Almond Coconut Protein Bars
These vegan and gluten-free, no-bake almond coconut protein bars with hemp seeds are easy to make in a food processor and make a great snack or healthy dessert!
Ingredient Notes
- almonds – use plain, raw almonds with no added oil or salt
- dates – any variety works as long as they’re soft and moist
- hemp seeds – sometimes called hemp hearts
- coconut – use unsweetened fine or medium shredded coconut
- protein – use chocolate or vanilla pea protein or a pea protein blend (such as Vega, NuZest, Aloha, Bob’s Red Mill etc.)
- coconut oil – any variety works but I like organic, unrefined
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1. Add the almonds to a food processor and blend to break down. They should resemble a grainy flour but a some large chunks are totally fine.
Step 2. Add the dates, coconut and hemp seeds and process into a crumbly mixture.
Step 3. Add everything else and process into a thick dough.
Quick Note: If your food processor can’t handle this much volume, transfer everything to a mixing bowl and use your hands to mix everything up.
Step 4. Line a 7-8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper then firmly press the dough into the pan. Use your hands to get it as flat and even as you can.
Place the bars in the freezer for an hour, then lift out of the pan, slice into bars and enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Storage: Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months.
- Nuts: Almonds can be substituted with walnuts or pecans.
- Dates: Must use soft, moist dates. If your dates are very dry, soak them in hot water for 15 minutes then drain well before using in the recipe.
Related Recipes
- Chocolate Chip No-Bake Granola Bars
- Sunflower Sesame Homemade Energy Bars
- No-Bake Vegan Hemp Protein Bars
- No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
- No-Bake Apricot Granola Bars
- Salted Mocha Coconut Protein Bars
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to the comment section to leave a star rating and review.
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Almond Coconut Protein Bars
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 60 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 12 bars
- Category: Snack
- Method: Food Processor
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These almond coconut energy bars are packed with flavour and nutrition for a healthy snack option that tastes like dessert!
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds (150 g)
- 1 cup very tightly packed, soft pitted dates (270 g)
- 1 cup hemp seeds (150 g)
- 1 unsweetened shredded coconut (100 g)
- 3/4 cup vanilla pea protein (75 g)
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil (70 g)
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tsp cinnamon, optional
- 1/2 tsp sea salt, optional
Instructions
- Place the almonds in a food processor or high-powered blender and mix until broken down into a grainy flour. It’s ok if there are some large chunks.
- Add the dates, coconut and hemp seeds and mix until it forms a crumbly mixture.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and process into a thick dough (see notes).
- Line a 7-8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper then firmly press the dough into the pan using your hands. Spend some time thoroughly pressing it in to the pan to ensure a bar that holds together well.
- Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour then lift out of the pan and cut into 12 bars.
Notes
Food Processing: Step 3 may be too much volume for your food processor to handle. Mine was fine blending on low and stopping to mix a few times but the mixture did take up the whole container. If you think it’s too much for your food processor, transfer to a mixing bowl and use your hands to combine into a thick dough you can press between your fingers.
Storage: Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months.
Dates: Must use soft, moist dates such as medjool, sayer or deglect noor. If your dates are very dry, soak them in hot water for 15 minutes then drain well before using in the recipe.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 316
- Sugar: 17 g
- Fat: 22 g
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 11 g
Update Note: New photos and text added on August 5, 2020.
Hi This recipe is amazing. please advise whether the vega protein is mixed with water or milk or do you use the powder on its own in this recipe? Thank you! Romy
You just use it on its own. Thanks. 🙂
I LOVE these bars. So much better than anything I’ve ever gotten from the store and ridiculously easy to make. Thank you for the recipe!
these bars are great! I add flax seeds to mine too. Do you use a food processor or a blender? The dates get stuck I my Vitamix and I’m trying to figure out a way to prevent them from getting stuck so I don’t burn it out.
Can you use chia seeds in place of hemp seeds? If so how much? I can’t find hemp seeds at my store so wanted an alternative. Also I’m assuming you can substitute almond butter for ground almonds but not sure how much? My almond butter just has almonds as ingredient.
You won’t be able to use almond butter unfortunately since you need the ground almonds to be dry, they aren’t ground up as far as almond butter. You may be able to replace with oats or another ground nut or flour of choice. Chia seeds should be okay in place of hemp seeds but I can’t guarantee they’ll work as well. Thanks!
I’m a huge hemp seed fan so these definitely need to happen! Thanks for this!
These look so good!! I never used dates before. I’ve seen them n so many recipes but always feel nervous trying them.
I never make my own protein bars, but I should totally give it a shot. Thanks for the recipe!
I definitely need to try these bars – they sound amazing!!
I’m all about hemp seeds lately and I’m always looking for a good pre-workout snack! These look perfect!!
You must have been in my head tonight girl! I was just wondering how protein powder would act in a date based bar! So glad it works 🙂 I’ll be trying this soon for sure! Love the added coconut – it’s one of my favorite flavors!