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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Recipe looks great, but I must ask what is/are the advantage(s) of using gluten-free oats (or gluten-free anything, for that matter) if one does not have symptoms of celiac disease? Aside from addressing celiac disease, I see no clinically supported reason to avoid gluten. I’m open to going this route, but I’d like more practical information on this trend. Thanks!
My husband and kids and getting bored of the current granola bars I make so I want to give these a try! Do you know where to buy (or what brand) sells unsweetened dried cranberries? Thanks!
These just didn’t do it for me. Bland and unappetizing. I was so looking forward to them, too.
These look delicious but I struggle to understand how you can call them sugar free when they use dates? Dates are packed with sugar.
Hi Maddy, It means the recipe is free of processed or added sugars, not natural sugars which occur in fruit. Hope this helps!
Excellent recipe.. simple and elegant just like any creative dish should be. Great to share!
For 10 Bars…
Calories 97 Calories from Fat 28
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3.1g5%
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 1mg0%
Total Carbohydrates 16.1g5%
Dietary Fiber 2.7g11%
Sugars 8.7g
Protein 2.6g
Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 1%
Calcium 3% • Iron 7%
Nutrition Grade B-
Was wondering if you have nutrition info on these, even if only calories!
THanks! Sue
I so want to make these bars but being a diabetic, dates and raisins are a big NO NO for me. Angela would you have any suggestions as to a replacement for the dates?
Have transitioned to plant based eating. These recipes are wonderful. Thank you
Most dried cranberries sold in the grocery store have a sugar coating. Where do we find ones without?
I come here often and totally pre ordered the book, can’t wait to have it in the kitchen! I actually had all this stuff in the kitchen and made these today, so easy and delicous. I subbed golden raisins for the cranberries. They firmed up just fine and have a great texture – almond butter on top was fabulous! Plus it will be a great breakfast for my track star son, bonus! Thank you for this wonderful site.
And as Dan said:
“Recipe looks great, but I must ask what is/are the advantage(s) of using gluten-free oats (or gluten-free anything, for that matter) if one does not have symptoms of celiac disease? Aside from addressing celiac disease, I see no clinically supported reason to avoid gluten. I’m open to going this route, but I’d like more practical information on this trend. Thanks!”
Everywhere I look I see “gluten free” so often that I’m starting to think I should avoid gluten too, even though I don’t have celiac disease. I have to avoid dairy, yeast and sugar and processed foods, due to a full body candida yeast infection, but I don’t have celiac disease. Does this mean I can use regular flour with baking soda, for example?
Appreciate any info from anyone. Gracias.
Does anyone know how substitutions are on this? Could I use quinoa and popped amaranth with a fig paste? I need to cook to a specific diet.
Also when I searched out sugar free I was hoping for a binder/additions that weren’t fruit. Any sugar has to be cut back hard.
Hi Angela – I already have oat flour. How much flour does the 3/4 cup of rolled oats give when ground? Sorry if this is a silly question or if I’ve missed the info in the post, but I want to get the recipe right. :) Thanks!
It’s a straight conversion – one cup of oats makes one cup of oat flout.
Hi Angela,
Dates are hard to come by in my neck of the woods. I assume you use them to glue the whole thing together. Any suggestions on substitutes for the dates? Dried plums? Since I don’t like nutbutter in any form, I am really looking forward to try these out.
Thanks
J
I am trying to find a recipe for a bar that mimics one I bought at Costco and devoured the entire box in 2 weeks.
What I’m looking for:
Soft and chewy texture
Use of dates and/or prunes and/or raisins for sweetness
Will hold up to the addition of nuts/seeds/ chocolate chips (The ones I bought were white chocolate macadamia!!!)
No use of nut butters
Can add protein powder
The recipe you share above hits all but the protein powder, and I’m wondering if you’ve tried adding it, and how you would adjust the liquid to accommodate?
Thanks!!
These are incredible! They are essentially a Lara bar, but cost about 1/4 the price. I lead a healthy cooking club at the middle/high school where I teach, and it was amazing to find a granola bar recipe with no added fat or sugar AND no nuts (we have some allergies) that the kids could make easily and enjoy. Of course, I promptly went home and made a quadruple batch for myself! Thanks– I will be passing this one along to many people! Any idea of weight watcher points (I’d like to share with my mom!)?
Yum! Finally got around to making these! :D I’m a huge fan of your previous Chia Bread recipe (in fact, it’s the first of your recipes that I tried!) So when you posted this back at the beginning of January I was very excited to try a sweet version!
I followed the recipe except I subbed the cranberries for dried blueberries (I just can’t abide cranberries. DX Wish I liked them, but I just don’t) and doubled the cinnamon. Sliced them into 12 and enjoyed one straight out of the oven. It tastes so awesome plain, and it’s also wonderful topped with strawberry jam. Thanks for posting this, I’ll be making this — as well as the original Chia Bread — many many times. :D This’ll especially make a great pre-run or work snack :D
This is yummy but I thought it was too soft, more like a stiff date square filling. I keep the leftovers in the freezer and it oddly doesn’t freeze, just perfect out of the freezer for eating. It is also a bit too sweet for me. If I try it again I would add more oats to stiffen and reduce the sweetness. Anne
These are the best bars ever!
I made them a while ago, but I am super excited to make them again :)