Healthy Breakfast Bars

These healthy breakfast bars serve as an excellent source of vegan protein. With the natural sweetness of dates and cranberries and loaded with various nuts and seeds, their blend of textures and flavors makes them an excellent option.

You can control the texture and taste when you make your breakfast bars at home. I have tried a few from the grocery store and have never fallen in love with one.

Sometimes they are too hard, and sometimes they are too sweet. Expensive too!

Whether you pull up a chair or are running out the door, this vegan protein bar recipe makes easy snacks that are easy, delicious, and a pleasure to eat.

Can healthy breakfast bars be made nut-free

Yes, for sure! Any of your favorite seeds would substitute for the walnuts.

As a suggestion, pumpkin seeds (pepitas) would be a flavorful crunch.

Baker’s tips

I mentioned above to make cuts into the batter before baking. The neatest and easiest way to do this is with a dough scraper.

Now if you don’t have one of these, don’t worry.

You can use a knife, but I often like to use a dough scraper for cutting and separating dough. It’s quick and neat.

Another neat trick is laying parchment paper in the pan before pressing the mixture.

Make sure the parchment paper hangs over two of the opposite edges. This makes it super easy to remove from the pan after baking.

Ingredients

• Whole wheat pastry flour adds fiber and nutrients to the main base of these breakfast bars.
• Rolled oats give extra protein and a chewy texture.
• Coconut oil adds to the baking; you can use any oil you prefer.
• Dates are a wonderful sweetener, and they add a nice texture too.
• Dried cranberries give a sweet tart addition to the flavors.
• Dried apple is another texture that makes everything taste even healthier.
• Walnuts add protein and that mild crunch factor.
• Shelled sunflower seeds are full of protein.
• Water adds the needed liquid for this vegan protein bar recipe to bake.

Instructions

• Lightly grease an 8″ x 8″ square pan.
• Mix the flour, oats, salt, and oil in a medium bowl.
• Add dates, cranberries, and dried apples.
• Add the water, walnuts, and sunflower seeds and mix well.
• Press into an 8″ x 8″ pan to fill out all the corners and make a connection with all the ingredients.
• Important:
• Score into squares before baking. By this, I mean for you to press down with something like a metal pastry board scraper to make deep marks so they are easy to cut apart after baking.
• Bake at 325° for 30 minutes.

IF FREEZING:

After they have cooled, you may freeze them in any of the methods shown in my article Preparing Food for the Freezer

They defrost quickly, so it doesn’t take any planning. The microwave will also zap them in 20 seconds or let them defrost at room temperature.