No Bake Protein Blondies - Chewy, Sugar Free, 15 Minutes

These no bake protein blondies are chewy, dense and sugar free, with 11.4g of protein and 112 calories a bar - a 15-minute dessert that never touches an oven.

The first version of this recipe was an accident, and not one I was proud of. I'd been trying to make a chewy, crunchy protein bar. What came out of the pan was soft and fudgy and clearly not a protein bar, so I called them blondies and published them anyway coz they tasted good.

They were also a third of a cup of almond butter across six bars, which is a lot of fat for something that was not the exact texture I wanted.

So I rebuilt the whole thing. Peanut butter powder and oat flour in place of the almond and coconut flour, and a fraction of the nut butter. Chewier, denser and richer than the original, the macros down, the protein up, and all ingredients you can find at a normal supermarket.

Then I dunked one in milk. That part is my husband's fault - he soaks every dessert I make in Fairlife chocolate milk, and I've stopped asking why. I used plain milk, but it was the best decision I made that day!

Ingredients for No Bake Protein Blondies

Nothing gets cooked here, which makes these raw protein blondies in the technical sense and a mix-and-press dough in the practical one. Eight ingredients, one bowl.

• Vanilla Protein Powder - the structure and all of the sweetness comes from this, since there's no sugar in these. I used a whey-casein blend from Quest Nutrition, but nothing gets baked, so a whey protein isolate like Isopure works fine.
  • TIP: use one you actually like the taste of.
• Unflavored Protein Powder - cuts the sweetness so these don't taste like a shake pressed into a pan. KOS unflavored plant-based.
  • Sub: unflavored collagen (Vital Proteins) or unflavored whey.
• Oat Flour - the chew, and the single swap that changed this recipe most. Sub: almond flour for a lower carb version, or blitz rolled oats in a blender for 30 seconds and make your own.
• Peanut Butter Powder - bulk, flavor and protein without the fat of real peanut butter. PB2 or PbFit.
  • Sub: more oat flour, though you'll lose a few grams of protein. Also reduce the milk if you use this sub.
• Cashew Butter - the richness, and why two tablespoons goes further than you'd expect. Cinnamon-flavored is worth hunting down; I use Octonuts Churro Flavor Cashew Butter, but another one I recommend it American Dream Nut Butter, code HAYLSKITCHEN for a discount.
  • Sub: plain cashew butter, almond butter, or real peanut butter for no bake peanut butter blondies.
• Unsweetened Almond Milk - added gradually, never all at once.
  • Sub: any milk, dairy or not.
• Vanilla Extract - just a teaspoon, and it so much!
• Sugar Free White Chocolate Chips - Lily's is my goto!
  • Sub: dark or milk chocolate chips, or chopped nuts if you'd rather have crunch than sweetness.

Making Them Vegan

Use a plant-based protein powder for both the vanilla (like KOS or Truvani) and the unflavored, and dairy-free chocolate chips. There's no butter, no eggs and no cream in here to start with, so that's the only change needed.
Be sure to taste and add extra sweetener like stevia or even some maple syrup to reduce the earthy flavor from the plant-based protein.

Making Them Gluten-Free

Use certified gluten-free oat flour. Oats are naturally gluten free but are very often cross-contaminated in processing, so the certification is the part that matters. Everything else in the recipe is already fine.

Making Them Nut-Free

Sunflower seed butter in place of the cashew butter, and more oat flour in place of the peanut butter powder. You'll lose some protein and the flavor turns earthier, but the texture holds.

Tips for the Chewiest No Bake Blondies

A few things I picked up rebuilding this no bake blondies recipe.

• Add the milk in stages. The single biggest variable here. Two vanilla protein powders can need noticeably different amounts to reach the same dough.
• Taste before the chips go in. Once the white chocolate is folded through, adjusting the sweetness means picking chips back out of the dough.
• Don't over-freeze. Ten minutes sets them. Half an hour turns them into something you will need to then wait to thaw.
• Let them sit a minute. Straight from the freezer they're firm. After a minute on the counter they go properly chewy.
• Dunk one in milk. I held out on this for years and my husband was right.

Storage

These no baking protein powder blondies need to stay cold.

Fridge: Up to 1 week in an airtight container. Left at room temperature for long stretches, they soften.

Freezer: Up to 3 months. Wrap them individually or layer with parchment in a sealed container, and give them a few minutes on the counter before eating.

Variations

Crunchy: Chopped pretzels or a handful of cereal pressed into the top.

Blondie bites: Roll the dough into balls instead of pressing it into a pan. Same dough, about 16 no bake blondie bites.

Salted: Sprinkle on flaky salt across the top before it goes in the freezer. It cuts the sweetness of the protein powder.

Cinnamon roll: Cinnamon in the dry mix, with a protein frosting drizzle instead of white chocolate.

More healthy No Bake Protein Desserts

• Cookies and Cream Protein Fudge
• No Bake Matcha Brownie Protein Bites (Vegan, Gluten Free)
• Red Velvet Protein Cookie Dough 
• Healthy Samoa Protein Bars (Low Fat & Sugar Free)