Vegan Carrot Cake Protein Bars (Gluten-free)

Remember our friends, J & A? And the baby shower I threw for them back in November? Well they’ve barely been in their new home for four weeks and guess who decided to make his way into the world two weeks early? Yep, their baby BOY! Isn’t he so cute?!

Vegan Carrot Cake Protein Bars Gluten-free

Everyone is healthy and happy and doing great. Under his little cap is a full head of blonde hair. Just look at those cheeks! Congratulations, J & A! Nice work ;)

Even though the flu has been going around like CRAZY, Hubs and I have managed to steer clear of the bug. Otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten to hold that sweet baby! I haven’t even had a sinus infection or a cold. Last year was the first year I didn’t get a single sinus infection (I used to get one every spring and fall).

A mere coincidence? I think not. Since going vegan nearly a year ago, this is the healthiest I’ve been in years. Many people (myself included) believe that dairy increases mucus production. Others disagree. Personally, I think it has a great deal to do with the fact that I’ve been clear of sinus infections.

That, and the good ol’ neti pot. I swear by that thing. If I get even the slightest sinus headache (usually from weather changes), I bust out the neti pot. It’s awkward to use at first, but it WORKS.

For those of you who think dairy is the world’s only source of significant calcium, you’re wrong. In fact, soy milk has just as much calcium as skim, 2-percent and whole cow’s milk. Which means soybeans are loaded with calcium.

So are oranges, kale, oatmeal, sesame seeds, almonds, broccoli, white beans, dried figs, turnip greens, arugula, sunflower seeds and tofu. If you’re feeling phlegmy, consider cutting out dairy for a week and stocking up on these other calcium sources. I’ll bet you’ll notice a difference.

What does all of this have to do with Carrot Cake Protein Bars? Um, nothing. But you’re gonna LOVE these things.

Vegan Carrot Cake Protein Bars Gluten-free

I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Healthful Pursuit, which is written by a very smart and seemingly very happy Canuck named Leanne Vogel. Leanne is a holistic nutritionist who shares her love of whole foods and healthy living through her blog.

She’s really great at converting traditional (typically unhealthy) recipes into allergen-friendly, healthy alternatives… without compromising flavor! Check out her impressive recipe page – this girl’s got SKILLS! You’ll find a wealth of other really great information related to healthy eating/living on Healthful Pursuit, too.

I’m happy to report that these bars are AMAZEBALLS!!!!!!! Hubs and I both LOVED them. They are surprisingly very moist even though they are oil-free. And they’re sweet, but not too sweet. The original recipe called for four eggs, so to make them vegan I used Ener-G Egg Replacer, which is also gluten-free.

The recipe also called for coconut butter to be drizzled over the top of the bars. I thought I had this ingredient, but I didn’t – so I whipped up a naughty powdered sugar/almond milk icing just so I could get on with the photo snapping. As it turns out, the icing compliments these bars nicely.

Vegan Carrot Cake Protein Bars (Gluten-free)

Recipe Type: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: Vegan, Gluten-Free, American
Author: Leanne @ www.healthfulpursuit.com
Serves: 8 bars

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp Ener-G Egg Replacer
  • ½ cup warm water
  • 2 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 2 Tbsp non-dairy milk
  • 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup coconut flour
  • ½ cup unflavored, vegan, gluten-free protein powder*
  • ¼ cup ground or milled flaxseed
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp gluten-free baking soda
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • pinch of ground cloves
  • ¾ cup shredded carrots
  • ¼ cup raisins (optional)
  • 2 Tbsp coconut butter, melted*

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. Mix egg replacer and warm water together thoroughly (until it starts to get kind of foamy). Combine “egg” mixture, mashed bananas, maple syrup, non-dairy milk and vanilla extract in a large bowl with a hand or stand mixer.
  3. Whisk together dry ingredients in a small bowl. Once incorporated, add to the wet mixture and mix until smooth.
  4. Add shredded carrots and raisins and mix until just incorporated. Allow mixture to sit for 1-2 minutes to thicken up.
  5. Using about ⅓ cup of mixture per bar, form it into a ball, then roll it between your palms so it begins to lengthen a bit. Press the form onto prepared pan and shape into a bar, about ¼” to ½” thick.
  6. Bake bars for 22-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. The bottoms of the bars should be golden and the tops should be cracking slightly.

