house for hours on end, or in a rush (which there’s nothing wrong with that if so, it’s a personal go-to!), get everything in one with these bars: complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, and protein!
Protein Pantry Bars
Ingredients
- 5 medjool dates, pitted
- 1 egg OR 4 TBSP applesauce, unsweetened (to make vegan)*
- 2 TBSP applesauce, unsweetened
- 2 tsp. chia seeds
- 1 TBSP maple syrup
- 1 TBSP vanilla
- 1 TBSP (16 g) nut butter: almond, peanut, cashew, sunflower, pistachio
- ¾ C oats gluten-free
- ¼ C (~35 g) protein powder, unflavored or vanilla
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
- ½ TBSP pepita (pumpkin) seeds
- ~10 g nuts: cashews, walnuts, pecans
Optional mix-ins
- dark chocolate chips, unsweetened raisins or cranberries, see below for more ideas
Instructions
- Soak the dates in a glass bowl or cup of warm to hot water for 15-20 minutes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- While the dates are soaking, combine the egg (or applesauce), applesauce, chia seeds, maple syrup, vanilla, and nut butter in a medium-sized mixing bowl
- Mix in the oats, protein, cinnamon, and sea salt
- Remove the dates from the water and in a food processor or blender, blend the dates briefly until they’re chunky*
- Fold in the dates and make sure the mixture is completely combined – you don’t want to see any powder from the protein, cinnamon, or salt
- Incorporate any optional mix-ins
- Between 2 pieces of parchment paper, roll the dough out to ~1/4” thick – think of it as rolling out sugar cookie dough
- Remove the top piece of parchment paper and transfer the bottom piece of parchment with the dough onto a pan or baking sheet
- Bake for 11-13 minutes (for vegan bars, bake 5+ minutes longer) until the bottom and edges start to turn golden brown
- Remove from the oven, drizzle any optional chocolate, caramel, etc. on top, cut into squares or bars, and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container
Notes
- *Egg or applesauce: using applesauce in place of the egg will make the recipe vegan
- *Nuts: I like to do a combo of 2-3 different kinds of nuts, and sometimes nut butters, to diversify the nutrients
- *5. The dates can be blended up more based on your preference; I prefer to have bigger chunks of dates in the bars as they add texture
- *11. Can be baked longer for crunchier bars
- Makes ~1 dozen ~2.5-3” squares
- These are good for about a week, then they start to get a little dry, but are still edible!
Aside from being a one stop shop macronutrient wise, the taste is delightful! Slightly (and naturally!) sweet with the cozy, warmth that cinnamon brings. And the consistency adds to the flavor; soft, with a slight chewiness from the dates and a bit of a crunchy bite from the nuts and texture of the oats. There’s much to appreciate about these bars.
Flexibility within recipes is what makes them functional and gives them longevity; the ability to personalize them to your preferences and any sensitivities or allergies. And these do just that – easily adapt to your needs as well as your taste buds.
One recipe, endless variety.
- Different nut and seed options: sunflower seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, pecans, walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, pistachios, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts
- Nut butter options: peanut, cashew, almond, sunflower seed, hazelnut, walnut, pistachio, pecan, macadamia
- Toppings: as is, sea salt, chocolate or caramel drizzle
- Other mix-ins: raisins, dried berries (cranberries, cherries, blueberries, goji berries), coconut flakes, cacao nibs, bee pollen
- Base it off of flavor combinations: trail mix inspired, cherry chocolate (dried cherries + dark chocolate), piña colada (dried pineapple, coconut), white chocolate macadamia nut
Short on time? These bars are perfect. But for when life is slower and allows more time to put towards preparing food, here are some well-balanced meals to try:
- One Pot Coconut Curry Chicken and Rice
- Grant’s Breakfast Skillet
- Taquitos or Breakfast Taquitos
- Protein French Toast
- Vegan Mac n Cheese
If interested, the macronutrients are below. They are kept separate at the very end of each recipe blog so that this can remain a safe, positive space for all as not everyone wishes to see the nutritional information.
Macros:
Since there’s such a wide array of nuts, nut butters, and mix-ins that could be used, these macros are a very rough estimate.
If you wish to have more precise macros for the bars you make, input the ingredients, amounts, and number of bars made into “my meals, recipes, & foods” on MyFitnessPal to determine your bar’s macronutrients.
Macros per bar (makes ~12), regular: 12.5 C | 2.6 F | 4.1 P
Macros for the whole recipe, regular: 149.8 C | 31.5 F | 49.2 P
Macros per bar (makes ~12), vegan: 13 C | 2.2 F | 3.6 P
Macros for the whole recipe, vegan: 155.6 C | 26 F | 43.2 P
The macros for recipes are also available on MyFitnessPal. Simply search the name of the recipe followed by “ – SUNutrition” (so for this recipe, search “Protein Pantry Bars – SUNutrition” or “Protein Pantry Bars VEGAN – SUNutrition”).
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