Guilt-Free Keto Snickers Protein Bars made with Collagen Peptides Powder

These extra special, easy, no-bake Keto Snickers Protein Bars have a secret ingredient in them: collagen peptides powder. It’s what gives this recipe its distinct gooey, caramel-like centers, just like the classic candy bar. Paired with the low-carb coconut flour cookie base, the chocolate coating and the crunchy peanuts, you’ll never know that this bar contains 23g of protein per serving (more than 7 times of what’s contained in the original Snickers bar!)

Why are snickers bars so irresistible? These chocolate covered peanuts and caramel bars have a special place in my childhood memories, but they’re still a satisfying snack to this day — that creamy, crunchy center and the chocolate! There’s no dessert combination quite like this classic candy bar.

Now let’s try making a healthier version of it.

On the outside, these Keto Snickers Protein Bars isn’t much different from the original. The sweet, fudgy base, the thick layer of caramel studded with roasted peanuts and covered in a thin coating of chocolate. But the ingredients that really go inside are completely different: coconut flour, monk fruit sweetener, almond milk, peanut butter, roasted peanuts, sugar free pancake syrup, chocolate, and my secret ingredient: collagen peptides powder.

Collagen peptides powder is a kind of protein powder that helps support healthy hair, skin, nail, bone and joint health. It’s not a complete protein, like other protein powders you may have used in the past like whey, casein, hemp, brown rice, egg protein, etc, but collagen is considered the protein that’s most abundant in the body, and it has great advantages to incorporating more collagen into your diet for supporting cell growth and repair damaged tissues, among other benefits.

Now let’s dive into the recipe!

Ingredients used to make these Keto Snickers Protein Bars Recipe

_{**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 🙂}

• Collagen Peptides – I used Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides Powder for this recipe. You’re welcome to substitute with other brands of collagen peptides, but I would not try substituting with other protein powders (i.e. whey, casein, pea, hemp, brown rice, egg protein, etc) since collagen behaves very differently from other types of protein powders and are not interchangeable.

• Coconut Flour – coconut flour is used to make the base of these protein bars and is what keep these bars firm and fudgy. Unfortunately, I haven’t found other flours that can replace this ingredient, so substitute at your own risk!

• Granulated sugar of choice – I used granulated monk fruit sweetener which is sugar-free and keto friendly.

• Almond Milk – this is what’s used to hold together the collagen peptides powder and coconut flour together. You can also use any milk of choice like oat milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, etc. Water also works, but it produces a blander flavor

• Sugar Free Syrup – I used sugar-free pancake syrup (Log Cabin) to keep this caramel recipe sugar free, low carb and keto friendly. You can also use regular maple syrup, but please read the recipe notes since this requires the addition of water.

• Peanut Butter – the addition of peanut butter gives the collagen caramel in this recipe a distinctive buttery tan color. Other creamy nut butters like cashew and seed butters like tahini and sunflower butter work well, but the more grainy almond butters won’t produce that smoothness that peanut butter can.

• Peanuts – I used dry roasted, lightly salted peanuts, like this one.

• Chocolate Chips – you can use any chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate) in this recipe. I like this lower sugar, stevia-sweetened brand. If you want, you can also use unsweetened chocolate.

Step by Step

Recipe Variations and Optional Add Ins:

• Instead of peanuts, you can also use other nuts of choice – roasted almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.
• Other non-collagen protein powders (Whey, Casein, Egg, Pea, Brown Rice Protein, etc. ) DO NOT work in this recipe. But other flavored collagen peptides powders will work. Try making these with Chocolate Collagen Peptides Powder, like this one. Or with Matcha Flavored Collagen Powder, like this one.

Substitution Notes

• If using regular maple syrup or honey instead of sugar free syrup, you need to add an extra 1/2 Tbsp to the caramel mixture, otherwise, the caramel doesn’t turn out as “stretchy” or stringy as the one shown in the photos.
• Other creamy nut butters like cashew and seed butters like tahini and sunflower butter work well, but the more grainy almond butters don’t produce the similar smooth caramel texture.
• Other non-collagen protein powders (Whey, Casein, Egg, Pea, Brown Rice Protein, etc. ) DO NOT work in this recipe.

How to Store Keto Snickers Protein Bars

• For the best texture, keep the Collagen Snickers Protein Bars in the fridge inside an airtight container. They can be kept in the fridge for up to 7 days.
• You can also keep these bars at room temperature, but the caramel will be on the softer side.
• They also freeze very well! Put the Collagen Snickers Protein Bars inside an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Final Tips

• Add more collagen peptides powder to make a thicker caramel, and more syrup to thin it out.

More Collagen Recipes (HERE)