Turns out, green is not the most appealing protein bar color… but hear me out. This homemade snack is straight-up pumpkin seed butter FUDGE with a hint of coconut & I can’t get enough of it!
An Easy, No-Bake Protein Bar Recipe!
I took inspiration for this creation from 2 things. The first being my intense love for the texture of Perfect Bars (iykyk). The second being my intense love of spoonfuls of nut butter (or seed butter, I don’t discriminate).
Eating these bars are like eating a brick of pumpkin seed butter. What could be better?!
Although you can pretty much use any nut or seed butter for this recipe, I think pumpkin seed butter adds a fun, new element to take this snack to the next level. Pumpkin seed butter is still relatively new to the health food space, but I KNOW that it’s only going to become increasingly more common. Not only is this seed butter a unique color, but it’s also considered one of the healthiest seeds out there!
Pumpkin seed butter is also absolutely delicious! It has a fun, unique mild flavor that pairs perfectly with honey, coconut, and even chocolate. I always make sure to buy an unsweetened, creamy pumpkin seed butter to have full control over the sweetness and flavor I want it to take on. By buying pumpkin seed butter without any added sugar in it, I’ve even used it to make savory salad dressings!
2 Superfoods In One!
- Pumpkin seeds
- Collagen
In my humble opinion, classifying something as a “Superfood” is a loose title. BUT I feel like these two ingredients suit that title well!
Pumpkin seeds are full of healthy fats, antioxidants, iron, magnesium, fiber, and zinc. Several studies have linked pumpkin seeds to improved heart health, immune function, fertility, and sleep quality!
- Link: “Top 11 Science-Based Health Benefits of Pumpkin Seeds”
- Link: “The beneficial effects of pumpkin extract on atherogenic lipid, insulin resistance and oxidative stress status in high-fat diet-induced obese rats“
- Link: “Antioxidative effects of pumpkin seed (Cucurbita pepo) protein isolate in CCl4-induced liver injury in low-protein fed rats”
Collagen is another superfood that I sneak into my diet on a daily basis. Not only is collagen one of the most abundant and multi-functional proteins in our bodies, but it’s also one of the strongest!
Even though we make collagen by ourselves, the amount of collagen we make in order to strengthen hair/skin, repair gut lining, and reinforce the connective tissue between our joints begins to decrease as we age. I purchase collagen as an unflavored powder. It doesn’t have any funky texture or flavor contributions to recipes, which makes it all too easy to sneak into fun snacks and coffee!
- Link: “A Collagen Supplement Improves Skin Hydration, Elasticity, Roughness, and Density: Results of a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Blind Study”
- Link: “Beneficial effects of food supplements based on hydrolyzed collagen for skin care”
- Link: “Oral Collagen Supplementation: A Systematic Review “
How to Make Homemade Protein Bars
Simply combine all of the ingredients (besides the coconut flakes) into a food processor. Blend on high for about a minute until a cohesive, thick mixture forms.
Evenly press the mixture into a lightly greased loaf tin lined with wax paper. Sprinkle with coconut flakes and freeze for at least an hour before slicing into bars.
THAT’S IT. Easy Peasy.
I store mine in the freezer.
A Healthy, Make-Ahead Snack!
Busy weeks call for… all the snacks. Like I mentioned earlier, I store these collagen protein bars in my freezer to grab for a healthy on-the-go snack.
Especially since another college semester began, I’m sooo here for homemade “fast food” options! Not only are these protein bars gut-healthy, superfood-packed, and stuffed with healthy fats and protein to keep me full through classes and labs but they also only take 5 minutes to prep! Plus this no-bake recipe is almost fool-proof (aka you can’t burn or undertake it WOO). Blend. Freeze. Walk away. Yes please!
These homemade protein bars also have 17 grams of high-quality protein, no refined sugar, and only take 5 simple ingredients to make!
More of My Favorite Healthy Snacks:
- Paleo Cookie Dough Bites
- SCD Cappuccino Collagen Bars
- Air Fried Cinnamon Sugar Bread
- SCD Blueberry Marble Mug Cake
Paleo Pumpkin Seed Collagen Bars
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 bars 1x
Description
An easy, superfood packed protein bar recipe made with pumpkin seed butter and collagen! It’s like eating a brick of sweet pumpkin seed butter- I’m obsessed. Paleo, Grain-free, SCD-friendly, Gluten-free, Gut-healthy, Refined-sugar-free.
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy, unsweetened pumpkin seed butter
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 3 tbsp. coconut flour
- 1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unflavored collagen peptides
Topping:
3 tbsp. unsweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
- Combine the pumpkin seed butter, honey, coconut flour, vanilla extract, and collagen into a food processor.
- Blend on high for 1-2 minutes, until a cohesive thick mixture forms.
- Lightly spray a loaf tin with nonstick cooking spray and line with a sheet of wax paper.
- Evenly press the pumpkin seed bar mixture into the lined loaf tin with your hands. Evenly sprinkle the coconut flakes (or topping of your choice!) over the bars, lightly pressing them into the mixture.
- Cover and freeze for at least 1 hour before slicing into bars and serving. Eat right away or store in the freezer in a sealed container for later!
- Category: easy snacks
- Method: no-bake
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 310
- Sugar: 3
- Fat: 24
- Carbohydrates: 9
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 17
Keywords: collagen, homemade protein bars, healthy snack, easy recipe, no-bake, pumpkin seed butter, refined-sugar-free, scd, gut health, superfood recipe, high protein snack
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