Super Seedy Granola Bars

Made these today and can’t believe how tasty they are, just wow! Will take them to work to have as breakfast each morning with my coffee.

Please state that the Chia seeds need to be soaked and not raw. I had a reaction yesterday (see ok Instagram hayleyreflux2019 – not good as I used them raw and they made my oesophagus swell! I didn’t know you couldn’t use raw Chia seeds. Needs to state this

Hayley

Made these today but added goji berries and cranberries, my wife and I are addicted. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

Gary & Carmen
Kalgoorlie
Western Australia

These were good but would not stick together !!! My dates were very sticky and I ended up adding about 3/4 cup of peanut butter and 1/2 cup of maple syrup to get them to stay “sort of “ together ☹️

Can we eliminate hemp seeds ?

This recipe sounds incredible! Can you use dry roasted almonds instead of raw?

I’m making these today for my boyfriend as he just LOVES nut bars!

Thanks in advance ♥️

Could i replace the dates with prunes?

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Hi Dana,
What would be a healthy gluten-free “glue” for sunflower and sesame seed bites, with no sweetener? (Dairy-free would be great, too.) I would like to make something similar to Somersaults sunflower seed crunchy bites, which are more of a savory, salty snack.
Thanks!

These bars look absolutely fantastic. Beautiful photos, too. I look forward to trying this. My wife would love it!

if i don’t have almond butter (or any nut butter), can i change it with coconut oil? Thanks

Holy moly! Made these for an upcoming road trip and have to restrain myself from eating them all before the actual trip! Delicious. A perfect healthy, portable snack for someone like me who has food sensitivities and can’t grab any old thing at a gas station! Plus who would want a store brand bar after tasting these babies? Thanks Dana!

Hi! May I just check if it’s alright to leave out the hemp seeds? :)

I just made these after having this recipe saved on Pinterest for a long time!
They are so amazingly delish….I am probably going to eat them all myself within the next few days. An awesome sweet treat for me that I can feel good about eating. Thank you so much!

I made these today and the were delicious. I didn’t have any flax seeds so i replaced with pepitas and since being in australia hemp seeds are illegal so i replaced with desicated coconut. They are very peanutty but very nice. Well done!

These bars are so delicious and great for people trying to eat more non-processed foods! Only complaint is the little seeds get everywhere when you eat them but they’re totally worth the nutrition! I tried the five-ingredient bars and loved those too.

I love what’s in this recipe. Can I replace or add protein powder to this recipe to make it high protein? If so, how would I do that?

Made these with the almond butter and maple syrup. Really tasty and will make again. Highly recommend.

These were ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. I’m vegan and I eat extra-clean and healthy, so I won’t be using these as a snack or a treat, but as the perfect food to bring along when I’m out hiking, or on those days when I need a light meal to have before a 6 PM film or class. I made them without any sweetener, because I feel that dates are already very sweet, and I added some raw hulled hemp seeds and some toasted coconut. This is the best recipe I’ve ever found online: no fat, no stupid empty carbs, nothing artificial, and no need to add any sweetener. Thank you for this!

Quick question Dana, I don’t own a food processor? What can I do or add to modify that step? Just add more peanut butter? One of you newest followers, Sheila

This was gorgeous. Lots of leftover seeds and nuts too. A bit sweet for my taste but I wager that’s easily fixed next time.

Thank you kindly for this recipe and all your others. :)

I love this recipe! Thinking of adding some plant protein powder for some extra morning boost. Would that throw the recipe off? Maybe adding more almond butter to hold it all together better?

Love these! I added toasted walnuts and sesame seeds, and cut the into 15 pieces. They kept very well in a covered container in the fridge for over a week. I will make these again, having fun with variations!

I would love to make these for an upcoming trip but wonder about the oats. I can’t have oats even GF ones but it seems all the recipes I find have oats?

I need to send these on a camping trip – will they stay together unrefrigerated? Do you have a cooked bar with eggs which I could make? I am looking to make something low glycemic, high protein/fat for diabetics who are hiking.

Hi these sound delicious but can I substitute different seeds for the ones I can’t find locally?

Hey! I’m excited to try these. Question first: are they more chewy or crunchy? I’m more looking for soft & chewy because I have bad teeth.

Hello! Thank you for your recipe

I was wondering if I could substitute dates with prunes.
I’m very excited to prepare my first home-made bars!

There seems to be no instruction on adding the seeds.

