Healthy Chubby Hubby DIY Protein Bars (+ Video!)
I have been pretty busy lately so I’m falling back in love with quick and easy “grab and go” snacks. Scratch that, I meant “snack.” No plural there, because these Healthy Chubby Hubby DIY Protein Bars are pretty much the ONLY thing I think about when I’m in a hurry with a stomach that is growling at me like my dog growls at vacuums.
I love peanut butter, I love chocolate, and I love pretzels — that means I love that famous Chubby Hubby flavor combo. So I made it into protein bars. DIY Protein Bars, that is!
And these are kind of oxymorons, because these totally won’t make you chubby.
Unlike the Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby ice cream, which contains refined flour, butter, and a ton of bleached sugar (sugar is both the 3rd and 5th ingredients), these Healthy Chubby Hubby DIY Protein Bars are low in sugar, high in protein and high in fiber. And, if you choose to use gluten-free and/or vegan pretzels, then they’ll be gluten-free and vegan too!
So indulge in these (secretly) Healthy Chubby Hubby DIY Protein Bars. They are easy to make, totally craving-worthy, and 100% healthy.
Healthy Chubby Hubby DIY Protein Bars
Ingredients
- 128g (½ cup) Natural Roasted Peanut Butter
- 1 cup + 3 tbs Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Crème-Flavored Stevia Extract
- 168g (1¼ cups, lightly packed) Vanilla Brown Rice Protein Powder
- 90g (¾ cup) Peanut Flour
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 3 oz Bittersweet Chocolate
- 36 Pretzel Rods **
Instructions
- You can find the full recipe and instructions in the DIY Protein Bars Cookbook!
Recipe Notes
If you like this recipe, then you’ll LOVE my DIY Protein Bars Cookbook! With 48 protein bar recipes, you’ll never buy protein bars from the store again. To learn more about the book and see some sneak peeks, see this page!
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Watch me make these Chubby Hubby DIY Protein Bars on camera:
As noted ** in the recipe, I’ve tested this recipe using a few different kinds of pretzels. I’ve used Mary’s Gone Crackers® sea salt pretzel sticks (organic, whole grain, gluten-free). I’ve also used Newman’s Own® salted pretzel rods (organic), as well as grocery store brand pretzel sticks. Pretzel rods are the way to go because they stay the crunchiest the longest.
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I am so incredibly lucky to be a part of such a loving, adoring, and supportive online community. Here is one of my favorite pictures a reader tagged me in on social media of her Healthy Chubby Hubby DIY Protein Bar remake!
Instead of a chocolate drizzle and pretzels on top, she used chocolate chips and pretzels inside the protein bars. A very good way to do it, indeed.
Thanks @realist_nutritionist!
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Be happy.
Live fully.
Eat protein bars.
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– Jess
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Indulge − no strings attached!
PERFECT!
I’m so glad I picked up a bag of Sun Warrior protein powder in Vanilla. I’m usually not a fan of rice protein powder (too grainy) but I trust your blog, because so far, none of your recipes have failed to satisfy me! I will be making this ASAP!
I find SunWarrior to be gritty too, so whenever I make a smoothie I make it the night before and let it sit in the fridge overnight… it helps a little on the texture. I hope you like the protein bars! Make sure to read the recipe note on the pretzels [they don’t stay crunchy because the bars are moist, however they do add a pretzel flavor 🙂 ]
Hello 🙂
I can’t have oats; do you think buckwheat flour would work?
Thanks!
Hmmm, I think buckwheat might add too strong of a flavor in these bars, and I’m not sure how it would taste. If you have brown rice flour or almond flour or any other mild flavor flour I would use that instead. But, if you love buckwheat I guess you can try that! 🙂 Hope you like the protein bars!
I love having homemade protein bars on hand. I’m excited to try your recipe!
To try and help the pretzels retain their crunch you could try covering the with chocolate which will block the pretzels from the moisture of the bar. I’ve done it in homemade chubby hubby ice cream and it worked wonderfully and I’m sure it will work just as well when I go ahead and make these.
