The alternate title for these bars was: ultra dense, doughy, chewy, soft, seedy, hearty, protein-and-fibre-packed granola bars, sweetened naturally with dates!
I can be a bit wordy at times. Anyway, these are not your average granola bars! Bursting with chia, sunflower, and pepita seeds, they pack a hefty amount of protein, fibre, and omega fatty acids and are naturally sweetened with date paste (a simple blend of water and pitted dates) instead of sugar. I like to think of these as an “adult” granola bar or a muesli breakfast bar of sorts, although I could also see my hockey-loving nephews enjoying these as fuel for the game. For those with nut allergies, you’ll be happy to know these are totally nut-free, just like my Super Power Chia Bread which this recipe is adapted from. If you’ve enjoyed the Super Power Chia Bread, the texture of these granola bars is the same – very soft and like an ultra dense, doughy bread.
I didn’t feel like calling them “chia bread” though due to the sweetness; granola bars just seemed to make more sense in my brain. I also debated calling these “energy bars” because they are packed with so many good-for-you ingredients and I’ve been enjoying them after exercise for a little pick me up. As you can see, deciding on a title is not my strong point! Whatever you call them, I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
Soft + Chewy Baked Granola Bars
Yield
10-12 bars
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Dense, chewy, soft, doughy, seedy, hearty, protein-and-fibre-packed granola bars, sweetened naturally with dates! Try them spread with nut or seed butter for a fun treat or just enjoy them plain. Adapted from my Super Power Chia Bread.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats, ground into a flour
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup packed pitted Medjool dates
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
- 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a 9-inch square pan with two pieces of parchment paper, one going each way.
- Add rolled oats into a high-speed blender. Blend on highest speed until a fine flour forms. Add oat flour into a large bowl.
- Add water and pitted dates into blender. Allow the dates to soak for 30 minutes if they are a bit firm or your blender has a hard time blending dates smooth. Once they are soft, blend the dates and water until super smooth.
- Add all of the ingredients into the bowl with the oat flour and stir well until combined.
- Scoop the mixture into the pan and spread it out with a spatula as evenly as possible. You can use lightly wet hands to smooth it down if necessary.
- Bake at 325F for about 23-25 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then lift it out and transfer it to a cooling rack for another 5-10 minutes. Slice and enjoy!
- I suggest freezing leftovers to preserve freshness.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
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Another winner! Just made these with dried Turkish figs (didn’t have any dates). Fantastic healthy snack. My husband keeps coming by and munching on it. Don’t think these will last long. Thanks!! I can’t wait to get your cookbook. I love your recipes and can’t wait to try some more.
Hi Angela,
I was just wondering, you say to freeze “left overs” of the bars…
Does that mean you wouldn’t keep them in the fridge for a while? I was hoping to make then and then give one a day in my husbands lunch kit. How long would they last in the fridge do you think..? Or should I just put a frozen one on his lunch each morning and then it will thaw I guess..?
Love your blog by the way and cookbook! I can’t put it down!!
Hi Amanda, Oh you can refrigerate them too – they should last at least a week if not longer in the fridge :)
Thanks for this recipe! These bars rock.
I made a few adjustments that I thought were worth mentioning :). I tend to need a lot of protein (and calories), so I added some peanut butter to the date mixture. To loosen the consistency after that addition, I blended in coconut water. To the dry mixture, I added hazelnuts (though I know the bars are supposed to be nut-free), sesame seeds, and a hint of cayenne pepper.
With these additions, the mixture had a bit more volume, so I baked on a 9×13 pan at 325 for probably around 25-27 minutes.
Can I substitute flax meal for chia seeds?
Thanks
This is a great idea which I never thought off. I have been making my own granola bars ,but even the so called healthier ones still have absolute loads of honey .i mean they are nice ,but things that are very sweet give me the munches .these sound better as you can make them as sweet or not as you like .
Just now putting these in the dehydrator as I already had it going. looking forward to them.
Hi, do you think I could send them to a friend via mail? Or do they need to be in the fridge?
They taste really great! :)
I sent them in early August, after having them in the fridge for a week, and they still were tasting great, when my friend received them.
Yum looks so good! Cannot wait to try this recipe this weekend!
Hi. I want to make these delicious granola bars but I don’t want to exceed my calorie intake. Do you how many calories there are in these bars
Been making these for about a month now & they are my absolute favourite snack thank you so much for sharing :)
Hi there,
Do you know how many grams of dates 3/4 cups would be?
