These hearty breakfast bars remind me of a granola bar or an omega-3 packed power bar. They’re filling and tasty.
After I made a batch of these and was waiting for them to cool before cutting and stylizing them for a “photo shoot,” my younger son proudly taunted me that he had picked out all of the raisins from the top of the bars.
Needless to say, I was quite miffed. Especially since I have a couple of half gallon jars full of raisins at the boys disposal which they freely dip into when they have a “sugar” fix.
Well, I found a corner of the bars that still had the raisins mostly in tact for the photo above.
Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil
- ¼ cup agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup blanched slivered almonds
- ¼ cup raisins
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda
- In a large bowl, combine grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla
- Stir dry ingredients into wet
- Mix in coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almond slivers and raisins
- Grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with grapeseed oil
- Press the dough into the baking dish, wetting your hands with water to help pat the dough down evenly
- Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes
- Cool bars in pan for 2 hours, then serve
None of the nuts and seeds in this low-maintenance bar are toasted. I wanted to make something quick and easy, that could be whipped up in just a couple of minutes before popping into the oven.
In other news, NPR just ran an interesting story on celiac disease that I think is worth checking out.
snow says
I don’t have grapeseed or any nut oil. Can I use canola or regular veg oil? The others are out of my league especially right now.
Thanks
snow
eveof4 says
I have used a very mild flavored olive oil many times and it works great!
Becca says
Elana, I have just recently discovered your blog and love it… my oldest son has autism and is on a gfcf diet. I have been looking for something just like this! Can you (or someone) tell me about almond flour and its benefits? I have been making a bread for him that uses garbanzo bean flour, tapioca starch and corn starch. But I have yet to learn about almond flour. Any info that you can share would be a blessing! Thanks again for all you have done here…
Jessica says
Check out her Almond Flour post… :-)
Eveof4 says
Hi Elana! I’ve been using your recipes for the last four months since my daughter and I started a candida diet, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate being able to log onto your website and find a “legal” recipe for whatever we’re hungry for.
These breakfast bars are BY FAR my favorite recipe so far and I’ve been making them since you posted it a few weeks ago. I have an egg sensativity and can only do eggs every 4th day so I make a batch of these and they make breakfast ready to go until I can do eggs again. I do substitute 1 Tbsp. of NuNaturals white stevia powder + 1/4 c. water for the agave nectar and sugar free chocolate bits for the raisens. I have found that this version comes out very crumbly so I also added 1 Tbsp. ground flax + 1 1/2 Tbsp. water (an egg substitute). I have found that they do better when chilled, but I’m wondering if your version holds together well as maybe the agave acts as a glue (?) or do yours crumble as well?
Thanks again for your wonderful work and sharing with all of us!
Patty says
We had these at the brunch the day after my daughter’s wedding for a few of us that are gluten free and we had to fight the gluten eaters for them. Really delicious. I am going to make a batch for myself as part of my wedding recovery program. Thanks so much for offering up these great recipes. They really are inspiring!
Kate says
Thanks for the great recipe Elana! I am going on a 5 day canoe trip in the Adirondacks and needed something healthy and full of protein for breakfast. This recipe is such a great alternative to the bars you see in the grocery. Even ones marked as healthy and organic are full of sugar and wheat. I made a few substitutions because I didn’t have everything on hand:
-1/2 c of cashews (pulsed in the blender for a few seconds) for the shredded coconut
-dried cranberries instead of raisins
-1/3 c pistachios for pumpkin seeds
-I added a couple tablespoons of applesauce to help bind the cashews
I hope other readers enjoy :) Thanks again Elana!
mountaingoat says
Hi Elana – Your website has helped me immensely! I am GF and an avid cook. I would like to share my recipe for a protein bar that is not cooked! 1 cup pecans, 1 cup unswt coconut, 1 cup slivered almonds. Brown slightly together in the oven. Process until chunky in the food processor. Melt 1/2 cup of coconut oil with 1/2 cup almond butter, stir in 1tsp vanilla and 2 tblsp agave (I usually taste at this point for sweetness). Stir a tsp of sea salt to the wet mix,stir nut-coconut into wet mixture, add 1/2 cup of almond flour. Smooth into a bread baking dish greased with a little coconut oil and cool in the fridge for an hour. Thanks for all you do!
sas says
Elana, I made these bars and was disappointed when they burned on the tops and sides. I will try them again because it seems like a great recipe!
Alchemille says
Thanks Elana!
I tried another version with 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of spirulina for extra nutrition.
The bars have a greenish hue ;).
elana says
Thanks for your wonderful comments, everyone!!!
I want to point out my favorite substitution idea which was created by Alchemille –the maple syrup and almond oil sound delicious.
Enjoy the bars,
Elana
kate says
I’ve been playing around with granola bar recipes that use agave nectar, nuts, seeds and either almond meal or almond flour. These are EXACTLY what I’ve been dreaming of!
Consider yourself officially bookmarked! Keep up the great work! Very excited about the cookbook!!!