Great advice Maddie! And that would add even more chocolate to the recipe, and you can’t go wrong with that of course 😀
I made these and my friends and co-workers liked them a lot! I used regular brown rice protein powder because I can’t find vanilla brown rice protein powder anywhere and I used the thin pretzel chips with hopes that they wouldn’t take out as much moisture from the bars. The bars still came out a little dry. I did bake them for about 7 minutes at 325 because even after refrigerating overnight, they still wouldn’t completely hold together well. The baking really did the trick! Thanks for the recipe!
I never would have thought to bake the protein bars! However baking could be the cause of the dryness.
I’m glad you all liked the recipe though!
-Jess
What is a good sub for rice protein powder? Can I use any vanilla protein powder?
I believe soy protein powder and possibly hemp protein powder can replace the brown rice protein powder, but I would not sub it with whey protein powder (whey gets extremely gooey and does not set… however, my friend who uses whey just freezes it, but it is also difficult to mix)
This could very well be maker-error, but I subbed in soy flour and added a couple tablespoons vanilla and they came out too dry to stay together. I also used soy milk rather than almond milk, so that could have been the problem too. I’m going to give it another try with less soy flour and a little more peanut butter. I should note that the brand of PB I used seemed a bit dry to me, so that probably contributed to the problem.
BC-
In my experience with soy flour, I find that soy flour absorbs A LOT of liquid… kind of like coconut flour or peanut flour. Soy milk should work just fine to replace the almond milk, so I would say they ended up dry because of the soy flour (and possibly dry peanut butter… the PB I use is quite drippy). If you try this recipe again, I’d start off with 1/4 cup soy flour and keep the rest of the recipe the same. If you need to increase the amount of flour, just do it tablespoon by tablespoon 😀
I hope the recipe works out better the second time around!
-Jess
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I don’t have any stevia or truvia on hand… I wonder if maple syrup or honey would do the trick, and maintain some moisture in the bars. Any idea how much I should use? Thanks for the recipe! Super excited to try it.
Hmmm I’m not sure how a liquid sweetener will work in this recipe. The bars might be too gooey and not firm enough to spread into the pan… however, you can try omitting the stevia/truvia and replacing it with 2/3 – 3/4 cup of pure maple syrup/honey. Keep a few extra scoops of protein powder nearby and slowly add some to the mixture while it’s running. Add just enough to make it form a thick cookie dough.
I hope this works for you!
-Jess
These look great, would it still work with an alternative protein powder? I can’t source the brown rice stuff in time for when I want to make these, so hoping to use a regular protein powder instead?
These protein bars might work with another protein powder, like soy protein or hemp protein, but whey protein DOES NOT work… sadly 🙁 I’ve tried it and a lot of my readers have too. Whey protein gets really gooey and it doesn’t solidify. My friend uses whey and freezes the mixture for a while and then slices it, but it’s a lot of work to mix.
Thanks so much for your reply. I’ll have a look locally for another type as I have about 15 whey’s but nothing else, doh!
The rice one is quite difficult to source here so I’ll see what else I can find & let you know the results. Love the blog 🙂
No problem, I’ll try to make a whey protein bar recipe soon! Every batch I’ve made has failed beyond belief. One batch actually broke my crappy 4 year old stand mixer because the mixture was so gooey and thick, like silly putty 🙁
Hi Vix – Looking Fab as usual Vix ! i love the other post as well- the 60's suit is so out of this world! I love when you post pics of your town even though some of it is derelict, this a new word for me i love it! Big news! Helga left a comment on my blog, so excited i just love the woman!Take care Vix – lots of love Ariane xx
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Sounds delicious!
Can i replace the oat flower with grouded roled oats? I bought too much oats at Costco…
Yup, you can just grind some oats in a blender or food processor and that will work just fine! Costco has a way of doing that to people… I think I bought enough organic hummus one time to last me three years… 😉
-Jess
I tried this recipe out…by they came out runny. They did not harden in the fridge, and I refrigerated them from 3pm to 7:30am.
