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    Home / Recipes / Vegetarian

    Homemade Keto Low Carb Protein Bars

    By Lisa MarcAurele on May 19, 2020 18 Comments - This post may contain affiliate links. See Disclosure

    2209 shares
    5-Ingredient Recipes Simple Keto Meals Jump to Recipe
    keto low carb protein bars pinterest image
    homemade keto protein bars
    Dairy-FreeEgg-FreeVeganVegetarianQuick

    There's no need to buy expensive bars made with fillers and preservatives. These homemade low carb protein bars are so easy to make and can be customized however you like!

    stack of low carb keto homemade protein bars
    Jump to:
    • 💛 Why you'll love it
    • 📋 Ingredients
    • 💭 Quick tips
    • 🔪 Instructions
    • 📒 Variations
    • 📚 Related recipes
    • 📖 Recipe

    Before I started eating low carb, I used to eat high protein low carb bars all the time! They were great to satisfy my hunger on the go and tasted like I was eating a candy bar.

    Now I know why. Many brands of protein bars aren’t very healthy at all. Instead, they’re packed with sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners! They’re basically sugar free candy bars with some added protein.

    But I missed having these tasty bars when I needed a quick snack. That’s why I decided to create my own low carb protein bars that are actually good for you.

    These days, you can find much healthier options at the store. However, many still use fillers and preservatives. Plus, they can be expensive.

    💛 Why you'll love it

    My homemade protein bars are gluten-free, don’t use any fillers, and are made with inexpensive ingredients. You can also customize them however you want! 

    You don’t even need to bake them. You simply combine the ingredients in a food processor, stir in the chocolate chips (or other add-ins you like), then allow the low-carb chocolate chip bars to harden in the fridge for an hour or so. That’s it!

    If you want a snack that’s convenient, tasty, and good for you, give this recipe a try.

    📋 Ingredients

    When I set out to make the best low carb protein bars, I wanted to use only natural ingredients. Here's an overview of what you'll need for the recipe.

    Protein powder

    I use unflavored whey protein isolate because it has no added colors, flavor, or sweeteners. It's also a protein powder with zero carbs. However, you can use egg white or meat based protein powder to make the bars dairy-free.

    Natural sweeteners

    My preferred sweeteners are stevia, monk fruit, and erythritol. But you can use any keto-friendly sweetener you like in the recipe. You can also adjust the amount to your own taste preference.

    Coconut

    I'm a big fan of coconut so I add in unsweetened shredded dried coconut into my bars. It gives the bars a nice flavor and texture. If you don't care for coconut, feel free to swap it out with ground nuts or seeds.

    Almond butter

    Any nut or seed butters will work in the recipe but I like to use almond butter because it has a neutral flavor. Sunflower seed butter is a great alternative if you want nut-free bars.

    Coconut oil

    The great thing about coconut oil is that it is usually solid at room temperature. So it help keep the mixture in bar form.

    Add ins

    What you add into your bars is totally up to you! I like to stir in sunflower seeds and sugar free chocolate chips.

    Note: You'll find the full list of ingredients along with amounts used in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

    ingredients used in the recipe

    💭 Quick tips

    • Use a food processor. In order to combine the base ingredients of the bar together well, I recommend using a food processor. If you don't have one, a blender will work better than an electric mixer.
    • Melt the coconut oil. The coconut oil will blend into the mixture best if melted. I don't recommend using liquid oils in the recipe as the bars will be too soft. But unsalted butter is suitable alternative to coconut oil.
    • Form the bars in molds. If you want all the bars to be the same size, you can use a silicone bar mold to shape them. Once chilled, the bars should pop right out of the molds.
    • Freeze to harden faster. If you want to make the bars quickly, you can place the mixture in the freezer to quickly harden the bar mixture.

    🔪 Instructions

    This recipe is so easy to make, you may never buy protein bars from the store again.

    Process base ingredients

    First, we combine the initial ingredients in the food processor.

    1. Add the whey protein, sweeteners, shredded coconut, and almond butter to your food processor.
    2. Process until well blended.
    processing base ingredients in food processor

    Add coconut oil mix

    1. Melt the coconut oil, then stir in the sea salt and vanilla.
    2. Pour the coconut oil mixture into the food processor. 
    3. Process the ingredients until they start to form a ball of dough.
    adding coconut oil mixture to base mix

    Spread with add-ins

    Finally, we stir in the final ingredients and let the protein bars set:

    1. With a rubber spatula, stir in the sunflower seeds and chocolate chips (or whichever add-in ingredients you want to include).
    2. Line a 7×11 pan with parchment paper. This will make it much easier to transfer the bars out of the pan and slice them later.
    3. Transfer the dough into the pan. Using a rubber spatula, spread the dough into an even layer.
    4. Place the pan in the refrigerator for at least an hour to set.
    stirring in add-ins and spreading into lined pan

    Chill

    After an hour, your low carb protein bars will be ready! 

