Protein-Rich Rocky Road Bars

The other day, my social media feed presented me with multiple recipes for Rocky Road Bars. I don't know if they are trending right now or if it was a message that I need more chocolate in my life. Either way, it prompted me to create this tasty recipe for vegan keto rocky road bars to share with you all. In line with my usual modus operandi, I have made these bars with plenty of protein-rich ingredients - namely, pea-based TVP crumbles instead of cereal, toasted pumpkin seeds, and with some protein powder mixed into the chocolate component. If you want to sneak some more protein in these, you can increase the protein powder, replace the hazelnuts with additional pumpkin seeds, and add some hemp hearts. See the note below the recipe about reducing the carbs or increasing the protein. However you choose to make these bars fit your macros, I hope you enjoy them as much as I am!
Yield: 9 bars
Macros (per serving): 230 calories | 10g protein | 18g fat | 4g net carbs
Prep: 15 minutes if nuts and seeds are toasted, about 40 minutes if not
Storage: refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Note that the bars will melt at room temperature.
Ingredients:
  • 4 ounces (113g) unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
  • ⅓ cup (85g) peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter ✎
  • 1 Tbsp (15ml) coconut oil
  • ⅓ cup (64g) allulose or sweetener of choice (probably ✎)
  • 3 Tbsp (21g) vanilla protein powder
  • ⅛ tsp salt
  • 1 ounce (28g) pea-based TVP crumbles (about ½ cup ) or edamame protein puffs ✎
  • ¼ cup (40g) shelled pumpkin seeds, toasted
  • ¼ cup (34g) hazelnuts, toasted, roughly chopped, or additional pumpkin seeds for nut-free
  • ¼ cup (7g) freeze-dried strawberries, cut into smallish pieces (optional) ✎​
  • 2 Tbsp (6g) unsweetened coconut flakes/chips, toasted (optional) ​
Directions:
If the nuts and seeds are not yet toasted, the pumpkin seeds and hazelnuts can be toasted at 350°F (175°C) for 5-7 minutes and the coconut at the same temperature for about 2 minutes.
  1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the melted chocolate, peanut butter, and coconut oil.
  2. Mix the allulose, protein powder, and salt into the chocolate mixture.
  3. Add and mix in the TVP, pumpkin seeds, hazelnuts, ​and strawberries. If preferred, some or all of the berry pieces can be used to decorate the top of the bars instead.
  4. Line an 7-inch (18cm) square pan with parchment paper. Let the parchment overhanging 2 sides for easy removal of the bars.
  5. Transfer the bar mixture to the pan and spread into an even layer.
  6. Top with the coconut.
  7. Put in the fridge to chill until solid, about 2-3 hours.
  8. Cut into 9 bars and enjoy cold. Note that bars will quickly melt and become soft once no longer cold.
Reduce the Carbs: use SunButter and omit the freeze-dried strawberries and coconut. The bars will have 2.5g net carbs each. Calories and other macros remain the same. 
Higher Protein: increase the protein powder to ⅓ cup (37g), replace the hazelnuts with an additional ¼ cup (40g) pumpkin seeds, and add 2 Tbsp (20g) hemp hearts. Macros (per serving): 255 calories | 14 protein | 19g fat | 4g net carbs
✎ Notes:
  • Sunflower seed butter, or SunButter specifically, is the lowest carb option here.
  • I have not made this with any other sweeteners but expect it would work fine with pure stevia or monk fruit, though the bitterness of the chocolate may be more evident. Because erythritol has a cooling effect, I wonder if it might cause the chocolate to seize and make mixing in other ingredients difficult. I have had this experience with other recipes. If you try the recipe with erythritol, please let us know how it goes.
  • Pea-based TVP crumbles are lighter and airier than soy-based TVP crumbles, which tend to be quite dense. If soy-based crumbles were used, I think this could be hard on the teeth. It would also reduce the protein and increase the carbs in the recipe slightly. Another option here could be a keto cereal like Catalina Crunch. Note that depending on the cereal, this would likely change the macros significantly.
  • Macros for this recipes are calculated with national nutritional data (i.e. NCCDB & USDA entries in Cronometer) for all ingredients apart from the protein powder (Vega Sport), TVP crumbles (Noble Plate), pumpkin seeds (Bob's Redmill), and freeze-dried strawberries (Natierra).
  • Macro numbers are rounded. Numbers equal to or greater than 10g are rounded to the nearest whole number (e.g. 10g, 11g, 12g, etc.) and numbers below 10g are rounded to the nearest 0.5g (0.5g, 1g, 1.5g ... 9g, 9.5g). Any numbers below 0.5g are given as is (e.g. 0.1g, 0.2g, etc.). Calories are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5.