Chocolate protein bars that are rich, chocolatey, fudgy, gooey, and sinfully delicious.
3 Steps To Instant Popularity:
First, take a class trip to a remote location. Bonus points if the trip lasts more than a week, and double bonus points if the trip includes multiple bus rides of 5 hours or more.
Second, bring along a stash of chocolate protein bars large enough to feed a small army.
Third, wait patiently. By day 6, it is almost guaranteed your tired and hungry classmates will clamor for your attention and fight over who gets to sit next to you.
At least… this is the experience I had at age 16 when–equipped with raisins, cashews, and a bunch of Luna and Clif bars–I went on a 10-day class field trip to northern China.
The trip involved quite a lot of walking in the heat, packing up and changing locations almost daily, and many long and boring bus rides, with not nearly enough food to sustain the energy expended on all of these activities.
Somehow word got out that Katie had a secret stash of food in her suitcase, and by the end of the trip I was breaking each protein bar into eight or ten pieces so there’d be enough to go around.
What was the best class field trip you ever took… or what was the worst?
Due to all of the incredible memories made during my ten days in northern China, I look back on the trip as one of the best school field trips I ever took.
However at the time, when we were hiking through the freezing-cold mountains at 5am, eating unfamiliar foods (including a goat we’d seen alive earlier in the day), and going out of our minds with boredom on the tour bus, I probably would have told you it was the absolute worst trip I ever took!
Chocolate Protein Bars
Adapted from Black Bean Brownies
Fudge Brownie Chocolate Protein Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups black beans (1 15-oz can, drained and rinsed very well) (250g after draining)
- 3 tbsp dutch or regular cocoa powder (15g)
- 7 tbsp chocolate protein powder (I used Nutribiotic)Â (45g)
- scant 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup or agave or honey (Honey is not for strict vegans.) (75g)
- pinch pure stevia, or 2 tbsp sugar of choice
- 3 1/2 tbsp coconut or vegetable oil (35g)
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup to 2/3 cup chocolate chips (Not optional; omit at your own risk.)
Instructions
Homemade Chocolate Protein Bars: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine all ingredients except chips in a high-quality food processor, and blend until absolutely and completely smooth. (A blender works if you absolutely must, but the texture and taste will be much better in a food processor.) Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour into a greased 8×8 square pan. Optional: sprinkle extra chocolate chips over the top. Cook the homemade chocolate protein bars 16 minutes. They will still look underdone when you take them from the oven, but this is okay. Let cool, then pat down with a pancake spatula. Refrigerate overnight. The bars will have firmed up and are now ready to cut and eat. Store leftovers in the refrigerator. Makes about 10 bars.
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Links Of The Day:
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Would olive oil work instead of coconut or vegetable oil? Thanxoxoxo!
I have an unflavored/unsweetened protein powder. How should I adjust my cacao/cocoa to make up for not using chocolate flavored protein? I can’t wait to try these!!
Taste the batter and add as needed. It should be just a little too sweet before baking, as it will get less sweet once baked.
Can children have protein powder? I thought I read they shouldn’t.
I don’t see why it would be a problem, but if you’d prefer not to use it just make this similar recipe:
https://lett-trim.today/2012/09/06/no-flour-black-bean-brownies/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Hi! These look great. My question is do you have a recipe for protein bars that do not have to be refrigerated and are going to be good for traveling? I am going to Ghana in the spring for two weeks and I need to stay low carb and am looking for ideas. Thank you.
Here is a link to ALL of her granola bar recipes. Hopefully you can find something that will work!
https://lett-trim.today/category/healthy-blondies-and-bars/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
i made these this morning as an alternative to nut and oat protein bars which i find too buttery and make me bloated.
i changed the recipe a little and used about 10 or so vegan choc buttons and put in some cherries instead as a more fruit taste after finding the chocolate very strong in the recipe (use of cocoa seemed alot to my taste)
after being a bit cautionary with the black beans i must say – you would definately not notice! i think more so as i had the cherries in as the skins can be found a little through the brownies but otherwise they taste just like a brownie would!
very impressed!! the mix was very stiff and a bit dry which i didnt think it would, worked well though but didn’t stretch as far with less choc chips i imagine.. i cut them into penquin shapes with a cutter after baking and have weighed them out into portions to calculate the nutrition.
very pleased with this recipe – thanks SO much!! x
These look really delicious. Does anybody know approx. how many calories will be in each bar? Tia
It’s listed right there in the recipe…
Thanks
So, you pretty much should just go ahead and double this recipe, because these things will NOT last long. They are so. good. I’m amazed.
Oh and tip #2: peanut butter powder. I happened to have some on hand from another recipe, and used it half and half with the protein powder and it really came out delicious! Just a hint of PB flavour in that decadent brownie. Mmmmm!
Tip #3: Really process the heck out of this stuff. The smoother and more velvety the batter is, the better. Texture is key, she’s not kidding.
Excellent recipe!
Can the oil in this recipe be substituted by apple sauce like other baking recipes or is it absolutely necessary? I love this recipe and I literally make a pan to keep in the fridge every Monday for the week. I made it lower in fat by halving the amount of chocolate chips, but I think taking the oil out would help even more.
Also, in case anyone is wondering if vanilla protein powder will work, yes. Yes it will.
I would love to make the protein bars, however I can not tolerate the agave or liquid sweetners. Please do you know how I can substitute xylitol and what liquid to achieve best results? Thank you!!!
I’m quite late to try these, but I had to comment! I baked these last night so I could bring them to work for that mid afternoon slump. The texture of these were lovely, very fluffy but dense at the same time. I made alterations to the recipe to cut down on sugar, but they still came out great! I even cooked them in mini muffin tins, and they came out with the same texture and taste as those ‘two bite brownies’ I see in all the stores here. Great healthy protein bars I’ll be recommending to friends! Thanks Katie!
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Just made these with chocolate PB2 in lieu of protein powder. Batter tastes delish, I just took them out of the oven so I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see how the finished product tastes!
These were absolutely delicious!!! Will definitely be making these on the reg!
There were so good. I made mine with Arbonne’s Chocolate protein powder. Order yours at http://www.maryparks.arbonne.com
Not for a class trip, but I did import clif and luna bars to rural Sichuan province a few years ago. Staggering around while trying to hike at 16,000 feet, we took a rest, sat down in the mountains, and ate our clif bars. These are what I was eating instead of yak, yak mlk yogurt, and pork. Not the easiest thing, being a vegan in Tibetan lands, but it all worked out. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
These are amazing!! Question – 350 F – is that for a fan assisted oven?