I’ve made these a handful of times and they’re delicious! However, I’d like to make them for someone who doesn’t like chia seeds. Can I substitute flax meal for the chia seeds? If so, how much should I use? Or should I just leave them out? Thanks!

I found this recipe while trolling the internet for “chia bars” and made them this weekend.
I followed the recipe to the letter except, the only item didn’t have in my pantry was hemp seeds, I subbed hemp powder and it worked out fine. These were delicious and I will definitely a make them again.

Made these for my very fussy eating daughter and she loves them, me too. Thanks so much.

I have prepared several versions of these, incorporating coconut, apricots, and even chocolate (unsweetened, of course!) These are delicious – and very forgiving to make.

These are delicious. I left out chia seeds because I didn’t have them, used regular peanut butter because it’s what was in the pantry and I replaced 1/4 cup of the oats with quinoa (which I also toasted) because I love quinoa. They turned out really nice. Maybe a bit sweet for me but I think next time I will use the natural peanut butter or almond butter that’s called for to help with the sweetness. Thanks!

This is the exact same recipe Nigella Lawson had on her show.

Thank you for sharing.

Oh My gosh.. sounds so good. Definitely making these.. I don;t have any dates?

My favorite bars yet! My kids will eat anything I give them, but my husband is tough to convince when I’m trying to substitute a store bough conventional item, like granola bars. He loved these! I used pumpkin seeds instead of sunflower seeds because it’s what I had. These are so delicious. Mine still fall apart a little, but not like other bars. And if they’re kept frozen or really cold they don’t fall apart at all. So when you say you throw one in your bag for a snack….does it fall apart once warmed up or do you keep it cold on ice?

Thanks for the great recipe!

These are fantastic!! My sister said they were the best granola bars she’s ever had!!

Just made it this morning. It was so great! I have to watch my blood sugar level so this will foot the bill. I think I’ll add the dark cinnamon powder from Costco to it next time to help with blood sugar. Thanks so much for this recipe! Regards, Henry
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Oh my goodness.
My kids, husband, friends devoured these bars and couldn’t believe how moist, chewy, delicious they were for being oh so simple.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us and making our family eat better!!! :)

These were amazing! I love granola bars but I will never buy anymore after trying this easy and delicious recipe! I too keep snacks with me at all times and they are usualy some type of granola bar. These keep in the freezer well and I can basically put anything into these bars!! 5 stars from me!

If you don’t like dates, what can be used instead to create the glue effect.

I currently make a granola bar that is similar, but uses honey, oil and packed brown sugar melted to a boil for the glue effect, but of course want to make a healthier version.

These look amazing

This is a great base recipe that takes alterations beautifully. My favorite is adding toasted coconut and cardamom for a little South Asian flair. YUMMY!

Hands down, the BEST granola bars I have ever made. I’ve tried again and again and they never came out quite right. But these are PERFECT. It’s like eating a candy bar. The one thing I am going to try next time is double up on the nut butter in place of the sweetener. I love that I can mix and match seeds and nuts. Thank you so much for this!

Amaaazing! I didn’t think my husband would like them as he likes the sugary chocolate dipped ones, so I made it for myself as a post-workout snack. Hubby mentioned how good it smelled in the kitchen and later he helped himself while the bars were cooling down in the fridge. I will not be buying granola bars from the store anymore! Thank you!

I’ve made these for when I was travelling with my boyfriend. They were a total hit. Super easy and super delicious! I was surprised by how well they sticked together. Just like a store bought granola bad. Now I need to try your other granola bars as well. Thank you!

These are literally to die for! Just made them and lovvveeee them. I used natural maple syrup – most amazing flavor. I added pepitas and cacao nibs and it just tasted divine. I have been searching for the perfect granola bars that actually taste amazing and I’ve found them! Thanks :).

I made these bars and they taste delicious (as do your 5 ingredient granola bars)! Next time I think I will add more oats, because they seem to need some more dry ingredients…love your recipes!

These were so easy and so good!! I like that this recepie is so flexible with ingredients that I already have. I added pumpkin seeds instead of flax and added 1/4 cup of raisins because I was low on dates. They turned out amazing! I love your recipes because of their simplicity and with making healthy meals and choices!

Great!

I’d like to share what I did different. And in the same breath say thank you, everything turned out really nice.

As you suggested, I soaked my dates, I think this helped a lot in keeping things “together.” I also added a hand full of raisins to the dates and then ground it all up in the food processor.

The oats I toasted in a skillet, for me, it is quicker, and I get a little more control. The almonds I did in the stove, but in the future I think starting with the oats in a skillet and then when the timing is right, add the almonds (almond slivers for mine).

