This past Friday, my alarm sounded a little earlier than normal. After groggily pacing through my morning workout routine, showering, and checking blog work off of my to do list, I loaded my weekend bag and little pup into my car to drive to my parents’ house.
Despite a few slow cars in the far left freeway lane, I still pulled into the driveway by mid-afternoon. My dog and I raced through the front door while shouting (and barking) a quick hello to my dad before I quickly changed into a thick sweater, tucking a fleece blanket under one arm and a puffy winter coat under the other.
Then Dad and I hopped into his car to drive to the baseball game!
We walked through the stadium gates shortly after they opened, making a beeline for our seats behind the home team’s dugout. While most of our family and friends prefer to arrive just before the first pitch, Dad and I love getting to the ballpark as early as possible to watch batting practice.
Yes, I know most people find baseball games boring, let alone sitting in an empty stadium for an extra 2 hours with almost no action to watch whatsoever, but those moments have always been my favorite quality father-daughter times. We alternate between talking about the game, our work, and life in general, and I always end up thinking just how lucky I am to have my dad and share that special bond with him.
The only downside to arriving at the stadium early is that my stomach starts rumbling partway through the game! With limited food options, and because I rarely find the atomic hot sausages appealing that my dad usually buys, I often tuck homemade snacks into my purse. These Mocha Brownie Protein Bars were what got me through Friday’s game!
These bars are incredibly easy to make, and they were actually inspired by my friend Jessica’s cookbook, DIY Protein Bars. The cookbook is full of healthy recipes, all made gluten-free with no refined sugar, with fun flavors like s’mores, caramel macchiato, and chubby hubby. I’m dying to try all of them!
This recipe of mine required just 4 ingredients—how simple is that?? The bars start with vanilla protein powder, and I used PlantFusion to keep them gluten-free, vegan, and clean-eating friendly. Even for chocolate recipes, I still prefer vanilla protein powder because it usually has a nicer flavor compared to chocolate powders.
For the mocha flavor, we’ll add cocoa powder and coffee. The stronger the coffee, the more prominent its taste. I originally made these protein bars with regular strength coffee, and I could barely detect it through the chocolate. (Not a bad thing for a chocoholic like me!) If you prefer more of a coffee flavor, use double strength instead.
After mixing together the ingredients, plus a little Truvia for sweetness, press the mixture into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. (Easier clean up!) Chill until firm—or if you forget like me, until you remember that you have a chocolaty snack in the fridge!—before slicing into bars.
Nothing beats a fudgy brownie-like snack!
| Mocha Brownie Protein Bars | | Print |
- 3 scoops (90g) plant-based vanilla protein powder (I used PlantFusion)
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder (measured correctly)
- ½ cup (50g) old-fashioned oats (gluten-free if necessary)
- 2 tbsp (28g) Truvia (or other sweetener, to taste)
- 1 cup (240mL) cold coffee
- Line a 9x5” loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, stir together the protein powder, cocoa powder, oats, and Truvia. Mix in the cold coffee until fully incorporated. Transfer the mixture into the prepared pan, and evenly press it down with a spatula. Chill for at least 2 hours, or until firm, before slicing into bars.
The bars can be somewhat fragile and flimsy, even if eaten directly from the refrigerator. For firmer bars, freeze for 10-20 minutes before eating.
For a more prominent coffee flavor, use double-strength coffee instead.
For more tips and answers to all other questions, including substitutions, see my Protein Powder Recipes: Tips & FAQ page.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, low carb, high protein}
More protein bar recipes from other food bloggers…
♥ Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Brownie Protein Bars by Desserts With Benefits
♥ Chewy Dark Chocolate Cherry Protein Granola Bars by Ambitious Kitchen
♥ Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip Protein Bars by iFOODreal
♥ Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Bars on Cupcakes & Kale Chips
Eeeeeee! Okay for reals though! I love you!! 2 scoops of Orgain has 51grams and 21g of protein per label. I will be trying your suggestions, and yes you read my mind that I was thinking mashed bananas, and will report results! Thanks so much again! ❤️
Sending you a big hug and lots of love right back, Michelle! 😉 I’m so happy to help — and I can’t wait to hear how your next batch turns out!!