I don’t know what went wrong. I made my own oat flour mix because trader joes did not carry any. And I substituted Vanilla Whey protein instead of the brown rice protein (That protein is really expensive).
Other than that I followed the recipe and its more of a pudding. But still tasty.
Sadly, it’s the whey protein 🙁 For some reason whey protein gets really gooey and sticky. My friend makes these protein bars with whey protein still (not sure why though because they’re so difficult to mix!) and just adds a few extra scoops. She also freezes them for a little bit until they harden slightly and then she slices them. Still a bit sticky, but she said they’re good!
I’m working on a whey protein bar recipe… it’s hard to make one nutritionally balanced though. I always need to add too much peanut butter or too much agave/honey/maple syrup 🙁
Great recipe! Do you think these would keep unrefrigerated for a camp-out? Maybe if they’re chilled in the freezer instead of the fridge? Thanks!
Thanks! 😀
The protein bars do need to be refrigerated otherwise they get really really soft, kind of like fudge (which sounds good, but they get squished easily). When I bring protein bars to class I like to put them in a sandwich baggie, place them in the freezer for ~4 hours and they’re the perfect texture in another few hours after they’ve have some time to thaw.
Have fun on your camping trip!! 🙂
-Jess
Can you bake this without using the protein and rice powder?❤️
The protein powder is necessary in the recipe. It absorbs a lot of liquid and helps keep the protein bars firm and fudgy. Without it, it’ll just be soupy from the peanut butter and almond milk.
Hope this helps!
-Jess
Is it possible to use Almond flour instead?^^
Hmmm… you can try using almond flour instead but I don’t know how that will turn out. In my experience, almond flour is really crumbly, so these protein bars might fall apart. If anything, oat flour might work, but I really don’t think the brown rice protein powder can be replaced :/
Sorry!
-Jess
Thank you for this recipe, I will try it again!!
I made these using plain brown protein powder. I thought I should try using flavored Stevia, and using more of it to give it that extra flavor.
Unfortunately it was still a little bland. Next time I’ll use vanilla protein powder.
Yeah, plain brown rice protein powder is really bland, especially compared to the vanilla version which I used in the recipe. The flavored protein powder already has vanilla powder in it, as well as some stevia. If you only have the plain version though, maybe try out vanilla-flavored stevia! I use SweetLeaf’s vanilla stevia and I love it 🙂
If you don’t want to buy that, try adding 1/2 tsp of vanilla paste to the recipe (you won’t need to change any measurements, it’s okay to add just a 1/2 tsp)
Or you could just add more chocolate chips 😉
-Jess
Thanks Jess, will give it a go. In the mean time I’m using chocolate spread/nutella for this batch. Keep up the good work
Hi! I was wondering if you could maybe use the pb2 peanut butter instead of regular? What effect do you think it would have on these bars??
I haven’t ever used PB2 so I can’t be sure. If it has the same texture as regular peanut butter (super thick), then I don’t see why it wouldn’t work!
Just note that PB2 contains added sugar and salt, so you’ll need to reduce the stevia extract to 1/4 tsp and reduce (or even omit) the salt.
I hope you like the recipe! 🙂
-Jess
I made these and even though the batter’s yummy, it came out super sticky and gooey, almost like a sticky toffee. The only difference is that I didn’t use Sun Warrior brand powder, and that I omitted the chocolate chips. Any suggestions? I have them wrapped and in my freezer. Thanks!
I’m not sure what protein powder you used, but it sounds like you used whey, casein or egg white protein powder. Whey/casein/egg tends to make the mixture really sticky and gooey and unable to set, while brown rice protein powder thickens the mixture into a cookie dough-like texture. To salvage the batter you already made, I would recommend using it to top oatmeal or add it to smoothies! I’m currently working on a whey protein bar recipe, but for now, all I have are the brown rice protein bar recipes 🙂
-Jess
Oops! I forgot to write the brand. It was Jay Barrows Vanilla Brown Rice Concentrate. Do some brown rice powders absorb less liquid than others? I would like to re-make it and I’m thinking just use more…? Thanks!!!