Another step I added was to do a quick pulse of the oats and almonds in the Food processor (before you do the dates and raisins), dry before wet. I think this helped keep everything together. Also added a handful of walnuts (my love :) at this point in the journey.

While warming the honey and peanut butter on the stove, I added a “pinch” of salt. About a 1/4 tsp to it.

I followed your directions fairly closely, and it all came together very nicely, I like the crunch of those little chia seeds :)

Everything is cooling now so in a few minutes I get to partake, yum.

These look terrific and I’m going to make some! The only thing is that I think you should include some text about how these are very (VERY) calorie dense bars. This is fine if you do a lot of exercise – perfect in fact for after running or a weight session, however if you don’t do exercise then they should be eaten in moderation!

Thank you so much for this recipe! I made a batch of these before a long vacation and they saved us so many times – they were perfect for preventing mid-afternoon hanger and we ate them for breakfast a few times when we were travelling and didn’t want to have to give in to getting something else unhealthy from a coffee shop. They traveled really well for over a week just wrapped in some plastic wrap, although I did accidentally smush a few in my suitcase (still yummy!).

We used almond butter, along with extra roasted pecans and pumpkin seeds to replace flax and hemp b/c we didn’t have them on hand. Getting the oats, nuts & seeds toasty made them over the top delicious when combined with the sweet dates & maple syrup.

These look amazing but I don’t have a food processor. I recently bought a Ninja Professional do you think that will work?

My husband turned vegan earlier this year and I tried this recipe out. The only difficulty I had was converting the measurements into grams and ml (and this is the metric we use in the UK mostly) but once I worked that out, these bars were quick and ready to make. Oh, and completely delicious. Thanks, and keep sharing more recipes please :-)

We’ve made these numerous times and my BF absolutely loves them. Way better than store bought. I was slacking for a bit and he actually asked me to make them for him (which he never full out asks for anything). The only thing I do differently is add plums/dates and craisens instead of just dates. They are so good.

These are AMAZING. We are a nut free house and largely alkaline, so we use soy nut or sunflower butter with the agave with whatever array of seeds and coconut, oats, etc we have on hand. My 4 and 6 year old beg for these. So healthy and delicious!! We love them. Thank you for this great recipe!

Thank you. Have been looking for an easy and healthy snack for lunch boxes and this is fab. Kids keep asking for more and hubby and I love them too ? delicious

I’ve been looking at making my own healthy superfood breakfast bars for a while now and I think I’ve found the ultimate recipie…. Thank you!! I added some of my own twists like others. The one I wanted to share was that I only had dried chopped dates, but wanted to give this a go. So, combining a tip from another recipie I soaked my dates in Earl Grey for the day while I was at work. This also meant I didn’t have to chop them up and get another gadget out. Anyway, it worked a treat and I’m dead chuffed with the end result!! Thank you so much!!

This recipe was the last in a list of recipes I tried for some kind of “bar” snack, and it was my favorite. I used walnuts only and substituted flax and hemp for pepitas and added cranberries and coconut. Yowza! I made a double batch and shipped half to a friend who went bonkers over them (now I am committed to always make double and send him half). I love that, as long as the basics are met, you can improvise with what ever nuts, seeds, or other additions you want as long as you don’t add so much they don’t stick together. I wrap each bar in wax paper so I can just throw it in my purse pocket, and it works great. I have also made balls with them.

Is there something I can use as a substitute for peanut butter or almond butter? I’m not a fan of either. Thanks

Just made these and they are currently sitting in the fridge setting, so excited to eat them all up!

I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for coming up with this recipe! It came out perfectly and held together like a real granola bar. My 1-year old is a fan, my husband asked me if I really did make it myself (after eating 2 bars in succession). I hardly ever comment in blogs but I really love yours. It looks amazing, the recipes work and you make healthy eating so simple!

Excited to try these! Do you think I could sub pumpkin seeds for sunflower seeds, or would that change the consistency? Also thinking of adding cranberries to make it a harvest-y type bar!

Ooe thanks so much for this !
I just made my batch, can’t wait to use it as a hiking snack :D
My bar basics were the same. Just subbed the dates with cranberries, and the combining aid with a spot of honey and a wee bit of caramel left from baking (yeah yeah a little cheat hehe)
Can’t wait to have a nibble !

Oh my!! Before they even cooled I was licking my fingers — these are AMAZING!! I added toasted coconut and used macadamia nuts instead of almonds. MMmmmmm. I think this is my new breakfast.
Thank you so much, I can’t wait to try more of your recipes!