    I recommend lifting the mixture out of the pan and then cutting the bars on the parchment paper. That way, they won’t stick to the cutting board. I cut mine into 15 squares.

    📒 Variations

    Feel free to customize your high protein, low carb bars recipe however you want! 

    • Something sweet: I like adding sugar free chocolate chips. You could also experiment with white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or even dried cranberries.
    • Adding some crunch: Any nuts or seeds will work if you don’t want to use sunflower seeds. Pecans, almonds, or even pumpkin seeds will be delicious! Just make sure to chop any larger ingredients.
    • Texture: Ingredients like chia seeds or flax are a fun way to play around with the texture while adding a nice health boost.
    • Protein: I use whey protein in my recipe for texture and protein. However, you could use another flavorless powder like collagen peptides. You could also make these with a flavored protein powder. Just make sure to reduce the amount of sweetener you use since most flavored protein powders are sweetened.
    • Nut or seed butter: You can substitute the almond butter for any nut or seed butter you prefer. There are plenty of options at the store! Or, make your own by throwing the nuts or seeds in the food processor and processing until a butter forms.

    How do you like to make your low carb protein bars? Let us know in the comments below!

    keto low carb protein bars stacked with bitten one on top

    📚 Related recipes

    Looking for more snacks that will satisfy your sweet tooth and hold you over between meals? Check out a few of these favorites:

    • Matcha Keto Protein Balls are made with matcha collagen for a delicious, healthy snack!
    • My Quest Bar Recipe in coconut cashew flavor is easy to make and will save money over buying them at the store.
    • Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars taste just like a peanut butter cup for a decadent snack!
    • Almond Butter Keto Energy Balls with coconut and chocolate chips are tasty no-bake protein bites for a boost of energy.
    • Strawberry Coconut Milk Smoothie is a delicious dairy-free treat that only requires 4 ingredients to make!

    ★ FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, AND INSTAGRAM FOR MORE EASY KETO RECIPES.

    📖 Recipe

    stack of low carb keto homemade protein bars

    Low Carb Gluten Free Protein Bars

    Author: Lisa MarcAurele
    4.67 from 3 votes
    These low carb no bake chocolate chip almond butter bars with coconut and sunflower seeds have enough protein to satisfy hunger as a snack between meals.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Total Time10 mins
    Course: Breakfast, Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Print Pin Review Recipe Save Recipe View Collections Save Recipe
    Servings 15 squares
    Calories 203

    Video

    Ingredients

    • 4 scoops unflavored whey protein
    • ½ teaspoon stevia concentrated powder
    • ¼ cup low carb sugar substitute powdered or Swerve confectioners
    • ⅓ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
    • ½ cup almond butter or nut/seed butter of choice
    • ½ cup coconut oil liquified
    • ½ teaspoon sea salt
    • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • ½ cup sunflower seeds
    • ⅓ cup sugar free chocolate chips 2 oz
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Place whey protein, stevia extract powder, sweetener, coconut, and cashew butter into food processor.
    • Melt coconut oil if necessary then stir in sea salt and vanilla.
    • Add coconut oil mixture into food processor then process until ingredients start to form a ball on one side.
    • Stir in sunflower seeds and chocolate chips.
    • Line a 7x11 pan with parchment paper and spread the mixture out in the pan.
    • Place pan in the refrigerator for at least an hour to harden.

    Notes

    The whey protein is used to get the right texture and other bland tasting powders may be suitable replacements like collagen.
    Chocolate chips can be replaced with white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or dried cranberries.
    Other seeds like chia or flax make nice additions or substitutes.

    Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart

    low carb yum simple keto cookbook

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1bar | Calories: 203 | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 92mg | Potassium: 151mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 21IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 2mg

    Additional Info

    Net Carbs: 2 g | % Carbs: 3.8 % | % Protein: 19 % | % Fat: 77.1 % | SmartPoints: 8
    Values
    Array
    (
        [serving_size] => 1
        [calories] => 203
        [carbohydrates] => 4
        [protein] => 10
        [fat] => 18
        [sodium] => 92
        [fiber] => 2
        [serving_unit] => bar
        [saturated_fat] => 9
        [cholesterol] => 13
        [potassium] => 151
        [sugar] => 1
        [vitamin_a] => 21
        [vitamin_c] => 1
        [calcium] => 61
        [iron] => 2
    )
    

    Note on Nutritional Information

    Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.

    © LowCarbYum.com
    Unauthorized use of this material without written permission from Lisa MarcAurele is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes.
    Single photos may be used, provided that full credit is given to LowCarbYum.com along with a link back to the original content.

    First Published: January 21, 2015... Last Updated: May 19, 2020

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    Lisa-Profile

    Lisa MarcAurele has been creating keto friendly recipes since 2010. She enjoys experimenting in the kitchen to create low sugar foods that taste like high carb favorites!

