These healthy cake batter energy bars will rock your face off.
Addictively delicious no-bake energy bars that taste surprisingly like cake batter.
It’s weird, but they really do!
Now that I’ve finally started posting videos (what took me so long?!), I’m going back to some of the most popular recipes of three to four years ago to remake them, add videos, and see if I can make the original recipes even healthier.
In the case of these cake batter bars, I’ve improved upon the original recipe—this new version makes a much bigger batch and is also lower in sugar.
The sprinkles add a fun touch, but it’s actually not the sprinkles that make these bars taste like cake batter, so feel free to omit them if you desire.
The first time I made these cake batter energy bars was on one particular Saturday afternoon when a friend came to visit with her four-year-old daughter.
With the leftover sprinkles, we thought it’d be fun to make sprinkle maracas by pouring the sprinkles into containers (as seen above) and shaking.
But the little girl was more interested in a family of bugs she found in front of the house.
Using leaves and rocks, she spent about an hour constructing a home for “Bobby” the roly poly bug.
Then she decided he needed food, and so she proceeded to dump the entire contents of her sprinkle maraca onto the ground for Bobby to eat.
Obviously Bobby took no interest in this sustenance.
But I think we’ll now be getting ants.
Going back to these cake batter bars.
Just 6 ingredients in these easy-to-make and kid-friendly energy bars that need no refrigeration and can be customizable to fit allergy-friendly diets as well.
My favorite nut butter to use in these bars is cashew butter, but any nut butter—or even Sunbutter or Peabutter—will work here.
As always with my recipes, be sure to use pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla or vanilla flavoring.
And you can replace the sprinkles with raisins or even mini chocolate chips if your heart desires.
Protein powder can also be added if you want a higher-protein snack bar.
Cake Batter Energy Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice crispies (brown, white, or gf)
- 1 cup oat flour, or make your own by blending rolled oats then measuring 1 cup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp roasted cashew butter, or allergy-friendly sub
- 1/2 cup agave or honey
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- handful sprinkles, optional
Instructions
- *If desired, you can replace up to half of the oat flour with your favorite protein powder.Combine all dry ingredients and stir well. In a separate bowl, whisk together liquid ingredients to form a thin paste. (If your nut butter is cold, warm it a little for easier mixing.) Then stir together all ingredients to form a batter. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment or wax, and smooth the batter into the pan. A trick is to use a second sheet of parchment over top to spread the batter and press it firmly into the pan. Really press it down as hard as you can. Refrigerate or freeze to harden, then cut into bars.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More Healthy Dessert Recipes
Homemade Chocolate Bars (3 Ingredients)
My step mom, who is the farthest thing from vegan, saw me reading this post and said “mmmm, that looks good. Are you going to make it?”. I think we have a winner. 🙂
Ha! “Say goodbye to your face.” That cracks me up. Going to make these for my little brother’s housewarming party this weekend. Shhh… don’t tell anyone it’s healthy! Actually, y’know what, go ahead and tell them… if they avoid them, that means more for ME! Bwaahaahaahaa. 😉
Thanks, Katie! You’ve done it again.
Hi Katie,
I enjoy your blog so much! Wanted to let you know that I tried this recipe (with substitutions for what I didn’t have on hand). Here’s what I did: Instead of agave nectar, I used 4 Tbsp stevia (in the raw) and 5 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce. I also substituted peanut butter for the cashew butter. It turned out quite well, although I’ve been eating them frozen, so don’t know the consistency at room temperature. I would venture a guess that the cashew butter would be a milder flavor, as they taste more like peanut butter cookie dough than cake batter! Still great!
Katie!! I made these energy bars yesterday and they’re already gone! I am in LOVE with them. I have been looking for a snack I can bring to work and these are perfect. I have been a vegetarian (also don’t eat eggs or milk) for 7 years and always looking for little ways to sneak protein. If you have any coconutty protein/energy bars please share! You’re the best, keep up the good work!
You can put sprinkles on a stick and I’d eat it! These look fantastic Katie! PInned and ready to make!
Hi!! I made these last night with the protein powder option and I used PB2. I know that some thought that it might be too crumbly with the PB2, but I had the opposite issue! They were very sticky and never set (even after 24 hours). However, they are VERY yummy. I did use sugar free chocolate chips instead of sprinkles. We just eat them with a spoon!
I made mine with protein powder and pb2 as well, but I froze mine overnight instead – they were very firm in the morning and turned out well! Hope this helps!
This are awesome! However, I do have a question for you. Where do you store them? Mine don’t look nearly as held together as yours (I know, I am still working on the packing thing 😉 ) but they are really melty also. Am I supposed to keep them in the freezer? Thanks so much!
Freeze for best results 🙂
Thanks a ton! 🙂
Cake batter is the BEST! I love how you made it into energy bars. What a great idea! 🙂
Hi Katie!
I’m making these for a friend who is allergic to gluten. I’m not totally clear on what is and isn’t gluten-free…you mention that this recipe CAN be gluten-free. What should/shouldn’t I add to accommodate her diet? Thanks a million. LOVE, love, love your recipes.
Make sure to buy certified-gf rice crispies (Erowon or Kelloggs gf in the yellow box) and certified-gf oat flour (Bob’s red mill certified-gf).
Thanks so much
I just made these today! I didn’t have cashew butter so I used 2 tbsp peanut butter and 1 tbsp coconut butter. Very tasty! I made sure to melt down the butters a bit in the microwave before mixing. Next time I’ll sub the protein powder, since I lost a bit of protein using coconut butter. Thanks for the recipe!
Made these over the weekend for the hubs, thinking they would be good for his rides (competitive cyclist). Used coco crispies and PB and they were friggin delicious, like a Reese’s peanutbutter cup…but they would NEVER work on a ride, way to soft, even after being the freezer. I’d say they would be a great recovery snack for him…if I hadn’t eaten them all first 😉
Love your site and recipes! I made these tonight and followed directions to the letter. Went to Whole Foods on my lunch break, got ALL the essentials, but even after setting in freezer, then fridge, these are really sticky and melty. I wrapped each sliced bar in wax paper, but as soon as I take out of fridge they start to literally melt in my hand. I read others about have the same problem. What do you suggest I do to make them more firmed up and perhaps a bit dryer? Reduce the agave, and slightly increase the rice crispies? Thanks! Love love love this recipe other wise 🙂
They need to be stored in the fridge or freezer for best texture. I’ll edit my post now to say that :).
I am storing them in the fridge and freezer, but even a simple 5 minute car ride to work or to the gym leaves them a sticky pliable mess. I am making them for my clients and friends, but need to alter recipe to make them less melty. I am experimenting tonight with stevia and decreasing the agave, Also increasing the gf rice crispies and adding carob chips.
sounds good! i will have to try these!
This is a great recipe for a classroom of preschoolers. I have a child in my classroom who has peanut allergy. Could I use sunflower butter?
I don’t see why not. 🙂
Made these (and even doubled the recipe to make more!). So So So So Good!!!! I left out the sprinkles (only cuz I didn’t have them) and they were still delicous, though not as pretty as yours! Oh, and I used chocolate brown rice protein powder so I’m sure the flavor is different than yours.. chocolate cake batter energy bars! 🙂
This is great! Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for the inspiration and the chuckles!