They taste like a peanut butter cup but have 13 grams of protein and only 12 net grams of carbs. These 4 ingredient protein bars are the high-protein snack you’ll rely on when you’re craving for sweets kicks in.
With a super soft, peanut butter base and topped with hard-shell chocolate, these 4 ingredient protein bars curb all the cravings.
As a Certified Nutrition Coach, anything that’s whipped up in just a few minutes and high in protein is a win for myself and my clients. Couple that with something super sweet that feels like a treat but is actually healthy? It becomes a staple (this is actually the premise behind my Strong and Sweet protein Guide!).
These peanut butter protein bars use collagen powder as their base to help you increase your protein intake. Collagen is one of the purest sources of protein and it blends into just about anything with ease (learn more about the difference between collagen and protein powder.
So, if you’re a fan of my bite-sized peanut butter protein cups (the most popular recipe on the blog) or protein buckeyes, these low-carb protein bars are going to be your new staple.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Easy to make: The protein bars have just 4 ingredients so they’re almost impossible to mess up. Plus, they come together in about 10 minutes.
Healthy: These bars are dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, and low-carb. Plus, with 13 grams of protein, they’re a fueling mini snack.
Delicious: It doesn’t get much better than the combination of peanut butter and chocolate.
Ingredients and Substitutions
There are not a lot of substitutions for this recipe outside of the chocolate chips. If you want the 4 ingredient protein bars to be low in carbs, opt for sugar-free chocolate hips. If you don’t care, then just use dairy-free ones.
You could also do white chocolate chips as a switch up- learn more about how to make homemade protein bars for easy swaps.!
Collagen powder could be replaced with whey protein powder if you tolerate dairy. I haven’t tried but often they’re interchangeable.
Expert Tips To Make It
Your peanut butter needs to be a natural brand, and it needs to be runny (so fresh). Otherwise, you’re going to have a hard time mixing it with the almond flour and collagen powder. You want it oily. If you need to add a quarter teaspoon of water do it but know that the more you add the soften the bars are.
Heat the chocolate chips on low over the stove and keep an eye on them. Take them out when mostly melted. Otherwise, they’ll burn.
Press the base of the protein bars into the pan really well. The harder your press, the better they hold together. That said, know that it’s still a soft base. These are not hard bars.
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, this makes it easier to remove and slice.
Know that the chocolate topping does crack when cutting. You can reduce this by heating the knife and slicing versus pressing but the chocolate top does tend to crack.
Don’t let them sit at room temperature, enjoy them chilled. At room temperature, they get too soft to stay together.
How To Make 4 Ingredient Protein Bars
Step 1: In a bowl, mix together the peanut butter, almond flour, and collagen powder until you have a giant sticky ball. And melt the chocolate.
Step 2: Press the peanut butter mixture into a lined 8x3 loaf pan.
Step 3: Spoon the melted chocolate over the top of the protein bars and spread it out until evenly coated. Place in the freezer to set for 45 minutes.
Step 4: Let the bars sit before slicing them.
How To Store Them
Fridge: Store the 4 ingredient protein bars in the fridge in an airtight container. Take care not to stack the bars on top of each other as they do soften a bit in the fridge. Enjoy them chilled.
Freezer: You can easily double this recipe and store the low-carb protein bars in the freezer in a freezer-safe bag. Again, don’t stack the bars but lay them in one single line. When you need them, let them thaw in the fridge overnight.
Flavor Variations
Truthfully, this is a versatile protein bar recipe that can be adapted any way. Below are a few fun flavor variations for you but know that they’re now low-carb friendly. All of them are dairy and gluten-free though.
Caramel: Use almond-hazelnut butter for the base of the bars instead of peanut butter and drizzle on some dairy-free caramel sauce to the top.
Add-ins: Mixing in some chopped pecans, sprinkles, or extra chocolate chips makes for a tasty flavor change.
Flavored collagen: You could easily use a chocolate collagen powder for the base to change the entire bar.
Salt: A sprinkle of sea salt on top of the chocolate makes for a salty, sweet flavor combo!
FAQs
Much of this depends on your personal goals. Eating a high-protein diet is healthy and a great way to maintain energy and lose weight. However, eating multiple protein bars per day isn’t an awesome choice. You’d be missing out on nutrients from whole foods while taking a lot of (albeit healthy) fats. Stick to one protein bar per day or every other.
More High-Protein Snack Recipes
- Single serve protein cookie
- Double chocolate protein bars
- 8 Gluten and dairy-free protein bar recipes
- Single serve banana bread
Tired of snacking and still feeling hungry? These high-protein treats are made in minutes!
4 Ingredient Protein Bars
Video
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Collagen powder
- 4 tablespoons Almond flour
- ⅔ cup Peanut butter natural and runny
- 5 tablespoons Sugar-free chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a small pot on the stove, melt the chocolate chips over low heat. Make sure to remove the pot as soon as the chocolate chips are just melted.
- In a bowl, mix together the peanut butter, almond flour, and collagen powder until you have a giant sticks ball. You’ll have to stop and scrape down your fork a lot.
- Press the peanut butter mixture into a lined 8x3 loaf pan.
- Spoon the melted chocolate over top of the protein bars and spread it out until evenly coated.
- Place in the freezer to set for 45 minutes.
- Remove from the freezer and let the bars sit for 10 minutes before slicing with a heated knife.
- Slice into bars and store in the fridge.
Notes
Heat the chocolate chips on low over the stove and keep an eye on them. Take them out when mostly melted. Otherwise, they’ll burn. Press the base of the protein bars into the pan really well. The harder your press, the better they hold together. That said, know that it’s still a soft base. These are not hard bars. Parchment paper lined in a loaf pan works better than a silicone mold. Otherwise it’s harder to remove. Know that the chocolate topping does crack when cutting. You can reduce this by heating the knife and slicing versus pressing but the chocolate top does tend to crack a bit. Don’t let them sit at room temperature, enjoy them chilled. At room temperature they get too soft to stay together.
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Shelby S says
I love these protein bars so much that I keep a batch hidden in the freezer so that I don't have to share with the kids!