3 Tasty Vegan Protein Breakfast Bar Ideas

Grab-and-go breakfasts are perfect when you’re trying to fit in exercise, the school run, the morning commute and last-minute meeting prep one after the other.

A sugary latte and a freshly baked pastry from the coffee shop might seem like the easiest option, but it’s not the healthiest, and it’s not necessarily the wisest if you’ve just done an intense workout.

You can still enjoy a grab-and-go breakfast that’s healthy and nutritious, though – you just need to make time for a little bit of food prep at the start of the week.

Why a nutritious, organic breakfast is so important

Making your own breakfast bars means you’ll have so much more control over what you’re putting into your body. Organic, plant-based ingredients and natural sugars should always be your first port of call. What’s more, if you’ve been exercising, a protein-packed breakfast can support your fitness routine nicely, increasing your muscle mass over time.

Breakfast is, of course, an essential meal. And a nutritious breakfast will provide you with an energising start to your day, which is why you should build this meal around ingredients known for their slow energy release – oats, nuts, honey and peanut butter are all good options.

Filling up on protein, fibre and slow release ingredients will help to keep you feeling fuller for longer, making you less likely to snack, and more likely to stick to your healthy diet.

3 healthy breakfast bar recipes

Peanut butter protein breakfast bars

Peanut butter is a great addition to a breakfast bar recipe, as it not only helps to bind ingredients, but it’s also a great source of protein, good fats and slow-release carbohydrates. These homemade protein bars also include ripe bananas, helping you to reduce your food waste, and you’ll get plenty of extra nutritional power by adding a variety of nuts and seeds.

Peanut butter protein breakfast bars ingredients:

• 200g oats
• 125g nuts or seeds (pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds and chopped peanuts would all work well)
• 35g peanut butter
• 2tbsp maple syrup (bear this ingredient in mind as a great vegan alternative to honey, as it brings the same hit of sweetness, and the same wonderfully sticky consistency)
• 3 mashed ripe bananas
• 2 scoops (approx. 3tbsp) Garden of Life Raw Organic Vanilla Protein Powder

Peanut butter protein breakfast bars recipe:

• Preheat your oven to 180°C
• Soften the peanut butter in the microwave – this should only take a few seconds
• Mix the softened peanut butter with the maple syrup and mashed bananas
• Stir the remaining ingredients into the mixture
• Pour into a baking tin
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top is set – give the bars a little longer if needed
• Leave to cool for around one hour before slicing into breakfast bars

Easy vegan protein flapjacks recipe

Flapjacks are fun and easy to bake, and they’re a great way to get children helping in the kitchen. Depending on the ingredients you use, they can also be a healthy and filling way to start the day. Our vegan protein flapjacks with plenty of natural sweetness from dried coconut and berries are ideal if you have a sweet tooth, keeping sugar cravings at bay for the rest of the day.

Vegan protein flapjacks ingredients:

• 400g oats
• 50g mixed nuts – use your favourites, and mix them up each time for different crunch and taste with every batch
• 200ml almond or oat milk
• 15g melted coconut oil
• 2tbsp desiccated coconut
• 2 scoops (approx. 3 tbsp) Raw Organic Chocolate Protein Powder
• Handful of dried berries, raisins, or other fruit

Vegan protein flapjacks recipe:

• Preheat your oven to 180°C
• Stir all of the ingredients together
• Place the mixture in a baking tin
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until crispy on top
• Allow to cool for approx. one hour before slicing into individual flapjacks

3. Carrot cake-inspired protein breakfast bars

If eating carrot cake for breakfast sounds like your post-workout dream, but you can’t quite justify it as part of your plant-based diet, you need to try these carrot cake-inspired vegan protein bars. Sweet, sticky and packed with goodness, they’re a nutritious start to the day that feels like a real treat.

Vegan carrot cake breakfast bars ingredients:

• 200g oats
• 90g grated carrot – try to squeeze as much moisture out of this as you can before adding it
• 60g of walnuts, pecans or a mix of both
• 2 mashed bananas
• 1tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1tsp ginger
• 3tbsp maple syrup
• 1tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1 scoop (approx. 1.5tbsp) of Raw Organic Lightly Sweet Protein & Greens Powder

Vegan carrot cake breakfast bars recipe:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C
• Mix all of the ingredients, except for the grated carrot, together – you could either do this by hand or in a food processor
• When everything else is combined, gently stir through the carrot, and pour the mixture into a tin
• Bake the protein bars for 15 minutes or until they’re visibly crispy on top and around the sides
• Leave to cool thoroughly before slicing

Discover more protein and plant-based recipes from Garden of Life.