Marine Collagen Baked Brownie Protein Bars - Keto, Low Carb (2025)

These keto and sugar-free collagen baked brownie protein bars are so much tastier than anything you will find at a health food store! Filled with 8 grams of protein and only under 1 gram of sugar, these low carb brownie bars are not only delicious but healthy too!

Marine Collagen Protein Bars

So, what's the deal with marine collagen versus regular collagen? I asked myself the same question and decided to do some digging to find out if one type is better than the other, and the difference between the two and also, I wanted to see if baking with the different types created any challenges.

Types of Collagen

As it turns out, there are actually over 28 types of collagen found in the human body. However, out of those 28, only 5 types of collagen are actually found in supplements.

• Type I - The most common type of collagen - it provides tensile strength to connective tissue. It can come from cows and fish.
• Type II - This collagen is most abundant in cartilage as well as is important in eye health. Think of cartilage as a bumper cushion that protects the bones in our joints from hitting each other. Type II collagen is usually taken from the sternum of chickens.
• Type III - This collagen is found in muscles, arteries and organs. It is the second most prolific type of collagen found in humans and is most important for skin healing. Cows, pigs and fish are sources for supplementation.
• Type V - This collagen helps to support both Type I and Type III collagen. It is found predominately in both chicken and cows
• Type X - This collagen helps with bone formation. Type X collagen is found in many animals, includingmice, humans, chickens, zebrafish, and medaka

As you can see, all collagen is found in all species - however, different species will contain more or less of each type of collagen.

So, which is better - Bovine or Marine Collagen?

From all the different research articles I went through, most research suggests that marine collagen is slightly better overall when compared to bovine collagen.

Marine collagen is smaller in particle size which means that it is more bioavailable and therefore, easier to absorb. However, since fish are smaller and therefore have less collagen in general to extract, it tends to be more expensive than bovine collagen. It also is higher in glycine which is not only good for our guts but also for sleep.

Bovine collagen is less expensive than marine collagen. Bovine collagen is higher in Type II collagen and contains high levels of glycine AND proline. It is great for athletes as it helps with maintaining joint health.

Which collagen to choose

When it comes to deciding which collagen you should by, there are only slight differences between the two.

Marine Collagen tends to be especially good for improving the appearance of skin, hair, and nails and is a favourite among those using collagen as an anti-ageing supplement.

Bovine Collagen tends to be more popular among athletes for its ability to help maintain joint health as well as muscle repair.

For vegetarians, marine collagen is the only choice but in general, either one you choose will enhance your well-being and your health.

Also, the brand of collagen you decide to use is also VERY important. Since collagen is a supplement, companies are not held accountable for the quality of their product.

This is why I highly suggest using the products made by Naked Nutrition. Their slogan is "Nutrition with Nothing to Hide - Premium ingredients without additives, to support your health and fitness goals". None of their products contain artificial colours, sweeteners or additives and they source their marine collagen from wild-caught cod. Naked Marine Collagen is also odourless and tasteless unlike other collagens that I have tried that actually did have a slight "fishy" smell (I had to throw the entire package out since it made me nauseous every time I tried to use it!!!)

Making Collagen Baked Brownie Protein Bars

This recipe comes together very quickly. I like to use my silicon protein bar mold as it ensures that each bar ends up being approximately the same size. I made these using a 12-cavity silicone mold - each "well" was 1.2" by 3.1"

If you do not have silicon bar mold, you can simply bake these in a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan or an 8 x 8-inch. Just realize that baking these in different pans will require more or less time in the oven so you will have to check on the bars regularly to determine when they are ready.

Step 1 - Mix the wet ingredients

• Whisk together the sugar-free Greek yogurt, 2 tablespoons of almond milk, egg whites and vanilla

Step 2 - Add in the dry ingredients

• Add in the marine collagen, chocolate casein powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, sweetener, salt and baking soda
• Whisk to incorporate - taste the mixture and add additional sweetener or salt.

Step 3 - Divide evenly

• Divide the mixture evenly between the 12 cavities - add 6-8 sugar-free chocolate chips to the top of each bar and gently press them into the batter

Step 4 - Bake

• Bake for 10-12 minutes until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out a little dirty.
• Let cool fully before removing bars from the molds

Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to one week or in the freezer for up to one month.

Tips for Keto Collagen Brownie Bars

Keep these tips in mind when you are making your low carb collagen protein bars:

• Pick a good collagen - Not all collagen powder is the same quality so it is important to do your research. I highly recommend Naked Nutrition Marine Collagen powder. It is flavourless, comes from wild-caught cod and is tasteless and odourless.
• Make sure your silicone mold is oven-safe - Not all silicone is oven-safe so double-check before you put your mold in the oven
• Allow the bars to FULLY cool - these bars need to firm up before you try to remove them from the molds so I suggest placing them in the fridge for a couple of hours before removing them from the oven
• Taste the mixture - All keto and sugar-free sweeteners seem to have different levels of sweetness so make sure you taste your batter and adjust accordingly.
• Baking the Bars - I like using a silicon mold which I place on top of a baking sheet to make it easy to remove from the oven. If you are using a different type of pan, you may need to adjust the baking time. Silicon heats quicker than metal or ceramic so the time will need to be adjusted accordingly.

Changing the Macros

These collagen baked brownie protein bars are super low calorie, low carb and high protein. However, if you want to alter the macros, you can do so in several ways:

• For Higher Fat Protein Bars - You can replace the almond milk and Greek yogurt with coconut oil, melted butter, peanut butter or almond butter. You could also use Naked Keto Fat Bomb powder instead of the marine collagen
• For Dairy-free Protein Bars - You can use pea protein instead of casein and use dairy-free chocolate chips.

*Please note that you can NOT replace the casein with whey protein powder - doing so will result in extremely DRY protein bars!

More Low Carb Collagen Protein Bar Recipes

Here are some of my favourite low carb collagen protein bars along with some sugar-free protein brownie bar recipes:

• Easy No-Bake Keto Collagen Peanut Butter Bars
• Healthy Protein Collagen Peanut Butter Cereal Bars - Keto, Low Carb
• Clean Keto Collagen Protein Bar - Dairy-Free under 100 Calories!
• Healthy Keto Collagen Brownies - High Protein and only 60 Calories

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