In today’s post, I am going to show you all how to make tofu bars! I have been making tofu bars for almost a year now. The first time I made tofu bars was last summer when my boyfriend and I thought he might be sensitive to lactose, but did not want to give up protein bars (since then, we have now realized that whey protein does not have lactose in it lol). Since both him and I tracked macros at the time and wanted to make sure he was reaching his protein goals, we had to find an alternative for protein bars. Every plant-based protein bar we tried were chalky, too low in protein, and really high in calories. So my love of baking & experimenting in the kitchen took over and I came up with the idea of making protein bars out of tofu.

I experimented with a lot of different types of protein bars and experimented with making bases out of egg whites, oats, almond flour, and a few other ingredients but they all turned out dry, bland, and just overall, not that great. After a few trial runs and quite a few months of experimentation, I have created over 25 different flavors of tofu bars. Each bar is under 200 calories and has at least 16 grams of protein! A few of our favorite flavors have been blueberry muffin, strawberry cheesecake, birthday cake, and chocolate cherry. Today I am going over the fruity pebbles flavor, but they all use similar bases. You can even create your own tofu bars by experimenting with different protein powders and toppings!

For the Base

The base is quite simple and just consists of tofu and protein powder. I typically start by cutting the tofu into cubes and the placing them into a blender along with the water that is inside of the package the tofu comes in. I blend for 10-20 seconds and add water if needed. After the tofu is completely smooth, I put it into a bowl to combine with the protein powder. I have tried to blend the protein powder with the tofu inside the blender but it is typically too thick to completely blend.

I have used a few different brands of protein powder including the cookie butter protein powder flavors and Women’s Best, but the main protein powders I use are the Dymatize Plant-Based Protein Powder in flavors chocolate and vanilla.

As for the actual creation of the base, the main factor to pay attention to is how much tofu to liquid ratio you use. I typically use about a half cup of the water in the package the tofu comes in but it depends on the flavor and the mix-ins you are using. For example, one flavor I made was key lime pie. I added lime juice to the base which required me to use less water when blending the tofu to make sure the bars did not turn out too soft.

For the Toppings

The base is super simple and so is the toppings! You can virtually use whatever toppings you would like to use! Typically I choose 1-2 toppings and mix most of them in with the batter and then add a few extras on top. For bars that do not have a super sweet base, I will sometimes add a simple glaze on top with some powdered sugar mixed with milk or water. This is such an easy way to heighten a normal vanilla-based bar into a glazed donut or sugar cookie flavor! Here are just a few of some of the toppings I have used to switch up the flavors while keeping the same base:

• pecans

• coconut flakes

• peanut butter chips

• chocolate chips

• graham crackers

• sprinkles

• apples

• bananas

• blueberries

• cereal

Another simple way to switch up the flavors is by adding different extracts, liquids, and mix-ins to the base! Here are a few that I have used to create flavors like peppermint hot chocolate, mocha, bananas foster, lemon cheesecake, and chocolate peanut butter:

• peppermint extract

• almond extract

• vanilla extract

• rum extract

• lemon juice

• instant coffee (dissolved in water) or espresso

• pb2

• apple sauce

• pumpkin puree

The Recipe

If you give these a try or make your own version of them, drop a comment & share with me on my social media!