A chewy, gooey, chocolatey, no-bake, dairy-free protein bar.
Warning! These bars are definitely gooey. I recommend having a napkin close by to discreetly wipe your hands after you finish it. When my toddler ate one his whole face and hands were covered in a sweet, sticky mess afterwards, which he delighted in, of course.
You could use powdered egg whites to reduce the stickiness but the cost is expensive in comparison to a carton of pasteurized egg whites. So I think it’s worth putting up with a bit of gooeyness. Speaking of egg white, make sure to use a carton of pasteurized egg whites since this recipe is no-bake. You don’t want to risk food poisoning anyone with raw eggs!
a true copycat recipe
The front package of the RX bar gave me a good starting point since they pretty much spell out the recipe right there. Using that as a starting point and then tweaking the ingredients to match the nutrition info, I nailed the copycat! Check this out:
| RX Bar | Copycat Version |
| 210 calories | 208 calories |
| 9g fat | 8g fat |
| 24g carbs | 27g carbs |
| 6g fibre | 5g fibre |
| 15g sugar | 17g sugar |
| 12g protein | 12.5g protein |
why this RX bar copycat recipe a smart choice
The protein in egg whites is high in what we call “biological value.” First: a little primer on proteins. Proteins are composed of different building blocks called amino acids. A good comparison is the alphabet. Words are composed of a specific order and combination of letters. Likewise, proteins are composed of a specific order and combination of amino acids. During digestion, proteins get broken down to amino acids. The body then uses these building blocks to make the proteins it needs: whether that be muscle tissue, hormones, or immune cells, etc.
So when a protein has high biological value, it contains a similar proportion of essential amino acids to what our body typically needs to use.
Additionally, each bar provides 2 tbsp of nuts. In the nutrition world, we are realizing more and more how much a daily serving of nuts can help prevent heart disease and other chronic conditions. If it were up to me, I’d consider including nuts and seeds as a separate food group with its own daily recommendation!
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or snap a photo and tag it with #smartnutritionrecipes on Instagram! I’d love to see your creations!
chocolate sea salt RX bars (copycat recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole dried dates
- 1/2 cup whole almonds
- 1 cup whole cashews
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/4 cups pasteurized egg whites
- coarse salt sea salt or pickling salt
Instructions
- Place dates into a microwavable bowl
- Pour water over dates until just covered.
- Microwave dates until soft and water has evaporated (use 30 second intervals)
- Pour nuts into food processor and pulse until finely chopped
- Pour cocoa into food processor. Give it a couple of pulses to mix
- Pour egg whites into food processor. Pulse until mixed
- Dump contents of food processor into a bowl
- Dump softened dates into food processor
- Pulse until blended
- Add in the nut mixture and pulse until blended
- Line a 9×9 with parchment paper
- Dump mixture onto parchment and smooth out
- Sprinkle with coarse salt (sea salt if you prefer)
- Refrigerate until firm.
- Cut into 12 bars.
Nutrition
Calories: 208 | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 27g | Fibre: 5g | Sugar: 17g | Protein: 12.5g
For more high protein snack ideas:
- Chocolate peanut butter protein bars (no-bake)
- Energy balls (15 different types!)
- High protein/low sugar afternoon snack ideas
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How much water do you use for dates?
I just pour some over until JUST covered. Thanks for asking for the clarification. I’ve updated the recipe!
I used powdered egg whites , I just guessed 3/4 cup, perfect.
Awesome!!! thanks for letting me know!
Just made a batch earlier- they have been in the fridge for over 8 hours and are still too soft to cut, much less consider it a bar…… BUT- it does taste delicious.
I am wondering if there was just too much excess water in the dates from softening them. Will definitely try to recipe again- but for now, I will consider it a healthy “fudge”
Hi Erin, I’m sorry that they were too soft for you to cut! They are a bit on the soft side, I will say that. When this has happened to me I’ve turned them into protein balls instead of bars. And yes, try cutting back on the liquid when softening the dates!
Looks good! Is the powder egg white a 1:1 substitution? Thanks!
No, it would be a different formulation as the liquid to solids ratio would be off. Unfortunately I haven’t tested it out with egg white powder. I was going to order some on Amazon but it was so expensive so I stopped myself!