I’m already starting to think about how I will fuel myself (quickly) after the little bambino arrives this fall. I’m not one who functions well with long periods between meals, so planning in advance is going to be my best ally. The healthier and more balanced, the better I‘m sure I’ll feel. Bring on the healthy, hippie foods, I say! In addition to freezer friendly meals – like veggie burgers and balls, chili, soup, falafel, enchiladas, pasta + pesto sauces, burritos, etc. – I hope to prepare snacks in advance that I can individually wrap and store in the freezer. Things that I can toss into my purse or quickly unwrap when I need a boost will be so handy. Amidst uncertainty, it always feels good to have a back up plan (even if my reality will be take out food more than not).
These lightly-sweet granola bars are a great option because they are only sweetened with bananas and sweetened dried fruit. No sugar crashes here! You could even remove the dried fruit if you really wanted to, but I love how the dried cherries provide a pop of sweetness throughout. But it’s not what the bars don’t have – it’s what they do have. How about hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, rolled oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, banana, and more. These wholesome bars are crunchy, hearty, and chewy in the best way possible. And super filling thanks to the balance of protein, fibre, carbs, and healthy fats. One bar clocks in at 6.6 grams of protein and almost 5 grams of fibre (you can see the complete nutritional info in the recipe below). If you wanted to boost the protein even more, you can increase the hemp seeds (and maybe reduce the sunflower seeds a bit).
For even more staying power, try spreading on some nut or seed butter (with chia seed jam to make it a party!) or even a bit of coconut oil. That’s never a bad idea. Is it snack time yet?
Feel Good Hearty Granola Bars
Yield
14-16 large bars
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Hearty, soft-baked, and chewy, these no-sugar-added granola bars will fill up the tank and keep your energy stable. Feel free to play around with the mix-ins, as the recipe is quite adaptable. Also, if you’re feeding a nut-free crowd, you can easily swap out the walnuts and almonds for more seeds (or chocolate chips, if you’re feeling wild!). This recipe is adapted from Anjali's Oat Snack Bars recipe, which was originally adapted from Faith's 4-Ingredient Banana Oat Bars.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (360 g) mashed ripe banana (about 3 large)
- 1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (200 g) gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup (60 to 90 g) dried cherries, cranberries, or blueberries, to taste*
- 1/2 cup (50 g) walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup (75 g) sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup (80 g) pepita seeds
- 1/2 cup (60 g) sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup (35 g) hemp hearts
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a large rectangular baking dish (approximately 9" x 13") and line with a piece of parchment paper (with overhang) so the bars are easier to remove.
- In a large bowl, mash the banana until smooth. Make sure you have 1 1/2 cups (if you have extra mashed banana, you can freeze it for a smoothie).
- Stir in the vanilla.
- Place the oats into a food processor (or blender set on the lowest speed) and pulse until the oats are coarsely chopped (but still have lots of texture). Stir the chopped oats into the banana mixture until fully incorporated.
- Stir the dried fruit, walnuts, sunflower and pepita seeds, almonds, hemp hearts, cinnamon, and salt into the banana-oat mixture until thoroughly combined. The dough will be very heavy and a bit wet.
- Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish. With lightly wet hands, smooth out until even and uniform. Press down on the dough until compacted.
- Bake for 22 to 26 minutes, until firm and lightly golden along the edges.
- Place the dish on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then carefully slide a knife to loosen the ends and gently lift out. Place the slab on a cooling rack until completely cool.
- Once cool, slice into bars. I like to use a pizza slicer as it easily cuts through the dried fruit and nuts. Leftovers can be wrapped up and stored in the fridge for a week, or stored in the freezer for 4 to 6 weeks.
Tip:
* You can omit the dried fruit and sub in chocolate chips (or add a mix of both).
These bars aren't super sweet, so if you prefer something sweeter you may want to add a touch of sweetener.
To store these in the freezer, wrap the bars individually in parchment paper using 6-inch by 12-inch pieces of parchment, then tie with string or tape to secure. Finally, place all of the bars into a freezer-safe zip bag, press out all the air, and seal it shut. Or, you can simply wrap each bar with plastic wrap or tinfoil.
Approximate nutritional info: (per bar, based on 14 large bars using 1/2 cup dried sweetened cherries): 186 calories, 8.7 grams fat, 22 grams carbs, 4.7 grams fibre, 6 grams sugar, 6.6 grams protein. Without dried cherries, bars have approx. 3.6 grams of sugar and 166 calories.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)PS- The winner of the Vitamix contest has been announced at the bottom of this post! A big thank you to everyone who took part in the #osgcookbook Vitamix giveaway and to Vitamix for donating the machine. I had a blast seeing all your pictures come in over the past 2 weeks.
