No-Bake Oatmeal Bars
These no-bake oatmeal bars are easy to make in minutes with just 6 healthy ingredients and make a delicious homemade alternative to store-bought energy bars.
Looking for an easy and delicious alternative to store-bought energy bars? You’ll love these no-bake oatmeal bars with almonds and hemp seeds!
They’re so easy to make and taste so yummy, they never last long at my house. Enjoy them for a quick snack, breakfast on-the-go or even dessert.
Recipe Features
- Dietary Features: Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, no added sugar, can be nut-free.
- High in protein with 8 grams of plant-based protein per bar.
- Easy to whip up in a food processor with just 6 simple ingredients.
- Great for kids!
- Travel well for a healthy snack on-the-go.
- Great introduction to homemade no-bake bars.
Ingredient Notes
A complete list of ingredients with amounts and full instructions is located in the printable recipe card below. This section covers ingredient and substitution considerations.
- Dates: Any variety works as long as they’re soft and moist, I like medjool or sayer dates.
- Almonds: Use plain, raw almonds with no added oil or salt. Substitute pecans, walnuts or cashews.
- Oats: You can use rolled oats or quick oats.
- Hemp Seeds: May be labelled hemp seeds or hemp hearts in stores. These are fairly common in well-stocked grocery stores or can be found online.
- Peanut Butter: You can substitute any other nut or seed butter.
- Sweetener: Maple syrup works best but you could use agave syrup or honey (not vegan).
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1. Add the almonds and dates to a food processor and mix into a crumbly dough.
Step 2. Add the oats, hemp seeds, peanut butter and maple syrup and process until you have a thick, sticky dough you can press together between your fingers.
Quick Tip: If the dough seems too dry (this can happen if your dates were too dry), add 1-2 tbsp warm water and process again.
Step 3. Line a standard-sized loaf pan with parchment paper then use your hands to firmly press the dough into the pan until flat, working it down into all the corners and edges.
Quick Tip: This recipe makes a small batch of just 6 bars but you can always double it an make it in an 8×8-inch square pan.
Place in the freezer for an hour, then lift out of the pan, cut into bars and enjoy!
Quick Note: Technically you don’t have to wait for them to firm up. If you want you can pull them from the pan, cut and enjoy right away but I prefer to chill them so they’re a bit firmer.
Tips and Notes
- Dates: Be sure to use soft, moist dates. If your dates are overly dry, soak them in hot water for 15 minutes then drain well before using.
- Peanut-Free Option: Sub almond butter, tahini or sunflower seed butter for the peanut butter.
- For a nut-free energy bar, try my sunflower sesame bars or sunflower energy bites.
- The dough can also be rolled into energy bites if you prefer!
- Feel free to add 1/3 cup chocolate chips for a treat!
How to Store
- Fridge: Store in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
- Freezer (Recommended): Store in a sealed container or freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Can be enjoyed straight from the freezer as they don’t freeze solid.
- Room Temperature: If taking the bars to-go, they’re fine out of the fridge but will start to get soft. For best results, freeze before hand and try to keep in a cool place if possible.
Did you try this recipe?
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I’d love to hear about it! Click here to leave a review and be sure to tag me @runningonrealfood if you post it on social media.
No-Bake Oatmeal Bars
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 60 mins
- Yield: 8
- Category: Snack
- Method: Food Processor
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These no-bake oatmeal bars make an excellent healthy snack anytime of day. They’re chewy and just sweet enough with a hint of peanut butter and almonds. Store them in the fridge for a quick snack for busy days on the go, or anytime you need a little treat.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (225 g) packed, pitted soft dates
- 1/2 cup (75 g) almonds
- 3/4 cup (75 g) oats
- 1/4 cup (40 g) hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup (70 g) natural peanut butter (or other nut or seed butter)
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) maple syrup
- pinch of salt, optional
Instructions
- Place the almonds and dates in a food processor or high-powered blender and mix until it forms a crumbly dough.
- Add the oats, hemp seeds, peanut butter and maple syrup and process until it forms a thick dough you can squeeze into a small ball.
- Line a standard-sized loaf pan with parchment paper then firmly press the dough into the pan. Spend a few minutes pressing it in to the corners and flattening the surface.
- Place in the freezer for about 1 hour to firm.
- Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan then cut into 8 squares or 6 bars and store in the fridge in an air-tight container.
Notes
Dates: It’s important to use soft, fresh dates in this recipe as they add moisture and bind the bars. If you don’t have soft dates, pour boiled water over dry dates and soak for 15 minutes then drain before using.
Nut-Free Option: These can be made nut-free by using sunflower seed butter or tahini instead of peanut butter and sunflower seeds instead of almonds.
Storage: Sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or freezer (recommended) for up to 3 months. Okay at room temperature for a day or two, keep cool if possible so they don’t get too soft.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 259 calories
- Fat: 12 grams
- Carbohydrates: 32 grams
- Protein: 8 grams
Keywords: no-bake oatmeal bars, no-bake peanut butter oatmeal bars
Originally published February 20, 2013.
Can I substitute the maple syrup with stevia?
You can just leave it out if you like. Enjoy!
I am thinking of making these this week but I only have Jiff peanut butter and no dates. Should I be ok to forego the dates and use the processed pb? Thank you!!
Hi Maddie, processed peanut butter would probably be fine but unfortunately you can’t leave the dates out of this recipe. They’re needed to hold everything together!
Very yummmy!! Thanks!! I went ‘full peanut’ and swapped almonds for peanuts. Also swapped hemp for chia and mayple syrup for agave. Worked really well.
I tried this and I love them but my bars were so hard? Did I over blend? I also added a bit of unsweetened coconut to them. May have needed to add additional almond butter?
How much coconut did you add? Coconut becomes very hard when chilled so that could be why. Otherwise, I’m not sure why they would be hard…I’ve never heard that before! Hope you still enjoyed them.
I made these today. They are delicious! I used chia seeds instead of hemp seeds but kept everything else the same. I look forward to eating them for snacks throughout this week.
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I made these a couple days ago and they are so good. I will definitely be making them again and won’t be telling my teenagers because they will eat them all! I’m new to plant based eating, so it’s been hard trying so many new recipes looking for ones that will be our go to recipes. This one is a keeper. Thank you!
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Haha, those darn teenagers! I’m so glad you all enjoyed them. Thanks for letting me know!!
DELICIOUS!
Hits every taste bud. Just enough sweetness. We made them for a healthy brunch get together and they were a hit. We will be making these again. Great go to on the run. Filled with energy boosting nutrients that will last. We used raw almond butter instead of peanut butter. Give them a try. U won’t be disappointed.
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So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for the review.
Good – i used bahree dates, a bit of tahini instead of peanut butter and some coconut butter to set it. Could easily have added some cacao too
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I made them and they are fantastic. Didn’t have hemp seeds, but used chia seeds. Highly recommended!!
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Thankyou so much for this!! With my son dairy , egg and one intolerant this was great hit with the kids. I had to swap the maple syrup and peanut butter for almond butter but loved the fact this is a no bake recipe. Thanks again!
That’s so awesome to hear!
Thanks for me know! Happy No-Baking! 😉
Hi Deryn! So glad I found this blog!! And honestly – this post! I’m totally not a morning person either. But I love to work out in the morning – and if I don’t go first thing, well … sometimes it just doesn’t happen. Sad, I know. But, I find that if I eat just a small breakfast and then hit the gym – I’m more energized throughout the day. And there’s no excuses! I used to wait until afternoon – but then something would always get in the way …
These bars look AMAZING!!! Question, though — I’ve never used hemp seeds. Do you think I could sub chia seeds??
Can’t wait to make these!! 🙂
Hi Gretchen!! Thanks for stopping by, I can’t wait to go check your site out too! I’m totally with ya on the morning workouts, it’s so hard to get it done in the evenings!
I think chia seeds would work fine, let me know how they turn out!
Thanks for the comment 🙂
Made these tonight, can’t wait to try them!
Let me know how you like them!
I most definitely just made these… substituted the hemp seeds for some small mixed seeds omega pack I had sitting around et voila! They are in the fridge getting ready to be eaten properly while I impatiently wait a few hours knowing they are delicious because I may well have unashamedly liked my fingers clean after mixing with my hands 🙂 Good one Deryn!
Definitely no shame in licking fingers! Glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Oh yum! These look amazing 🙂
Yum, these sound amazing! I may well have to make them today 🙂