These Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Homemade Protein Bars are full of nutritious ingredients, and make a healthy grab-and-go snack, or breakfast paired with fruit and coffee.
Protein bars are something I have a love/hate relationship with.
I love them because they are so dang convenient. Pull one out of the freezer and eat on the way to work. Pack as travel snacks. Pick one up while out and about shopping for a healthy-ish boost.
I don’t love the price of the better protein bars. I don’t love that they are full of soy products. I don’t love that many of them have more sugar than a candy bar, including high fructose corn syrup and agave syrup (which actually has a higher fructose content than high fructose corn syrup). I hate that most people need a copy of my Food Additives to Avoid printable just to scan the nutrition label of most of them.
Check out this handy printable guide if you do want to look for some convenient store bought protein bars. I assure you, you’ll find very few that pass the clean eating test!
I also hate that in order for a protein bar to actually taste good, they need to be smothered in chocolate to distract from the chalky-ness.
So I did what I always do when I can’t buy the foods I actually want to eat and feel good about feeding my family. I made my own.
These toasted coconut protein bars are incredible. I have had so many good reviews on them, and friends who tell me they keep them in their freezer. I have had them in my freezer for most of the past 6 months.
And while I still love coconut and those bars, I thought it was time to create a new variation.
Oatmeal raisin is totally under rated, isn’t it?
These Chocolate Covered Raisin Oatmeal Cookies are one of the most-made recipes from my blog at home. They are the perfect, lightly-sweet, chewy cookie, and I love the raisin + chocolate combo.
Contents
Tips for Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Homemade Protein Bars
- Mix it Up: Use dried cranberries or cherries in these bars if you prefer!
- Make is Gluten Free: To keep these gluten free, use certified gluten free oatmeal. Also, make sure your Brown Rice Crisp Cereal is certified gluten free.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Homemade Protein Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup oatmeal (divided)
- 3/4 cup crisp brown rice cereal
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened whey protein powder
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup date syrup (or sub honey)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Take 3/4 cup oatmeal, and process using a blender or a food processor until oats form a flour.
- Add oat flour, oatmeal, brown rice crisp, raisins, whey protein, cinnamon and sea salt to a bowl, and mix together.
- In a microwave safe bowl, add coconut oil and date syrup (or honey). Microwave for 20-30 seconds (or longer, if coconut oil was solid), until mixture is warmed but not too hot.
- Pour liquid, warm coconut oil and honey mixture into the dry mixture, and mix together well.
- Line an 8x8 pan with baking paper or grease with coconut oil.
- Pour protein bar mixture into the pan, and use a pastry roller to press down into an even layer. A pastry roller really helps make a nice looking, compact layer. If I didn't have one, I would use a pint glass or something similar.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the bars are lightly golden brown.
- Cool completely (in the refrigerator), and then slice into bars. I store these and enjoy them right out of the freezer (they get really crunchy when frozen), but cut them before freezing. Frozen bars are difficult to cut and will split.
Nutrition
Other Similar Recipes:
- Chocolate Coconut Protein Bars, by iFOODreal
- Homemade Protein Bars, by Whole New Mom
- Toasted Coconut Protein Bar Recipe, by Vitamin Sunshine
- Homemade Granola Bars, by Vitamin Sunshine
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Hi Michelle, I really enjoy receiving your newsletter. Such creative recipes and delicious looking photos! This looks like a great recipe. I can’t wait to try it. I have a question about date syrup. Do you make it from dates or buy it?
Hi Debby! Good to hear from you 🙂 This is a good recipe– I also have one for toasted coconut protein bars, which are my favorite. Both can be made with date syrup or honey. For this recipe, I use a store bought date syrup. I use pureed dates often, but date syrup is so handy! Of course, it doesn’t come with all the benefits of the whole fruit, but in moderation, right?! I’d love to hear how you like these if you try them!
These bars would be perfect to pack in my kids’ school lunches.
My 2 year old loves them 🙂
These look great and can’t believe how quick they are to make! Amazing!
They are quick! It’s so easy to throw a pan in the oven.
I love protein bars from the store. However do not love the fact that they contain a lot of refined sugar. I love your version using date syrup or honey. Looks so beautiful and so easy to make. Yum 🙂
This looks really good. I’ve started making these at home so I can cut out those refined sugars. I’ll be saving this for my list of flavors to try.
I am making this a staple at home. I think everyone needs a grab and go snack available all the time. Not to mention it’s so easy to make. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I loved that your version with the date syrup.
I am so glad to hear that Sheila! I almost always have these or my Toasted Coconut Protein Bars in my freezer. They are a life saver on busy days. My toddler now eats them as well and i much prefer that to store bought bars. I almost never add the chocolate– the coconut flavor is enough!