No-Bake Protein Cookies Recipe

Twelve no-bake protein cookies on a white plate.

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No-Bake Protein Cookies made with dates, seeds, and dark chocolate. High-protein pre-workout snack, freezer-friendly, and naturally sweetened.

Prep Time10

Chill:20

Total Time30

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: Vegan

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: servings

Calories: 181kcal

Author: Nisha Melvani

Equipment

Food processor
1 large sheet pan

Ingredients

½ cup walnuts
½ cup pumpkin seeds
6 tablespoons hemp hearts
2 scoops unsweetened protein powder (½ cup)
4 tablespoons beet powder or cocoa powder, or freeze-dried strawberry or raspberry powder
Pinch of salt to taste
½ teaspoon cinnamon see notes
8 Medjool dates
1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
¼ cup water
⅓ cup dark chocolate or chocolate chips - about 60 grams (optional)

Instructions

Pulse nuts and seeds: Add walnuts and pumpkin seeds to food processor. Pulse until a fine powder forms.
Add dry ingredients: Add hemp hearts, protein powder, beet powder, salt, and cinnamon. Pulse until fully incorporated.
Add dates and vanilla. Process until crumbly but sticky.
Transfer the pulsed mixture to a bowl and mix in the water.
Divide into 12 portions. Squeeze the dough into a ball, and then press into thin flat discs on parchment.
Freeze for about 20 minutes, or until chilled.
Melt the chocolate, if using. Drizzle lightly over frozen discs.
Freeze another 10 minutes to set.

Notes

Beet and protein powders: I used a Consumer Labs tested clean beet powder, and a one-ingredient protein powder. You can find them here under "Shop Healthy Ingredients".

Protein powder substitutes: Almond flour or almond meal, peanut butter powder, or oat flour. See the blog post for more substitutions.

Nutrition facts: This recipe makes 12 small cookies. The nutrition listed is for one cookie.

For a pre workout snack, two cookies provide about 18 g protein and 36 g carbs, which fits right into the pre-workout recommendation of roughly 15–20 g protein and 30–60 g carbs to support performance, endurance, and muscle going into training.

Nutrition