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| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 10 minutes |
| Servings |
bars
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Ingredients
- ~1/3 cup amaranth , (1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups popped*- see directions below)
- 1/4 cup vanilla , or unflavored protein powder
- 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons maple syrup , or honey
- 1 cup peanut butter , or natural almond butter (sun butter if sensitive to nuts)
- 2-3 tablespoons dark vegan chocolate , melted (optional add-in)
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- *Pop your amaranth by heating a large pot over medium-high heat. You'll know it's ready to start adding amaranth when a drop of water disperses quickly and balls up.
- Add about 2-3 tablespoons of amaranth at a time and immediately cover. Shake the pot back and forth over the heat (wearing oven mitts is helpful) to move the grain around. It should start popping within 1-3 seconds, and be done popping at the 10-second mark. Be sure to pull them off at around 10 seconds or they'll start to burn.
- Not every single grain will pop, but that’s okay. Very quickly empty into a mixing bowl.
- Continue until you have roughly 1 1/2 cups popped grain. As you go, add your popped grain into a small mixing bowl first to ensure none are burnt. Then transfer to a larger bowl so you don't mix any burnt grain with perfectly popped grain. Set aside.
- Add peanut or almond butter and maple syrup to a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine. Then add protein powder and stir.
- Add popped amaranth a little at a time until you have a loose "dough" texture. Be careful not to add too much or the bars can lose their tackiness and won't stick together. I found roughly 1 1/4 cups to be about right. Stir with a wooden spoon or use hands to disperse mixture evenly.
- Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and press down to form an even layer. Lay parchment paper or plastic wrap on top and use a flat-bottom object like a liquid measuring cup to press down and pack the mixture into an even, firmly packed layer.
- Transfer to freezer to set for 10-15 minutes or until firm to the touch. Then lift out and slice into 9 bars. Enjoy as is, or drizzle with a bit of melted dark chocolate (optional).
- These get a little soft at room temperature, so store in the refrigerator (up to 5 days) or in the freezer (up to 1 month).
Recipe Notes
Very slightly adapted from The Minimalist Baker at https://minimalistbaker.com/no-bake-vegan-protein-bars-4- ingredients/