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When I work on recipes for the blog I have a pretty good idea which ones are going to "go viral". Every blogger has his or her specialties - their specific talents that keep people coming back for more. History (and stats) show that what my readers (you guys!) love most are my raw desserts. These are the posts that tend to evoke the most Facebook shares, Pinterest attention, Tweets, etc...you know all that social media that I hate to love (or is it love to hate?).
When I started noticing this trend I was:
a) Surprised. Raw food is only something I became interested in a couple of years ago and suddenly these recipes were getting all kinds of attention.
b) Tempted. It was a long-time battle to stay true to myself with this blog and not let traffic and attention drive my content. I found myself tempted to create only recipes that would give me loads of traffic, neglecting my original intention with the blog - showing how amazingly eclectic a vegan diet can (and should) be.
I am happy to say that I have silenced that desire (at least for now). The content of this blog has remained an honest depiction of my vegan diet as well as all kinds of recipes I am excited (sometimes giddy) to share.
And that means that often times I make posts knowing full well that they will have their day in the sun (or not) and shortly be buried up in the following weeks. That's okay with me. Each of those recipes, collections of photos, and stories I share are an important piece to this dynamic project that I love so much.
Then sometimes those very simple recipes, the ones I expect to be lost in my archives, are found and through the magic of the interwebs become some of my most popular recipes ever. Case in point: these German Chocolate Protein Bars. Made less than 4 months into my humble blogging beginnings, this little post has gone on to become my 4th most popular recipe and the more attention it was getting, the more it was calling out for a serious make-over.
This new German Chocolate Protein Bar is a slightly healthier, nuttier, and awesomer version of the first but I have saved the original (along with the newer one) in the recipe card below for everyone who has been making and loving these bars over the past 2 years.
German Chocolate Protein Bars
Ingredients
Original Recipe
- 1 cup oats
- ½ cup soy protein powder
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ⅔ cup dates pitted
- ⅓ cup + 2 tablespoon pecans
- ½ cup + 3 tablespoon shredded unsweetened coconut
- 6 tablespoon brown rice syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ salt
New & Improved Recipe
- 1 cup oats
- ½ cup vegan protein powder I used soy
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup Medjool dates pitted and soaked for 30 minutes
- ½ cup + ¼ cup chopped pecans divided
- ½ cup + ¼ cup shredded coconut divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- water as needed up to ¼ cup
- 2 tablespoon cacao nibs or chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a food processor grind up the oats until they are a fine flour. Add protein and cocoa powders and blend again until well combined.
- Drain and rinse the dates then add them to the food processor along with ½ cup of pecans, ½ cup of shredded coconut, vanilla, and salt. Blend again, adding a little water at a time, until a dough forms.
- Transfer dough to a bowl, stir in the remaining ¼ cup of pecans and coconut along with 2 tablespoon cacao nibs or chocolate chips.
- Scrape dough onto a piece of parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Cover with another piece of parchment paper and roll the bars out to about ½ inch, shaping into a square as you roll.
- Place the bars in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours, allowing them to firm up before cutting into 12 equal pieces.
- Store in refrigerator for 5 days or a month in the freezer.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Kay says
I love the recipe and I have made the bars a couple of times now!
Unfortunately I never got around to coping the recipe into my little book though and now for some reason the recipe card has changed to showing "Raw Pumpkin Hemp Seed Protein Bars". Any chance to get the chocolate bar one back again? Thanks!
sweetvegan says
Here's the link that works:
And thanks for letting me know! I am moving all my urls and finding the recipe cards are getting a little bit confused in the move. If that link doesn't work, let me know and I'll write it out for you.
Niki says
What kind of vegan protein powder are you using for this? I have a chocolate with stevia that I normally use in shakes, I wonder if that would work...
Sarah says
I just use a soy protein powder (I think from Bob's Red Mill) I like the idea of a chocolate protein powder. They will be a little sweeter than I intended because of the stevia in the powder, but you should try it and let me know how it turns out!
Kerrie says
What do you do with the extra 2 tablespoons of pecans and 3 tablespoons of coconut? I thought maybe they'd go on top, but that doesn't appear to be the case from the pictures.
Thanks!
Kims Kitchen says
Do you have nutritional info for the german chocolate protein bars?
Sarah says
no, sorry. if you figure it out, please share!
Claire says
I love these! My dad and I have been looking for protein bars with no soy. We plan on making these again! I wrote about them in my new healthy food blog. 🙂
Elizabeth says
I am going to make these for a friend that is deployed! Question though, do you know if they travel well? I don't want him to get a big mushy mess.
Thanks!
Sarah says
They should travel just fine. I hope your friend likes them!
Taylor says
Has anyone tried swapping figs for the dates? Does it leave about the same consistency? I'm not the biggest fan of dates. Also, has anyone tried Coconut flour instead of the oat flour?
Sarah says
If you try these substitutions, let us know how it turns out!
Yvette says
I am just getting started on a healthier eating plan, so I have some brown rice powder I have been using for some healthy smoothies. Can that be substituted for the soy protein powder?
Sarah says
I've never heard of brown rice powder. I imagine it would substitute just fine as these bars are very flexible with ingredients. I have had a lot of people adjust the recipe for their own purposes with great success. If you try it let me know how it turns out!
Christine says
I think almomd meal woul work and would add more protein.
Sarah says
They look yummi!
Do you know how much calories and how much protein one bar contains??
