Chef notes
Make one batch of these homemade energy bars and you’ll never feel tempted to buy the store-bought ones again. Not only is this recipe far healthier than options you can find on shelves, but it’s also plant-based and allergy-friendly so you can send these to the office, school or daycare with your kiddos, worry-free. Packed with protein, healthy fats and fiber, these bars will give you lasting energy to tackle whatever your day throws your way.
At a glance, the ingredients list is a little lengthy, but take a trip to your pantry and you’ll likely find that you have almost everything you need to get cooking. Mix a base of rolled oats with raisins, dried cranberries, pepitas, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut, sunflower seed butter, brown rice syrup, ground cinnamon, millet, chia seeds, amaranth, sesame seeds and kosher salt.
Once you have the basic formula down, start experimenting! Swap out the raisins and cranberries for dried apricots and cherries. Freeze-dried fruit is an option too if you can find it in your grocery store. If you don’t have brown rice syrup, use honey as a binder.
Enjoy the scents wafting through your house as these granola bars bake up and get crunchy on top and chewy in the center. You’ll be glad you had the foresight to make this grab-and-go breakfast or snack that’ll keep you satiated all day long.
Swap Option: If you’re not nut-free, feel free to use peanut or almond butter in place of the sunflower seed butter.
Get Ingredients: If you don’t have everything you need on hand, you can easily purchase all of the ingredients (just click the orange button below that says ‘Get Ingredients’). You can pick and choose exactly what ingredients you need based on what’s in your pantry and they’ll be on your doorstep before you know it.
Ingredients
- nonstick baking spray, for greasing
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup pepitas
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut (preferably unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup sunflower seed butter
- 1/4 cup brown rice syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons millet
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon amaranth
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Preparation
1.Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line a square baking dish with parchment paper and spritz lightly with nonstick baking spray.
2.In a large bowl, add the oats, raisins, cranberries, pepitas, sunflower seeds and coconut. Stir to combine.
3.In a small bowl, add the sunflower seed butter, brown rice syrup, cinnamon and salt. Stir to combine.
4.Scrape the mixture from the small bowl into the large bowl. Gently stir the together until mostly combined, working slowly as the wet ingredients will be thick and sticky. Add the millet, chia seeds, amaranth and sesame seeds. Mix with your hands until all ingredients are evenly combined.
5.Press the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown. (The bars will still be slightly soft to the touch.)
6.Leave the bars in the pan and allow them to cool completely on a wire rack.
7.Lift the cooled bars out of the pan and slice into 10 bars with a sharp knife or bench scraper. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
