Healthy 5-Ingredient Granola Bars

Name: Healthy 5-Ingredient Granola Bars
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 heaping cup dates (packed tightly, pitted, deglet noor or medjool)*; 1/4 cup maple syrup or agave nectar (or honey if not vegan); 1/4 cup creamy salted natural peanut butter or almond butter; 1 cup roasted unsalted almonds (loosely chopped // see instructions for roasting nuts); 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (gluten-free for GF eaters)

8 steps

Prep:20min

The base for these bars is dates – the natural sweetener supah powah. Then we add almonds, oats, peanut butter, and maple syrup (or honey or agave) and mix it all together! Feel free to add optional extras like dark chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, banana chips, vanilla, seeds, etc.

Updated at: Thu, 17 Aug 2023 06:02:35 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Great

Glycemic Index

Low

Glycemic Load

High

Nutrition per serving

Calories292 kcal (15%)

Total Fat13.4 g (19%)

Carbs39.3 g (15%)

Sugars17.1 g (19%)

Protein8.6 g (17%)

Sodium25.6 mg (1%)

Fiber5.7 g (20%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

10 servings

1 heaping cupdates

packed tightly, pitted, deglet noor or medjool

¼ cupmaple syrup

or agave nectar, or honey if not vegan

¼ cupsalted natural peanut butter

creamy, or almond butter

1 cuproasted unsalted almonds

loosely chopped

1 ½ cupsrolled oats

gluten-free for GF eaters

Instructions

Step 1

Process dates in a food processor until small bits remain (about 1 minute). It should form a "dough" like consistency. (Mine rolled into a ball). Alternatively you can microwave the dates at 1 minute intervals with a splash of water to easily mash them.

Step 2

Optional step: Toast your oats (and almonds if raw) in a 350-degree F (176 C) oven for 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Otherwise, leave them raw – I prefer the toasted flavor.

Step 3

Place oats, almonds and dates in a large mixing bowl – set aside.

Step 4

Warm maple syrup (or agave or honey) and peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir and pour over oat mixture and then mix, breaking up the dates to disperse throughout.

Step 5

Once thoroughly mixed, transfer to an 8×8-inch baking dish or other small pan lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper so they lift out easily. (A loaf pan might work, but will yield thicker bars // adjust size of pan if altering batch size).

Step 6

Press down firmly until uniformly flattened – I use something flat, like a drinking glass, to press down and really pack the bars, which helps them hold together better.

Step 7

Cover with parchment or plastic wrap, and let firm up in fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes.

Step 8

Remove bars from pan and chop into 10 even bars (or 9 squares // as original recipe is written). Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. I kept mine in the freezer to keep them extra fresh, but it isn’t necessary.

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