Written By Tyler Zipperer
Ahhh, energy bars. A common staple in the cyclist’s diet. Meant to fuel our bodies with a steady source of energy and keep the pedals moving during races, events and long-day adventures. Also meant to be fun, delightful and somethingyou’ll look forward to eating come chow time.
I believe the best brand of energy bar we can make is our own, but we all need to start somewhere. That’s why I’ve collected the Ultimate List of 25 Energy Bar Recipes from cyclists, chefs and other food companies and brands that you can use for inspiration to get started with baking in the kitchen. All of these energy bar recipes use simple, real food ingredients that will never slow you down or leave you dissatisfied.
Dive on into the list, pick one recipe as a starting point and take it from there, chef!
1.Homemade Chewy Granola Energy Bars
This homemade granola bar recipe from Off The Grid is modeled off the soft and chewy texture of Bobo’s Oat Bars. They’re also very similar to what you’ll find in a Mini Muesli Bite. Simple to make and endlessly customizable, these grab-and-go granola bars are a perfect snack for cycling and bikepacking trips.
2. Global Cycling Network’s Uber Energy Bars
Ready-made energy bars are the perfect fuel for cycling, but if you want to make your own, here is the secret GCN recipe for Uber Bars! Watch the video and get some tips from the pros.
3. Baked Banana Energy Bars
Hannah Grant, author of Eat. Race..Win. and pro tour chef, brings you this Baked Banana Energy Bar recipe from her cookbook. If you have bananas and a mixed selection of grains, rolled oats, seeds and nuts - you can make endless variations of this bar. They are perfect for training/racing, running or biking and as a snack for you or the kids.
4. 4 Homemade Energy Bar Recipes to Fuel Your Training
May as well title this post “29 Homemade Energy Bar Recipes for Cyclists.” This list from Triathlete includes recipes for Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars, Tart Cherry, Pecan, and Seed Bars, Pumpkin Bars, and Almond Butter and Jelly Bars. Dive on in and get your energy on!
5. Chocolate Peanut Butter Sprouted Brown Rice Crispy Bars
I love using Brown Rice Crisps from One Degree Organics to make a solid base for my own energy bars. This recipe from them combines vegan marshmallows and the addicting flavor combo of chocolate and peanut butter into one amazing plant-based energy bar treat.
6. The Breakaway bar
Another classic energy bar recip from Chef Hannah Grant. This Breakaway Bar is made with dates, oats, hazelnuts, banana, spices and a few other of my favorite pantry staples. She suggests if you're bringing this bar with you on a training ride, add an additional mashed banana to the crust recipe to make it extra portable.
7. Hannah Grant's Muesli Bars
I’m not that obsessed with Hannah Grant, although she does make some great recipes. But what I AM obsessed with is Muesli (check out all my Muesli recipes here.) So I had to include this Muesi Energy Bar recipe and video on the list. Watch, learn and let some muesli rock your world.
8. After School Oaty Snack Bars
Mr. Bob Red Mill here provides you with a hearty energy bar full of naturally nutritious ingredients and free of processed sugars in this recipe. This energy bar will most likely work best for long, easy days out on the trail where your body will be able to more easily digest the fats and proteins included in it.
9. Better Than Blondie Brownie Energy Bar
Uri Carlson, Breckenridge Native and Registered Dietitian, comes to you with a DANK Better Than Blondie Brownie Energy Bar recipe in this post. These bars are meant to replace those hard, dry energy bars you throw in your pocket and never really want to eat anyway. They’re primarily carbohydrates with small amounts of fat and protein.
10. Figgin Awesome Date Bars
This Biked Goods energy bar recipe is Figgin Awesome! Oats, spices, flour and brown rice syrup come together to create a brownie-like crust. Then dried mission figs blended together with dates, orange zest, coconut sugar and some more spices make the middle filling for these bars. When it comes together and you take your first bite, you get a unique and irresistible explosion of flavor that keeps you coming back for more!
Go to Recipe
11. Chewy Mocha Almond Energy Bars
Racho Medalduco Date Farm has The. Best. Dates. Ever. These Chewy Mocha Almond Energy Bars are loaded with good-for-you ingredients like Medjool dates, roasted almonds, shredded unsweetened coconut and whole grain oats. They make for a perfect early morning pre-training snack to give you a quick boost as wake up.
12. Easy No-Bake Muesli Bars
Did I mention I’m obsessed with Muesli? How about the fact I even created a 5-Course Muesli Menu For The Hungry Cyclist inside the Bakin’ Biker’s Club? Point aside, what’s so great about this recipe? It includes muesli and 5 other simple ingredients. Oh yah, and you don’t need to bake it.
13. Adventure EnergyBar
From the blog one of my first and favorite cookbooks, Run Fast. Cook Fast. Eat Slow, Elyse Kopecky brings you an energy bar made for big bikepacking adventures. Next time you’re heading out on a grand adventure, bake these bars. They include good protein, natural sugars, and healthy fats thanks to the cashews and hemp hearts—and they have the most amazing chew factor going on thanks to the antioxidant-rich dried fruits.