Hmmm, that’s strange. I’m not sure why that brand didn’t work out, it should’ve worked just fine! Did you use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients? I always use a scale to measure the protein powder because sometimes it gets really packed in the bag and sometimes it’s fluffy… if you measure by scoops that could have been the problem.
Hope this helps!
-Jess
can I use stevia packets instead of the extract? if so how many do i use?
Yup, stevia packets should replace the extract just fine! If 1 packet has the sweetness of 2 tsp of sugar, I would recommend using about 10-12 packets. Give the dough a taste after adding 10 packets and see if you want more 🙂
Hope you like the recipe!!
-Jess
Aha, that must have been my problem! I didn’t use a scale, I just shook the container and scooped out the powder. Thanks, I can’t wait to try again, because boy, were they yummy!
Sorry about that! I always use a scale because I seem to fail at everything I make without one haha 🙂
I hope you get to try the recipe again!
-Jess
Absolutely amazing! Really easy recipe to follow, good consistency and actually pretty delicious. I used almond flour instead of oat flour which didn’t seem to make any difference to the outcome but added some more protein. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much Ashley! I’m glad the almond flour worked instead of the oat flour, I’ve never tried that before!
So happy you like the recipe 🙂
-Jess
Do you think brown rice powder protin would work as well? And will the taste change majorly?
I used brown rice protein powder in this recipe, and it works perfectly! 🙂
I just wouldn’t recommend using other kinds, like whey, casein, egg, etc. Hope you like the recipe!
-Jess
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I followed the recipe to the letter, the only difference is that I used plain brown rice protein instead of vanilla and therefore I added 1 tsp vanilla for flavor. The end result was so bland it was like I was eating Poi (a flavorless Hawaiian dish made of taro root). I then added some shredded sweetened coconut and granulated coconut sugar which made it at least palatable, but still very bland and flavorless. Any ideas on how to add a little more flavor to these?
Sorry about that! Unfortunately, 1 tsp of vanilla extract won’t add enough vanilla flavor to make up for the unflavored brown rice protein powder.
Also, the unflavored brown rice protein powder is unsweetened while the vanilla flavor is sweetened… so you would also need to add a lot more sweetener to compensate for that.
I would recommend making the recipe again using the vanilla brown rice protein powder and you should be a lot happier with the result 🙂
Also, you could try increasing the salt to 1/4 tsp if your pretzels aren’t very salty.
I hope this helps James!
-Jess
What is the reason we can’t use whey protein powder? My main reason for not using the rice powder is price.
For some reason, whey, casein and egg protein powders can’t replace the brown rice protein powder at all. They all turn the dough really gooey and sticky and it doesn’t solidify properly. Brown rice protein thickens up the dough and creates a really fudgy texture 🙂
-Jess
Recipe looks delicious! Just wondering what the reason is to not use whey? Whey is the only powder I have and I don’t really want to buy more:)
I totally understand! Unfortunately, whey, casein and egg white protein powders can’t replace the brown rice protein powder. They all turn the dough SUPER sticky and gooey, and it doesn’t solidify properly. Brown rice protein thickens up the dough and creates a really fudgy texture 🙂
-Jess
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i don’t have brown rice protein powder ( it is super expensive)so maybe i could use whey and add some oat flour to thicken it? do you think it would work?
J. Bockisch-
I’m afraid all my protein bar recipes don’t work with whey protein powder. It doesn’t absorb as much liquid and it turns really sticky (like toffee). Sorry 🙁
-Jess
Hi Jessica,
Love your protein bar recipes. I prefer using regular sugar ideally brown sugar instead of stevia/truvia or any sugar substitutes. In this case what proportion of sugar would you recommend using for your recipes?
