Beautiful layered Pretzel Protein Fudge Bars with the perfect sweet-salty and crunchy-fudgy combination! Chocolate pretzel protein bars are easy, healthy and sugar free; Perfect for a homemade on-the-go snack or post-workout treat!
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Everyone seemed to be into the oatmeal fudge bars recently, so I put my twist on it with pretzels and made chocolate pretzel protein bars instead!
The sweet and salty combination of the chocolate and pretzels really goes so well in these layered bars here. If not for tracking macros I’d totally be able to finish the entire batch in one go.
To be honest though, I really wasn’t planning a fudge here; All I wanted was healthy pretzel protein bars, but that fudgy and crunchy combo was a very good accident!
Ingredients for Pretzel Protein Fudge Bars:
These protein peanut butter cup bars are made with simple healthy ingredients, have no sugar or milk, making them the perfect homemade gluten free, dairy free and sugar free protein bar!
Pretzel Base:
- Hard Pretzel Sticks
- Unflavored Protein Powder to replace some of the flour (and carbs) in the recipe for a slightly lower carb high protein. I use the Multi-purpose mix protein powder from Quest Nutrition.
- Almond Butter – Creamy or Crunchy, but Plain
- Sugar free Maple Syrup for low calorie protein bar with no sugar!
I use the sugar free monk fruit maple syrup from Lakanto (code HAYLSKITCHEN gets you a discount)
Chocolate Protein Fudge
- Instant or Rolled Oats
- Oat Flour – You can make your own by blending rolled oats in a high speed blender
- Chocolate Protein Powder for high protein magic cookie bar, and also replace the sweetener.
I recommend Protein World Slender Blend or ProteinWorld Whey for this recipe to keep it sugar free; Use the code HAYLSKITCHEN for a discount.
Another option would be Quest. - Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Almond Milk
And the Chocolate Topping:
- Sugar free Chocolate Chips to make this a protein fudge bar with no added sugar. I use the ones from Lakanto here (HAYLSKITCHEN for a discount here too). Another option is Lily’s Chocolate Chips.
- A bit of Coconut Oil
To store Chocolate Pretzel Protein Bars
To store homemade pretzel protein bars, place in an airtight container and keep on the counter for up to 3 days.
To store for longer, keep chocolate pretzel bars refrigerated or in the freezer. They keep in the fridge for up to a 1 week.
To freeze, place pretzel fudge in an 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 Pretzel Chocolate Fudge Bars!
I made these sugar free, gluten free and low fat heathy pretzel bars with this particular ingredient list, but here’s some clean alternatives to try:
- Unflavored protein powder: Unflavored Collagen, or even Almond flour or Oat flour
- Chocolate Protein Powder: Vanilla Protein Powder
- Sugar free Maple Syrup: Regular maple syrup or Honey, but they won’t be Vegan or a no sugar recipe anymore.
- Almond Milk: Regular milk or other non dairy milk
More Homemade Layered Protein Bars to try!
- Peanut Butter Cup Protein Bars
- 7 Layer Protein Magic Bars
- Homemade Sugar-free Protein Snickers Bars
- Chickpea Cookie Dough Protein Bars
- Peanut Butter Protein Twix Bars
Pretzel Protein Fudge Bars – Surprising and Just Perfect
Ingredients
Pretzel Base:
- ¾ cup Hard Pretzel Sticks/Twists, 30g
- 1 Tbsp Unflavored Protein Powder, 5g, see post for subs
- 1½ Tbsp Almond Butter, 24g
- 2 tsp Maple Syrup, Sugar-free recommended below, 10ml
Chocolate Protein Fudge:
- ⅓ cup Rolled/Instant Oats, 30g
- ⅓ cup Oat Flour, 30g
- ¼ cup Chocolate Protein Powder, 22g
- 3 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa, 15g
- ¼ cup + ½ Tbsp Almond Milk, 30ml
Chocolate Topping:
- 1 Tbsp Chocolate Chips, Sugar-free recommended below, 15g
- ¼ tsp Coconut Oil
- Pretzels
Instructions
- Line a 7×5” pan or 8½ x 4½” loaf pan with parchment paper; leave an overhang to lift out later.
Pretzel Base:
- In a food processor, combine pretzels and unflavored protein powder; Pretzels should be mostly chopped.
- Transfer to a bowl, add in almond butter and maple syrup and mix.
- Transfer to prepared pan and press down.
Protein Fudge:
- Process oats, oat flour, chocolate protein powder and cocoa powder in food processor until oats are fine.
- Transfer to a bowl, add in almond milk and mix. Mixture will be thick.
- Spread on top of base and use back of spoon/spatula (or wet fingers) to smoothen.
- Place in freezer to harden about 10 minutes.
Chocolate Topping:
- Place the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals, stirring – for about 45 seconds until completely melted.
- Spread chocolate on hardened bar (use back of spoon) and top with chopped pretzels.
- Transfer to freezer to cool about 5-10 minutes.
- Lift layers out of pan, place on cutting board and using a (warm)sharp knife, slice into 6 bars.
Notes
- Nutrition value is calculated using products recommended below.
- See post for alternate ingredients, tips and storage options.
- Quest Nutrition Multi-purpose Mix Protein Powder
- ProteinWorld Whey Protein Powder
- Use code HAYLSKITCHEN for 30% off your order
- ProteinWorld Slender Blend
- Use code HAYLSKITCHEN for 30% off your order
- Quest Nutrition Chocolate Milkshake Protein Powder
- Lakanto Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Use code HAYLSKITCHEN for 15% off your order
- Servings: 6 bars | Serving size: 1
- Calories: 119kcal
- Fat: 4.9g | Saturated fat: 1.2g
- Carbohydrates: 15.4g | Fiber: 3.2g | Sugar: 0.4g
- Protein: 6.3g
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!