Truthfully, I couldn’t make my mind up on the title of this recipe. It’s so much like cake, soft and sweet, I was tempted to call it Lemon Poppy Cake. But with 30% calories from protein (and all the people looking for homemade protein bars) I decided to go with calling them Lemon Poppy Protein Bars. Either way, this is tasty enough to enjoy as a sweet dessert, and healthy enough to enjoy without an ounce of guilt, even for breakfast. This is a strong statement: but I’d even use it for birthday cake.
While writing the answer to the “gluten-free” question I just posted, I remembered that I got a bag of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour from iherb.com during the shopping spree they so generously gave me. So I made two batches of the lemon poppy protein bars, one with regular whole wheat flour, and one with the gluten free. I anxiously waited while the lemony sweet smell filled the kitchen while they baked. And…. they are indistinguishable from the original! I called my husband for a blinded taste test, and he couldn’t tell a difference either. So much for all I’ve heard about gluten-free baked good being so hard to make. (?!) So if you have a wheat allergy or gluten intolerance, you can make these with gluten-free flour with delectable results!
Lemon Poppy Protein Bars
• Cooking oil spray
• 1 1/3 cups white whole wheat flour (or gluten free flour)
• 2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder
• 1 cup Splenda granulated or 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 1½ cups nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon canola or macadamia nut oil
• 2 ½ teaspoons lemon extract
• 2 eggs
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Coat a 9×13″ pan thoroughly with cooking oil spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, whey, Splenda, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and zest; stir to mix.
3. In a separate large mixing bowl, stir together yogurt, applesauce, oil, lemon extract, and egg. Add dry ingredients to wet ones, and stir just until uniformly moistened. Pour batter into pan.
4. Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool 5 minutes before slicing. To keep moist, wrap each bar in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator or freezer. Microwave briefly to reheat.
Makes 12 servings
Per serving: 125 calories, 3 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 40 mg cholesterol, 15 g total carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 3 g sugar, 10 g protein, 261 mg sodium.
C and C Dish May 24, 2010 at 7:38 pm
These protein bars look very good, I will have to give them a try!
Nicole, RD May 25, 2010 at 6:32 am
These look wooonderful! Thanks for the recipe, Georgie!
Yah May 25, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Made these yesterday and soooooooo super yummy!!!! Moist and delicious. Stores well because I’m eating one now (the day after) and its still moist. I baked the whole wheat version and doubled the recipe. Froze half for later and have the other half for the hubby and myself to enjoy. Thank you so much for sharing!!
admin May 25, 2010 at 5:03 pm
You’re welcome Yah, I’m thrilled you liked them so much
Mary May 28, 2010 at 7:07 am
Georgie,
These are awesome! I felt like I was eating a gourmet muffin without the cal. My trainer has become a fan.
Do you have any recipes for the broccoli salads you see in all the deli. Mayo based dressing, raw broccoli, cranberries, cashews, onions. It’s great but I worry about the dressing. Any help would be great since it is so good in the summer.
Thanks Mary
Nicole May 28, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Lemon poppyseed is my favourite treat — thanks so much for this, now it can be a legit meal :p
I’m whipping up a batch right now using whole wheat flour. Just a warning to those using whole wheat – it makes these around 146 kcals per serving (still using splenda).
Nicole May 28, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Also I forgot to add, you left the canola oil out of Step #3
admin May 30, 2010 at 7:56 am
Whoops! Thanks Nicole for pointing out the omission – I fixed it! Good eye!
As for the nutrition facts, I run mine using whole wheat flour (white whole wheat is just a type that is lighter in color, the nutrition is the same.) Perhaps the difference between your numbers and mine may be due to differences in protein power?
Either way – it’s a healthy legit meal! 20 calories either way won’t make or break you
Georgie
tobias cooks! June 4, 2010 at 2:02 pm
LOve using Poppy seeds. Those look great.
Adena June 9, 2010 at 9:28 am
Oh my gosh I NEED to make these on the weekend, my problem will be how NOT to eat the entire pan of them. Lemon poppyseed is my favourite muffin and I can never find a homemade protein bar that I love.
admin June 9, 2010 at 3:31 pm
You really DO need to make these, they are delicious! My husband actually said they are his favorite recipes of mine – of them ALL!
Georgie
Kelly @ Healthy Living With Kelly June 29, 2010 at 4:34 pm
WOW! These look fabulous! A must make!
The Rabbit Runner June 29, 2010 at 6:23 pm
seriously, these are just amazing. I can’t even begin to explain. I think I have had 3 today. just too darn good.
Lexi July 12, 2010 at 8:41 pm
Hi! This was delicious… but mine came out a little dry. Any suggestions?
admin July 13, 2010 at 7:47 am
Lexi-
I’m glad you enjoyed them. For most people, these come out very moist, but perhaps your oven or ingredients varied slightly. To keep them more moist next time, you can slightly reduce the cooking time, or add a bit more liquid, or use a slightly smaller amount of flour (1-2 tablespoons less). Also, make sure to wrap them soon after you bake them. I suggest wrapping each one individually in plastic wrap and keeping in the fridge or freezer.
Lexi July 13, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Thank you so much for getting right back to me
your suggestions were great! I just made banana cinnamon protein bars by swapping out the poppy seed and lemon ingredients with 3-4 small bananas and 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon. They were fantastic! This healthy protein bar/cake recipe is divine, can’t wait to try more!
admin July 14, 2010 at 8:42 am
Lexi- Awesome! Sounds like a delicious variation!
Kira July 21, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Hi!
I found these doing a google search for homemade protein bars. I went out and bought the ingredients after reading the comments and made them tonight!
