Vegan Slow Cooker Superfood Homemade Protein Bars
These easy homemade protein bars are made in your slow cooker, packed with superfoods and are gluten free and vegan friendly! Perfect for busy mornings or a healthy snack!
Servings 16 bars
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Flax meal
- 5 Tbsp Warm water
- 1/2 Cup Cashew butter
- 1 Tbsp Better Body Foods Agave
- 2/3 Cup Very ripe banana mashed (one very large banana) (167g)
- 1/4 Cup Better Body Foods Coconut sugar
- 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Vanilla almond milk
- 2 tsp Better Body Foods Vanilla extract
- 1 Cup Rolled old fashioned oatmeal (gluten free if needed)
- 2/3 Cup Oat Flour 73g, gluten free if needed, Click to see a video on how to make your own oat flour
- 1/3 Cup Better Body Foods Organic LivFit Plant Protein Powder
- 1/2 Tbsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1/3 Cup Dried blueberries
- 1/4 Cup Raw Cacao Nibs
- 1/4 Cup Toasted cashews finely chopped (40g) *
Instructions
- Mix together the flax meal and warm water. Place into the refrigerator for 20 minutes before you begin making the bars.
- Rub a 7 quart slow cooker with coconut oil, or cooking spray and line the inside with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang so you can use it as a handle to get the bars out of the slow cooker. The cooking spray with help anchor the parchment paper in. I found it's easiest to trace your slow cooker on a large piece of parchment paper, and then cut a few inches bigger around so that you have enough to leave that overhang.
- In a large, microwave-safe mixing bowl, microwave the cashew butter and agave until the cashew butter is smooth, about 1 - 1.5 minutes. Beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth and combined.
- Add in the mashed banana, coconut sugar, almond milk, vanilla extract and the chilled flax eggs. Beat again until well combined and runny.
- Add the oatmeal, oat flour, protein powder, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl and mix until very well combined. Add in the dried blueberries, cacao nibs and chopped cashews and mix until evenly dispersed. Your batter will be pretty thick!
- Spoon the batter into the prepared slow cooker and spread out evenly.
- Cook on low until the sides are brown, the top is set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 2-3 hours. **
- Gently lift up the edges of the parchment paper and transfer the whole round to a cooling rack to cool COMPLETELY before slicing into bars. ***
- DEVOUR!
Notes
*I buy my cashews pre-toasted. If yours are not, place them in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.
**You don't want to over-bake these or they will be dry, so keep an eye on them when you think they could be done. Mine were perfect at 2 hours. If your slow cooker is smaller, and your bars are thicker, it may take a little longer!
***When you lift your bars out of the oven they might get a few shallow cracks in a few areas. just lightly press them together when you place them onto a cooling rack, while they're still warm
**You don't want to over-bake these or they will be dry, so keep an eye on them when you think they could be done. Mine were perfect at 2 hours. If your slow cooker is smaller, and your bars are thicker, it may take a little longer!
***When you lift your bars out of the oven they might get a few shallow cracks in a few areas. just lightly press them together when you place them onto a cooling rack, while they're still warm