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Ever since I posted my first protein bar recipe, I wanted to make another one but higher in protein, lower in sugar and fat. And it’s not easy because nut bars rely on nut butter and sticky sugary liquids like agave and honey to hold them together.
I tried to cut down the nut butter and agave to almost nothing and replace with almond milk. I also tried to use chia gel as a glue.
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Finally, after much testing, I came up with a copycat version of these Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola bars but with protein – sweet, chewy and healthy. I love my granola bars and brownies to be chewy.
The bars are super easy – no grinding or baking. No separate bowls. Just 10 minutes and you are done! Vegetarian, vegan and gluten free with some substitutions.
What makes the bars chewy is the old fashioned rolled oats, not the quick oats.
Oats, oats, oats…
When I was growing up in Ukraine there was only one kind of oats – oats. Today there are quick oats, old fashioned rolled oats and steel cut oats.
Quick oats are instant and are ready within 90 seconds of soaking in boiling water.
Rolled oats require a bit more cooking and can make baked goods chewy.
Cut steel oats don’t even look like oats. They are perfect for an overnight slow cooker oatmeal.
So back in 1980s my grandma used to wake up 30 minutes earlier to make an oatmeal porridge for breakfast. We had it at least 3 times a week and the rule was we had to finish it.
I hated it. I asked for extra sugar and butter. Then I would sit and scrape slowly with the spoon the sides of the bowl where the oatmeal cooled off for at least 30 minutes.
Now I can’t get enough of oats. There is so much you can do with oats including these Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip Protein Bars – a perfect healthy snack on the go. Especially since summer is here and beach, picnic and water park trips are back. And kids love these bars!
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Oats are high in protein, fiber and remove your bad cholesterol. Did you know there is good cholesterol too?! HDL cholesterol is known as “good” cholesterol, because high levels of HDL seem to protect against heart attack. Also oats protect you from cancer.
But be careful when choosing products made with oats. Granola bars and prepackaged instant oatmeal are often high in sugar and contain corn syrup. Buy organic or natural and read the labels. As a rule of thumb, I consider nut bars with sugars less than 10 g per bar a keeper. Like these.
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Let’s go back to our chewy, sweet and chocolate crunchy copycat Quaker Protein Bars with mini chocolate chips on top. I like that crunch and look on top. I bet these would taste awesome drizzled with dark chocolate.
I used mini chocolate chips because in my mind they are babies of big chocolate chips, and chocolate chips are chocolate bar’s babies. And chocolate bar is a baby of a chocolate. And I love babies. Are you confused yet with my chocolate family tree theory yet?!
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The bars come together in minutes. Nothing to grind or bake. To make them thin, believe it or not I used 5×9 loaf pan. I got the idea from these Cranberry Chia Energy Bars. They look OMG good.
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I used plastic wrap for wrapping but later it was hot and I found the bars having a taste and smell of plastic after carrying them around in a purse. So, next time I will use foil.
Next time I will also double the batch because they were gone fasty fast. You can keep them in a freezer for up to 3 months or maybe longer (not in my house). So save your time and enjoy the summer!
How do you store the protein bars? Wrapped in foil, plastic, wax paper or paper towel?:)
What is your favourite healthy store bought granola bar and why?
How did you spend summers as a kid? What are your brightest memories?
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Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats*
- 3 scoops (90 g) whey protein powder, naturally sweetened with stevia or vanilla*
- 3 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 cup any nut butter (I used natural peanut butter, unsalted & unsweetened), warmed up
- 1 cup almond milk, unsweetened (vanilla or plain)
- 1 tbsp agave nectar
- 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup mini or any chocolate chips
Directions
- Combine oats, protein powder and chia seeds in a bowl and mix.
- Warm up nut butter in a microwave for 30 seconds if you store it in the fridge. If you keep it in the pantry skip this step. Please note microwave ovens vary. be careful not to burn. Mine is a strong one. The goal is to melt the butter a little bit so it's easy to mix with dry ingredients.
- Add nut butter, almond milk, agave nectar and vanilla extract to the bowl and mix everything using the spatula and your hands as the "dough" thickens. You should end up with 1 big ball of "dough".
- Line 9x5 loaf pan (meatloaf/banana bread pan) with parchment paper, place "dough" in it and flatten pressing firmly with your hands. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and press them gently into the "dough", so chocolate chips stick to it.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or freeze for 1 hour for faster results. Remove from the pan and cut into 8 bars - first cut in half and then slice each half into 4 bars lengthwise.
Notes
*If using unsweetened and unflavoured whey protein powder you may add extra 1-2 tbsp of agave nectar. Depending on how sweet is your tooth, you might be just fine.:) Use plant based protein powder like hemp, pea or brown rice to make the bars vegan. For a gluten free version use gluten free oats like Bob's Red Mill.
Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 8 bars
Amount Per 1 bar:
Calories: 267.6
Total Fat: 12.8 g
Cholesterol: 1.9 mg
Sodium: 126.3 mg
Total Carbs: 22.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.8 g
Sugars: 5 g
Protein: 17.3 g
WW Points+: 7