Sugar-Free Protein Bars with 20 g of Protein. Dairy-Free & No Protein Powder

Sugar-free & 100% natural ingredients

Sugar-free protein bars are extra huge and very filling. They are dairy-free and vegan. You don’t need any protein powder to make them. Only natural ingredients.

By Ksenia
14. March 2024
Rating: 5.00
(3)

Why this recipe is great

Whip up these giant, protein-packed bars without any protein powder. They’re super satisfying and loaded with 20g of protein in each serving!

Giant, protein-packed bars ♡

Recipe, Hacks and Tips

You can make these sugar-free and dairy-free protein bars at home. Keep them in the freezer for a protein-rich snack whenever you are in the mood for something sweet. They’re easy to make with everyday ingredients and are perfect for a quick, healthy snack!

Ingredients:

  • Chocolate
  • Dates
  • Boiling water
  • Almond flour
  • Cashew nuts
Ingredients for sugar-free protein bars: dates, almond flour, cashew nuts, and chocolate.

Start by pouring boiling water over the dates. Let them soak for 30 minutes. Drain the water and put soaked dates into a blender. Prepare fresh boiling water. That’s our base for a date paste. With date paste, we sweeten the bars without adding any refined sugar. Or sugar syrups. Sweet and natural protein bars. That’s our goal.

Let’s create a delicious and very sweet date paste. We need to blend boiling water and soaked dates in a blender so they combine. To blend boiling water and soaked dates into a paste, add all dates and 1/3 of water to a blender and blend. You will get a paste consistency. Add 1/3 of water again and blend. Finally, add all remaining boiling water and blend. Why not blend all boiling water and soaked dates at once? If you add all the water to a blender, the water splashes a lot. And it isn’t easy to blend. So we discovered that it’s better to add water step by step.

Mix date paste and almond flour. Almond flour is our base for the protein-rich bar. This flour contains a lot of protein. At the same time, less fat than almond nuts. Check protein and fat values, looking for almond flour. High in protein and lower in fat. That kind of almond flour is perfect for a protein bar.

Combine date paste and almond flour into the dough. You will get a dough consistency that is easy to mold and slightly sticky. Line a baking form with parchment paper. And press the dough into the form. Cut nuts and sprinkle over the dough. Press them into the dough. We used a rolling pin to do it. But you can go for anything heavy and flat. We used cashew nuts in our recipe. But you can substitute for any nuts you like.

Cut the dough into bars directly in the baking form before placing it in the freezer. After freezing, you can easily separate the bars along the pre-cut lines. Once frozen, the dough becomes too firm to cut. Freeze for 2 hours.

Melt chocolate. If you want sugar-free chocolate bars, go for sugar-free chocolate. Separate the dough into bars. Dip each in melted chocolate. Put in the freezer. After 30 minutes, you can enjoy sugar-free protein bars!

How to Store Sugar-Free Protein Bars?

You can store sugar-free protein bars in the freezer. Before eating, remove a bar from the freezer. And let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to defrost for optimal taste. These bars make a perfect on-the-go snack. Simply place them in a container and take them with you to work. You don’t need to keep them frozen all the time.

No Sugar and Dairy-Free

Sugar-free protein bars without adding any refined sugar? Or sugar syrups? Easy! To sweeten the bars, we use dates. Soak them in boiling water. Blend with more boiling water. You will get a date paste. It’s a perfect natural sweetener.

Are you looking for a dairy-free protein bar? We only use dairy-free, vegan ingredients in this recipe. Almond flour, water, dates, cashews, and chocolate. Choose dairy-free and sugar-free chocolate for coating. And you are ready to make sugar-free and dairy-free protein bars!

20 g Protein per Serving Without Protein Powder

We don’t use any protein powder to make protein bars. To make the bars rich in protein, we use almond flour. The almond flour is rich in protein. And it’s lower in fat in comparison to almond nuts.

Every serving of protein bar contains 20 g of protein. The bar is huge and very filling. A delicious protein-rich snack to keep you full. And satisfy all carvings.

How to Choose Almond Flour for This Recipe to Get 20g of Protein Per Bar

Almond flour is the main protein source in this recipe. Choose the right type to get 20g of protein per serving. Check the nutritional label. You need almond flour with about 53g of protein per 100g. Go for partially defatted almond flour because it’s higher in protein and lower in fat. It’s just normal almond flour with the oil removed. We don’t recommend specific brands. However, you can easily find the right one online by matching the protein content on the label.

More Recipes Rich in Protein

Are you looking for more protein-rich recipes? What about black bean soup? High in natural, plant-based protein, it’s a perfect dinner or lunch. Or even breakfast if you are extra hungry in the morning. Or udon salad with black beans. It’s extra quick and easy. It’s high in protein and very filling.

Recommended Recipes

Sugar-free protein bars with 20 g of protein are on the cutting board. They are covered in chocolate, and crunchy cashews shine through.

