Healthy Granola Bars
No-Bake, healthy granola bars packed with heart-healthy ingredients and naturally sweetened with Medjool dates.
Equipment
Food Processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup Medjool dates
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup shelled pistachios
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup almonds chopped
- ½ cup pecans chopped
- ⅛ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp chia seeds
- ⅛ cup honey (sub with extra maple syrup for vegan)
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter or tahini
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small bowl soak dates in water for 10 minutes and drain. Remove pits from dates.
- Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper, allowing easy removal of bars. Set pan aside.
- Process dates in a food processor until it forms a soft consistency.
- To a medium-size bowl add the oats, nuts, dried fruit, and chia seeds, mix well.
- To the oat mixture add the processed dates, and set aside.
- In a small saucepan over low heat add the maple syrup, honey, and peanut butter (or tahini). Add vanilla and stir until sauce is incorporated.
- Pour warm sauce over oat mixture and mix. Add mini chips and mix again.
- Once thoroughly mixed add the mixture to the prepared pan. Press the granola mixture down in the pan until flattened and firmly packed.
- Cover with additional parchment paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from pan and cut into bars. We stored the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator to keep them fresh for a week.
Notes
To make these bars Vegan sub the honey for extra maple syrup or agave and use cocoa nibs or Vegan chocolate chips instead of regular chocolate chips.
Recipe adapted from https://minimalistbaker.com/healthy-5-ingredient-granola-bars/
Nutrition
Calories: 293kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 7gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 36mgPotassium: 317mgFiber: 5gSugar: 24gVitamin A: 48IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 60mgIron: 1mg
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