Coconut & Almond Butter Protein Bars [Gluten-Free, Refined-Sugar Free]

These Coconut & Almond Butter Protein Bars are the perfect snack with healthy fats and high protein to keep you satisfied between meals.

So I don’t know about you guys, but this week has been rough! I always have a hard time getting back into the swing of things after a holiday. My motivation for meal planning and cooking real food has been fairly lacking… It doesn’t help that the husband is out of town for the week. So the desire to make full meals just for myself is really not there. I usually get home from the gym and am too hungry to take my time and make a real dinner. So then I just throw some eggs together with feta and avocado, or a make a massive protein shake if I am feeling super lazy. I did have leftovers of the Maple Balsamic Quinoa Salad I made for the 4th, thank goodness for that! Next week… I am making some big plans! I am feeling lamb tacos in my future… Lindsay from Cotter Crunch just posted a recipe that looks pretty freaking magnificent, if you ask me. I’ve had greek lamb burgers going out to eat before, but have never bought any to make a meal with at home. Clearly that is going to change! Then I found these shrimp tacos from Carly at Fit Living Blog... yeah, pretty sure those are happening as well. Apparently I am having tacos twice next week. Fine by me! 🙂

Gosh I am making myself hungry! So these protein bars then…

They are super easy to throw together, no-bake and pretty awesome. Kind of like my balls! ( 🙂 WHY is that so funny though?! It just is…)

These bars are made with almond butter AND coconut butter. Why? No particular reason really. I guess I was feeling fancy?…and because coconut butter is DELICIOUS. Seriously, if you haven’t tried it, GET SOME. I use Artisana Raw Coconut Butter, and it is heavenly. Like, I want to put it on everything from pancakes to sweet potatoes. YES, sweet potatoes. Just try it…

Okay, so I realize some of you may not have coconut butter on hand. I understand that for most normal folk, almond butter is only just starting to make its way into your pantry. But being the health foodie that I am, and seeing coconut butter come up in multiple recipes over the past year on numerous blogs, I knew I had to try some. (I also may or may not have a slight addiction to any kind of nut butter. You do not want to see my cupboards…)

I usually buy my coconut butter on Vitacost because that is the cheapest I’ve found. Amazon has it too though… And if you have a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s or other health food store selling raw coconut butter for an awesome price, more power to you! I just don’t have those nearby. OR, if you’re super fancy and want to make your own, more power to you! I have yet to attempt that, but you bet your bottom dollar I will be soon! 😉

I have been making my own protein bars for a while now, but this is my first time using coconut butter in the recipe. I must say, these ones may be a new favorite! They are so much better for you than the pre-packaged protein bars, usually full of multiple (sometimes unnecessary) ingredients. What I love about making your own protein bars is that it is often cheaper, and you get to control the types of ingredients you put in. For example, reducing my sugar intake this past year has been huge! I was still eating a variety of processed snack bars, a lot of them with added sugar, sometimes totaling up to 20 grams of sugar in just one bar! (I’m talking to you, CLIF) But these bars contain just a HINT of sweetness from the honey. And you could probably do away with the honey completely and replace with another tablespoon of coconut butter, if you were looking to get rid of the sugar entirely, or make them strictly vegan. 🙂

And how cute are these squares?! The mold I used really just feeds my OCD 😉

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

How to Make...

Coconut & Almond Butter Protein Bars [Paleo, Gluten-Free, Refined-Sugar Free]

These Coconut & Almond Butter Protein Bars are the perfect snack with healthy fats and high protein to keep you satisfied between meals.

• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 60 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins

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Ingredients

• 1/4 cup almond butter, all natural (I like Woodstock)
• 1/4 cup coconut butter, all natural (I like Artisana)
• 1 TBS coconut oil, liquid state
• 1 TBS raw honey, liquid state
• 2 TBScoconut flour
• 1 TBS almond flour
• 2 TBS milled flaxseed
• 3 scoops vanilla brown rice protein powder (I like Sunwarrior)
• 2 TBS unsweetened non-dairy milk* (I used Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk)

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, mix together your almond and coconut butters, coconut oil, and raw honey.* Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together your coconut flour, almond flour, milled flaxseed, and brown rice protein powder.
3. Add your almond butter mixture to the dry ingredients until the mixture has almost come together (this will take a while, be patient).
4. Add your milk 1 tablespoon at a time, until the ingredients form a playdough-like consistency. This may take some working with your hands until everything is fully incorporated.
5. In a silicone square 8×8 cake pan, or silicone brownie squares mold press your dough mixture down with hands until even and flattened. You can also use a 8×8 baking dish or pan lined with parchment paper.
6. Place in fridge for 1 hour to set, or overnight. If using an 8×8 pan, bars can be cut into 8. If using a silicone brownie squares mold, just pop the squares out.
7. Keep bars in airtight container in fridge up to 2 weeks. Or, place in freezer for up to 3 months.

Recipes Notes:

*If your coconut butter or oil is in a solid state, measure out what is needed and put it in a microwave safe bowl for 5-10 seconds until it is fairly melted.
*Subbing whey protein powder will NOT work for this recipe. The bars will not set and become gooey.
*A plant-based vegan protein powder should work, but I cannot fully vouch for the exact results for this recipe.
*To make these bars vegan, try subbing the 1 TBS of honey with brown rice syrup, or replacing with another TBS of coconut butter.
*Coconut oil and coconut butter are NOT interchangeable. Coconut butter is made from the “meat” or flesh of the coconut and ground into butter. Coconut oil is just the oil extracted from the “meat” of the coconut.

Nutrition Information:

• Serving Size: 2 Squares OR 1 Bar
• Calories: 176
• Sugar: 4
• Fat: 12
• Carbohydrates: 9
• Fiber: 4
• Protein: 9

Have you ever used coconut butter before?

What is your current favorite nut butter??