No-Bake Chocolate Cashew Protein Bars

With the wide selection of protein bars available today, it's easy to spend too much time reading super-long ingredient lists to find the best choice for your taste buds. Rather than sweating the decision (and forking over serious cash), make these delicious bars at home. With nine recognizable ingredients, you’ll save a few bucks and be confident that you’re making a truly good-for-you choice without turning on the oven.

No-Bake Chocolate Cashew Protein Bars

Recipe by: Eat Spin Run Repeat
Makes: 10 bars
​Ready in: 15 minutes, plus freezing time

INGREDIENTS

1 cup oats, pulsed into flour in a food processor
1 cup chocolate plant-based protein powder
1 teaspoon raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
1 cup unsweetened almond milk or other dairy-free milk
1/2 cup roughly chopped cashews
2 tablespoons cacao nibs

DIRECTIONS

1. Line an 8-by-10-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine ground oats, protein powder, cacao powder, and cinnamon.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk peanut butter and honey into almond milk until a thin, smooth mixture forms.

3. Pour peanut butter mixture into dry ingredients and stir to combine. (Dough should be clumpy, but try to get it to be as uniform in texture as possible.)

4. Stir in cashews and cacao nibs, adding additional milk if necessary to prevent the mixture from becoming too dry. (You can use a spoon or a mixer if you like, but using your hands works best.)

5. Pour dough into prepared pan, pushing it down and into the corners of the baking dish as evenly as possible. (To prevent it from sticking to your hands, press dough down with a piece of plastic wrap.) Put bars in the freezer for 3 to 5 hours.

6. Lift parchment paper out of the baking dish and onto a flat surface. Cut dough into even bars. (It will crumble a bit at the sides, but you can use your fingers to shape them into rectangles.)

7. Wrap each bar individually if desired and store leftovers in the freezer.

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