Grain-free Chai Granola Bars

January 21, 2013 By Leanne Vogel December 10, 2018

Oh my gosh I have so many nuts, seeds and random little baggies of dried fruit in my pantry.

I thought that building the spice rack of my dreams would help control my habit of randomly purchasing things from bulk bins but it hasn’t (although it has made finding spices in our new home a whole heck of a lot easier).

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Do you have the same issue? Let’s do something about it, shall we? And heck, if you don’t suffer from bulk bin purchase overload, run down to the store, grab a couple cups of your favorite nuts and seeds, and lets get this party started.

You can use any nuts or seeds that you have on hand, really, this recipe is very forgiving. You can choose to use 2 1/4 cup of whatever nuts or seeds your little heart desires.

If you’re sensitive to nuts, use an array of seeds.

If you’re sensitive to banana, use apple sauce.

If you don’t like chai spice, use cinnamon, or cardamom, or pumpkin spice, or lucuma powder or leave them plain.

If you’re sensitive to grains don’t worry, there are none in these granola bars! Who needs grains in granola bars? Not us!

Either way, these healthy grain-free granola bars are going to be awesome!

They hold together really well, making them a fabulous travel companion.

Oh yes, and did I mention that they’re free from sugar? No coconut nectar, agave, honey, coconut sugar, nothing. Just a bit of fruit and a TON of healthy fats.

You’re excited, I know. I was too as I was making these guys.

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4.9 from 11 reviews

Grain-free Chai Granola Bars

Author: Leanne Vogel

Recipe type: Vegan, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Sugar-free, Yeast-free, Corn-free, Grain-free, Egg-free

Serves: 12

Oil-free, sugar-free granola bars that are super crunchy and hold together wonderfully. Spiced with chai masala and sweetened with dates and banana.

Ingredients

Nuts, Seeds and Fruit:

2¼ cups mixed nuts/seeds, roughly ground
1 cup shelled hemp seed/hemp hearts
½ cup dried currants
¼ cup flax seed, roughly ground
2 tablespoons chia seed, roughly ground

Binding Ingredients:

150 grams medjool dates, pitted (approx. 10 dates or 140 grams of pitted dates)
½ cup almond butter
1 banana, mashed
5 teaspoons homemade chai spice/masala

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F and line a rectangle pan with parchment paper draping over either side for easy lifting, The size of pan will dictate the thickness of your bars. I used a 10x6.
Place medjool dates in a bowl and cover with hot water. Leave to soak for 30 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
Roughly grind your nut and seed mixture. There can be large and small pieces throughout the mix, just make sure there are pieces no bigger than the size of your pinky nail.
Combine mixed nuts and seeds will hemp seeds, currants, roughly ground flax seed and roughly ground chia seed in a large bowl. Set aside.
Mash soaked dates with a potato masher or fork until smooth. Add banana and mash together. Then, stir in almond butter and chai spice.
Combine binding ingredients with the nut and seed mixture either with your hands, stand mixer or hand mixer. Mix until fully incorporated.
Press into prepared pan and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes, until edges begin to get golden. Remove from the oven, lift from the pan and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Cut into desired size and place on a baking sheet. Return back to the oven and cook for an additional 15 minutes to crisp up.
Remove from the oven, turn onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

Notes

I used a mixture of: ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut, ½ cup raw brazil nuts, ½ cup raw sunflower seeds, ¼ cup raw walnuts, ¼ cup savi seeds, and ¼ cup shelled unsalted pistachios.
If you're sensitive to banana, try replacing it with ¼ cup unsweetened apple sauce.
Can be stored in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

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The trick is in the mashing. If you have a potato masher, use it. If you don’t, I bet a food processor would work.

You want the paste to be nice and smooth.

Some of the nuts and seeds that I put in my bars were a bit too big, causing some issues when I was cutting them. Try to make the pieces no larger than your pinky nail. Add everything to a bowl.

Then whip it good.

Well, not actually. Just combine the wet and the dry and roll it around with a stand mixer, hand mixer, or your hands, until everything’s mixed well.

Drop it into the pan and bake it!

Remove from the oven, cut into desired size, then throw them back in the oven to crisp up. This step will make the bars nice and portable, crispy, and delicious!