Store-bought vegan protein bars are fairly expensive and often have a lot of sugar.
The good news is that homemade protein bars are easy to make, and you can often make them much cheaper and better tasting than the ones in stores.
I’ll share my top 10 recipes for vegan protein bars on this page with macros and main ingredients. Many of them are from my collection of high protein vegan recipes.
Here’s a comparison table of them if you only really care about macros:
| Site | # of bars | Calories | Protein (g) | Sugar (g) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fivesec Health | 10 | 180 | 10 | 7 |
| Abbey's Kitchen | 8 | 344 | 18 | 13 |
| Full of Plants | 6 | 227 | 11.5 | 12 |
| Minimalist Baker | 9 | 215 | 10.7 | 4.2 |
| The Big Man's World | 10 | 73 | 3 | 2 |
| Power Hungry | 16 | 229 | 9.4 | 6.1 |
| Oh She Glows | 12 | 200 | 8 | 10 |
| Sweet Simple Vegan | 12 | 244 | 8 | 11.6 |
| Hummusapien | 9 | 269 | 8 | 10 |
| Cotter Crunch | 10 | 269 | 8 | 10 |
If you’d like to see the pictures and main ingredients, scroll through the slightly expanded listings below.
**Some of the recipes require protein powder as an ingredient. If you need help picking one that will taste good, refer to my page on the best tasting vegan protein powders.
Fivesec Health Chickpea Protein Bars
Per serving: Calories – 180, Protein – 10g, Sugar – 7g
In terms of protein to overall calories, these are the best bars here.
These raw bars are mostly made from:
- Chickpeas
- Oats
- Hemp seeds
- Protein powder
It’s not too complicated to make them, just add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend. Then you shape the bars and put them in the fridge to solidify.
Plus they’re about as healthy as you can get for a bar that still tastes good.
Abbey’s Kitchen No Bake Gluten-Free Vegan Protein Bars
Per serving: Calories – 344, Protein – 18g, Sugar – 13g
If you’re not worried about calories, this recipe is a good option. Lots of protein, but also lots of calories. Like most of the other bars on this page, they are gluten free.
The main ingredients in these bars are:
- Nut butter (peanut butter or almond butter)
- Sweetener
- Protein powder
- Oat flour
I typically reduce the maple syrup I add to improve macros further.
You’ll notice on the recipe page that there’s a recipe for the base bars, and then 3 different flavoring options to mix things up: peanut butter banana, almond cherry, mango coconut. It’s a very versatile recipe that I think is a great starter recipe if you’re not too comfortable with cooking.
Full of Plants Chocolate Almond Protein Bars
Per serving: Calories – 227, Protein – 12g, Sugar – 12g
When I made these dark chocolate coated bars, they didn’t come out quite so pretty, but still tasted good.
For these, you’ll need:
- Plant-based protein powder
- Date syrup (can substitute with maple syrup)
- Almond butter or peanut butter
- Chocolate chips
There’s quite a bit of sugar, but you can reduce it depending on the amount of syrup you use and the chocolate chips you use (both amount and darkness).
Minimalist Baker 4 Ingredient No Bake Protein Bars
Per serving: Calories – 215, Protein – 11g, Sugar – 4g
Minimalist Baker is probably my favorite vegan recipe site, and this homemade protein bars recipe is excellent, with a good ratio of protein to sugar.
You may not have all the ingredients on hand, so plan ahead if you need to go shopping:
- Amaranth
- Protein powder
- Maple syrup
- Nut butter
This is not an easy recipe to make, as it involves popping the amaranth, which isn’t something that most people are used to. However, it’s not as scary as it sounds, and adds an interesting texture to the end result.
The Big Man’s World 4 Ingredient Easy No Bake Bars
Per serving: Calories – 73, Protein – 3g, Sugar – 2g
These bars are also quite easy to make, and look similar to some of the recipes above.
You’ll need:
- Oats
- Protein powder
- Nut butter
- Brown rice syrup
This is a great option if you like raw and minimally processed foods. To make these bars, you simply mix all the ingredients together, a food processor isn’t even needed.
Power Hungry Cheap and Easy Vegan Protein Bars
Per serving: Calories – 229, Protein – 9g, Sugar – 6g
This is another chickpea-based bar recipe, which I’m a huge fan of. They taste a lot better than you would think from just thinking of chickpeas.
There’s a decent number of ingredients, focusing on:
- Chickpeas
- Almond milk
- Banana
- Nut butter
- Maple syrup
- Rolled oats
With a relatively high amount of calories, protein, and sugar per serving, these make a nice post workout snack.
Oh She Glows No Bake Vegan Homemade Protein Bars
Per serving: Calories – 200, Protein – 8g, Sugar – 10g
I’ve enjoyed just about every Oh She Glows recipe that I’ve tried, including these bars.
These don’t have the greatest macros, but do taste really good. You’ll need:
- Rolled oats
- Vanilla protein powder
- Rice crisps
- Peanut butter
There’s something about rice crisps that give bars the perfect texture to me. For this no bake recipe you’ll just be mixing together the ingredients in bowls and freezing the bars.
Sweet Simple’s Vegan Chocolate Chip Protein Bar
Per serving: Calories – 244, Protein – 8g, Sugar – 12g
These are probably the most time consuming DIY bars to make on this page, since they have the most ingredients.
However, if you’re worried about taste more than macros, they’re worth the effort.
Among other ingredients, you’ll need:
- Nut butter
- Maple or brown rice syrup
- Oat flour
- Rolled oats
- Coconut flakes
You will need to cook these, which takes a bit longer to make, but also makes them more portable. They’re a great snack to take to school or work.
Hummusapien’s Cookie Dough Protein Bars
Per serving: Calories – 269, Protein – 8g, Sugar – 10g
This simple gluten free recipe has quite a few ingredients and prioritize taste over protein content. It’s a great introductory recipe if you’re trying to learn how to make your own.
Here are the main ingredients:
- Oat flour
- Vanilla bean protein powder
- Vegan sweetener
- Cashew or almond butter
This is another no bake recipe that can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 months (according to the author).
Cotter Crunch’s Homemade Protein Bars
Per serving: Calories – 269, Protein – 8g, Sugar – 10g
Finally, we finish with another chickpea-based recipe. Add some protein powder to it if you want to improve the macros.
Otherwise, you’ll need:
- Chickpeas
- Oats
- Apricots
- Cherries
- Any liquid sweetener that’s vegan-friendly
These bars taste really good and the fruit gives them a distinct taste from the standard chocolate or vanilla flavoring. However, their macros aren’t particularly great, so I’d consider them more of a snack bar.