Sugar-Free Protein Bars: 20g of Pure Protein, No Protein Powder

5 from 3 votes
Sugar-free protein bars with 20 g of protein per serving. Dairy-free and no protein powder needed.
Servings 8 Servings
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Resting Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g dates
  • 200 g boiling water
  • 250 g almond flour
  • 70 g cashew nuts
  • 100 g chocolate*

Instructions
 

  • Wash 200 g of dates under running water. Pour boiling water over 200 g dates. Let them soak for 30 minutes. Drain the water.
    Pouring water into dates. The dates are in the white bowl.
  • Next, we want to blend soaked dates into date paste. With it, we will substitute sugar in protein bars. Prepare soaked dates and 200 g boiling water. Add all soaked dates to a blender and 1/3 of boiling water (around 60-70 g). Blend. Add 1/3 again and blend. Finally, add all the remaining water and blend into date paste. We don’t pour 200 g of boiling water at once because it’s hard to blend, and water splashes everywhere. Instead, we add water gradually until we reach the consistency of date paste.
    Showing date paste in the blender. It is very smooth and has a caramel-like texture.
  • Mix the date paste with 250 g of almond flour. Combine into dough.
    A dough for bars. It is thick and caramel-colored because it is based on almond flour.
  • Line the baking form with parchment paper. Press the dough into a baking form.
    Showing dough in the form of parchment paper. It is thick and caramel-colored.
  • Cut 70 g cashew nuts in half and spread them evenly over the dough. Press them into the dough. We use a rolling pin to do it. You can use a box or something heavy to do it if you don’t have a rolling pin.
    Showing dough in the form of parchment paper with cashew nuts on top.
  • Cut the dough into 8 bars. Freeze the bars for 2 hours.*
    Cutting bars dough into servings before putting them into the freezer. The dough is still in the baking form but cut into pieces.
  • Separate the bars into eight pieces. Melt 100 g of chocolate. Cover the cutting board with parchment paper. Dip bars into chocolate.* Place them on parchment paper. Put in the fridge. In 30 minutes, sugar-free bars are ready to eat.
    Dipping bars into melted chocolate. On the right, there are bars without chocolate coating. On the left is a bowl with melted chocolate and bars already covered in chocolate in the middle.
  • Store the bars in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Defrost 15 minutes before eating.
    Sugar-free protein bars with 20 g of protein are on the cutting board. They are covered in chocolate, and crunchy cashews shine through.

Video

Notes

*Use sugar-free chocolate for sugar-free protein bars. You can also opt for dark chocolate. In that case, your bars will be low in sugar but not completely sugar-free.
*In the photo and video, you’ll see the dough cut into 16 bars. That’s because we made the recipe multiple times. However, be sure to cut it into 8 bars, as the recipe is calculated for 8 bars.
*There’s loads of almond flour out there, right? When you’re grabbing some for this protein bar recipe, check the label. Choose almond flour with at least 53 grams of protein per 100 grams. We went for partially defatted almond flour. It’s lower in fat but higher in protein than regular almond flour or meal. And guess what? You can easily find this type online!
 

Nutrition

Calories: 301kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 20gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 5mgPotassium: 258mgFiber: 8gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 3IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 182mgIron: 2mg
Calories: 301kcal
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, European
Keywords: 20g protein bar, dairy free protein bars, no sugar protein bars, sugar-free protein bars

Have you tried this recipe?

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Join the Conversation

  1. In the photo there’s 16 bars, not sure if I should cut the mixture into 8 or 16?

    1. Hi Emily,

      The recipe should be cut into 8 bars. We made the recipe several times, which is why we took different photos. However, the recipe and protein content are calculated for 8 bars. Enjoy!

      1. Thank you 🙂

  2. Daniela Ardzivian says:

    Hi, struggle with protien bars findings ones that are high in protien but no dairy. This recipe s3ems interesting to try but what almond flour do you suggest.

    1. Hi Daniela! We suggest partially defatted almond flour. It has less fat and more protein. You can find it online—just check the label for around 53 grams of protein per 100 grams. That’s the one you need.

  3. how can we cut down on calories for this recipe?

    1. Hi Rita,

      There are two ways to cut calories in this recipe:

      1. Cut the Bars Smaller:
      Instead of cutting the mixture into 8 bars, divide it into 16 bars. This way, each bar will have around 150 calories and 10g of protein.

      2. Adjust the Chocolate and Nuts:
      Use only 50g-60g of chocolate instead of 100g, and dip each bar on just one side in chocolate, leaving the other side bare.
      Reduce the amount of nuts from 70g to 40g.
      If you’d like to experiment further, you could try omitting the nuts entirely, but I’m unsure how that will affect the taste. Perhaps test it with half the amount of nuts first, then try without any.

      I hope this helps!

5 from 3 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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