With a little time and some simple ingredients, make a batch of copycat homemade perfect bars today! This no bake recipe uses whole foods to make a delicious homemade dark chocolate peanut butter protein bar you’ll be whipping up again and again.
Make your favorite peanut butter protein bars at home- without wincing at the price of store-bought protein bars. Dare I say, I prefer our homemade perfect bar recipe over the real thing! Depending on your brands of ingredients, these will finish at around 10 grams of protein per bar.
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Ingredients Info and Substitutions For Homemade Perfect Bars
With just a handful of simple ingredients found at your local grocery store, make these homemade protein bars today!
1 cup old fashioned oats, very finely blended (or 1 cup oat flour): The oat flour base of these protein bars is very important to the finished texture. Whether using home blended or store bought, ensure it is very fine for best results.
If you want more protein in your bars, consider subbing 1/2 cup of oat flour for very fine almond flour. Just remember, almond flour will change the texture.
1/2 cup vanilla protein powder: I use Just Ingredients Vanilla Bean protein powder for my homemade protein bars. Any vanilla will do, but keep in mind all powders are not created equally in terms of protein content, ingredients, and texture.
While I recommend 1/2 cup for the perfect bar texture, I will sometimes use 3/4 cup to up the protein. Add a 1/2 tsp of coconut oil or water at a time if you add more protein and find the dough too dry!
To make this a vegan dessert, use vegan protein powder (any plant-based protein powder).
1/4 tsp sea salt: It’s not the end of the world if you need to use table salt, but I do prefer sea salt for these homemade copycat bars. We love Redmond Real Salt for all our baking needs.
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (creamy): Using natural peanut butter is essential for this copycat recipe, since emulsified peanut butter like Jif has a vastly different texture.
Kirkland brand or Naturally More peanut butter at Costco are my go-to’s, since a small jar of name-brand at a grocery store like Kroger can be quite pricey.
1/3 cup honey: In a pinch you could sub with all natural maple syrup, but I recommend honey for the perfect bar recipe taste!
1 tsp vanilla extract: Vanilla adds a pop of flavor to these no bake bars. I don’t recommend substituting.
2 tbsp melted coconut oil: The oil is a large part of the bars texture. For best results, stick to coconut oil!
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (flat or mini work best): You can add chocolate to your homemade bars in numerous ways- add mini chips or flat chips to the batter itself, melt chocolate on top, or melt and spread across the top before cutting. Use regular chocolate chips if you must, I just prefer mini’s or flats in this recipe!
For a fancier finish, melt chocolate and drizzle over the cut protein bars! (Consider adding 1/4 tsp melted coconut oil to thin chocolate)
What Else Will I Need To Make Copycat Homemade Perfect Bars?
Food processor or smoothie blender if blending oat flour at home. This is what I do, and what I find easiest. Using my Ninja Smoothie Blender, I add the 1 cup of oats to the cup and blend until very fine.
While these are no bake protein bars, you will need a bread pan or similar sized vessel for shaping the bars. I use my favorite Caraway Loaf Pan for these homemade bars, but any similarly sized container where the dough reaches the edges will do.
Parchment paper is needed to cover the loaf pan for ease of removal when it’s time to cut your bars. If You Care Unbleached Parchment Paper is what I use, every time!
How To Make Copycat Homemade Perfect Bars
Instructions:
1. If making your own oat flour, add 1 cup of oats to a food processor and blend until very fine.
2. In a medium bowl, combine your 1 cup oat flour, 1/2 cup protein, and 1/4 tsp sea salt until uniform.
3. Next add 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 2 tbsp melted coconut oil to your dry ingredients. Mix well with a spatula, adding chocolate chips halfway through. You might need to finish mixing with your hands, since the dough will be dense.
4. Press dough into a parchment lined loaf pan until flat. Chill in fridge for 1-2 hours, since they are very soft at room temperature
5. Remove from pan and slice bars with a knife. Cut into 6 large bars, 8 medium squares, or 12 small squares based on your preferred serving size.
Store refrigerated in an airtight container.
How Do These Compare to a Perfect Bar?
Based on my taste buds at least- the perfect bar recipe taste is pretty dang close to the real deal. Even better, our healthy protein bars don’t contain refined sugar (unless it’s in your protein powder), instead using honey to naturally sweeten the homemade bars.
Our base recipe has slightly less grams of protein per bar vs store bought (check in ingredients info for how to add more!), but we’re happy with the protein content, texture, and especially price per gram of protein in these homemade bars. A single perfect bar is 2.49 at my grocery store!
Our more affordable, homemade version has the same qualities you love in a Perfect bar- wholesome ingredients, high protein, healthy fats, and the yummy peanut butter and dark chocolate taste.
Grams of protein per bar will vary based on the powder you use, as well as how tightly the cup is packed, etc. Add up the protein value of your specific ingredients for most accurate count!
Recipes Dunn Right is not affiliated with Perfect bar in any way.
Other Healthy Homemade Snacks
Making your own snacks at home is a major money saver vs buying packaged, not to mention knowing exactly what goes into them.
Our Super-Food Energy Bites are nutrient packed and easy to make.
Try these Key Lime Pie Energy Bites for a taste of paradise at home in minutes!
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
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