    Lisa's recipes have been featured on popular magazine sites including Fitness, Shape, Country Living, Women's Health, and Men's Health. Her long-awaited cookbook, 5-Ingredient Keto, is also a popular go-to for those on a low-carb lifestyle. Learn more about Lisa....

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Judy

      August 28, 2021 at 9:37 pm

      I needed to make these “portable” so my husband could bring them to work in his lunchbox. I tried different approaches, but the hands down winner was replacing the coconut oil with cocoa butter. It does change the flavor some, but they are still good, and cocoa butter has essentially the same calorie/fat/carb profile as coconut oil. Less saturated fat though.

      Reply
      • Lisa MarcAurele

        August 29, 2021 at 10:15 am

        I'll have to give that a try! Thanks for sharing the modification!

        Reply
        • Judy

          August 29, 2021 at 6:04 pm

          I also used a small cookie dough dishes and put each scoop in a mini muffin pan with liners. This made 30 “cookies” rather than 15 bars, but I didn’t need to cut them 🙂

    2. Stacie

      October 25, 2020 at 6:27 pm

      I don’t like coconut flakes. What can I substitute? Can I use butter instead of coconut oil?

      Reply
      • Lisa MarcAurele

        October 26, 2020 at 9:37 am

        Butter should be fine to use. The coconut isn't essential to the recipe. You could replace it with some nuts or seeds if you'd like.

        Reply
    3. Emily Kemp

      May 24, 2018 at 10:24 am

      5 stars
      I'm always looking for healthy breakfasts when I'm on the go, these look great!

      Reply
    4. Alexandra

      August 06, 2017 at 2:04 am

      How do you make pumpkin seed butter or any other sort of nut butter

      Reply
      • Lisa

        August 06, 2017 at 6:08 am

        You process the nuts/seeds in a food processor until the oils are released and a butter is formed.

        Reply
      • Sharon

        May 25, 2020 at 2:43 pm

        Hi Alexandra,
        I make nut/seed butters in my food processor all the time. Use the chopping blade, and pulse until nuts are coarsely chopped if you want chunky nut butter. Than on continuous until it starts getting oily ball & proceed with recipe. If you want smooth nut butter - start with continuous until it starts forming an oily ball, than proceed with recipe.
        Hope this helps!

        Reply
    5. Claudette

      July 02, 2017 at 7:44 pm

      Do you by chance know how many teaspoons, tablespoons a scoop equals? Many thanks.

      Reply
      • Lisa

        July 03, 2017 at 6:28 am

        A scoop is equal to about 1/3 cup which is 5 1/3 tablespoons.

        Reply
        • Danielle

          November 14, 2020 at 6:16 pm

          These were surprisingly delicious! Never used whey powder before to bake with. I omitted the seeds and stevia, and used creamy peanut butter because that's what I had. The mixture was a bit wet for my liking. But using the coconut oil and then refrigerating really set them up nicely. Thanks so much for this!

    6. Kelsey

      April 29, 2016 at 12:24 am

      This was fantastic! I did change a few things depending on what I had on hand... I used organic chocolate whey protein mix that is grass fed and sugar free and I used pumpkin seed butter after comparing the carbs in sunflower vs pumpkin seed butter. Pumpkin seed butter has 1 carb per tablespoon where sunflower butter has 7 carbs per 2 tablespoons. I will make again...it's a nice sweet little treat after my workout 🙂 thanks for sharing

      Reply
      • Lisa

        April 29, 2016 at 4:55 am

        I had no idea there was pumpkin seed butter. I'm going to use that from now on. Love that there's only 1 carb per tablespoon. Thanks for the tip!

        Reply
        • Kelsey

          May 09, 2016 at 1:42 pm

          Of course! I am totally obsessed with pumpkin seed butter. I made these again today and added chia seeds and flax seed meal, your recipe is so awesome. So glad I found it. Our neighbor raved about these too, he is on a keto diet and I gave him a batch, he was loving it!

        • Sharon

          May 25, 2020 at 2:48 pm

          4 stars
          I made mine with lightly salted & roasted pumpkin seeds - I love the the toasty, mildly salty flavor in with the sweet. I had to wrap individual bars & freeze... because I "May have" finished off 4 bars in one day. So darned good! Thank you!

    7. Andrea

      January 21, 2015 at 4:07 pm

      This sounds like a great after-school snack for my kids that they can help prepare on the weekend. I will try it with almond butter since one child is allergic to cashews.

      Really enjoy your site. I have been reading you for years and consider myself a low carber for life.

      Reply
      • Lisa

        January 21, 2015 at 5:38 pm

        Hi Andrea! This is definitely a kid friendly recipe. My two year old insisted on having some so I hope your children like it as much as she did. Thanks for visiting the blog over the years. I really enjoy sharing the recipes and being a part of the great low carb community.

        Reply

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