Here’s an easy, no-bake recipe that satisfies your birthday cake craving in the healthiest way possible. The secret to making these birthday cake protein bars is the applesauce and a pinch of baking soda. The slight salty bitterness from baking soda gives these deliciously cakey bars an authentic taste of the cake with the satisfying protein bar texture. It’s a great nostalgic snack option for you and your family.
This no-bake recipe needs 10 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of resting time. Then just cut the bars, dip them in white chocolate, and enjoy the cakey texture in the form of a protein bar. A healthy dessert disguised in your favorite flavors, ideal for snacking, travelling and even lunches.
Here's why I love this recipe
- no-bake
- easy to prepare
- high-protein
- high-fiber
- incredibly nostalgic
Ingredients used to make Homemade Birthday Cake Protein Bars
**I've linked some of these ingredients to amazon.com to give you an idea of what they are, but you should also be able to find them in your local grocery store (usually, the natural & organic food section). They are also affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission as an Amazon Associate if you decide to purchase the items. The price will be the same for you, link or no link 🙂
- Applesauce – I used regular applesauce this time, but you can use unsweetened, like this one.
- Protein Powder – You can use any protein powder for this, but in this recipe I used a vanilla plant-based protein powder, like this one below.
- Coconut Flour - you can use any brand of coconut flour for this recipe. Here is a brand of coconut flour I like to use.
- Butter flavored Coconut Oil - Like this one. You can use regular coconut oil, but I like using this butter flavored coconut oil to boost the buttery flavor.
- Baking Soda - This recipe is no-bake, but just like the butter flavored coconut oil, the addition of this ingredient helps the protein bars tastes like the real thing. Omit if desired. If you're curious though, baking soda has a slightly salty, bitter flavor.
- White chocolate chips - you can use any white chocolate chips (or chopped white chocolate), but to make these low-carb, use a lower sugar, stevia sweetened brand instead. For a dairy-free, vegan alternative, try this brand.
More Applesauce Recipes (HERE)
How to Make
Homemade Birthday Cake Protein Bars
STEP 1
Mix together the dry ingredients first - the protein powder, coconut flour, baking soda and sprinkles. Once they're evenly mixed is when you should add the applesauce, almond milk and melted coconut oil (you'll see my mistake in the photos~)
STEP 2
I find that it’s best to use my hands to mix the dough because it takes some kneading and pressing to get the dough to come together. Give it a quick taste test, and add sugar to taste. Since we'll be coating the protein bars with chocolate, I decided to keep it on the less-sweet side.
STEP 3
Mold the dough into a rectangular shape, wrap in plastic wrap or an airtight container, and let the dough set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Slice into bars
STEP 4
Coat in melted white chocolate
STEP 5
Enjoy!
Recipe Variations and Optional Add Ins:
- Feel free to experiment with natural flavoring / extracts. Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract (since I used vanilla protein powder I left it out in this recipe), or other flavorings or extracts.
How to Make this Healthier
- Make this even healthier by adding a handful of nuts, seeds and old-fashioned oats to add texture and nutrition. Even better, add a tablespoon of ground flaxseed, hemp seeds, or chia seeds.
- Instead of coating these bars in chocolate, you can also frost them with my 2-ingredient almond-yogurt frosting.
How to Store Homemade Birthday Cake Protein Bars
- Store these protein bars covered in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
Final Tips
- Coconut flour and protein powders are all very different depending on brands, so if you find that the dough is too soft, add more coconut flour; if the dough is too thick, add a teaspoon or more of water or almond milk.
- Add a teaspoon of coconut oil to the melted chocolate to thin the chocolate. This is how I got the really thin white chocolate coating on the bars.
What do I do with melted chocolate that's left over?
Here I've stirred in sunflower seeds and ground flaxseeds into the leftover melted chocolate. Drop into parchment paper, and once they set, they can be enjoyed as crunchy sweet treats!
Homemade Birthday Cake Protein Bars Made with Applesauce
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- ½ cup vanilla protein powder* packed
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 1 pinch baking soda (optional)
- 2 Tbsp confetti sprinkles
Wet Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp applesauce
- 1 Tbsp almond milk or water
- 1 Tbsp butter flavored coconut oil
For Deco
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Mix together the dry ingredients first – the protein powder, coconut flour, baking soda (optional) and sprinkles.
- Add the applesauce, almond milk and melted coconut oil
- Add more coconut flour if the dough is too soft, add a teaspoon or more of water, or almond mlik if the dough is too thick
- Shape dough into a rectangular mound, then wrap in plastic wrap or an airtight container, and let the dough set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Slice into bars.
- Melt ¾ cup of white chocolate chips in the microwave in 20 second bursts until melted, stirring in between.**
- Dip the protein bars into the melted chocolate and then set it aside on a clean parchment paper. Drizzle with more chocolate if desired.
- Let the chocolate set before enjoying
Anonymous says
These are SO good!! I make these every week. I use a cookie scoop and the dip in the sugar free white chocolate mixture
All Purpose Veggies says
Glad you enjoyed it! I love your idea of using a cookie scoop 🙂
Annie says
How do you store these?
Marilyn says
Do not use this recipe! We loved the Zone Perfect birthday cake protein bars, but they have been discontinued. I wanted something to replace them. We substituted them for dinner once a week. I spent way too much time trying to get the dough to stick together while forming it into a square. I had already added 6 T of water in addition to the 3 T the recipe called for. After all the work that went into making these protein bars, they tasted awful. I love coconut, so that wasn’t the problem. They were way too soft, as well. I spent a lot of money on the ingredients, coconut flour, protein powder, vegan sprinkles, all for nothing.