Chia Quinoa Protein Bars are an almost-perfect protein bar! With a chewy-granola-like texture, and a hint of subtle sweetness, they check off all the boxes for taste and texture. Plus, they have all-natural ingredients and are super-easy to make. Wholesome, filling, and ultra satisfying!
As someone who is always on the lookout for convenient forms of protein, the one thing I have struggled to find time and time again was a good-tasting, all-natural protein bar that didn’t contain all of the unnecessary sweeteners, gluten, or dairy found in most store-bought brands.
These chia quinoa protein bars are easy to make. Like my Quinoa Granola Bars, they're perfect for a quick snack or post-workout meal.
They're also gluten-free and can be made vegan-friendly (just skip the honey), so they're perfect for anyone with dietary restrictions.
Let's Talk Ingredients
For these quinoa chia seed protein bars, I recommend using white quinoa. Red or black quinoa will work, but they are firmer, which can affect the final texture.
Make sure your flaxseed is ground so your body can actually absorb the nutrients.
I like raw almonds, coarsely chopped, though sliced almonds work too. Almond butter ties everything together, but peanut butter or another nut butter works just as well.
Tips and Tricks
- Try toasting the quinoa and oats: This is optional, but it adds a nice flavor to the bars. If you're short on time, you can skip this step.
- Grind the flaxseed: You could also use whole flaxseed, but they will not be as easily absorbed and the texture can be off-putting. I like to grind them so that I'm getting the most nutrition possible.
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This recipe was contributed in 2016 by Danielle Krueger, who is the writer, photographer, recipe developer and taste tester over at The Lean Clean Eating Machine. Make sure you head over to her website and say thanks!
30-Minute Chia Quinoa Protein Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry quinoa I used white, but you can use any variety
- ½ cup chia seeds I used black chia seeds, but any kind will work
- 2 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 1 cup rolled oats gluten free
- ¼ teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- ½ cup raw almonds; coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup brown rice syrup
- ½ cup almond butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine quinoa, chia seeds, flax seed, rolled oats, cinnamon, salt, cardamom and chopped raw almonds. Stir to combine.
- In a small, microwave-safe dish, combine almond butter, brown rice syrup and honey. Stir to mix, then microwave for 1 minute to soften.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir with a plastic spatula to thoroughly mix. Wet ingredients may begin to firm up, in which case you will need to use clean hands to knead the mixture together.
- When finished, transfer your mixture to a parchment lined baking dish (I used an 8 x 8 glass Pyrex dish), and pat down mixture with a plastic spatula to make a single, even layer.
- Bake on middle rack of oven for 15 minutes.
- When finished, remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
- After ten minutes, remove bars from the pan by lifting up the sides of the parchment paper. Place bars on a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Cut finished bars with a sharp, non-serrated knife or pizza cutter.
- Wrap cooled bars in saran wrap and store in refrigerator until ready to eat.
Just Me says
can they be put in the dehydrator instead of baking?
Wendy Polisi says
I would assume so, but I don't have a dehydrator so I haven't tried it.
A says
Sorry for the amount of trolls in these comments! Seems like a great recipe. And you can keep on using plastic wrap
Olivia Allen says
Is the quinoa cooked first in quinoa Chia seed protein bars?
Tina says
No you don't need to cook the quinoa because you bake the bars in the oven.
Stephen says
Why plastic wrap? Aren’t we polluting the world enough? Why not store in a reusable container?
Nathalie Khriss G. Estero says
If I dont have the brown rice syrup, what I replace it with?
Wendy Polisi says
I would use honey.
Jana Cole says
I looked up substitues for brown rice sugar and one of them is mollases but do check the ratio...
I think that if substituting by honey you should use much less as honey is much sweeter.
Jana Cole says
I am really unsure as to whether the quinoa should be cooked first as the recipe doesn't say.
Dhwani Rastogi Chaudhary says
You can dry roast quinoa till it gives out a nutty aroma.
Wendy Polisi says
Yes! Great tip.
JedInTx says
Looks good! Suggestions for substitutions for rolled oats? 🙂
Wendy Polisi says
Quinoa Flakes would work great!
*Wendy Polisi*
*https://wendypolisi.com *
JedInTx says
Thank you! I actually haven't used quinoa flakes before. 😀 Substitute 1:1?
PascalEe Ngogo says
I tried the recipe but I think I left it in the oven too long. Also when I cut the bars, they kind of crumbled. Any suggestions?
Susan Grizich says
My mother has loose teeth and the chia seeds aggravate them. Would it be possible to use soaked chia seeds rather than dry so they are not so seedy?
Wendy Polisi says
I haven't tried it but as long as they weren't too wet when you put them in that should work.
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Wendy Polisi
Susan Grizich says
I'll try it and let you know how it goes. 1/2 cup chia would be 8 tbsp soaked in 2 & 1/3 cups of liquid. I'll use water and soak them over night and drain them before I put them in the mixture.
Ali Flisek says
I want to try these. can I omit the honey and brown rice syrup or is that needed as a binder? Also do these need to be refrigerated? thanks for recipe!
César Quintero says
Hi Wendy, good information. I have a question regarding the protein bars, According many sources I've always read that honey should not he heated or it will loose some nutrients, what do you think? Thanks.
Amanda says
Do you have the nutritional information for these bars? Thanks!
Amanda says
Sorry I just re-read it again! found it! 275 calories with 10 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber.
Amanda says
Sugar content?
Kristen says
I thought I followed the recipe exactly but mine turned into a crumble. It's a tasty crumble, but I'm not sure where I went wrong. Any ideas as to what would make them crumble?
Wendy Polisi says
So sorry to hear that! This is a guest post, so it isn't my recipe and I've never made it. Just looking at it, I would guess that it may be the honey you used was different than what she used. They can vary widely in terms of "sticky factor" so it could be that you just needed more. For sure if you used maple syrup it isn't going to hold together as well.
Alex says
Cutting a square four times horizontally and four times vertically results in 25 pieces, not 8................. smh
Good recipe though...
Courtney says
Wow! Looks yummy and good amount of protein. Wish I could make these but I can't find flax, chia, or brown rice syrup for sale where I live 🙁 I think the seeds are banned from importation. If any suggestions for replacements would be great, but I will look elsewhere for other high protein bar recipes.
Tiffany says
These looks delicious!
Wondering if the cinnamon and oats are needed and if not, can I simply omit these two items? -so many food intolerances to deal with (:
Renée says
I tried these today with these alterations: I soaked the chia seeds in the liquid ingredients for about 30 minutes before mixing in everything else; I used 1cup cooked quinoa; I cut the butter in half and added 1/3 cup all natural applesauce; and I added 1/3 cut Gobi berries. These came out great. A little sweet, I will cut the honey and syrup next time. But they were chewy. Excellent treat.
Christine says
I prefer basic granola homemade energy bars to any shop bought variety. I don't use much honey as I don't like it too sweet.