Name: Vegan Keto Homemade Chocolate Protein Bars
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 130 min
Yield: 8 bars
Cuisine: Gluten Free, Keto, Low Carb, Vegan
Ingredients: 1/2 cup coconut manna ((4oz/112g)); 1/2 cup nondairy cream cheese ((4oz/112g)); 1 tbsp coconut oil; 2-3 scoops chocolate protein powder ((~60-90g) see Note above); 2 tbsp keto chocolate chips (optional)

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While there is an ever increasing variety of vegan keto protein bars coming to the market, it’s still pretty challenging to find one that meets my specific dietary needs. Not only am I looking for a plant-based, low-carb, sugar-free protein bar, I also need it to be gluten-free, free of most sweeteners and almond-free. As you can imagine, once a bar meets these qualifications, it gets pretty expensive, pretty fast. So, I’ve started making my own homemade vegan keto protein bars to take on hikes and even just to enjoy around the house.

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Homemade Chocolate Keto Protein Bar Ingredients

The ingredients for these homemade protein bars are pretty basic and can be found in most grocery stores and even places like Wal-mart and Target. And of course, online stores like Amazon or Thrive pretty much have all specialty ingredients you could imagine at this point, if you’re not in a rush to make these.

Often as important as what a recipe contains, is what it doesn’t. These contain no sugar alcohols like malitol, erythritol or xylitol. Additionally, there are no funky syrups or other sweeteners like allulose, chicory root or tapioca syrup. While these ingredients aren’t necessarily bad, they upset my stomach, and I figure I’m not alone in that.

These bars are also soy-free, gluten-free and dairy-free. So, hopefully they work for you! While there are some substitutions listed in the ingredients below, the coconut products unfortunately can’t be replaced, as they are pretty central to the recipe. That said, feel free to reach out and ask about other substitutions, as I’m always happy to help.

a top-down image of a batch of chocolate keto protein bars that has just been cut, showing how to garnish with the chocolate chips

Troubleshooting Homemade Chocolate Vegan Keto Protein Bars

You shouldn’t have too much trouble with this recipe, as it’s fairly simple, but because protein powders all interact in different ways, there are a few issues you may encounter:

If the “dough” is too wet, mix in additional protein powder, 1 tbsp at a time (be sure to track, if you are concerned with keeping accurate macros!)
If the “dough” is too dry, you can fix this in a few ways. The easiest way is to add a splash of water or unsweetened nondairy milk. This won’t really impact the macros at all. You can also add additional coconut oil, 1 tbsp at a time. This works best when the oil is liquid or solid. This will add fat, but no carbs.
Another way to “fix” crumbly dough is to add some keto liquid sweetener, which will also make the bars slightly chewier.

a stack of chocolate vegan keto protein bars with chocolate chips around them and text describing the recipe

Notes on Making Vegan Keto Chocolate Protein Balls

Coconut manna is one of those ingredients that has a few different (and frankly, confusing) names: it is often also sold as coconut butter and creamed coconut (but not coconut cream!). I usually find coconut manna in the nut butter aisle of my grocery store, though I have also seen it sold near the coconut oil.
Even though these contain vegan cream cheese, you don’t really taste it. It’s pretty subtle. So, if you aren’t a big fan of the tanginess cream cheese adds, it shouldn’t be a problem.
The brand of vegan cream cheese I use most is Miyoko’s Kitchen. It’s made with cashews and is entirely whole foods-based with no hydrogenated oils or other funky ingredients. You could also use a homemade cashew cream cheese.
The recipe lists 2-3 scoops of protein powder because plant-based protein powders tend to vary in how they react in recipes (often due to fiber content). So, some powders are drier than others. I usually start by adding 2 scoops, and then the third 1 tbsp at a time until the dough is stiff, but still workable and not dry or crumbly.
This base recipe can easily be modified with additional flavors. I sometimes add a shot of espresso for a little bit of extra flavor and richness. In this case, I use the full 3 scoops of protein powder.
To store: Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
To calculate net carbs: subtract the grams of fiber from the total grams of carbohydrates in the recipe. For this recipe, the calculation is: 8.6g total carbs – 4g fiber = 4.6g net carbs
While I strive to provide accurate nutrition information, there are variations across brands and types of ingredients. So, if you’re using other brands than those mentioned, your macros may be different. All nutrition info is calculated from the USDA values for each ingredient, unless a brand is specifically mentioned (or no generic listing is available), and are for information purposes only!