14. Plant-Based Ultra Energy Bars
A growing number of athletes are fueling their workouts and lifestyle with a plant-based diet. Rich Roll, author of Finding Ultra and known for being a top Ultraman World Championship finisher, shares a plant-based energy bar recipe to help fuel you for life’s “Ultra” moments.
15. Cookie/Bar Mix Recipe - Skratch Labs
Skratch Labs is one of my favorite lines of sports nutrition products for endurance cyclists and athletes. Their M.O. is using real food, starting from scratch, to make sports nutrition and hydration products you actually want to use. This cookie/bar mix recipe is a creative way to make up an energy bar base that you can use to create different flavors of energy bars. (See next recipe)
16. Vegan carrot cake cookie bars
Using the cookie/bar mix recipe from Skratch Labs above, sets you up for success to create these Vegan Carrot Cake Cookie Bars.
17. Crispy Cashew Sesame Bars
Lentine Alexis is a wizard in the kitchen. These Crispy Cashew Sesame Bars are just one small example of that. This recipe includes more savory and subtle flavors than your typical sweet-filled energy bar, but that doesn’t mean these aren’t totally AWESOME! Trust me, I’ve tried them.
18. Coconut + Cacao Crispy Rice Bars
As if one recipe from Lentine Alexis isn’t enough, I bring you another example of a unique energy bar. This Coconut + Cacao Crispy Rice energy bar is the perfect balance of slight sweetness, crunchy-ness and tartness. These are the real deal when you want to switch things up from your normal energy bar. Again, trust me - I even made a snapped of photo of these ones.
19. Take 5 Date “Candy” Bars
Candy Bar shouldn’t even be in the title of this Biked Goods recipe, but sometimes people eat with their eyes and what they read. These energy bars make a great indoor cycling pre-ride or during ride snack. They have a chewy, caramel-y, and crunchy texture with just the right amount of sweetness and saltiness to satisfy your “candy” bar cravings.
Go to Recipe
20. Super Seed Energy Bars
Anita Bean is an award-winning registered nutritionist, health writer, and internationally published author. Lucky for us, she shares a Super Seed Energy Bar recipe from her cookbook to help athletes perform at their best.
21. Chocolate Chip Coconut Tahini Granola Bars
Have you ever used tahini as a binder for your energy bars? If you haven’t, now is your chance. If you have, you still won’t be disappointed with this Chocolate Chip Coconut Tahini Energy Bar recipe from Soom Foods. Soom Foods sells silky-smooth tahini that provides the perfect texture for energy bars and other baked goods.
22. Sweet Potato Almond Butter Bars
The irresistible combo of sweet potato and almond butter come together in this alternative-style energy bar. One square provides 150% of your daily needs for Vitamin A <great antioxidant> + 20 gm complex carbohydrates + 7 gm healthy fats + 5 gm protein. All of these things makes these bars an awesome source of energy for athletes throughout the day.
23. The *Best* Cycling Energy Bar Recipe
While I was searching YouTube for energy bar recipes, I came across this one from Katie Kookaburra. When you look at the recipe it’s pretty standard when it comes to what you normally find in an energy bar. But the addition of cooked white rice, apple juice and jam make it slightly more unique and intriguing.
24. Pumpkin Pie Energy Bar Recipe
Lottie Bildirici, Health + Nutrition Coach, Athlete + Liv Ambassador, shares this fall-inspired energy bar recipe for those cool, relaxed fall rides as the colors start to turn. The spices in this bar pair perfectly with a warm cup of coffee.
25. Salted Caramel S’Mores Energy Bar
This super-secret recipe can only be accessed by those that join the Bakin’ Bikers Club. Not saying I don’t want everyone to have their hands on this recipe, but if they did, I think the world would run out of ingredients to make the rest of the energy bar recipes. This energy bar recipe contains simple and complex carbs in the base and binder, plus a few added texture ingredients to give you a sweet, chewy, and crunchy energy bar. These bars could be used during races, long-endurance events or a bikepacking trip.
Join the Bakin’ Bikers Club to access this recipe
Make Your Own Energy Bars with The Bakin’ Biker Cookbook!
The 2024 edition of the Bakin’ Biker, Biked Goods annual printed cookbook, is jam-packed with 100+ delicious, easy-to-prepare, real food recipes to help you eat, bike, and feel good.
Featuring favorites like Muesli Bars, Banana French Toast Cakes, Sweet Potato Kick Cakes, and Walnut Date Brownies, this edition combines recipes for quick and small meals, portable ride snacks, family-style dishes, sweet treats, and more. In a health and nutrition market bombarded with information, the Bakin’ Biker has one goal: keep food real, fun, and simple.
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Tyler Zipperer
I’m a Squarespace designer and trainer that helps entrepreneurs and small business owners start, build and grow their website presence.