Hi Angela! So I finally got around to making these and wanted to warn any of your readers who might attempt to use coconut flour to replace the oat flour: DON’T DO IT! The batter is dry and crumbly and the final product looks like a desert land. I’m sure the original recipe would have turned out great. I just couldn’t help trying out my new coconut flour. But it looks like it’s way too dense for an exact replacement. Maybe half coconut flour and half oat flour? Any suggestions for a bar with full coconut flour?
how much water with those dates?
Hi Angela, just made your soft and chewy baked granola bars and really love them. I’m starting a “year of no sugar” after reading Eve Schaub’s book so this was a great recipe for me.
Angela, I love these! What a fantastic, easy, healthy for me and my children. I am especially excited about these because they are nut-butter free, which means that I can pack them for my kids when they need a snack out of the house… almost everywhere we go requires that foods are nut-free.
Thanks!
I can,t eat oats, almonds are any gluten. What could I use instead of the oats?
P.S. your recipes are amazzzing
oops spelling error before….. I can,t eat oats, almonds or any thing with gluten. What could I use in place of the oats?
Just made these! Super quick and easy :) I’m a college student and bars are definitely my go-to snacks to carry around. However, most store bought ones are full of TONS of sugar and not the best quality ingredients… I just tried these OSG ones and the only thing I wish I would’ve done differently is probably packed my 3/4 cup of dates. I just kind of guestimated the quantity and I think it would’ve been better if I had followed the directions better :)
I kind of want to add some almond butter or something next time so that they feel a little stickier to see how that works out…
I’ve been doing my research and yours looks the most appealing. Can’t wait to try them.
I do have a question though. To avoid cross contamination, do you think I should have separate baking pans for Gluten free vs regular? Would that even matter?
Hi Angela… I’ve been doing my research and yours looks the most appealing. Can’t wait to try them.
I do have a question though. To avoid cross contamination, do you think I should have separate baking pans for Gluten free vs regular? Would that even matter?
And you recommend freezing to preserve. Would you recommend storing in tupperware at room temperature or tupperware in refrigerator and for how many days?
Hi Angela, I used this recipe as a jumping-off point for some post-race protein bars that I had for after my half marathon last week. I gave you proper credit, of course. (And squealed about how excited I am about your baby, like a loser)
http://www.veggierunners.com/2014/09/11/gingerbread-spiced-protein-granola-bars/
Hi Angela, I saw you on the Steven and Chris show. You were fabulous. I had to subscribe to your website. Love the recipes. Thank you :)
Hi Brenda,
So glad you caught the episode. Thanks for checking out my blog!
Hi Angela,
I was wondering if you would be able to help me. I would love to make some homemade granola type bars for my family. One of my children has a peanut and tree nut allergy and I have had trouble finding an uncontaminated source of seeds like those you used in this recipe. What brand are your seeds? Or where do you purchase them?
Thank you!
~Lauren
Hi Angela! Does your recipe call for fresh dates? I bought dried then retread the recipe when I got home. I don’t see fresh dates often in my grocery stores. Thx!!
Hi Angela,
Thank you for creating this recipe. I absolutely loved them! They are the perfect in-between meal snack and so easy to make. In fact, I recreated it and reviewed it on my website. Looking forward to trying out more of your recipes.
http://whenstrawberrymetkale.com/healthy-fall-spired-granola-bar-recipe-review/#more-241
These are delicious! And wonderful for my 3 yr old with nut allergies. Thank you!
Just finished making these and WOW, they are good!
I added mini chocolate chips for fun, came out great.
Thanks for the recipe!
I love the sound of this recipe but what does it mean when it says “two pieces of parchment paper, one going each way”? It didn’t make sense to me as the pan is square
sorry for the confusion! i put one piece going across and another vertically, so all 4 sides are covered with paper
Can I use prunes instead of dates? The recipe looks awesome!
Can I use prunes instead of dates?
I’m looking forward to trying these out soon! Do you think it would work to use coconut flour instead of the oats? I’d like to make this recipe paleo friendly if possible. Thanks!
Just because the sugar came from dates and rendered down, doesnt mean these are sugar free. To my calculations these bars will have 5-10 grams of sugar per serving.
I have been looking for new healthy sugar free recipes to try and this one looks delicious. I will definitely give this recipe a try. Thanks.
