Banana Hazelnut Protein Bars

Banana Hazelnut Protein Bars are mildly sweet yet soft and luscious tasting vegan protein bars. It’s the healthiest and nutritious vegan protein bars that you can think of. Also it is nothing like a store bought one so it’s as pure as ever. These bars are naturally sweetened and do not contain any high fructose and other unknown ingredients. It’s super easy and serves excellent as a guilt free dessert as well.

The best part of these bars is that these are kid friendly. Well, I can say that confidently because my little one loved it. She especially loves these bars with some sliced bananas and it was one of her favorite dessert. I enjoy these bars as evening snack and sometimes like post workout protein snack. I love the fact that I made these bars without any  processed protein powder and that I powdered the regular hemp seeds at home. This way I saved a lot of nutrients from getting lost in processing. Also, this way I was able to save the essential oils of hemp seeds. Hence, I am totally in love with these bars.

I adapted these nutty yet chewy and moist Banana Hazelnut Protein Bars from one of my very own old blog post. Few years back I created Banana Hazelnut Cookies which were obviously not vegan. However, in my attempt to make it vegan I thought to convert it into vegan protein bars. I love nuts and hazelnuts I think is one the tastiest nuts ever. I have made a protein rich snack recipe with hazelnuts earlier but using hazelnut flour was kind of an experience.

Hazelnut flour/meal does not absorb much liquid and so the measurements become all the more important to follow. Even though it took me a while to bring these vegan protein bars to perfection, I think all my efforts were totally worth it. I used simple and as few ingredients as possible to come up with family friendly vegan protein bars infused with delectable flavors.

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4.75 from 4 votes

Banana Hazelnut Protein Bars

Banana Hazelnut Protein Bars are mildly sweet yet soft and luscious tasting vegan protein bars. It’s the healthiest and nutritious vegan protein bars that you can think of. It's made without any processed protein powder.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: glutenfree, paleo, vegan

Servings: 16

Calories: 149kcal

Author: Gunjan

Ingredients

• 1 cup heaped hemp seeds
• 2 tbsp chia seeds (soaked in 6 tbsp warm water)
• 5 medium bananas (mashed)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cups hazelnut meal/flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

Instructions

• Preheat your oven at 375 degree Fahrenheit and prepare your 8 inch square baking pan with a parchment paper.
• In your food processor/grinder combine hemp seeds and grind until it’s in a powder form.
• Next, in your large mixing bowl combine mashed banana, vanilla extract and olive oil.
• On the side, in another large mixing bowl combine hazelnut meal, baking powder and salt. Then, mix it well with a spoon until no lumps are left.
• Now, fold in powdered hemp seeds into hazelnut mixture.
• Then fold in banana mixture and soaked chia seeds into hazelnut mixture.
• Thereafter, mix the batter extremely well with a spatula. 
• Afterwards, spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it gently yet evenly in the pan.
• Lastly, place the pan in the middle rack of the oven and bake it for 30 minutes.
• Next, take out the pan and let it cool completely (may take about 20 minutes)
• Finally, cut it into desired pieces and enjoy.

Notes

• These bars are soft and chewy slightly on a delicate side
• These bars are not very sweet and are on a mild side. These are definitely healthy + nutritious. These bars taste excellent with sliced bananas.
• You may refrigerate these bars in an air tight container for 2-3 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 149kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 8g | Potassium: 169mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 3.2mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 0.2mg