6 high-protein desserts
A dessert can be a dessert and still do some work. These all have at least 12 g of protein a serving, without tasting like a protein bar.
CThe Cookpath kitchen9 min read · 6 recipes
Chocolate Date Mousse
- 2 h 15 mintotal
- 29 gprotein
- 410kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 3servings
Why it's here: The most protein on this list.
11 ingredients · 5 steps
The most protein of any dessert here, 29 g a serving at 410 kcal. Blended dates sweeten a mousse of Greek yogurt, cocoa and vanilla protein powder, and chia seeds thicken it while it chills.
Blend everything except the chia seeds, pour it into 3 jars, then stir the chia into each jar. It needs 2 hours or more to set, so make it in the morning for the evening. Top with raspberries, coconut flakes and dark chocolate.
Chocolate Nice Cream
- 5 mintotal
- 22 gprotein
- 280kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 2servings
Why it's here: The fastest one here.
7 ingredients · 4 steps
Frozen bananas blended with cocoa and chocolate protein powder turn into something close to soft-serve, with 22 g of protein for 280 kcal. It takes 5 minutes and needs no ice cream machine.
Make sure the bananas are properly frozen. The milk is only 70 ml, so the blender needs a moment to bring it together until smooth and creamy. Top with coconut, blueberries and sliced strawberries. Good for a hot evening when you want ice cream now.
Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
- 25 mintotal
- 21 gprotein
- 340kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 3servings
Why it's here: One of the strongest on the list.
5 ingredients · 6 steps
Three ingredients make the dough: banana, peanut butter and vanilla protein powder, with chocolate chips on top. A serving is two cookies, with 21 g of protein and 340 kcal.
The dough is sticky, so do not worry about neat shaping; scoop 6 onto the sheet and press them flat. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are golden and the centre is no longer wet, and cool them for 5 minutes before they leave the tray.
Peanut Butter Protein Bars
- 1 htotal
- 16 gprotein
- 360kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 8servings
Why it's here: Makes 8 servings, so it covers several days.
9 ingredients · 7 steps
No oven here. Almond flour, vanilla protein powder, peanut butter and maple syrup are mixed into a dough, pressed into a loaf pan and covered with melted dark chocolate. Each bar has 16 g of protein and 360 kcal.
Press the dough into an even layer in the parchment-lined pan before the chocolate goes on, then chill until it sets. Lift the slab out and cut it into 8 bars. Most of the 60 minutes is chilling, so make them on Sunday for the week.
Hazelnut Pistachio Cream Cups
- 45 mintotal
- 16 gprotein
- 610kcal
- Intermediatelevel
- 8servings
Why it's here: Makes 8 servings, so it covers several days.
7 ingredients · 6 steps
A pudding-shop dessert: a hazelnut cream and a pistachio cream layered in glasses and topped with crushed nuts. Each cup has 16 g of protein and 610 kcal, and the recipe makes 8.
Whisk the cream while it cooks until it starts to turn heavy, then stir in the sugar and let it cool before you spoon it in. Strain the hazelnut mix after blending for a smooth finish. Make it for a dinner party, since it serves eight.
Cherry Chocolate Frozen Yogurt
- 6 htotal
- 14 gprotein
- 220kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 4servings
Why it's here: A good one to have in the rotation.
7 ingredients · 6 steps
Not a brownie, but it earns its place: Greek yogurt sweetened with honey, frozen, then blended into soft serve with chopped cherries and flecks of dark chocolate. 14 g of protein and 220 kcal a bowl, the lightest sweet on the page.
Freeze the base flat in a lined pan so it sets fast, then break it into pieces for the food processor. It looks grainy at first; keep blending with a spoon of milk and it turns smooth. Most of the time is the freezer, not you.
Most high-protein sweets fail the same way: they dry out, or they taste of powder. The ones here avoid that by getting their protein from real food first. Greek yoghurt, nuts, eggs and cottage cheese do most of the work, and powder is only a helper in some of them.
The sugar and the chocolate stay, because that is the point of a dessert. What changes is the base. Replacing part of the flour or butter with something that carries protein gives the bake structure and keeps it moist for longer.
Some are baked, some are frozen and some take five minutes with a spoon. The time is on each one, so you can match it to the evening you are having rather than the one you planned.
Protein and eggs set fast, so these are less forgiving than a normal bake. Watch the clock the first time you make each one, and write down how long your oven needed.
Three things that help
Eggs and protein powder dry out quickly. Take bakes out while the middle still wobbles a little; they set as they cool.
Cocoa powder gives deep flavour for very few calories. Do not swap it out to save numbers.
A brownie cut warm falls apart. Give it twenty minutes, or a night in the fridge for a denser, fudgier bite.
Every dish here is in the app with timers inside the steps, servings you can change and a shopping list that builds itself.
