Healthy Chocolate Pecan Pie Protein Bars with a low-fat graham base and sugar-free chocolate pecan filling. Chocolate pecan bars have no sugar and no butter, and are great for your next holiday party.
Jump to RecipeI may or may not have been putting off this chocolate pecan bar recipe for a year, but finally got around to it now after I noticing the box of Graham crackers I had in my pantry.
Decided to half-batch the recipe when I tried it first coz I wasn’t sure how the bars would turn out – we want the denseness and richness – and immediately regretting not making more!
Ingredients for Chocolate Pecan Pie Protein Bars Recipe:
These chocolate pecan pie protein bars are made with simple healthy ingredients, have no added sugar or milk; A really great diabetic friendly recipe too!
- Plain or Honey Graham Crackers (use gluten free if you need)
- Almond Butter; I’d recommend American Dream Nut Butter; Code HAYLSKITCHEN gives you a discount.
- Sugar Free Maple Syrup. I used the one from Lakanto for this recipe.Code HAYLSKITCHEN gives you a discount here too
- An Egg White
And then the Chocolate Pecan Pie Filling:
- Chocolate Protein Powder for healthy, sugar free pumpkin cookie
I used Quest Nutrition Chocolate whey-casein since it works best for baking. - Cocoa Powder
- Unsweetened Applesauce
- Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- Stevia Powder
- Coconut Flour
- An Egg
- An Egg White
- Vanilla Extract
- Baking Soda
- Pecans!
Tips to make Healthy Diabetic Pecan Bars with Protein Powder
These protein powder chocolate pecan pie bars are extremely easy to make for a fitness snack, with just making one layer at a time. Here’s some tips to get them right!
- Let the pecan pie bar crust cool
You don’t want to add the filling to the crust when it is still warm or it will get a weird texture on the bottom.
- Use whey-casein protein powder since it works well with the ratio of ingredients here; Whey absorbs less moisture, so you would have to reduce the amount of applesauce in this case.
- Mix the dry ingredients well before adding in the wet so you have a smooth mix.
To store Healthy Chocolate Pecan Protein Bars
These chocolate pecan protein bars can be stored in the fridge or even frozen. Place pecan pie bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a 1 week.
To freeze, place healthy chocolate pecan pie bars in airtight sealed container, or individually wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in zipper bag; They should keep for 2 or 3 months. Be sure to let them thaw on the counter before eating!
Alternatives for Healthy Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars!
I made these sugar free and gluten free and low fat chocolate pecan pie bars with this particular ingredient list, but here’s some healthy options to choose from.
Options for healthy pie crust without butter:
- Graham Crackers: Gluten free grahams like these ones from Nairns will give you a gluten free crust.
- Sugar Free Maple Syrup: Regular maple syrup
- Almond Butter: Cashew Butter or Peanut Butter
For the Chocolate Pecan Pie Filling:
- Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: All purpose flour or 1:1 Gluten Free Baking Flour, in the same amount by weight.
- Applesauce: Mashed Banana or Pumpkin Puree
- Stevia Powder: Monkfruit sweetener or regular sugar
And some more Layered Homemade Protein Bars to try:
- Cherry Pie Protein Bars
- Protein Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
- Tiramisu Protein Bars
- Caramel Fudge Protein Bars
- Protein Nanaimo Bars
Or more Protein Pecan Pie Desserts:
Chocolate Pecan Pie Protein Bars – Great Healthy Treat
Ingredients
Crust:
- 8 sheets Graham Crackers, Crushed, 120g
- 1 Tbsp Runny Almond Butter, 16g
- 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup, Sugar-free recommended below
- 1 Egg White, 33g
Chocolate Pecan Pie Filling:
- ½ cup Chocolate Protein Powder, Whey-casein, about 45g
- ¼ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- ¼ cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, 30g
- 1½ Tbsp Coconut Flour, 10g
- Stevia Sweetener, 2 tsp sugar worth (Use your brand’s Conversion Chart)
- ¾ tsp Baking Soda
- ½ cup Unsweetened Applesauce, 120g
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg White
- ¼ tsp Vanilla Extract
Mix-ins:
- ½ cup Chopped Pecans, 56g
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat oven to 375°F, line an 8×8” baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, combine crackers, almond butter and maple syrup until crumbly.
- Transfer mix to a bowl, add egg whites and mix to thicken.
- Spread on bottom of pan and press down firmly with back of spoon or small spatula.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, remove from oven and let cool completely.
Chocolate Pecan Pie Filling:
- In a bowl combine chocolate protein powder, cocoa powder, flour, coconut flour, stevia powder and baking soda.
- In another bowl, place whisk applesauce, egg, egg white and vanilla extract.
- Add dry mix into wet and gently fold until uniform.
- Add most of chopped pecans and mix again.
- Pour batter into pan, spread evenly with a spatula or back of a spoon.Top with remaining pecans.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, a toothpick inserted into the center should come out with few crumbs attached.Allow to cool completely, about 30 minutes.
- Lift out of pan, place on cutting board and using a sharp knife, slice into 16 bars.
Notes
- Nutrition value is calculated using products recommended below.
- See post for alternate ingredients, tips and storage options.
- Lakanto Maple Flavored Syrup
- Use code HAYLSKITCHEN for a discount off your order
- American Dream Nut Butter Almond Butter
- Use code HAYLSKITCHEN for a discount off your order
- Quest Nutrition Chocolate Whey-Casein Protein Powder
- Servings: 16 bars | Serving size: 1
- Calories: 103kcal
- Fat: 4.8g | Saturated fat: 0.5g
- Carbohydrates: 10.8g | Fiber: 2.2g | Sugar: 3g
- Protein: 4.6g
Hey! I'm Haylee
Google Software Engineer
I use my passion for baking (and eating) to create healthy, high-protein, good-for-you and diet-friendly desserts and sweet treats that are actually delicious.
Come join me in Hayl's Kitchen and let's eat high protein, sweet and guilt free!