For the past few months I have been playing around with paleo power bar recipes. When I’m on the go I want to grab something that is packed with nutrition, not too sweet, and plenty tasty.
I’ve made this grain-free power bar recipe a bunch of times now. My taste testers (that would be my husband who is a very direct and stringent critic) have given it their official seal of approval (that would be eating an entire tray in two days flat).
When I saw Heidi’s video I knew it was time to share my paleo power bars recipe. Heidi is my favorite food blogger and author of the delightful book, Super Natural Cooking. In Heidi’s video, her voice is so soothing and the content so tranquil that it might put you into a trance. It has gorgeous shots of California’s Big Sur interspersed with her recipe.
Power Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups almonds
- ½ cup golden flaxmeal
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup creamy roasted almond butter
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted
- 4 drops stevia
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Place almonds, flax meal, shredded coconut, almond butter, and salt in a food processor
- Pulse briefly, about 10 seconds
- Add coconut oil, stevia, honey, and vanilla to dry ingredients
- Pulse until mixture forms a coarse paste
- Press mixture into an 8 x 8 inch baking dish
- Chill in refrigerator 1 hour, until firm
- In a saucepan, melt chocolate over very low heat, stirring continuously
- Spread melted chocolate over bars
- Refrigerate 30 minutes, until chocolate solidifies
- Serve
- Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week
My no-bake, high-protein, high-fiber bars are based upon Melissa Diane Smith’s recipe for Amaretto Protein Bars. I’ve made quite a few changes to her recipe, simplifying it a bit and lowering the amount of sweetener.
The chocolate topping on these paleo power bars makes them seem a bit decadent. Though dark chocolate, rich in antioxidants, has now entered the echelon of power foods so I’ll keep it on mine.
By the way, the photo above is actually of Macadamia Power Bars. To make that recipe simply substitute raw macadamia nuts for the almonds and raw macadamia nut butter for the roasted almond butter.
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Anira says
I just made these a second time – processed for longer to get a bit finer texture and then rolled the mixture into balls and dipped in the chocolate to coat them. I find them easier to eat on-the-go this way, since you don’t have to deal with the crumble factor — just pop one in your mouth!
Elana says
Anira, that sounds great!
Katarina says
Hi Elana,
I just made these and they came out all crumbly… Not sure what I did wrong?! Perhaps I didn’t blend the ingredients well enough? I haven’t got a food processor so I used a Vitamix’s dry blend function… You just can’t blend so much at the same time though so I had to do it in cups… Perhaps that was the problem eh? Still delicious in bits though! I may use it as a cereal topper instead… Ah well! The learning continues!
Elana says
Katarina, I think you’ll find these turn out perfectly when you use the method indicated in the recipe and make them in a food processor :-)
Brittany says
Thank you so much for this recipe. It is a wonderful snack option for our Gluten Free Challenge. They are delicious!
Kim Nelson says
I made these delicious Power Bars but they came out super crumbly – with only a few holding their shape. The chocolate on the top was delicious too, but cracked when I cut them. I was wondering what I could have done wrong, or if anyone else had this problem. The ingredients are DELICIOUS, so I would like to figure out what went wrong. Thanks – Kim
anira says
Mine also came out crumbly and the chocolate cracked as well when I cut it, but I don’t mind so much since they are so tasty. Not something you could easily eat on the go like a typical powerbar though. I wonder if processing it longer to make it even more of a paste (less chunky) with maybe having to add a bit of liquid/moisture to it would help it all stick together better. Maybe adding some dates and omitting/limiting the other sweeteners (stevia and agave).
Tamara says
The first time I made this recipe I also found the bars were a bit too crumbly. I’ve solved the issue with pureed raisins or dried cherries. I soak 1/2 of dried fruit in very hot water for 10 minutes, drain, puree and proceed with the recipe. The texture of the bars is perfect without being sticky.
Raeanne Block says
Hello! I have recently found out that I cannot eat gluten and I would love to make some of your almond/ paleo breads, but everywhere I look, Unblanched Almond Meal is SO expensive. Do you have any suggestions of ways/ places this can be bought cheaper/ in bulk?
Elana says
Raenna, thanks for your comment! I’m testing these recipes up to 40x with the ingredients that are listed in the recipes. I’m not really sure how other ingredients would work unless I experimented with those too :-)
Mary Talieh says
Hello Elana! My daughter and I enjoy making your bars, as written and with our own variations, with great success. However, I can’t seem to get a good tasting bar using some rice protein powder I have sitting in my cabinet. I have searched online and I cannot find any recipes. Ideas? Even general guidelines for using protein powder would be welcome. Rice protein doesn’t work the same as whey, which I can’t tolerate.
Thank you!
Elana says
Mary, thanks for your comment! I haven’t eaten rice, or any other typical gluten-free type substances since 2001 when I went grain-free so not sure how those ingredients would work in recipes :-)
Jill says
This is my new go-to recipe. Literally one of the ONLY ‘snack type’ foods I can eat while on my cleanse. And they taste just like candy! The way I ‘dress mine up’ is as follows:
I leave out the chocolate. I use 2 cups of almonds, hazelnuts and pecans instead of just almonds. I add around 3/4 cup of coconut instead – the flavor is really nice. I also add in raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds just for fun – and added omegas. To make it all stick together, I have to use a bit more coconut oil – but not much or you get that greasy bottom on the bar. I cut them into little squares for portability (and so they don’t break into pieces).
I think I might try to play with this recipe a bit to make it into a dainty or squaree. I think it would go over really well for Christmas get togethers for those of us who eat ‘special food’. Thanks for the awesome recipe!!!
kelly says
I made these yesterday and they are amazing! I substituted coconut nectar (syrup) for agave. I also used a small ice cream scoop to portion them and rolled in melted dark chocolate. These will be put into heavy rotation in my house. What a wonderful, healthy treat.
cooking mama says
Power Bars were excellent! I substituted 3 dates instead of agave, 1/2 tsp powdered Stevia instead of drops, & I also added 1 teaspoon of almond extract.
Jennifer says
I’ve made this in the past and loved it. This time, I switched it up a bit. I used a combination of almonds, walnuts and pecans for the nuts, and peanut butter instead of almond butter. To reduce the glycemic load even a little more, I skipped the chocolate on top and threw in a handful of cacao nibs, while pulsing everything in the food processor. I skipped the agave and sweetened solely with chocolate flavored stevia (Now brand). I think the results taste seriously good. I love the texture, too – reminds me of halvah! Thanks for creating such a versatile recipe, Elana!
Jennifer says
An added note: I made these again (with soaked walnuts, pecans, cashews and pumpkin seeds), but this time I added about 1/4 cup of raw cacao powder for more chocolate flavor. I rolled them into balls and the coated them in xylitol, which gives them kind of a sparkly festive look – great for the holidays! For some of them, I added a couple of drops of peppermint oil to the xylitol coating, for a new twist…the jury is still out on whether or not it will be a weird combo with the nutty flavors.. :-)