These Nut Free Cookie Dough Protein Bars are deliciously chewy, gluten free and dairy free with a sugar free option too. I make them with egg white protein powder and oats, but you can substitute a range of other protein powders depending on what you have at home.
I like to keep the bars in the fridge or freezer for a quick snack or for when I want something sweet after dinner. You don’t even need a heavy duty food processor to make them. A simple blender will work.
Protein powder for these cookie dough protein bars
The great thing about this recipe is that it works with a range of different protein powders. Unflavored varieties are my preference, since we flavor the protein bars ourselves. But flavored protein powders will certainly still work. Just make sure it’s a flavor that you enjoy.
- Egg white protein powder: This is what I usually use to make these cookie dough protein bars. It provides a similar texture to whey protein, but it doesn’t contain any dairy.
- Whey protein powder: Whey protein powder is a great substitute for egg white powder in this recipe. It isn’t dairy free like pure egg white powder, but it blends into the recipe in a very similar way.
- Collagen powder: Collagen powder will also work well in this recipe and it is dairy free. It’s usually more expensive than egg white and whey protein powders, but it dissolves really well into protein bar recipes.
- Vegan protein powder: I have also tested the recipe with brown rice protein powder. It just gave the bars an earthier flavor and less chewy texture. I imagine that most plant-based protein powders should also work.
Making these nut free bars without protein powder
If you don’t have any protein powder, you can use extra rolled oats as a substitute in these nut-free bars. Oats aren’t as high protein as protein powders, but they are somewhere between 11 to 17% protein.
Oats work as a protein powder substitute in recipes where protein powder isn’t the main dry ingredient. This is because oats have a more drying effect than protein powders that are designed to dissolve in liquids. Since we already use oats in this recipe, you should be able to swap out the protein powder for more oats.
Sugar free protein bar substitutions
You can make these into sugar-free protein bars by using a sugar-free syrup as the sweetener and sugar-free chocolate chips. This reduces the sugar content per bar from 5.6 grams to under 1 gram if that is something that suits your goals.
The only issue I have with sugar-free sweeteners is that they can change the taste and texture of the protein bars. If you want to minimise this, you could just swap out half of the brown rice syrup for a sugar-free syrup. This would reduce the sugar content of the bars without altering the taste too much.
Ingredients for nut free cookie dough protein bars
- Egg white protein powder: I use unflavored egg white protein powder, which is 100% pure powdered egg whites. I talk about protein powder substitutions above if you don’t have egg white protein powder.
- Rolled oats: Blended into a powder to supplement the protein powder as a dry ingredient. I use traditional rolled oats, but quick oats should also work.
- Desiccated coconut: Blended with the protein powder and oats to add some moisture and subtle sweet flavor. I use unsweetened desiccated coconut.
- Tahini: To keep the protein bars nut free. I use hulled tahini since it’s less bitter than unhulled tahini. You can also use a nut butter, like almond butter or natural peanut butter, if you don’t need the bars to be nut free.
- Brown rice syrup: Also known as rice malt syrup, to sweeten the bars. You can also use a sugar-free substitute, which I talk about above.
- Coconut oil: To stop the bars from drying out and also to help hold them together.
- Vanilla extract: To add to the cookie dough flavor. You can leave it out if you don’t have any, but I really love it in these bars.
- Chocolate chips: You can use regular chocolate chips, sugar-free chocolate chips or chop up your favorite chocolate bar.
- Salt: To enhance the flavor of the bars.
More protein powder recipes
- Cookie Dough Protein Bars with Collagen Powder
- Chewy Choc Chip Oat Protein Bars
- Chocolate Whey Protein Bars
- Clean Protein Bars
- Choc Mint Protein Balls
You can find more ideas on the Protein Powder Recipes page.
Nut Free Cookie Dough Protein Bars Recipe
Serves
12 bars
Prep time
5 mins
Cook time
30 mins chilling
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup / 45 g rolled oats
- 1/2 cup / 47 g unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 1/2 cup / 50 g unflavored egg white protein powder (see Note 1 for substitutions)
- 1/4 cup / 60 g tahini
- 1/4 cup / 60 ml / 86 g brown rice syrup (see Note 2)
- 3 tbsp / 45 ml / 42 g coconut oil, softened
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup / 40 g chocolate chips (see Note 3)
Method
- Line a 4 x 8 inch / 10 x 20 cm loaf tin with baking paper.
- Blend the rolled oats, desiccated coconut and egg white powder in a blender until you get a powder.
- Tip the mixture into a bowl and add the tahini, brown rice syrup, coconut oil, vanilla and salt. Stir until well combined. Alternatively, you can mix everything in a food processor.
- Stir through most of the chocolate chips, then press the mixture into the lined tin. Sprinkle over the remaining chocolate chips and press them gently into the mixture.
- Chill in the freezer for about 30 minutes or until firm. Once firm, cut into bars.
Notes
- Protein powder substitutions – You can also use whey protein powder, collagen powder or plant-based protein powder. If you don’t have protein powder, you can leave it out and increase the rolled oats to 1 cup / 90 g.
- Brown rice syrup substitutions – For sugar-free protein bars, you can use a sugar-free syrup. Or you can use another liquid sweetener like maple syrup or honey.
- Chocolate chips – I use 70% cocoa chocolate chips. You could also use sugar-free chocolate chips, or a chocolate bar chopped into pieces.
- Storage – Store the protein bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you won’t eat the bars in this time, you can freeze them and defrost in the fridge as needed.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving size: 1 bar (made with 70% cocoa chocolate)
- Energy: 163 Calories / 684 Kilojoules
- Total Fat: 10.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 6.4 g
- Total Carbohydrate: 10.2 g
- Dietary Fiber: 1.7 g
- Sugars: 5.6 g
- Protein: 5.7 g
- Sodium: 29 mg
- Potassium: 24 mg
This recipe looks good, though I will need to modify it for my own use…as I have a tree NUT allergy and the ingredients include coconut oil (which is a nut…so this is not nut free fiy)
You could use melted cacao butter instead of coconut oil and extra oats instead of the desiccated coconut if you have a coconut allergy. Since the coconut adds some natural sweetness, you might want to taste the mixture and increase the sweetener slightly if needed.
Is it possible to do it without the tahini or peanut butter? if soo what can i use to substitute or use more of?
Best Regards
Rodrigo
The tahini is important in this recipe because it works with the brown rice syrup and coconut oil to give the bars their soft and pliable texture. You can use another seed butter like sunflower seed butter, peanut butter, or any nut butter like almond butter or cashew butter instead – but I wouldn’t recommend any other substitutes as it will alter the texture of the bars. I hope that helps!
Can you substitute honey or maple syrup for the brown rice syrup?
For sure, honey or maple syrup will work instead of brown rice syrup. Just keep in mind that honey can have quite a strong flavor so the bars will taste like honey if you use it. Maple syrup is a bit more neutral so it might be a better option. I hope that helps!