Satisfy your sweet tooth with these no-bake, dark chocolate peanut butter squares. Packed with 11 grams of whey protein per serving, and ready in minutes.

Any fellow chocolate lovers out there? It’s no secret I love chocolate – especially dark chocolate. I have a small piece of dark chocolate, or a few semi-sweet chocolate chips, most days of the week. Just a taste is enough to satisfy my sweet tooth. This past week, however, I decided to take it a step further.

If you follow my blog, you know I’m not much of a baker. I made this recipe 4 times before it turned out how I wanted. That’s a lot for a no-bake recipe! I wanted each square to have over 10 grams of protein, without tasting like it had any protein at all. I finally mastered the ratio of ingredients on Saturday, but when I cut the sqaures to take pictures, the chocolate cracked. Ugh! They had a great taste, but they were definitely not photo worthy. I gave up that day.

I was back at it today, and they turned out so good.

If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll love these dark chocolate, peanut butter protein squares. The best part about them is the taste! The second best thing is how easy they are to make. You only need about 10 minutes to prepare them, then about 30 minutes to let them set in the refrigerator.

How To Make Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Squares

To start, you’ll need an 8×8 baking dish. Make sure to line it with Parchament paper first. It makes it super easy to remove the squares from the dish when you are ready to cut them.

In a large bowl, combine honey, vanilla extract, olive oil and peanut butter. Mix that until it is smooth. Then, add the vanilla protein powder and flaxseed mill. I used a basic vanilla whey protein powder, but you can use your favorite brand. Mix all of the ingredients together until it resembles cookie dough. Spread it evenly into the 8X8 dish, then put it in the refrigerator to keep it chilled while you melt the chocolate.

Once the chocolate is melted, pour it evenly over the dough, then return it to the refrigerator. Allow the squares to chill for at least 30 minutes before cutting.

When you’re ready to cut the squares, use the Parchamant paper to remove from the baking dish. This makes it much easier to cut.

Now for the important step – cutting the squares. If you are taking these bars to a party, or just want them to look pretty, make sure you wait a bit before cutting. The chocolate will have hardened, so if you cut it too soon, it will crack. If you don’t have time to wait, run the knife under hot water right before you make each cut. That will decrease the chances of the chocolate cracking.

Another important consideration is the type of knife you use to cut the squares. I used a large, flat edged knife to make sure the edges were smooth.

I calculated the nutrition facts based on the recipe making 9 squares. But, if you are keeping these for yourself or the family, I suggest cutting them into smaller squares and freezing them. That way, you have something sweet when you need it but will be less likely to overindulge.

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars – No Bake

Satisfy your sweet tooth with these no-bake, dark chocolate peanut butter squares. Packed with 11 grams of high-quality whey protein per serving, and ready in minutes.

Author: Heather Mangieri, RDN

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup flaxseed mill
• 3/4 cup vanilla whey protein powder
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1.5 oz 85% dark chocolate bar

Instructions

• Line 8X8 baking pan with Parchment paper. Set aside.

  Combine peanut butter, vanilla, honey and olive oil in a medium bowl. Stir until smooth.

  Add flax seed meal and protein powder and stir until well-combined. The batter will be similar to cookie dough.

  Transfer batter to the baking dish and press evenly into the dish. Make sure to stretch the batter evenly into all four corners.

  Transfer to the refrigerator to keep chilled while melting the chocolate.

  Melt the dark chocolate in a pan over low heat. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.

  Pour melted chocolate over the batter in an even layer until they are completely covered in chocolate. 

  Transfer to the refrigerator for ~30 minutes before cutting

Notes

• Recipe Makes 9 squares
• Serving Size: 1 square
• Nutrition Facts (per servings):210 calories, 15 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 11 g protein, 13 g fat, 3.5 g saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 80 mg sodium.
• Meal Planning Servings: 1 CHO; 1.5 PRO; 2.5 FAT

 

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?  Tag @heathermangieri  on Instagram and hashtag it #HeatherMangieriNutrition

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