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 I originally made these protein bars with regular strength coffee, and I could barely detect it through the chocolate.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
Hello,
With what can I replace the coffee..is it OK with simply water or milk?
Thank you!
Either would work Ramona! If you use milk, the bars may not last quite as long since milk is perishable, but the texture should be the same. I hope you enjoy the protein bars!
This sounds great, but do you know of anything I could use in place of the oats? I know those are what really holds the whole recipe together, but I am shooting for lower carb content. Thanks in advance! 🙂
The only thing that comes to mind is almond flour, but I can’t guarantee that it would hold together the bars like oats do. I hope you enjoy the protein bars Meg!
Not sure what I did wrong but these are so soft that if they are not in the loaf pan they run right onto the counter. The only change that I made was to substitute the Truvia with Stevia in the Raw.
Really wanted these to turn out well. 🙁
I’m sorry the protein bars didn’t turn out like you expected Pamm; that must be disappointing. Did you use the same protein powder as I did, and did you refrigerate the bars? They’re meant to be kept in the refrigerator, not on the counter, so they’ll hold their shape. If you describe exactly what you did, I’d like to work together to solve what went wrong so your future batches turn out correctly!
Hi,
Thank you for your reply, I used Inspire protein powder. I popped them into the fridge right away and left them in there overnight too. If I were to remove the wrap (I used plastic wrap instead of parchment) they would ooze over the counter. If they were close enough to the edge of the counter, they would drop right off, LOL.
Pamm
It’s probably the protein powder that’s causing the issues. Not all protein powders behave the same or absorb the same amount of moisture, especially when it comes to whey-based versus plant-based. Yours is a whey-based protein powder, whereas I used plant-based for this recipe, so the protein bars should turn out much better if you switch to a plant-based protein powder!
Thank you for the suggestion, I’ll give that a try!
You’re welcome Pamm! 🙂
I tried these with a few tweeks (I used almond milk instead of coffee and I used 1/3 cup oatmeal and added 2 T flax) I stuck them in the freezer after cutting them. I tried one last night with a little PB on top. YUM!!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the protein bars Danielle! PB sounds like an amazing addition!
Amy, I just mixed these up (with Sunwarrior protein powder) and I can tell from the batter that they will be great! Now, I know your friend Jessica has DIY Nutella bars ready, but your bars would be amazing with some chopped roasted hazelnuts on top for some healthy plant-based fat and a Nutella-esque taste without actually needing hazelnut butter. I might even do that…IG to follow!
I love your hazelnut idea Lauren — that sounds incredible! I hope you enjoyed the protein bars, and thank you for sharing them on IG and Twitter! 🙂
Hi Amy!
I tried making these today but I think the mix was too wet…how wet should the mixture be before it goes in the fridge?
The mixture should be sticky, somewhat like wet cookie dough but not as wet as thick muffin batter. Does that make sense? Hopefully they firmed up while in the fridge, and you can always stick them in the freezer for a little bit to help them firm up even more. I hope you enjoy the bars Caroline!
These were so delicious! Definetly will make again and maybe add some pecans next time just for a little extra crunch 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed the protein bars Kari! 🙂
I hate any sweetner other than sugar can I just leave it out?
I don’t recommend omitting the sweetener because the protein bars will be very bitter. Instead, substitute the same amount of granulated sugar for the Truvia. I hope you enjoy these Anne!
Hi Amy I did it today using whey protein and my mixture is really sticky it won’t firm up I kept it in the fridge for over five hours now. Any suggestions?
The protein bars will not set with whey; it’s why the recipe calls for plant-based protein powder. Some readers have had minor luck with freezing the bars, but they won’t ever be the correct firm texture as those made with plant-based protein.
Hi Amy – it would be really helpful if the ingredient list actually specified plant-based protein rather than just nothing that it is what you used. I didn’t discover the whey problem until I mixed up a batch and turned to the comments to find out why they weren’t working.
Thanks for your feedback Suzanne! I linked to the plant-based protein powder that I used in both the Ingredients list and Notes, but I can understand where you’re coming from. I’ve updated the recipe, and I hope you find my Protein Powder Recipes: Tips & FAQ Page that I linked to in the Notes section helpful as well! 🙂
Thanks! Looking forward to trying the recipe again once I get to the store.
My pleasure Suzanne! I’m excited to hear how the next batch turns out for you! 🙂
Hi Amy I’d like to try these and wondered if the Bob’s Red Mill soy protein isolate powder would work??
Thank you :):)
I think it should Ashley! Just remember that 1 scoop of Bob’s Red Mill soy isolate weighs differently than the PlantFusion protein powder in the Ingredients list, and you may need to tweak the amounts of other ingredients if it doesn’t absorb moisture the same way. You may also need to add additional sweetener since the soy isolate is unsweetened. I’m excited to hear how the bars turn out!
Hi Amy :)!
It worked! I measured out 90 grams of the protein powder, added very strong coffee, plus some extra water (probably ended up with closer to or just over 300mL of fluid), vanilla extract, and about 5 drops of liquid vanilla stevia. Perrrrrfection! Thank you for the awesome recipe!
I’m so glad that worked Ashley — and thank you so much for sharing what you did! I really appreciate that! 🙂