This look so wonderful and rustic Angela – like the perfect mid-morning or mid-afternoon ‘pick me up’ snack! I can’t wait to try these! I love that you can freeze them in advance for the busy days to come – thanks for the wonderful recipe!
These look delicious!! Do they have to go in the fridge or freezer? We are travelling next week and I would like to make them for the long drives but won’t have access to a fridge or freezer. Thanks :)
Hey Tara,
This is my first time making them so I’m just storing them in the fridge and freezer right now. I do expect they would stay fine at room temp (just don’t let them get too hot) for at least a few days, but not sure on the timing. Happy travels!
Oh my gosh talk about super-seed-powered!! These look amazing and so nutrient dense, perfect for busy days post-baby. Love the twine and paper too – such a cute idea!
Good idea to stock the freezer with snacks! I personally need to eat way more breastfeeding than while pregnant, and it is very nice not to worry about prepping stuff for awhile after babe is born. I found that people tend to bring over meals, but not snacks (or at least not healthy sustaining ones). Your quick and easy protein bars have been one of my go-tos the last couple of weeks, but I’ll try these next!
These sounds awesome, Ange! I made a similar type of bar over the weekend (more as an experiment to see if the bananas would actually hold everything together) and it worked! Love that you’ve used just sweetness from fruit in here. Perfect one-handed snack for when you’ve got a baby in the other one! :)
These look perfect. I’ve been looking for a granola bar that isn’t overly sweetened. Thanks Angela!
I make something similar to keep on hand for snacks and now I can’t wait to give these a try! I love all the add-ins and the fact that they’re sweetened just with fruit. Yum!
These look so incredible! Given my obsession with the Glo Bars, I imagine I will love these just as much! I think I am going to try making these with Medjool dates for some extra sweetness! :)
I’m actually starting to do my post baby food prep today! I’ve already made an awesome list of your recipes that I’m hoping freeze well. Just wondering how you would freeze the enchilada???
You look great btw! Looking forward to more ideas for the freezer.
Phalyn
I haven’t tried it yet, but I do remember readers saying they froze well. Might be worth checking out the comments in that post! If I was going to do it, I would probably freeze the enchiladas with the tomato sauce (but not the avocado sauce – I’d make that fresh) and cover it very well with foil and then put a tight lid on the dish. There’s probably many ways to go about it though!
Have fun with your food prep!
These look superb. :)
Thank you for a recipe that doesn’t need nut butter!!! I’ve been looking for one that can be easily made for my kids lunches which have to be nut free – and sun butter is really hard to find where I am (not to mention expensive!). I can easily sub the walnuts and almonds for something else. (But make as is for when we are at home!)
We made them and they are just as yummy as we hoped! Added chia, flax and chocolate chips in place of the nuts for school. Thank you for a new staple at our house!
These look fantastic! Can´t wait to try them! Just wanted to check how vital the hemp seeds are to the overall bar and amount of protein? I can´t buy them where I live (and can´t get them shipped here, either) so would it be ok if I substituted them with more nuts and seeds? Thank you!!!!!
they do add about 13-ish grams of protein in the 1/4 cup but you can totally sub whatever you want in there. Sesame seeds might be nice :)
These are gorgeous! I looooove homemade granola bars…wish I always had a batch in the house! Also love how you wrapped them, so cute!!
These sound so good! It’s crazy how much sugar is packed into most granola recipes, so the idea of replacing all that with some bananas is pure genius. Can’t wait to try them!
Ooh lala! These look super yummy!
I’d like to thank you, Angela, for being such an inspiration. Making delicious healthy vegan food is a huge passion of mine, and since I started following your blog, I’ve been wanting to capture my own food. But taking a photo with a shitty camera often feels like an insult to my food… Today I finally bought a good camera and can’t wait to learn how to use it properly and start a new adventure!!
I looove your blog <3 Thanks for teaching the world that vegan food (and saving animals!) can be fun and absolutely gorgeous!!
You are so sweet! Thank you, that totally made my day :) Have fun exploring your new camera (don’t be alarmed if it’s frustrating for a while…at least it was for me, but then it gets really fun!)
So excited to see this posted today. Made some already and added chocolate chips and cranberries. :)
I also made some today with chocolate chips and cranberries! Yummy aren’t they. :-)
Hello :) I just want to let you know that I featured you on my recent post “Blog Crushes”. Check it out when you have a chance! ohmyvegan.com
Okay, these are beautiful…and packed full with so many amazing nutrients!
I can’t wait to try them. Thank you!
PS: I love the way you wrapped them up! Too cute.
Love it! I bet you can’t wait to meet your little one in the Fall. How sweet :)
Oh man! These are definitely feel good bars! Love!