Notes

*Leanne notes that any type of rice protein or combined vegan protein should do the trick. She says if you used hemp protein, you may have to reduce the amount as hemp protein is quite dry. If you don’t want to use protein powder, you could try almond flour instead. I used MLO Brown Rice Protein Powder, which doesn’t have gluten ingredients but is not certified gluten-free. If you don’t have coconut butter and you don’t mind the sugar consumption, you can use powdered sugar and non-dairy milk to make an easy icing (you need very little milk, fyi).

Vegan Carrot Cake Protein Bars Gluten-free
Vegan Carrot Cake Protein Bars Gluten-free
Vegan Carrot Cake Protein Bars Gluten-free
Vegan Carrot Cake Protein Bars Gluten-free
Vegan Carrot Cake Protein Bars Gluten-free
Vegan Carrot Cake Protein Bars Gluten-free
Vegan Carrot Cake Protein Bars Gluten-free

Thanks again for sharing this awesome recipe, Leanne – and for your killer blog!

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29 thoughts on “Vegan Carrot Cake Protein Bars (Gluten-free)”

    • Hi Cari. I think they probably would. I considered using flax eggs, but went with Ener-g instead since there was already a 1/4 cup of flaxseed in the recipe. If you try it, lmk how it turns out!

      Reply
  1. I’m just wondering if you can taste the banana much. I really don’t like banana baked in anything. I’d really like to know before I make a batch.

    Reply
    • Kay, I can’t taste the banana. Leanne (recipe author) indicated that you could use 3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce instead of the bananas – but she said she preferred the banana version.

      Reply
  2. They look so delicious, I saw them on Leanne’s blog but I did not do them because of my allergy to eggs, I am really happy to know they worked out well with an egg remaplcer!! I will try them for sure :) !!

    Reply
  3. I am SO glad you made these egg-free because now I can try them, too! They look beautiful and any baked good with carrot sounds great to me. So glad I found this on Pinterest!

    Reply
  4. Just made these and they are so yummy! Will definitely be making them again. If you find out nutritional content please post!

    Reply
  5. Hi Livvy,

    I made these yesterday and out came something completely different, which still tastes good, even though it is not what I intended to bake.
    I replaced the protein powder with ground almonds, left out the 2 Tbsp of milk and used a self-made egg-replacer (made of a 10 to 1 ratio of cornmeal and locust bean gum), but didn’t change anything else. In any case, my dough was cake batter-like and I eventually decided to just pour it onto the baking pan and even it out. When baked it was like biscuit-dough and I cut it into slices which I am now storing between parchment papers in a box in my fridge. The one I tried yesterday I ate with a cake fork and it tastes like a very moist cake. It is not bad and I like it, please don’t get me wrong there. =)
    I am just wondering what I might have done to produce something so different from the same recipe. If you’d need a flavored, vegan alternative for biscuit dough, this would be perfect ;-)
    It tastes good, that’s what counts!
    If you have an idea what changed my outcome I’d still be very happy about any hints =)

    Reply
    • Hi Inés! Hmmm… it’s hard to say. Your substitutions alone could have caused the different outcome. Or perhaps a measurement was wrong, or an ingredient left out? Maybe protein powder is more “thickening” than ground almonds? Or the egg replacer you used could have caused a different texture. I’m glad to hear it wasn’t a total loss. If you attempt it again, my best advice would be to follow the recipe exactly as written. Sometimes one little thing can throw the whole thing off.

      Reply
  6. Hi livvy. I found this recipe on pinterest and it looks delicious! I have a question about the “shelf life” of the bars. I was thinking about sending some to my hubby while he is deployed. How long do you think they will stay fresh if they are in baggies or vacuum sealed? Or is this something that needs to be refrigerated?

    Reply
  7. These bars are excellent! I love them and so do my adult boys both training in the gym and racing motorcycles so they are very aware of what goes into their body. I omitted the frosting drizzle and it tastes great still! I also took the advice of using 1/4 cup portion sizes.
    Thanks for a great recipe!

    Reply
  8. These look great and I have all of the ingredients! I’ll be making them tomorrow and keeping them in the freezer for fast breakfast on the go!

    Reply
  9. Ok! You win! I have finally found a coconut flour recipe I like. These turned out great! I look forward to keeping these stocked in my freezer to toss into my lunchbox!
    Thanks!!!

    Reply
  10. I can’t wait to try these! We just started cooking gluten free not too long ago and we don’t use coconut flour. We have brown rice flour or gluten free all purpose… Do you know if either of these would work instead? Thanks!

    Reply

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