This recipe for Paleo Breakfast Bars is an amended version of a recipe I posted in 2009. I have rewritten this recipe for several reasons.
First, although a number of people swore by it, others commented that the bars came out crumbly for them. Second, although the original recipe was grain-free, it was not Paleo as it contained grapeseed oil and agave.
In any event, this simple gluten-free homemade breakfast bar recipe is a favorite in our house as it is easy to pack for a hike and delicious enough to serve as a healthy dessert. I also serve it to the boys as a Paleo after school snack –their friends love it and eat a whole dish at a time, however they refer to these as granola bars or power bars.
Paleo Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon water
- 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 food processor combine almond flour and salt
- Pulse in coconut oil, honey, water and vanilla until combined
- Pulse in coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almond slivers and raisins until combined
- Press dough into an 8 x 8 inch baking dish, wetting your hands with water to pat dough down
- Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes
- Cool bars in pan for 2 hours, then serve
Last week I had the good fortune to pop into New York to do some pre-publicity for my new book, Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry. I met with several magazine editors and appeared on Fox News Live with the very engaging interviewer John Hunt, and I spoke extensively about the Paleo Diet. Here is the video.
Just a reminder, my book Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry will be published early this summer, on June 18th, 2013.
Here are some of other healthy snack recipes:
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Rose says
Those having trouble with it being crumbly – are you sure you are using Almond flour and not almond meal? Almond flour is much finer and I would assume it would bind much better than meal.
DamselflyDiary says
Yep! I used blanched almond flour from Honeyville. I am going to try another commenter’s suggestion next time and try pulsing longer to see if that helps. I might also add in a little gluten free flour since I am not on a Paleo diet.
Becky says
Awesome interview! You are super cute!
Although I am a little confused. Why is grapeseed oil not paleo? And shortening is? I’m a little new to this.
SophieE says
Neither are paleo. I’m not even kind of new to paleo. Grapeseed oil is high in inflammatory omega 6 and shortening has some of that plus potential trans fats. Cavemen certainly did not have vegan shortening. While the paleo diet includes some foods not available to cavemen (modern varieties of fruit, vinegar etc), one must weigh up the health pros and cons. For me and most paleo people i think that coconut oil, lard, ghee (a lot of dairy free people can tolerate) are far better options if you want a firm fat to cook with. Macadamia oil is a great semi neutral tasting liquid fat you can use instead of grapeseed oil- even light olive oil is a pretty good option (though not as buttery as macadamia oil).
Ben says
Wow, These are delicious and packed with good ingredients. I’m amazed at how you can come up with so many good ideas and recipes to get all these different food sources in your diet. Very creative and great tasting. I wish I had that talent.
Thanks for the recipe.
DamselflyDiary says
Alas, my bars didn’t form either. Instead I have what could be called granola.
I am disappointed as I was hoping to be able to transport these. I followed the directions exactly with the only difference being that I had sliced almonds instead of slivered and used cranberries instead of raisins. I can’t imagine either of those making a difference.
However, they taste good. Next time I might try adding in a little gluten free flour and see if that helps bind it. Since I am not Paleo that’s not an issue for me.
swati says
Thank you for this healthy recipe. I made these bars for breakfast. They taste so delicious.
Tania says
Delightful interview! Thanks for sharing your recipes with us. I follow your blog, and so far have one of your cookbooks, but someday I will have all three. :) Blessings and joy to you. You are a blessing to so many people.
Hillary says
These look so yummy! I will have to make them soon! :)
Carlyn Berghoff says
Thanks Elana – I can’t wait to try these at home. This may be the next perfect addition to our traveling food bag. Questions – do they travel well and how long would you say they last?
KT says
Just made these this morning for breakfast. LOVE them! My little guys would not go for the nuts/seeds/raisins, so I added 1/4-1/3 cup Enjoy Life mini chocolate chips in lieu of the nuts/seeds/raisins and left in the coconut-tasted a little like Almond Joy bars! Thank you for another great recipe to work in to our morning rotation!
Kelli says
Made these tonite, and although they came out a little crumbly, they tasted delicious! Other than using cranberries in place of raisins (personal preference) I followed the recipe as written. I will definitely make these on a regular basis.