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- Opt for soy-free chocolate to make this recipe soy-free.
- These bars are great for when you’re on the go.
Quinoa Energy Bars
Full recipe: sovegan.co/quinoaPosted by So Vegan on Tuesday, 26 March 2019
Quinoa Energy Bars
Serves: 12 bars
Prep Time:
Cooking Time:
Nutrition facts:
200 calories
20 grams fat
Rating: 5.0/5
( 1 voted )
Ingredients
8 medjool dates
- 2 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 45g (1.6oz) pumpkin seeds
- 100g (3.5oz) almonds
- 120g (4.2oz) raw quinoa
- 100g (3.5oz) oats
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 tbsp almond butter
- 100g (3.5oz) dark chocolate, 70%
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan / 400°F. Line the base and sides of a square 7-inch baking tin with baking paper.
- Transfer the medjool dates to a small bowl, cover with roughly 1 cup of hot water straight from the kettle and set to one side to soak while you do the next steps.
- Transfer the sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, quinoa and oats to a large baking tray, and then roast them in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Drain the medjool dates, reserving the water, then remove and discard the stones. Add the dates to a blender along with the chia seeds, 150ml (5fl.oz) of the reserved date water and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth, then transfer to a large mixing bowl along with the toasted nuts and seeds, the melted coconut oil, vanilla extract and almond butter. Stir everything until fully combined.
- Pour the mixture into the lined baking tin and even it out by pushing down with a little baking paper until the mixture is compact.
- Add the dark chocolate to a metal or glass bowl, then place the bowl over a saucepan containing 2cm (approx. 1 inch) of hot water and bring the water to a gentle simmer on a low heat (make sure the water level isn’t high enough so it’s contact with the bowl). Stir the chocolate occasionally. Once it has melted completely (this will take 3-5 minutes), remove the bowl from the heat. Pour the chocolate over the energy bar mixture and tilt the baking tin to ease the chocolate to the edges.
- Leave to one side for roughly 1 hour or until the chocolate sets.
- Slice into 12 bars and store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
Nutritional information per bar: Calories 261 / Total Fat 16.4g / Sat Fat 5.5g / Carbohydrate 26.8g / Sugars 11.1g / Sodium 26.7mg / Fiber 6g / Protein 6.4g
24 Comments
Where do you buy almond butter from ?
Thank you
Hey Victoria. You should be able to find almond butter from most supermarkets. If not, you can use peanut butter!
Where do you buy almond butter from ?
Would peanut butter work as an alternative?
Yes definitely! We often use peanut butter in our energy bars and it’s lovely!
Hej don’t you need to wash the quinoa beforehand? That’s what it as told.
Hey Anna. It really depends on what quinoa you buy. The version we buy from a supermarket is already washed and we use it raw in this recipe, so it’s fine to just throw straight in. But if you buy it from a bulk market, for example, you might want to rinse it first to remove any bits that sometimes collect in it. Hope that helps!
Sorry this might be a silly question, does it have to medjool dates? I can get a different type of pitted date from my local shop. Are your dates really dry and is that why you soak them or can I soak any date even if it’s already quite sticky and wet?
Thanks
Hey Vic! No it’s not a silly question. You can definitely use a different type of date. Medjool dates have a deeper and more ‘caramely’ flavour, so we try to use them as much as possible. But they can be trickier to find and they are also more expensive, so occasionally we go for different varieties. We soak the dates so they blend super smooth into the mixture, and you can apply this method to any type of date. Hope that helps!
Would love to make these, but cannot eat dates. Is there anything else I can substitute with? I wondered if carrot puried would work? Many thanks
Hey June. Puried carrot could work! We haven’t tried this, but the consistency should be similar. The only thing it will be missing is the ‘sticky’ consistency you get from dates, so try adding something else if the mixture doesn’t combine as well i.e. more chia seeds or possible more coconut oil.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have so much white quinoa at home and I’m not overwhelmed by the cooked version, this was an amazing use of the little seeds! I didn’t have either dates, almonds or almond butter but made it instead with raisins (blended with water like in the recipe), homemade peanut butter à la minute 😉 and normal roasted salted peanuts. I have so far only tasted the mixture but it tastes amaaaazing, and I’m gonna make sure to save this recipe for the future. Thanks again!
Hi! This looks amazing!
Silly question.. will the quinoa be still hard after those ten minutes in the oven? Hubby is scare they’ll be to hard to chew
Hey Elena! Good question (it’s not a silly one at all!). The quinoa will still have a crunch to it, but it won’t be hard to chew. It adds a lovely crunchy texture.
So excited to make these! Has anyone freezes them?
Hi Christie, we haven’t tried freezing these but it should work. Best, Roxy
I made these but with peanut butter instead and just mixed nuts instead of any seeds then added in coconut flakes and raisins and they are AMAZING!! thank you so much! 🙂
I Made as you! i’m so exited to eat thus afternoon!
Hi! how do you calculate the nutritional information? how can i do it?
What kind of peanut butter can I substitute, the natural one where you have to stir in the oil that separates or the creamy, no stir type? Thank you for answering
Hey Rama. Either would work, but we’d recommend the natural one which usually has a better balance of flavour and isn’t too sweet. Just make sure you stir it so it’s not too thick, like you suggest. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have so much white quinoa at home and I’m not overwhelmed by the cooked version, this was an amazing use of the little seeds! I didn’t have either dates, almonds or almond butter but made it instead with raisins (blended with water like in the recipe), homemade peanut butter à la minute and normal roasted salted peanuts. I have so far only tasted the mixture but it tastes amaaaazing, and I’m gonna make sure to save this recipe for the future. Thanks again!
Raw quinoa is like eating gravel, doesnt matter if you toast it 10 minutes in the oven
Would like to know about the shelf life and storage.