I just made these and proceeded to eat three of them right away! OH MY! Very tasty! If any improvement could be made, I just wish they hardened a bit to be a bit more. I used almond flour because that is what I had and wasn’t able to find gluten free oats at my local grocery store this morning. Would it have hardened more if I had?
As far as the taste, no improvement needed! Very nice. I was able to use my homemade dehydrated cranberries (soaked a bit in apple cider), which made me very happy.
LOVE these!! Especially that they use dates as the sweetener and don’t have any oil in them:D Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!! Can’t wait to try more and more variations :D
We call these “Seed Love Bars” around our place, and they are a great way to get my kids to eat a ton of seeds and nuts without a fuss. I’ve made at least 5-6 double batches over the past couple months and they are always a hit. We recently started adding about 2 tablespoons of Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips per batch and that made them even better! ;-) Great, filling snack! Thanks for another amazing recipe, Angela!
I just took these out of the oven. Made a double batch and added some walnut crumbs for extra brain power and a sprinkling of fine shredded unsweetened coconut on top (It’s snowing here right now and the falling snowflakes made me think of adding coconut)! Couldn’t wait ’til they cooled to try them. Perfect amount of sweetness. And they stay together nicely. Can’t wait to let my kiddos try them tomorrow :) Thanks for the recipe! This is the first I’ve tried of yours and based on these results I’ll definitely be trying more :)
I subbed inca berries for the cherries and added cocoa nibs. Yum! Thank you for another wonderful snack recipe!
This recipe looks amazing and after reading that they also freeze, I’ll certainly be trying. Anything to reduce waste when cooking or baking for one :) but I’m wondering how they’re served once frozen. Cold? Heated? or left out before consumption to thaw?
Just made these; yum! I love how they are not overly sweet, just enough! I happened to have oat flour on-hand, and took a guess that the total volume of flour needed would be slightly less than the volume of rolled oats noted in the recipe. Any advice on how volumes change when converting grains to flours? Thanks!
Today will be the third day I’ve made these. This is one of my go-to snacks during the weekdays. :)
I like them with raisins instead of cranberries. I even made them with sesame seeds once because I didn’t have enough sunflower seeds and they came out just fine!
Thanks Angela! :)
These look great. Can’t wait to start making these with several variations in the nuts/seeds! Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes.
OH MY Yummy Goodness!! I’ve used dates a few times but I will definitely need explore this further. I’ve tried a few different granola bar type recipes but they usually called for a lot of added sugar so I was dissatisfied. Using dates and oat flour? Genius! These are so moist and delish…I was nomming away as soon as they cooled. I did modify a little because I had more dates than necessary and I wanted to use them up. So I just increased the oat flour, added coconut, flax seen and hemp seed, and took a chance on the consistency. Delicious!
OH MY Yummy Goodness!! I’ve used dates a few times but I will definitely need to explore this further. I’ve tried a few different granola bar type recipes but they usually called for a lot of added sugar so I was dissatisfied. Using dates and oat flour? Genius! These are so moist and delish…I was nomming away as soon as they cooled. I did modify a little because I had more dates than necessary and I wanted to use them up. So, in addition to the recipe I just increased the oat flour, added coconut, flax seen and hemp seed, and took a chance on the consistency. Delicious!
I love your recipes. I am just starting to get into the vegetarian life style but am having trouble sourcing some ingredients. Where can I buy sugar free granola, chia seeds, raw pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries in Dublin city centre?
Thank so much.
These sound so delicious! I love all of your “all natural” recipes-so much better than all the store bought granola bars. I just bought a huge tub of deglet noor dates from Costco. Would those work in place of the medjool dates?
Oh no! Made these and they just had a very poor texture (not chewy – almost squishy). Seems like there were too many chia seeds or something was off. First of your recipes that I didn’t enjoy. Maybe needed more dates and fewer chia seeds?
Can you please tell me the calorie, fiber, protein, and sugar information for each bar?
The unbaked mixture is so amazing… I could imagine keeping it in the fridge and adding a bit of coconut milk to a half cup or so and warming for a porridge. I’m wondering if Angela (Feb. 10, 2015) used an 8×8? I did, and they are thicker than the 9×9 pics… thinking this will effect the texture. More dates seems that it would contribute to the squishy-ness, Angela.
I made these for my daughter, and she loves them. She has almost completely given up sugar, except for maple syrup and honey, so these were perfect for her. Plus, they keep her from getting “hangry” in the afternoon–a bonus for everybody!! She also loves your carob almond freezer fudge. That’s one of her favorites.