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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bars

5 from 177 votes
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This recipe may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

These Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bars are an easy healthy recipe for a homemade no-bake protein bar made with only 6 ingredients.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bars an easy clean eating protein bar with only 5 ingredients. Healthy, no bake, vegan.

What Are Oatmeal Protein Bars?

Oatmeal protein bars are simple snack bars made with wholesome, natural ingredients that can be used as a quick on-the-go breakfast or for refueling after a workout.

Post-workout snacks need to be high in protein and iron which these bars certainly contain!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This recipe is the ideal companion for anyone who enjoys a morning workout and likes to eat a quick refueling snack.

Each of these bars is:

  • Egg-Free
  • Dairy-Free
  • Vegan
  • No-Bake
  • Gluten-free
  • Loaded with 8 grams of protein
  • Bringing 7% of your daily value of iron

And it only takes 10 minutes to make them! 

How To Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bars

Mainly, a protein bar is always made of nuts and protein powder to boost protein intake.

Ingredients

These oatmeal protein bars are made with 6 simple ingredients 100% vegan:

  • Peanut Butter – choose natural, fresh peanut butter. It needs to be runny when taken out of the jar. Peanut Butter has a habit to dry up if left in the jar for too long. If you only have raw peanuts, you can make your own using my peanut butter recipe.
  • Brown Rice Syrup – you can use maple syrup or coconut nectar instead by I prefer brown rice syrup as it is less sweet and releases slower in the body after sport.
  • Rolled Oats and Jumbo Oats – I used a combo of jumbo size oat and rolled oats to add some texture to my bars. Make sure to use certified gluten-free oats if you are celiac.
  • Vegan Dark Chocolate Chips – optional, but I love it!
  • Vegan Pea Protein Powder – I used a vanilla one to add some extra flavor.
  • Coconut Oil or Almond Milk – I prefer to use coconut oil as it makes the bars hold together better, If you prefer to use almond milk, pick unsweetened almond milk, but you can choose the plant-based milk you like.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bars an easy clean eating protein bar with only 5 ingredients. Healthy, no bake, vegan.

Instructions

You can read the short instructions in the recipe card, but here are my important tips.

Combine the natural peanut butter, liquid sweetener (maple syrup, coconut nectar, or brown rice syrup), and coconut oil (or plant-based milk) in a saucepan.

Keep the saucepan under medium heat to melt the ingredients and form a runny batter.

Combine the rolled oats, vegan protein powder, and dark chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl.

Pour the lukewarm melted peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredient mix and store the peanut butter oatmeal protein cookie batter with a silicone spatula.

The dark chocolate chips will start to melt because of the warm peanut butter, it will make them softer to eat.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bars an easy clean eating protein bar with only 5 ingredients. Healthy, no bake, vegan.

Setting The Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Transfer the batter into a square 9-inch x 9-inch brownie pan lined with parchment paper and flatten the top with your spatula.

Add a few more chocolate chips on the top for decoration and pop the bars in the fridge for one hour or in the freezer for 30 minutes to set.

Once the bars have set, take them out of the fridge, out of the pan, and cut them into 10 small bars.

You can, of course, flavor your bars with anything else you like. Here I topped my bars with chocolate chips but you can add vanilla extract, pecan nuts, puffed cereals, chia seeds, or even vegan candies.

The texture of these bars is chewy, with a lovely coconut flavor and bites of oats all around the bar. It is not too sweet but very fulfilling. I made 9 bars with this recipe.

Then some cereal is usually rolled oat because it makes a perfect base to boost complex carbs before running. Finally, sweeteners are most of the time brown rice syrup as it contains less sugar than honey.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bars an easy clean eating protein bar with only 5 ingredients. Healthy, no bake, vegan.

Storage Instructions

These bars can be stored for quite some time because they contain no eggs or dairy.

You can keep them in the fridge for up to 3 weeks as long as they are in an airtight container.

If you store them in the pantry, you can keep them for about a week, but their texture will be softer so I prefer the refrigerator option.

Allergy Swaps

If you need to swap any of the ingredients for allergies, you can safely do the following substitutions:

  • Peanut Butter: you can replace it with any other seed or nut butter such as almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter.
  • Brown Rice Syrup: you can replace the brown rice syrup with any other liquid sweetener such as coconut nectar, maple syrup, or even honey if you’re not vegan.
  • Pea Protein Powder: if you can’t process pea protein powder, you can use any other vanilla protein powder such as soy or peanut protein powder. I don’t recommend using whey protein powder here as it’s not vegan and drastically reduces the shelf life of the bars.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bars an easy clean eating protein bar with only 5 ingredients. Healthy, no bake, vegan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Quest protein bars bad?

Quest protein bars are full of very highly processed ingredients. This is why it’s always better to make your own peanut butter protein oatmeal bars.
This recipe is full of simple, healthy ingredients.

Which brand is best for protein?

I really like to use Macro Mike’s protein powders. They are natural, healthy, and made with peanut or almond proteins.

Is RXBAR healthy for you?

RXBARS are made with mostly healthy, wholesome ingredients, so it’s not a bad option for you.
I’d always favor making my own protein bars over buying commercial ones, but RXBAR is one of the better ones.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bars an easy clean eating protein bar with only 5 ingredients. Healthy, no bake, vegan.

