These Cosmic Brownie Protein Bars are gluten-free, dairy-free, lower in sugar, and taste AH-maze!
Growing up, I LOVED Little Debbie’s Cosmic Brownies. If I am being honest, I wasn’t a huge fan of the other products. Twinkees, hostess cups, etc.— I’d eat them sure, but they weren’t my favorite. Cosmic Brownies on the other hand— delicious. Those are my inspo for these protein bars!
If you know me, you know I am one of those outliers who actually really enjoys grocery shopping! I love planning my grocery list, paroozing around the aisles, and finding new products. Please tell me I’m not the only one?? 🙏
Anyways, as a snack lover, I always make a stop down the protein bar aisle. But within the last year or two, as I make my way down the aisle, I’ve noticed the clean protein bar selection is SLIM. And it seems to get slimmer and slimmer! I can’t find nearly as many healthy options that are gluten-free, dairy-free, not super high in sugar, are made with simple ingredients, and without any weird gums, preservatives, natural flavors, etc.
So, quite a few months back, I started making my own homemade protein bars and I think it’s safe to say it’s become one of my favorite things to make!
Homemade protein bars are actually super simple to make and I love that you can pick and choose what ingredients you want to include and which you’d like to omit.
Also be sure to check out my:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars
No Bake Banana Bread Protein Bars (this recipe is included in my EBOOK!)
What’s the benefit to making your own protein bars when you can buy them at the store?
First of all, I love that you can choose your own ingredients when making your own protein bars. As I mentioned before, I have been having a hard time finding bars that meet ALL of my standards— organic, no additives or preservatives, gluten-free + dairy-free, lower in sugar, higher in protein but still TASTE delicious.
Here’s what you need to make Cosmic Brownie Protein Bars:
- nut butter— feel free to use whichever nut butter you prefer or sunflower seed butter for nut-free!
- protein powder— I use Sprout Living Chocolate protein powder (discount code: callascleaneats). I love this protein powder because there are no weird additives or preservatives, it’s organic, and they don’t use “natural flavors”.
- cocoa powder— or cacao powder, unsweetened
- maple syrup— for a little extra sweetness
- sea salt
- chocolate chips— I always look for a preservative/emulsifer-free brand (🙅♀️ soy lecithin). I recently tried the organic brand Good and Gather from Target and they are delicous and a great price for the quality. You can skip the chocolate topping or just use a chocolate drizzle instead if you are looking for an even lower sugar option.
- coconut oil— just to make the chocolate chips melt super smoothly!
- sprinkles— TBH, the first time I made these, I tried using natural sprinkles and they just didn’t have the total “Cosmic Brownie” look. So I used rainbow chip sprinkles this time (not the best ingredients but a little here and there won’t hurt ya, right!). They tast delicious both ways so feel free to use whichever kind of sprinkles you like or you can even leave them out completely.
Cosmic Brownie Protein Bars
Ingredients
For the bars
- 3/4 cup nut or seed butter
- 1/2 cup chocolate protein powder
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder (or cacao powder, unsweetened)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- pinch sea salt
For the topping
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- sprinkles (for topping)
Instructions
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix well until a dough forms.
- Press dough into loaf pan.
- In a small bowl, add chocolate chips and coconut oil. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until fully melted. Pour and spread melted chocolate over bars.
- Top with sprinkles and set in the freezer for 1-2 hours to set. Slice and enjoy— I love eating them straight from the freezer!
I’ve made these so many times – I saw your reel on Instagram and now they’re part of my weekly rotation. Such a great treat!! Thanks for the recipe.
I am so glad to hear that you love them! They are a staple for me too 🙂 Thanks so much for the comment!
Do you happen to have the calorie count per bar.
These sound so good. Link for the vegan sprinkles?
Sadly the sprinkles I used for the photos are not vegan (I usually make them with vegan sprinkles!) so feel free to swap in your fave vegan sprinkles. I usually buy them at Whole Foods!
These are literally the best protein brownies I have ever had! They really do taste quite similar to a Cosmic Brownie and are high protein and low sugar. Thanks for the amazing recipe, Calla! =)
This made my day! So glad you loved them 🙂 xo
So I used all my maple syrup recently on a pancake bender but I made these with a splenda and espresso powder syrup (inherited a bag of splenda from my nana…) instead and they turned out super nice still. Love this recipe so much.
Ooooh the espresso powder was such a great idea! So glad you love the recipe 🙂
Made these and followed your recipe to a T – and the taste is yummy – but they were actually a bit dry and crumbly.
But my son was fine with it.
He’s a Nutella fiend and insisted I use it in the recipe so I did.
How could I make them more moist….?
Hi! Nutella is thicker than a natural nut butter so that’s probably why 🙂 you could use a little less protein powder or add in some melted coconut oil or melted butter!
Awesome – ty! Making more tomorrow and will update!
I can’t find the nutritional breakdown for each bar. Do you have it?
What are the macros for these bars?
I was curious about the macro breakdown as well, when I calculated them it came to:
Calories: 264
Total Fat: 17g
Total Carbohydrates: 20g
Protein: 12.5g
This is per serving, if you make 8 servings.
Hope this helps!
Thank you for sharing! 🙂
These bars are amazing!! Super easy and quick to put together. I only made half a batch so I could try them and I’m kicking myself. I’ll have these gone in no time. Will definitely make again!!! I used mini m and m’s for the top instead of sprinkles and I would not do that again. The chocolate is sweating in the fridge and they are wet so the color coating is running off. Just looks messy. I probably wouldn’t use anything as these are so good they really don’t even need them! Thank you for this super delicious and satisfying recipe!! 🙂
Aw, I am so happy to hear you loved this recipe!! Definitely one of my favorites too 🙂 thanks so much for the comment!
These look really good! Would normal butter work instead of nut?
Hi! I have not tried regular butter vs nut butter in this recipe yet. I am thinking nut or seed butter will be a better option here!
These were so good!!! Will definitely be making these weekly.
Aw, that makes me so happy! So glad you love them 🙂 thank you for the comment!!
Tasted more like fudge than a cosmic brownie. Still was delicious
I don’t get it? These came out horribly dry and tastes awful! I have been baking my whole life and followed every instruction perfectly. A waste of organic expensive food 🙁 what went wrong?!?!
Hi there, I’m so sorry you had trouble with this recipe. What kind of nut butter did you use? I recommend using a natural nut butter that is a thin / runny consistency.
Taste great, I used cashew butter. Only downside is they are extremely dry. Will try adding some almond milk next time to make it a more batter consistency and see if that helps. I wonder if it may have been the protein powder I used too
They may have been a little dry depending which type of nut butter and protein powder you used! Sometimes you have to play around with those ratios a little bit because everyone’s protein will be a bit different 🙂
Love your videos! These came out great but I want to make more to take on my trip. Can I use peanut butter powder mixed into peanut butter spread to make them? Or does it have to be pre made peanut butter
Aw, thank you so much! I haven’t tried using peanut butter powder in this recipe — But i bet it would work! Let me know how it goes if you give it a try 🙂
Haven’t tried making these yet but I’m planning on it this week – they look delicious!! Do they need to be stored in the freezer, or can the remaining servings be stored in the fridge after they set initially? Thanks!
Hi! I prefer storing these in the freezer and letting them thaw when I’m ready to eat because they last longer. But you can store these in the fridge if you plan on eating them in a few days!
Can you use PBFit instead of the nut butter in order to cut down on some of the calories?
Hi! I haven’t tried this but it should work, the texture and consistency might be a little more dry. Please let me know if that works for you!