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breakfast bars made with dates, seeds and coconut on parchment paper on a wooden cutting board
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5 from 6 votes

Crunchy, Chewy No-Baked Breakfast Bars

These easy, healthy and filling breakfast bars are filled with the perfect combination of dried fruit, seeds and coconut. They're crunchy, chewy, mildly sweet and perfect by themselves or crumbled over yogurt. They also make a great snack! And they're naturally gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free and Paleo.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time0 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16 bars
Calories: 233kcal
Author: Don Baiocchi

Ingredients

  • 12 oz. pitted dates
  • 1⅔ cup very warm water
  • cup dried cranberries, dried cherries or goji berries
  • ½ cup shelled pumpkin seeds (raw, roasted and/or salted; see notes)
  • 1 cup brown flax seeds or sunflower seeds (raw, roasted and/or salted; see notes), or a combination of both
  • cup chia seeds
  • 1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Instructions

  • Line a 2-quart/8x8" baking dish with parchment paper. Make sure the paper comes high enough up the sides for you to grab later.
  • Prepare the dates:
    No-cook method: add the dates and the water to a bowl. Let them soften for 10 minutes. Do not drain. Blend with a food processor (mini or regular; wrap a towel around where the bowl meets the lid in case water leaks), blender or stick blender until you have a paste.
    Saucepan method: add the dates to a small saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat so it simmers for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat (do not drain) and beat with a fork until you have a paste. Let cool.
  • Add the date paste to a large bowl with the dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and/or sunflower seeds, chia seeds, coconut flakes and shredded coconut. Stir with your hands, a spatula or a wooden spoon until thoroughly blended.
  • Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish and spread it out as much as possible. Using a spatula (the kind for lifting, not stirring), press the spatula down onto the top of the mixture to create one even layer. The harder you press, the firmer it will be and the neater it will cut.
  • Chill for at least one hour or up to 8 hours (the longer it chills, the firmer it gets). Use the parchment paper to lift the bars onto a cutting board. Cut into 16 bars (3 across and 3 down).
  • Baking option: These bars are wonderfully moist and sticky. But to give them a toasty flavor and a slightly dryer, crunchier texture, you can bake them: Once you have compressed the bars into the pan, bake at 350° for 30 minutes, until the edges have darkened. Let cool before cutting or chilling. This step can also be done after cutting into bars.

Notes

Note: There's no added salt in this recipe, so using slated pumpkin seeds OR salted sunflower seeds is fine. If both have salt, the bars might get too salty.
How to store these healthy breakfast bars
Keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Or wrap bars individually and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Substitutions and variations
As you can already see from the ingredient list above, there are a lot of different ways to make these your own:
  • Use dried cranberries, dried cherries or goji berries (I've tried each of these and they're all great; I have not tried any other dried fruit like raisins, apricots or blueberries)
  • Use brown flax seeds or sunflower seeds, or use any combination to equal 1 cup
  • Add 2 teaspoons cinnamon when you blend the dates into a paste
  • Replace half the chia seeds with cacao nibs
 
This recipe is adapted from the Breakfast Bars 2.0 in Simply Nigella by Nigella Lawson.

Nutrition

Calories: 233kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 10mg | Potassium: 318mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 4IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 2mg