Raj-
The amount of sugar will depend on the recipe, and whether or not the recipe requires baking or not. Usually, 1 tsp of stevia extract has the sweetness of one cup of sugar. In baked goods, however, all that sugar can make the cake/cookie/brownie dry, crunchy and crumbly… it’ll require some recipe testing. In this recipe, the Truvia and stevia have the sweetness of about 3/4 cup sugar (this substitute will increase the calorie/carb/sugar content significantly). Hope this helps Raj!
-Jess
Hey Jessica,
Hope you’re doing well. I’m so proud of you and your book! Well done! You so totally deserve it!
I was planning on making some of your protein bars this week – I dont usually eat them (store bought ones) – they’re usually full of all sorts of crap!
But this year is my year for health – I have to gain a lot of weight, and I want to do it right.I finally fully committed to it two days ago. Whole new plan this year – a new year, a new me!
So, which protein bar of yours would you recommend is the best, with respect to health benefits and nutritional value? I know they’re all fantastic, but which do you think would be the best? I trust your opinion, considering your education.
I am underweight with very low lean muscle mass – which needs to change!
I haven’t bought your book – YET. I wan to make sure I enjoy the taste of them, first! (Though, I seriously doubt that I wont!)
Any help I would greatly appreciate!
Again, well done on the book. I saw the sneak peak of the smores protein bars…oh my. they look GOOOOOOOD. (Amazingly – I’ve never even had a REAL S’more. How crazy am I? Or maybe it’s just cuz I’m Irish..hah. We’re boring!)
Best wishes
Michelle
Thank you so much, I’m so glad I’m finished with the book… so much time spent, recipes made, frustration and roadblocks, grrr… but now it’s done 🙂
Congrats on your resolutions. My health journey actually began on January 1st 2011!
I think every protein bar has its own benefits and a TON of nutrition, so it’ll be hard to choose just one 😉
If you’re starting to exercise, I’d recommend one with more complex carbohydrates and fruit. If you’re aiming for more calories, I’d recommend eating any protein bar, and two if you’re hungry. I usually eat 2-3 when I bring them to school.
From the recipes already on my blog, I’d recommend:
1- Chocolate Fudge Protein Bars
2- Triple Chocolate Protein Brownies
From the recipes in my cookbook, I’d recommend:
1- Red Velvet Cake Fudge Protein Bars
2- S’mores Protein Bars
Of course, these are just my recommendations… I don’t have a lot of personal health information about you so I can’t obviously make a perfect recommendation based on your protein-, carb-, fat-, calorie-needs… or allergies if you have any. I hope I helped in any way Michelle!! 🙂
-Jess
Hey Jessica,
Thanks a million. I like peanut butter so they’ll be the ones I’ll make, I think.
Im not allowed exercise yet but when i’ve gained a bit I’m allowed start yoga.
Thank you so much
Best wishes
Michelle
Hubby loved them as a meal replacement. He bikes and this is great! I cut them larger. Only changes I made were honey-peanut butter and added coconut !
JGrez-
YAY I’m so glad your hubby liked the protein bars!! And honey-peanut butter? That’s genius. I gotta try that on my next batch, I’m drooling already!
Thanks for making the recipe and letting me know how it turned out 🙂
-Jess
Cookie dough like bars? Please help. I only had whey protein on hand so I substituted that for the protein stated in the recipe. My bars came out resembling raw cookie dough. How can I fix them? Were they supposed to be baked?
Thank you
Whey protein doesn’t work 🙁
Whey, casein and egg don’t substitute because they just dissolve while brown rice protein acts as a thickener. These protein bars don’t need to be baked. Maybe can try freezing the mixture for a couple hours until you can slice them. Store them in the freezer and when you want one, just let it thaw slightly until they’re ready to eat 🙂
-Jess
What consistency should the dough be before it sets? I haven’t refridgerated them yet but I just made them with soy protein and its the consistency of cookie dough. Just wondering if this is right or if I need to adjust the recipe.