Sarah says
I'm sorry I don't have the calorie count. If you do the math please share your findings.
alex says
These are absolutely amazing, I'm so pleased i came across this recipe will have to make a huge batch soon!! 🙂
Cass E says
I have looked for protein bar recipes before, but I can tell this is going to be a favorite! I've made them three times since discovering this a week ago. I didn't have brown rice syrup so I did water and agave, but with the dates I found them plenty sweet. My food processor wasn't big enough for everything, so put the dates in with some water, then half the dry stuff, then poured that in a big bowl with the rest of the dry stuff and mixed it together. It needed a little something so I added some pb, but I could have added more water to make it the right consistency.
For the next batch I didn't put any agave, but I added carob instead of cocoa powder, and that makes it plenty sweet.
THEN I had some almond pulp (which I used for coconut), some almonds (which I used for pecans), and dried and fresh cherries (dates/syrup), so I substituted those to make cherry almond bars.
I LOVE how simple this recipe is, and that it doesn't use a ton of ingredients but seems to make a ton of bars. We had a container in the fridge that me and my fiancé nibbled on for a week, for deserts, breakfasts, and snacks.
Thank you!
Sarah says
Cool! Thanks for taking the time and share everything you did. It's great to know all the variations that work equally well.
Laura Lee says
How do you keep them from being sticky? They are delicious however we'd like to take them with us to wrestling tournaments for a nutritious snack.
Dust says
Ours came out very sticky too (used whey protein powder), so I rolled them in dessicated coconut. Problem solved 🙂
Alison says
Hi,
I'm from Australia, and I can't buy oats here that do not contain gluten due to the manufacturing process. What would you recommend as a replacement? I'd love to try making these for my boyfriend but he is very sensitive to gluten. Also, could you replace soy protein with pea protein?
Sarah says
Hey, I don't really think you could replace the oats without totally altering the recipe. I can't think of anything GF that would work like oats.
In terms of pea protein, I've never had it, but it looks like it would be fine as long as it doesn't have a strong flavor. You could also leave the protein powder out. it wouldn't affect the texture much, it's just for the extra protein.
Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Good Luck!
Alison says
I tried using quinoa flakes instead of oats and it worked really well. They were delicious. 🙂
Sarah says
That's a great idea! And that way you get extra protein. I've never seen quinoa flakes here, but I'm going to look and try that! Thanks for the suggestion.
April says
Hahaha, I was just trying to avoid going to the supermarket for oats and saw you used quinoa flakes!! Yay, I have them and now gonna give it a go. ????????
Genevieve says
These are amazing! I added a bit of cinnamon to bring out the chocolate flavor, but it seems like your recipe will be a template for further protein bars! I love that I can bring these anywhere, and that they are insanely good! Thanks so much!
Sarah says
Cinnamon is a great idea. I will have to try that.
Kylie @ immaeatthat says
Oh my:) YUM! These look so great:) I can't wait to make them. And the best part, I think these makes chocolate for breakfast acceptable!
Sarah says
Totally! Whenever I can fit chocolate into breakfast, I do!
Alaine @ My GF & DF Living says
These remind me of Larabars but with more goodies in them! These look super good and best of all chocolately!
loraine says
I make a bar very similar to this but I don't use oats, soy or the rice syrup. My kids have dubbed them Marmie's good shit bars, lol. My last batch consisted of dates, cocoa powder, walnuts, almonds, hemp seed, pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, chia seed, poppy seed and lots of coconut, both fine & big shredded. When I need a bit of a binder I throw in some coconut oil. Keep in the fridge or freezer. I always start out with a 1kg of dates (no point in making a small batch) and often end up with more than I anticipated. The original recipe I had started with was just chia, cocoa and dates. I just started tossing in what ever else I had in my cupboards at the time. I used to buy the little protein bars or balls that are often sold at our local health food stores (we have 2 in Penticton) but wondered why they always add some kind of sweetener (agave/rice syrup) as the dates are more than enuff sweet naturally. And of course I thought I could improve upon what they were making, and selling for a terribly expensive price. Anyways, for a fraction of the cost, we are quite happy with the results.
I'd like to say, I rather enjoy your little site. Not sure, but I think that I found you by following links by HOMESTEAD SURVIVAL on facebook for new recipes. I've recently started my own *back to good health* journey as I have fibromyalgia & chronic depression and I'm just sick and tired of always being sick and tired. My newest recent food discovery/issue came from reading WHEAT BELLY. I have long since suspected wheat/gluten as being a major source in my health woes, and now have eliminated all wheat from my diet. It's been an interesting road with my body detoxing and craving wheat all the same time. These good *hit bars have helped enormously
Have a great day!
ciao ~ loraine
Sarah says
I'm glad you found my site. I am sorry to hear about your health, but it sounds like you are on a great road to recovery. Thanks for sharing your story!
Jayme Flint says
What's the nutritional information on these???How many calories/protein/fat etc?
Sarah says
I haven't done the calculations, but I know others have shared some of their findings in the comments above.
dayna says
I had the same question as Jaime about the protein grams... for this protein bar... and calories and fat are always good to know... fiber grams...?? Thanks... they sound so good but I hate to eat mystery food. 🙂
Phyllis HAKE says
I have been dgx. with fibromyalgia and many other auto-immune system problems. When I quit gluten and began a healthy vitamin protocol including 5,000 IU of D my health improved about 95%. God Bless