No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Shop-bought vegan protein bars cost around £2 each and often turn out to be chocolate bars with a little extra protein. Making your own takes 20 minutes, needs no oven, and lets you choose the sweetener. These are dense, fudgy peanut butter bars in a thin dark chocolate shell, with a little more protein than most of the plant-based bars on the shelf.

Method

1. Line a small tin or loaf tin (about 20 × 10 cm) with baking paper.
2. In a bowl, mix the peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla and salt until smooth. If the peanut butter is stiff, warm it for 20 seconds first.
3. Add the protein powder and ground almonds and knead with a spoon, then your hands, until it holds together like a soft dough. Protein powders differ, so add a teaspoon of water or a little more almond until it feels right.
4. Press firmly into the tin and chill for 30 minutes. Lift out and cut into 10 bars.
5. Melt the chocolate with the coconut oil in short bursts in the microwave, or over a pan of barely simmering water.
6. Dip each bar, or spoon the chocolate over, and lift onto baking paper. Chill for 30 minutes until set.

Keep them in the fridge for up to a week. They soften at room temperature, like the real thing on a warm day.

Allergens: contains peanuts and tree nuts (almonds). Check that your protein powder and chocolate are labelled gluten-free and dairy-free, as both are often made on shared lines.

What is in a Vive bar

Vive is a British snack brand selling plant-based bars and bites, marketed as vegan, gluten-free and high in fibre. It was started by Ishak Valimohamed, Scottish born and raised and a self-confessed chocolate lover. He told FoodNavigator at launch that he wanted a healthy, filling, natural snack that tasted like a chocolate bar. The first range was three nut-butter bars in dark chocolate at £1.99 each, with a famously short ingredient list. Flavours have rotated since, including salted caramel, peanut butter, hazelnut and peanut butter and jelly, and there are now smaller coated bites.

Retailer listings put a 49 g bar at about 9 to 10 g of plant protein. That is where the honest conversation starts. Many whey bars have 20 g or more, and a lot of Vive's calories come from nut fat and chocolate. Some reviewers say it eats more like a good chocolate snack than a recovery bar. Others point out that some flavours list dextrose or a sugar syrup, which surprises people expecting the original short list. Neither is a scandal, but read the back of the pack you are holding.

How the homemade bar compares

Our version works out at roughly 280 kcal and 12 g protein per bar, so it is a little bigger and a little higher in protein than a Vive bar, and you choose the sweetener. If you want to cut the sugar further, swap half the maple syrup for a tablespoon of water and a few drops of liquid stevia. It is still a treat with benefits rather than a gym protein bar, and that is fine.