Birthday Cake Protein Bars

Save some cash and make your favorite sprinkle filled protein bar at home. These homemade No Bake Birthday Cake Protein Bars recipe is the flavor of your dreams: birthday cake! This recipe can be made dairy and egg free but still full of flavor and protein. Only about 5 minutes to prep! You will end up liking the homemade version better than store bought! 

This recipe was originally published in June 2019 and updated July 2021.

Love protein bars but want a more cost effective way to enjoy them? This homemade birthday cake protein bar recipe is exactly what you need then!

This recipe was inspired by a fan favorite here: these Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Chip Perfect Bars. Readers can't get enough so it was time for a fun new flavor!

Why you will love these Birthday Cake Protein Bars:

• They are prepped in less than 10 minutes. Mix it all up and put it in the pan. There is really nothing else to do it. 10 minutes seems pretty steep if you ask me.
• Freezer friendly. You can store these in the fridge or freezer really. I sometimes cut a few bars and store them in the freezer so I have them for a few months. That way when I have a craving, I can just thaw and enjoy.
• No baking required. All you have to do is stir all the ingredients together and press into a pan. Chill to set and you will have delicious, birthday cake flavored protein bars at your finger tips! It really is that easy.
• Easily made gluten free and even vegan! The ingredients in this recipe are naturally gluten free--the oat flour is what you will want to check to make sure. But if you use a vegan protein powder and a vegan milk, then they are totally plant based.
• Bonus: they don't taste like cardboard. Some store bought proteins are just GROSS. These bars are far from it. Super tasty fuel.

What you will need:

• almond flour: I use a combination of oat and almond flours. Almond flour is sometimes not fine enough and it is also very pricey. But I love the flavor of almond flour so had to include it. I have made it with all of one or the other and the recipe using just oat flour was a bit too dry.
• oat flour: you can actually make your own oat flour if you would like!
• nut butter: I have made these birthday cake bars with almond butter and cashew butter. I love them both and cannot decide. Almond butter is easier to find and sometimes less pricey, so that may be a better bet if you are looking to save cash. This homemade cashew butter is one of my favorites as well!
• vanilla protein powder: please choose one that you love or these will not be too tasty
• maple: my preferred sweetener. Use a different liquid sweetener if you swap it.
• vanilla extract: this will give you more birthday cake flavor in these protein bars. There are birthday cake and cake batter extracts out there, but I am not a fan. Feel free to try for yourself!
• milk: use a dairy free or regular. This just helps moisten up the bars.
• sprinkles: use your favorite!

How to make these:

Add all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl except for the milk and sprinkles. Stir well to combine and incorporate. Don't worry if it seems a bit dry, the milk will fix that!

Add the milk a tablespoon at a time as desired. You may use it all, but if you don't that is ok as well. The batter should be thick and easily rolled into a ball if you try, but not dry.

From there, stir ⅔ of the sprinkles, reserving the rest for on top.

Press, press PRESS the mixture into a parchment lined pan. Use a spatula or even a glass cup to help press it evenly. You need to press well for them to hold shape.

Sprinkle the remaining rainbow sprinkles on top and gently press them in. Freeze for about 30 minutes to an hour before cutting.

Easy ways to add more protein:

• Use whole milk as your milk, this will give you some extra grams right there!
• Add some egg white powder. Some protein bars add this to increase the protein levels easily. It can also be very easily digestible. These birthday cake protein bars will not be vegan if added of course. If you add a scoop, you may need to increase the almond butter by one or two tablespoons and add an extra splash of milk.
• Use a protein drink in place of the milk. Have a favorite protein milk drink? Opt for that instead!

Recipe Tips and Notes:

• The biggest impact on the flavor of these bars will be your protein powder. If your protein powder tastes like grass, then these protein bars are going to taste like grass. Sad, but true. I would opt for a vanilla versus a flavorless, unless you use a collagen peptide powder. Collagen seems to be the only powder that is really and truly flavorless. I could get behind using one of these for sure.
• A thinner, drippy almond or cashew butter will work best. It will be easiest to mix up these protein bars if you use a nut butter that is moist, smooth and more on the runny side. I usually keep mine out of the fridge for about an hour to help loosen it up a bit.
• When I say press, I mean PRESS these babies into the pan. If you want a really sturdy, dense bar, then you gotta put all your weight into it, sit on it, whatever you have to do, bring the power. The bars will be too flimsy if you don’t so when you think you have pressed hard enough, keep going.
• Feel free to roll these into bite sized balls instead of bars. Simple, poppable protein bites are great as well!
• Sprinkles often include food dyes. If you are looking to avoid food dyes, opt for sprinkles that are naturally dyed. There are actually a lot of them out there these days!

Other Protein packed recipes:

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