Chelsea-
That’s perfect! The texture should be like cookie dough, not too wet like brownie batter and not too dry 🙂
As a reference, it should look like this (except not green from the matcha):
http://instagram.com/p/lAb4niChdK/?modal=true
I hope you like the protein bars!
-Jess
Did you use the classic or the warrior blend of protein?
Marlene-
I used the classic protein 🙂
I’ve tried making protein bars with the warrior blend and it doesn’t work at all! 🙁
-Jess
These look amazing!! Do you think it will work well with vega protein?
I also do not like stevia, can I use maple syrup (or anything else) instead?
Tamara-
I haven’t used Vega in a while, and I’ve heard they changed their formula, so I can’t be sure. To replace the stevia you’d need about 1/2 cup of pure maple syrup, but that would throw off the dry:wet ratio… I don’t think this recipe will work with vega and syrup, sorry!
-Jess
hi. I made this recipe and accidentally used whey which a very gooey result (deliciously gooey, though!) . Obviously not trying that again, but would I be able to use soy protein instead of brown rice or would the result be similar? Thanks. 🙂
Deanna-
Oh no! At least it’s delicious right 😉
I don’t have much experience with soy protein powder so I’m not sure if that’ll work in this recipe, but feel free to try it out! I hope it works, crossing my fingers 😀
-Jess
Heyy! Love the recipe!!Would definitely want to try out the recipe. One quick question though..i do not wish to use stevia or truvia in the recipe..any other sub that would work well? Also would want to omit the protein powder alltogetjer..should i substitute it with oat flour? Please let me know.
Deepika-
Hmmm, I’m not sure those substitutions would work. The protein powder creates the bulk of the recipe and is what creates the nice and fudgy texture. Another sweetener also won’t work… BUT, I do have another Chubby Hubby-flavored recipe on the blog, Chubby Hubby Fudge. It still uses protein powder, but it’s sweetened with honey or pure maple syrup 😀
-Jess
Love this recipe. One workaround I found to the soggy pretzel issue is to use a bag of pretzel m&ms. I usually take out half the chocolate chips in the recipe (to account for the extra chocolate in the candies) and space the candies out over the surface right before flattening it in the pan. The candy coating bleeds a little but otherwise the crunchy pretzel goodness is preserved.
Andrew-
I think we just discovered a genius! Good idea with the pretzel m&ms. I’ll definitely try making homemade chocolate-covered pretzels and adding that to the recipe 😀
-Jess
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My local store sells “vegan vanilla raw plant protein” in bulk bins. Do you think this well work since it must not be egg/casein/whey which you suggested would yield gooey bars?
I haven’t used protein powder from a bulk bin before (that’s so cool by the way! I wonder if my local store has that, and I hope it’s cheaper by the pound!), but I guess it’s worth a shot 🙂
Maybe as what brand it is or check up on the ingredients. The ingredient list should contain just brown rice protein, some flavoring (vanilla + salt), natural sugar-free sweetener (stevia), and maybe xanthan gum. It shouldn’t have hemp protein or pea protein. I find hemp and pea proteins to be way too absorbent.
Hope this helps William!
Great recipe.
If I win I’m going to make something with chocolate first.. maybe red velvet? So many choices!
Looking for some protein bar recipes and just came across your recipe via Foodgawker. You bars look and sound absolutely delicious, I’ll have to have a go at making them in the very near future
So glad you found my blog Chris! If you get a chance to make this recipe, I think you’ll fall in love with it. Everyone I gave these to said they didn’t taste healthy at all! 🙂
Hi, Jessica!
Will the 2nd Edition of your book be available on Kindle soon?
Thank you!
I’m hoping to get the Kindle version out by the end of October. It takes a bit of time to format everything and add all the links and page jumps 🙂 thanks so much for your support Ash!!
Not that I’m complaining, because I don’t eat oats, but I noticed the video and the ingredient lists no longer lists oats. DId you change the recipe? Thanks, girl!
Yup! Most of the protein bars use oat flour to bind, but these use peanut flour 🙂