No more store bought granola bars here – not when I can make healthy oat squares like these at home!
Chewy Oat Squares
Inspired by Amaranth & Millet Energy Bars in The Whole Truth by Andrea Beaman
(vegan, can easily be made gluten-free by using gluten-free oat products)
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup brown rice syrup
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1 t vanilla
- 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 3/4 cup brown rice crispy cereal (I used Barbara’s gluten free)
- 1/4 cup oat bran
- 1/4 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
- 4 T raisins
- 1 T chia seeds
- 1 t cinnamon
- 1/4 t sea salt
Prep:
In a pot on medium heat, combine rice syrup, almond butter, and vanilla. Stir and heat until thin and pourable (about 3-4 min). In a large mixing bowl combined oats, cereal, oat bran, pepitas, sunflower seeds, raisins, chia seeds, cinnamon, and sea salt. Pour warm almond butter mixture into the bowl and mix thoroughly. Press mixture into a greased square/rectangle casserole dish or a rimmed cookie sheet. Let cool for a few hours. Cut into bars. Makes 16 squares.
YUUUUMMMM! Isaac and I both taste tested the squares and agreed that they are delicious. They’re chewy with a good flavor that isn’t overly sweet. Basically a nice healthy treat that’s perfect for days when you need something portable to munch on.
I even went all out and figured out the nutrition information.
Definitely less sugar than most packaged bars other there and a good amount of protein as well.
In other news, last night we went to dinner at Balliceaux with some new friends.
We’ve been there a few times before and always recommend it to friends because the menu is seasonal, local, and everything tastes great.
Last night there was one vegetarian option on the menu – a panko crusted tofu dish with house made kim chee and orange blossom sauce. I actually had it the last time we were there and found it to be a bit too heavy…
So instead I went with a bowl of miso soup and salad. Plus a glass of vino.
wild mushroom-miso
Endive with fried hominy and toasted pumpkin seed vinaigrette
Everything was nicely presented and tasted amazing, per the usual at Balliceaux. We were all quite impressed with the meal.
Tonight I’m in NC and hopefully watch some Ultimate frisbee tomorrow- so long as the weather clears up. 
Hope everyone is having a great start to the 3 day weekend!!
- Brittany
Brittany Mullins, HHC
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Those squares look awesome! I have to pick up some brown rice syrup so I can try them out.
you sold me on chewy and oats.. and doubly sold me on ‘can be GLUTEN FREE’ bookmarked, saved,and shall be made. <3 merci beaucoup love <3
Those bars are love at first sight!!! LOOKS GREAT!
**swoon** those look absolutely DELICIOUS!! and I’ve tried your baked goods before, so I know they’re good
The Oat Bars look fantastic! I need to find a good granola bar recipe. Every time I make them, they never seem to turn out the way I want…I love a chewy bar, so maybe I will give these a try.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Those bars sound and look fantastic! Thanks so much for the recipe!
I love making homemade granola bars and mine have never looked that good. Great job, those look delicious!
Looks like the husband and I need to make a trip up to Richmond for a little “staycation.”
Yum! Those bars look amazing!
I actually got the panko crusted tofu last time and they were not nearly as fried as the ones in your picture. I guess it depends on who’s back there cooking! Your salad and soup look awesome. I may have to take a Balliceaux trip this weekend
those squares look awesome…i told myself that this summer i was going to try to make more of my own bars and things..so i wouldn’t have to buy..so i may just have to try this if i can get the ingredients!!!
Homemade granola bars…delicious. And so much cheaper than the store bought variety. I love the thought of almond butter in a chewy bar…then again, I love almond butter in or on anything
Thanks for the awesome bar recipe! They look great.
My boyfriend is a HUGE ultimate frisbee player – I just mentioned that you were watching tomorrow and he got super pumped. Have fun!
I can speak from experience, the granola bars ARE DELICIOUS. Very moist, very chewy and tons of flavor. Brittany is a wonderful cook and it’s such fun to watch her creativity in the kitchen.
Molly- you are too sweet! Thank you.
There is something so satisfying when making things that you would normally buy in a store.
So excited to try these squares
Thanks again for thinking of us! And we already ate a macaroon!!! OMG! Delicious!!! Thank you thank you. We loved getting the goodies, it meant so much to us both! 
xoxo
How did/do you go about figuring out the nutrition facts?!
plan on making these tonight, look delicious!
goodness, those bars look uh-mazing! thanks for the recipe : ) Bird Food Bars coming right up!
Great recipe with the oatmeal squares! What I love about it is that this type of recipe is really flexible. I have a similar thing that I make with oats, honey, almond butter, wheat bran, raisins, dark chocolate and coconut. I call it my energy ball recipe! I also saw another blogger post a recipe that used less almond butter by substituting it with almond milk. I am definitely going to try that out. Also if you play with the ingredients to get the consistency right, it can very easily become a raw recipe. You just press the ingredients together. Either way, it’s so yummy!
Recently I had a dream that I was eating a delicious chewy oatmeal bar. The next time I was shopping, I bought one of Bobo’s Oatmeal Bars. It was good, but too expensive to buy in bulk ($3 for one bar). Also, on Amazon, several people said that the bars developed mold quickly! So I decided to look up recipes that I could make myself, and a Google search brought me to your blog. Thank you! This recipe is just what I was looking for! I skipped the sunflower seeds, used ground flax seed instead of chia, and put the mix into a bread pan in order to make a more of a bar shape, but otherwise the recipe was the same, and it is delicious! Thank you so much!
I tried these over the weekend and LOVE LOVE LOVE them! I added a schoop of Herboligica vanilla protein powder and traded the raisins for unsweetened coconut flakes. Turned out beautifully. Had to share them at work so I wouldn’t be tempted to eat the entire thing!
So glad you liked the bars Ruthey!!
I didn’t have brown crispy rice so I used kamut puffs. I also substituted the almond butter with soy butter (can’t send almonds to school with the kids). They turned out great!
So glad they turned out Josie. I hope your kids enjoy them!
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