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.
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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 325°F 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 325°F 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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These look delicious! I just recently found your blog and I love it! I am trying to have more of a plant based diet.
Homemade granola bars are the best! These sound soooo scrumptious!
I love love love how dense, soft, and extra chewy these look! I love the title you originally came up with :) They look absolutely perfect. Many baked bars get really dry or cakey or crumbly – not these!! pinned
Your creativity never ceases to amaze me! And now I’m hungry…
Oh yum. These bars look wonderfully dense. I actually kind of started salivating when you used the term “doughy”. Can’t wait to try these!
Hi Angela,
I subscribed to your newsletter a couple months ago but haven’t rec’d any emails to confirm or anything. I tried entering again to make sure & it said email address already used. So I’m subscribed but haven’t rec’d anything………Please advise – thanks!!
Cindy
A heaping of nut butter spread over the top of these bars sounds perfect! Can’t wait to try them!
Wow, these look delicious and so healthy. I often resort to an apple and nut butter for every snack so this looks like a tasty idea for some change! Easy to pack to work, as well. Thanks for the recipe, Angela!
These look absolutely fabulous and right up my alley for an energy/protein bar, Angela! I am sure I am in the minority here, but I’ve been disappointed that your latest round of giveaways is only open to social media subscribers. How about an option for those very few of us who don’t belong to facebook, etc.? An email option would be much appreciated — I’d appreciate the opportunity to participate as well (though I am a subscriber to your cookbook related newsletter, but haven’t received any communications from you at any time.)
These are my kind of granola bar. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Angela,
A very healthy and tasty looking recipe. I agree, dates are a great whole food sweetener. This morning I made a brown rice breakfast pudding that was sweetened with dates and raisins. It was quite delicious.
May all beings be happy and free
Anne (vegangrammieannie.blogspot.ca)
These looks amazing! I love home made treats that are healthy.
Thanks for sharing these granola bars! I’m always looking for a delicious substitute for the over processed grocery store version. I’ve made some before but never with dates – can’t wait to try your recipe!
Ah! I love the other title! I’m the same way with words. This looks great for a hike (as soon as it warms up, that is…) Thanks!
These look great. Is there an alternative to the date paste? Maybe pumpkin. I cannot have the high agar in the dates. Thanks!
Thank you sooooo much Angela! Finding a healthy museli bar I can bake has been a top priority for me this week. I’ve recently changed my family over to gluten – free eating. Here in Australia the school year is about to start so I have been determined to find a museli bar recipe for my hungry 3 boys that’s healthy and nut-free as our schools here have banned nuts (most of the schools anyway). I’m very interested to see how it works out cost wise too. Thank you so much for making this busy mum’s life easier! Not just this week either). I discovered I was gluten intolerant back in August/September. Your blog brought me out of my time of grief and despair over never being able to eat “yummy” food again. How wrong I was! Thank you for inspiration and for showing us how exciting “real” and healthy food can actually be.
Thanks for your kind words Sharon! I appreciate it. Let me know how it goes!
These look great, have saved the recipe :)
Sophie
what-sophie-said.blogspot.co.uk/
xxx
I eat homemade granola bars almost everyday, seriously. I am always switching them up with the help of your recipes and others. Thank you for another version! :)
Yum and thanks! We have been going sugar free with the exception of whole foods like fruit, so dates have been our go-to. Such a great loophole!! I agree with the one craisin/cranberry comment-they are loaded with sugar, so I’m going to try them with raisins instead. Looking forward to it!
Hi there!! LOVE your recipes!! I might have missed it, but what’s the breakdown of calories, protein, fiber etc..??
as a rough estimate the bars are around 3 g protein, 3.5 g fibre, and 115 calories if making 12 bars. Hope this helps!
Also can you tell us grams of sugar? and of carbs, please? Thanks!