Birthday Cake Protein Bars

You will love this homemade birthday cake protein bars recipe! They are no bake, vegan friendly, gluten free friendly and nut free. They come together in minutes in one bowl ~ mix, press in a pan and chill. These birthday cake flavored DIY protein bars are sure to become a favorite healthy breakfast or treat.

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Does anyone else still love birthday cake flavor? I think some of my taste buds are solidly stuck in the childhood years, because I love it as much as my girls do! My funfetti ice cream is a recipe that gets made on repeat, but I also happen to adore the flavor in a protein bar.

This birthday cake bar recipe is made with oats and with protein powder, bringing a nice punch of protein to these no bake, homemade protein bars. If you've been around two sugar bugs for any length of time you know how much I love to pack extra protein and nutrition into breakfast items. My peanut butter oat banana bread and peanut butter donuts are both good examples of that.

why you will love these birthday cake protein bars

• Easy prep! The bars come together in about 10 minutes in one bowl.
• No baking required! Mix, press in the pan and chill.
• Budget friendly! I will admit that I enjoy One Protein Bars and Good Snacks Birthday Cake Bars, but at $2 plus per bar they are hard on my grocery budget! DIY homemade protein bars are much more cost effective.
• Minimal ingredients! Have you ever looked at the ingredient list on store bought protein bars? It's usually l.o.n.g. This protein bar recipe has eight ingredients and you can pronounce all of them.

ingredients needed for these nut free bars

• Sunflower seed butter ~ to keep these birthday cake bars nut free I use a sunflower seed butter. If being nut free is not a concern for you, cashew butter and almond butter would be the next best choices. Use a natural "drippy" nut butter that just contains nuts {and salt}.
• Maple syrup ~ brings the sweetness and also helps to bind the bars together. Using maple syrup is also a vegan friendly ingredient. Use a pure maple syrup.
• Vanilla ~ helps to bring the birthday cake flavor to the homemade protein bars.
• Almond ~ The almond extract helps to bring the birthday cake flavor to the recipe.  If you absolutely cannot stand almond extract, you can substitute it with vanilla, but will lose a little of the birthday cake flavor.  I use Cook's Pure Almond extract, which is made from the pits of peaches and apricots and produced in an allergen free facility.  If you have a nut allergy, please do your own research if the almond extract is safe for you to use.
• Oat flour ~ make your own by pulverizing quick oats. It takes about a minute in a food processor or high powered blender. If you need the bars to be gluten free, make sure your oats are gluten free. You can also substitute an oat flour.
• Vanilla protein powder ~ the protein powder is a prominent flavor in the finished protein bars, so make sure you use a vanilla protein powder that you enjoy! To keep the bar recipe vegan I use a vegan protein powder such as Trader Joe's Vanilla Pea Protein Powder or Sprouts Vegan Vanilla Protein Powder.
• Ground flaxseed ~ to add some more protein and nutritional value.
• Sprinkles ~ use your favorite. If you are looking to avoid food dyes, opt for sprinkles that are naturally dyed such as this brand.

how to make your own oat flour

Place the quick oats into a food processor {my Cuisinart Mini Prep works perfectly for this task} or high powered blender and pulse several times until the oats reach a fine, flour like consistency. The finer the oats are ground will give you the best protein bar texture.

how to make these easy birthday cake protein bars

First line a loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Then in a bowl mix together the sunflower seed butter and maple syrup until fully combined.  Next add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix again until the mixture is smooth.

Now add the protein powder, ground flaxseed and ground oat flour and mix until just a little flour/protein powder is still showing.  Then add in ¾ of the sprinkles and mix until a thick dough has formed.

Finally press the birthday cake protein bar mixture into the prepared loaf pan in an even layer. Press FIRMLY into the pan. Then sprinkle the top with the remaining sprinkles, lightly pressing them into the homemade protein bars. Chill for a minimum of one hour.

how to store these vegan protein bars

Once the bars have chilled and been sliced, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. We eat through them quickly, so I haven't tested freezing them, but don't see why that wouldn't work.

The longer the bars chill, the more solid or firm they become; but they still stay soft. I often pack one in my lunch bag for work days as they are a great quick and healthy snack between patients.

tips for the best homemade protein bars

• Use a vanilla protein powder that you love the taste of. I've never tried birthday cake protein powder, but know they make one. I imagine it would be amazing in these birthday cake flavored bars!
• Press the bars firmly into the bottom of the pan. I use a spatula, but the flat bottom of a measuring cup would also work well.
• If you prefer protein bites, cut the bars into bite size pieces. You can also roll the dough into protein balls, use 1-2 tablespoons of dough per ball. They can also be cut into larger bars.
• If you don't mind adding sugar, a light drizzle of white chocolate on the tops of these bars is amazing! Melt about an ounce of white chocolate and drizzle it over the dough before chilling it. To keep the bars with low sugar, Lily's Original White Chocolate Style Bars are my favorite. {if you need the protein bars to be vegan, make sure to use a vegan white chocolate}.

Remember to snap a picture and tag me on Instagram if you make these Birthday Cake Protein Bars. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!

more homemade birthday cake flavored recipes

• Funfetti Ice Cream
• Funfetti Cookies {From Scratch}
• Sugar Cookie Sandwiches {Stuffed with Funfetti Frosting}
• One Bowl Funfetti Cupcakes

If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating.  I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!