These are delicious and so easy to make

I was wondering if I could use quinoa instead of hemp? I would it work the same?

Hello! I’m planning to give this recipie a shot tomorrow. I wonder, how do you store them and long does they hold? I really love your blog and I’m so exited for doing these bars because they look FANTASTIC!

These are AMAZING. I never add the honey as I’m not much of a sweet tooth so with just the dates it’s already too sweet for me. But seriously, I could eat these for the rest of my life! Sooooo good.

SUPER delish! I added 4 figs to the date mixture, 2TBS of unsweetened coconut and 1TBS of mini chocolate chips to the seed mixture.

I exchanged Jerusalem artichoke for shave and added a touch of coconut butter. Tum. Thank you for the great directions.

Yup just tryed this one too! Found the site a week ago and made about 5 recipes so far! This one is great! Me and my kids loved them!

i’m going to make these to take on our vacation which will include lots of hiking!
they will be coming on an airplane with us. after i make them, should i just wrap them in plastic wrap individually and freeze? then when we arrive should i refreeze and take out as needed or just refrigerate?
thank you!

I made these today and they are wonderful! They have just the right amount of sweetness. I followed the recipe exactly with two small additions: about a tbsp of sesame seeds (can’t have enough seeds, right?) and a tsp of cinnamon. Those were just to suit my taste. I’m sure they’re just as lovely as is. Thanks for this great recipe!

They look yummy! GF also.

What can you add to this recipe so they are not so crumbly. I like them chewy. Any suggestions.
Thank you.

Hi Dana! I am back in KS so sad you are not here anymore. Hope you are loving Portland.

You commented that you freeze your granola bars. To eat them how do you defrost them?

Thank you! Like always awesome posts! you guys are the best.

Honestly, you can just skip the agave. They are delish as is (with a drizzle of maple syrup or raw honey). I find the dates offer enough sweetness that you don’t need any other sweetner. Yummy and so amazing as a post exercise snack. Thank you!

I made these and they are VERY GOOD! Who knew I could make granola bars? I’d never puréed dates or toasted oats before either so I feel quite accomplished. I used pumpkin seeds instead of hemp seeds, and I actually added a few walnuts, cashews & peanuts. For the “agave nectar or maple syrup”, I used 1/8 cup each. I used peanut butter, and added sea salt since my PB doesn’t have salt. The bars are all things that you describe them as being! Thank you!

These are my family’s favorite homemade granola bars! I’ve made them numerous times and they always go super quick. I didn’t have any dates last time so I just substituted raisins and they were just as yummy. Thanks for sharing, your pictures are amazing by the way…makes me want to go have a granola bar right now!

I made these granola bars, although they were tasty they were quite crumby. I did add extra nuts, would this be the problem? Should I add more dates or peanut butter to make them stickier?

:D

I made some modifications using what I had on hand, because I was so anxious to make these. I love the 5 ingredient granola bar too! I used raisins for the dates, maple syrup, an quinoa for the flax and hemp. They are delicious! I’m licking the sticky spoon. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.

Made these tonight and I’m in love! So easy, filled with so many wonderful ingredients, and a lot cheaper to make than the junk they sell at the grocery store. It helps that I can buy all the ingredients at my local bulk food store:) I’m truly in love with your blog.

These are a staple in our home now. Also wanted to share that I ran a marathon yesterday, and chopped one of these bad boys up into smaller chunks, wrapped it in plastic wrap and carried it to help fuel me. Worked like a charm! I’m always on the lookout for something that will work well for training/race day but isn’t a synthetic nasty gel.

Hello! I don’t have a good processor, but was wondering if I could use my blender instead? I have both a large container and a small bullet-like container that I could blend in. Thanks!

Just want to say it looks delicious! It is the first time I visit the site, really liked the idea and the recipes. (:

These are nice and satisfying! the dough took a bit of work to get everything incorporated but it was well worth the effort! Yum-o!

Thank you for a great recipe! I made these the other week and LOVE them! Can’t wait to try more variations.

heyy,

I am pre-diabetic and I cannot have a lot of sugar that are in dates. Do you have any low sugar substitutions? More pb?

Thanks!

These are delicious but very crumbly. I haven’t been able to find brown rice syrup where I live. I was wondering if you could bake them and if you think that would help them hold together.

