snacks:

chocolate-topped, nut-free oat bars

Published 22nd March 2021

I’ve had the same 2 muesli bar recipes on repeat for the past three or so years, so I thought it was time for a bit of experimenting for the creation of something new.

Here we have Chocolate-Topped, Nut-Free Oat Bars. Being nut-free, they are suitable to pack for the kids for school or kinder, however, if avoiding nuts is not essential, feel free to substitute some of the seeds for nuts, or use almond meal in place of the ground oats. Being a baked bar, these have a different texture to my lunchbox friendly muesli bars, which are set in the fridge. They are also more robust in the lunchbox as they hold together better and don’t need the cooler temperature to allow everything to stay in place.

 
 
 

Muesli bars are one of the foods that I see as really simple swap away from a packaged product, to a homemade, wholesome alternative. Muesli bars from the supermarket are a minefield, and while there are some products that have a good nutrition profile, there are plenty that don’t, and navigating this can be really tricky. Hence, why I am offering this wholesome alternative.

Enjoy xx.

 
 
 
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Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

  • 2 cups rolled oats, divided

  • 1 cup puffed brown rice

  • 1/3 cup sunflower seeds

  • 1/3 cup pepitas

  • 1/4 cup linseeds

  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted

  • 1/4 cup chia seeds

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

  • 1 cup dried fruit – sultanas, raisins, currants and cranberries work well

  • 40g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Wet Ingredients:

  • 115g unsalted butter

  • 120g honey

  • 50g tahini

  • 40g dark chocolate, melted, for drizzling

 

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC and line a 20cm x 30cm pan with baking paper.

  2. Blitz 1.5 cups of the oats in a food processor until resemble coarse breadcrumbs. Place into a large bowl, along with remaining 1/2 cup of rolled oats, puffed rice, seeds, toasted coconut, cinnamon, dried fruit and chopped chocolate. Mix to combine.

  3. Place the wet ingredients into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Allow to melt and then bubble for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over dry mixture. Mix well to combine.

  4. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tray and press the mixture down firmly. Take some time to do this well to help with the mixture holding together once the bars are cut.

  5. Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

  6. Melt the remaining 40g of chocolate, and drizzle over the bars using a fork.

  7. Place into the fridge and chill until the chocolate is set. Cut into bars.

  8. These chocolate-topped, nut-free oat bars can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature or in the fridge.