Ask me what my favorite chocolate bar is. Snickers. There, I said it. What’s not to like…rich chocolate, nougat, caramel and salty peanuts. The perfect sweet combination if you ask me! Not sure why I didn’t make this before, considering I don’t ever eat them anymore since going gluten-free, and try to stick to a lower sugar diet.
These are Snickers Bars I can eat on a very regular basis….so can you tell I’m excited??!! What makes it even better, is these No-Bake Snickers Protein Bars are ridiculously easy to make, and are only 7 ingredients, most of which you probably have in your pantry right now!
Not good at shaping bars into perfect little rectangles? Me neither. That’s why I developed this recipe to make 8 bars to fit in an 8×8 pan. Easy.
When I first developed a single serving of the recipe, I didn’t have high expectation of it actually tasting like a Snickers bar. But it did. There are many options you can use for the chocolate in this recipe. I used stevia chocolate chips, as I’m able to get them locally. I realize these aren’t available everywhere, so you can use regular semi-sweet chocolate chips, your favorite low carb chocolate or dark chocolate cut into pieces and melted. Or if you want something completely sugar free and low in carbs, you could mix coconut oil with unsweetened cocoa powder and stevia drop. All of these options would work great.
I recommend these be stored in to the freezer, as I think they taste the best cold, and aside from the chocolate being hardened, it remains soft to the bite.
I tested a new brand of protein for this recipe. MRM was kind enough to send me samples of their natural vanilla and chocolate whey protein. It worked great in the recipe, and I’m sure it will work great in many others. Its all natural, and sweetened with stevia and monk fruit. MRM looks to be available all across the US, so if you’re located there, there’s a good chance you’ve seen it, and if you’re an online shopper, you can pick it up at bodybuilding.com.
These are a great snack for post-workout, and really anytime you want a sweet snack with a good dose of protein.
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter (creamy)
- ¼ cup sugar free honey (I used Nature's Hollow) *could also use regular honey (nutrition will be different)
- 1 cup whey protein powder, vanilla (I used MRM Natural Vanilla)
- ½ cup pitted dates
- 2 Tbsp water (reserved date water)
- ¼ cup chopped salted peanuts
- ½ cup stevia chocolate chips (or semi sweet chocolate chips or any low carb chocolate bar you like, cut into pieces)
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- Take the ½ cup of dates, and pour boiling water over top, allow to sit and soften.
- Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix together all the nougat ingredients (peanut butter, honey and whey protein).
- Press the nougat into the bottom of an 8x8 square pan or glass dish.
- Take your softened dates, and 2 Tbsp of the date water, and blend in a blender or food processor until smooth.
- Spread the date (caramel) mixture over the nougat layer in the pan.
- Then, sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the date (caramel) layer.
- Lastly, melt the chocolate and coconut oil in the microwave in 30 second increments or over the stove in a small pot.
- Drizzle the chocolate over top the peanut layer, and spread to cover the edges of the pan.
- Chill in the fridge or freezer until chocolate is set.
- Cut into 8 bars, and store in fridge, or place individually in plastic baggies and store in the freezer for grab and go. I recommend keeping these in the freezer, and they can be eaten directly out of the freezer, as they remain chewy and don't get very hard.