Amy, my husband just got me a tub of Vital Proteins unflavored collagen peptides last night. I have like a scoop left of Orgain. Can I use Vital Proteins instead??? 2 scoops is the serving size. That is 20g and 18g protein. I can’t seem to post a link to it but if you just Google “Vital Proteins unflavored” information should come up. It’s mostly blue with white letters and a picture of a cow in front! 😂 Good thing I’m no longer vegan! I’m just a pescetarian again and been that way since September 2007. Anyways…. thanks in advance ❤️
That’s really sweet of your husband to get you more protein powder, Michelle! I haven’t tried using collagen peptides as a protein powder in any of my recipes, so I’m not personally sure. However, since the Vital Proteins unflavored collagen peptides aren’t plant-based (if I understand correctly, they’re sourced from cow hide!), my guess is that that product is going to behave more like whey-based protein powders rather than plant-based ones… So I probably wouldn’t recommend trying to substitute it. 😉
Awwwww ! Will it make things too wet or too dry? I think I should be able to compensate? Like more bananas or milk if too dry or coconut flour if too wet since it’s super absorbent. Your recipe is pretty forgiving from the 2x I have made it! I won’t fault you at all but I’m still willing to try with this new protein powder/collagen peptides. Please guide me 🥺
Too wet! See my Protein Powder Recipes: Tips and FAQ Page for more info about substituting whey-based protein powders in place of plant-based ones. I’ve covered it in more detail on that page, and there’s a link to it in the Notes section of this recipe! (I know it can be easy to miss that link though. 😉 ) You’re more than welcome to try — I just can’t guarantee the results! If I were in your shoes, I’d probably hold off adding any banana and just start with ¼ cup of liquid.
Otherwise, I’ve used whey-based protein powder to make all of these recipes, so your collagen peptides might be better suited for those instead!
🤔 Thanks for your input. I think I’ll tackle this tomorrow and report back. I’m all out of the mocha protein brownies.
I’ve got my fingers crossed for you, Michelle!! 😉
Amy! I finally got around to making these caffeine free and banana flavored. They taste as good as I envisioned! I added 3 scoops of Vital Proteins collagen peptides powder and 3 scoops of Orgain to use it all up. I added maybe 1.5 tablespoons of vanilla extract and about 2 cups of oats and 1/2 cup of almond milk and 1/2 cup of cacao powder. Kept the sugar as written. Oh and 2 medium and spotty bananas. Because of so much oats, recipe made so much more than usual. This ended up higher in protein than I planned but I eat a high protein diet anyway. 😂 Thanks so much for your guidance! ❤️ It’s only making me click 3 stars for some reason but this recipe is actually 6 out of 5!
You’re too sweet, Michelle!! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave TWO comments and rate the recipe a second time. That truly means so much to me! ♡
I’m really glad your modified batch turned out so well!! That’s fantastic! I appreciate you taking the time to share. I always love hearing what modifications turn out — especially when chocolate and bananas are involved! (One of my favorite flavor combos! 😉 )
😫 Rating is glitchy! I’ll redo another time!
These would be great to have on hand for busy weeks.
I don’t eat oats. Do you think I could sub nuts or ground flax?
Thanks
We really appreciate your interest in this recipe, Jennifer!
I think coconut flour would work better than nuts or flax since it’s really absorbent, and that’s the role the oats play in these protein bars. Since coconut flour is more absorbent than oats, I’d recommend starting with just 3-4 tablespoons to replace the oats. When you originally stir the mixture together, but before transferring it to the pan, let the mixture sit on the counter for 10 minutes to let the coconut flour work its absorbent magic. 😉 If the mixture seems too wet, stir in a bit more coconut flour! If it’s too dry, then add a bit more coffee. Does that make sense? 🙂
Yes, thanks !
I’m happy to help, Jennifer! 🙂
Ever try making it with Choclate protein powder?
We really appreciate your interest in this recipe, Denise! It should be fine to substitute the chocolate version of PlantFusion’s protein powder, but we would recommend using the cocoa powder. In our experience, we’ve found the chocolate flavor in protein powders is very faint compared to that of cocoa powder, so using cocoa powder ensures the bars will taste much better! We’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try making these bars!