More Protein Snack Recipes

If you like simple snack recipes that bring a good amount of protein for a post-workout treat, you’ll love these:

Enjoy!

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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bars an easy clean eating protein bar with only 5 ingredients. Healthy, no bake, vegan.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bars

These Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bars are an easy healthy vegan and no-bake protein bar recipe with only 5 ingredients.
Prep: 10 minutes
Total: 10 minutes
Yield: 10 bars
Serving Size: 1 protein bar
5 from 177 votes

Ingredients

This recipe may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Instructions

  • In a saucepan, under medium heat, warm the peanut butter, sweetener, and coconut oil until liquid and smooth – about 1 minute maximum. Stir to prevent the mixture from burning. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine rolled oat, jumbo oats, protein powder, and chocolate chips.
  • Stir in the lukewarm peanut butter mixture until it forms a dough. The chips will melt, that's what you want.
  • Transfer the batter to a square brownie pan covered with parchment paper
  • Press the batter with the back of a spoon or a spatula to spread evenly into the pan.
  • Top with 1/4 cup extra chocolate chips if you like, pumpkin seeds, or sliced almonds. Press with your hands to incorporate them into the bars.
  • Refrigerate for one hour or freeze for 30 minutes to firm it up quickly.
  • Cut into 10 bars.
  • Store in the fridge in an airtight box for up to 3 weeks. You can also store them in the pantry, the texture will be softer.

Notes

Dark chocolate chips replacement: feel free to use sliced almonds or dried cranberries or coconut thread as a low sugar replacement. 
Sweetener: any liquid sweetener works in this recipe. I used brown rice syrup as it has a less sweet taste and contains fewer carbs – better for a fitness fuel. Feel free to replace it with honey or maple syrup.
Tried this recipe?Mention @sweetashoneyrecipes
Serving Size: 1 protein bar
Yield: 10 bars
Serving: 1protein barCalories: 257.5kcal (13%)Carbohydrates: 29.7g (10%)Fiber: 2.8g (12%)Net Carbs: 26.9gProtein: 7.7g (15%)Fat: 13.9g (21%)Saturated Fat: 4.5g (28%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 2.9gMonounsaturated Fat: 5.5gSodium: 102.8mg (4%)Potassium: 177.6mg (5%)Sugar: 12.4g (14%)Calcium: 31.1mg (3%)Iron: 1.3mg (7%)Magnesium: 58.8mg (15%)Zinc: 1.2mg (8%)
Carine Claudepierre

About The Author

Carine Claudepierre

Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, published author of a cookbook and many ebooks, and founder of Sweet As Honey.

I have an Accredited Certificate in Nutrition and Wellness obtained in 2014 from Well College Global (formerly Cadence Health). I'm passionate about sharing all my easy and tasty recipes that are both delicious and healthy. My expertise in the field comes from my background in chemistry and years of following a keto low-carb diet. But I'm also well versed in vegetarian and vegan cooking since my husband is vegan.

I now eat a more balanced diet where I alternate between keto and a Mediterranean Diet

Cooking and Baking is my true passion. In fact, I only share a small portion of my recipes on Sweet As Honey. Most of them are eaten by my husband and my two kids before I have time to take any pictures!

All my recipes are at least triple tested to make sure they work and I take pride in keeping them as accurate as possible.

Browse all my recipes with my Recipe Index.

I hope that you too find the recipes you love on Sweet As Honey!

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    15 Thoughts On Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Bars
  1. 5 stars
    I have made this recipe several time and it is great!

    I have started adding water when mixing the peanut butter to make the mixing easier. It has significantly improved the process.

    Thanks for sharing!

  2. 5 stars
    Hello, would it be possible to swap the oats for quinoa? Or would that not keep well? If so how much quinoa would you say to use? Thank you

  3. Hi,
    I don’t have access to pea protein. What else could I use as a substitute? I live in Tanzania.
    Thank you
    Melissa

  4. 5 stars
    Hi Again thanks for reply, one more question,,, so for the 10 bars its 10g per bar,,, with one tbl pwoder thats 15g for recipe…is the remainder of protein coming from the peanut butter thanks nigel ….they are very good by the way, my chocolate melted abit much but looked good

    • Yes! There is the full nutrition panel available just after the recipe card, scroll down a bit more and you can see it. I am so happy you enjoyed the bars! XOXO Carine.

  5. Hi, I was wondering for the protein powder…..How many grams of protein are in the pea pwoder….Is it 100grams for the 1 tablespoon Thanks..Actually i just made recipe, if left in fridge are they still quite soft thanks Nigel

    • I am using this protein pea powder – it contains 20 g protein per serve (2 tbsp/30g). Those bar are no bake bars so they stay quote soft anyway. They should harden slightly in the fridge tho. Enjoy the recipe on the blog! XOXO Carine.

  6. 5 stars
    Hi! I would like to make these, but I don’t have any brown rice syrup. Could I make these with maple syrup instead? Thanks 🙂

    • Hi Michelle, Sure you can! Any liquid sweetener will work. I love using brown rice syrup but maple syrup, honey or agave will work as well. Enjoy the recipe ! Thanks for reading the blog and testing my recipes! xoxo Carine.

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