These are sooooo good. I used a little less honey than the recipe called for, and it’s still super sweet. You definitely need to have a good food processor to process the dates. I love my food processor, but even it had a hard time with this. My picky husband loves them too!

Woke up this morning and was determined to try again. “Where is my baking sheet pan?”

Oh. Cooled in the oven. With the toasted almonds and oats from last night.

Now everything turned out perfectly! Thanks again for the recipe. Humbled but grateful.

Change “healing” to “heaping” — sorry!

Hello and thank you! I made them tonight. I did have a problem though — they were extremely gooey and not able to cut them. I did not alter the recipe. Maybe I packed the healing cup of dates too densely.

The outcome was like fruit roll up texture.

I triple checked the indgredient and process but for sure I did something wrong.

Any ideas?

do you think i could use prunes instead of dates?

Hey Dana!

Can I make do without the agave nectar?

I seriously have to stop making these! I ate half the pan today, so delicious! My hubby and kids love them too, when they can tear them away from me! ;0)

I have made your 5 ingredient granola bars twice now, and was excited to try your recipe for the seedy type. Alas, I had only a scant 1/4 cup of dates! I made them anyway, using toasted oats and almonds, chia seeds, and ground flax meal along with tahini and maple/agave syrup. Then I put them in the freezer. Well, they were quite tasty, but even the freezing didn’t help them stick together the way dates do. So, what did I do with a plate of large crumbles? Add almond milk! Yes, your granola bars are just as tasty–if not tastier–as granola cereal!

Thank you!

Just made these and can’t believe how quick it was to make a batch! So I turned around and made a second one immediately :) Did not have hemp but added roasted coconut chips to one batch and used honey instead of agave. The variations like you mention are endless. Thanks for the recipe Dana!

These bars are soooo good. You’re right, I can’t stop eating them. I knew that would be the case as I’ve made your chocolate chip almond butter version a couple of times before. Delicious. Thanks for another great recipe!

Any suggestions for replacing almonds that is nut free for my son?

Thanks

There is way too much sweetener in these for my taste. I made an altered version using just dates and it tasted healthy….. or maybe just a little bland. For a doubled batch, 1/4 corn syrup or aguave is sufficient.

Also I would suggest baking longer than recommended (30-40 min) and covering surface with aluminum foil. The foil keeps the moisture in the mix and forces it into the dry grain. Also I process half the oats into flours. Granola is a little obsession of mine.

I’m making these today, I love anything with extra seeds and you’ve got 4 different ones here, awesome! I may sub brown rice syrup for agave

thanks for sharing a great recipe ;)

I made these TWICE this week. Haha. That’s how good they are! They’re a perfect refuel snack after cycling to work. Thank you for a fantastic recipe :) Yum yum yum!

Could I use raisins instead of dates?

These are amazing!! I used a combo of walnuts and pecans–yum
Our new favorite bars
Love your site too :)

these look so, so, sooo good, yum!
xo, cheyenne

Since discovering your blog a few months ago I feel like I pin 75% of your recipes – they all look so good and easy! This is especially noticeable after vacation when I’m catching up on my blog reading! Thanks for another fantastic recipe and for ignoring my stalker-ish tendencies!

Just made these, delicious! I think next time I might cut the sweetener in half and sub in some dried fruit… Cherries could be good!

LOVE the ways these look, especially the way the turn out so perfectly imperfect! The photography highlights their simplicity and beauty – better than any bar you could get at the store, these are going on my “to-cook” list for sure!

I would just like to thank you for making my family’s switch to a plant-based whole foods lifestyle a bearable one. I frequent your website often to get recipes when I need a guilt free sweet fix, which I, with slight guilt, must admit happens about every six days. I live in Joplin, MO, and actually teach a class to educate people on how getting back to their kitchen will help improve the quality of their lives’ and health. This month’s class will feature snack foods both sweet and savory, and all of my sweet recipes will be straight from your site (giving credit for your minimalist genius on every recipe print out, of course). Thank you again for all that you do here!
Sincerely,
Fan for life :)

What a perfect snack!! They look great!!

I like everything about these except the agave. (I’ve read everywhere that it’s basically highly processed fructose. True agave syrup as used in S. American cultures is not the sweet stuff sold here.) I’m going to try these with home made coconut sweetened condensed milk made with organic maple syrup. YUM!

As I’m sitting here eating almonds I’m dying to make these. I’ve been looking for granola bars to make for hiking and biking while vacationing in the Colorado Mountains. These look perfect!!!

I love granola bars (especially when travelling) and these look tasty and so satisfying Dana!
Pinned!!