They are really great~ I was nervous because I tasted a little bit of the batter, and it tasted really lemon-y and I noticed the Splenda taste a lot (I don’t normally bake with sweeteners.) But once they were baked….wow!! They’re just as good as everyone said and just one made me feel full.
Mine cut up into pretty large-looking bars…but I only made 12. I hope I got my serving size right. Also, I’ve never bought protein powder before today…I’d be interested to know what kind you prefer. I got WholeFoods brand.
Thanks for the recipe!
Lisa A October 31, 2010 at 9:03 am
I’ve modified these to make a gingerbread version (replace half the splenda with molasses and reduce the applesauce, ginger) and a pumpkin spice cake version (replace applesauce with pumpkin, chai protein powder, cinnamon and nutmeg; cream cheese frosting: reduced fat cream cheese, greek yogurt, vanilla protein, vanilla, and splenda). Yum! I can’t wait to use this recipe as a base for more ideas.
admin October 31, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Wow! Lisa, those sound fabulous!!! If you want to write them to me in detail, I’ll analyze them and write them in a separate post! Thanks for sharing your brilliant ideas!
Georgie
Nadine November 19, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Georgie.. these were absolutely DELICIOUS! I loved them. I am going to a party tomorrow night and want to take them as a dessert.. some of my family members found them too “heavy” – I didn’t. But I was thinking, if I only did 1 scoop of Protein if that would make a difference? Should I sub something else in for the other scoop? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Georgie and again.. delicious
admin November 19, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Thanks Nadine!!! I’m so glad you wrote to tell me! You can use an extra 1/3 c flour instead of one scoop of protein.
I hope they are a hit at the party – tell your pals to visit my site
I know I know, shameless plug. I need all the help I can get.
Have a great weekend!
Georgie
Liz December 4, 2010 at 2:06 pm
These are delish! Perfect before my AM workout. Enough to get me going without making me feel ill!
Esther December 21, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Oh. My. Goodness!!!! So glad I finally made this – they are scrumpti-licious!!!
My kids adore them too. Georgie as a dietician what is your advice about protein powder (considering artificial sweeteners) for little kids (mine are 1 and 3). I gave them some and they woofed it down but I’m not sure if protein powder is OK for little kids…..what do you think?
Millason January 24, 2011 at 7:14 am
Hi Georgie! I just discovered your site earlier this week, and I am already in love. When will you be coming out with more homemade protein bar recipes? There are two flavors I would really love to see- Chai Tea (like the Luna bar) and Girl Scout Samoas. Thanks!
Stephanie February 21, 2011 at 5:45 am
Can this be made in an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan? or will it be too thick?
admin February 21, 2011 at 8:47 am
Stephanie – I think it might be too thick, if you want to use that size pan, I would do it in two batches. Georgie
Stephanie February 22, 2011 at 8:46 am
I have another question. Has anybody tried using oat flour instead? Would that change the texture of the bar?
Jessica @ Chockohlawtay June 14, 2011 at 5:14 am
These look so moist and amazing! I’ve always wanted to make lemon poppy seed muffins, but these look so much better. Thanks for sharing!
Mike Behnken, Personal Trainer June 30, 2011 at 11:57 pm
Those look really good, I wish I could make them because it looks like something you’d spend $5 bucks for at Whole Foods Market.
Jan July 21, 2011 at 4:17 am
Love this recipe but I would not use Splenda, it is an artificial sweetener and would only ever use sugar or substitute.
Jeff @ Healthy Breakfast Smoothies August 26, 2011 at 8:32 am
This does look good and will have to try. Ill be using a rice based protein powder though
trying to avoid as much dairy products as I can.
Jamie January 20, 2012 at 9:04 pm
I just made these today for the first time. They turned out pretty darn good! I used Trader Joe’s vanilla whey protein powder. My baking time took a lot longer, though (30-32 minutes). I will definitely make these bars again. How long will they keep in the fridge wrapped in plastic?
admin January 21, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Jalie – They should last a week, if you want to store them longer, freeze.
Enjoy!
K Allen February 2, 2012 at 1:32 pm
can soy protein be used instead of whey protein to cut down on cholersteral
admin February 2, 2012 at 6:35 pm
You can probably use any protein you like
Leyney February 9, 2012 at 3:31 am
Hi I would like to bake this for my partner who is on the Paleo diet/lifestyle (no dairy or grains). How much should I substitute almond/coconut flour for and any ideas what to use instead of Greek yogurt & the amount? Would love to see some new high protein bars/dessert recipes from you that are paleo friendly too. Thanks in advance
Avid Baker September 6, 2012 at 5:04 pm
Hey there Georgie, I was just wondering about the nutritional info if instead you added regular whey protein powder or just none at all?
Thanks!
admin September 6, 2012 at 7:21 pm
Hi Avid Baker! The nutritional info is the same for any flavor of whey protein powder, actually most type of protein powder (even soy or egg or rice based ones). If you left the protein powder out, you’d need to increase the flour by 2/3 cup.
You can find out the nutritionals for any changes you make using this site: http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/create/
Laura January 19, 2013 at 10:44 am
I have made countless different protein bars/cakes and this one is by far my absolute favorite!! It has become a staple in my household and I always keep my freezer stocked with them. I recently tried an apple cinnamon variation of this recipe and they were delish as well. I just omitted the poppyseed and lemon juice and added cinnamon instead. Then I chopped up one and a half apples and sprinkled them on top before baking. Yum!
Georgie January 19, 2013 at 8:35 pm
Laura, that sounds amazing, thank you!!